Republicans Slam Rep. Tlaib for Holocaust Remarks

She accuses them of twisting her words
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 13, 2019 12:53 AM CDT
Updated May 13, 2019 2:33 AM CDT
Republicans Slam Rep. Tlaib for Holocaust Remarks
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., speaks on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019, to unveil the "Immediate Financial Relief for Federal Employees Act" bill which would give zero interest loans for up to $6,000 to employees impacted by the government shutdown and any future shutdowns.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The first Palestinian-American woman in Congress is taking flak for remarks she made about Israel and the Holocaust in a podcast over the weekend. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, discussing her position on a one-state Israeli-Palestinian solution, told the Skullduggery podcast that "there’s a kind of a calming feeling, I always tell folks, when I think of the Holocaust and the tragedy of the Holocaust" and the fact it was her ancestors who lost their land and "their human dignity" in the name of "trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post-the Holocaust, post-the tragedy and the horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time." She said she "loves" the fact that her ancestors provided the safe haven, but she thinks it could have been done in a better way.

House Republicans accused the Democrat of saying the Holocaust itself gave her a "calming" feeling. the Washington Post reports "There is no justification for the twisted and disgusting comments made by Rashida Tlaib just days after the annual Day of Holocaust Remembrance," said Rep. Steve Scalise, while Rep. Liz Cheney urged Democratic leaders to act against Tlaib and others for "spreading vile anti-Semitism." In a tweet Sunday night, Tlaib accused Republicans of twisting her words and taking them out of context "to incite vile attacks," Fox reports. "Once again, Republican leaders and right-wing extremists are spreading outright lies to incite hate," said Tlaib spokesman Denzel McCampbell. (More Rashida Tlaib stories.)

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