Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) denounced Israel as an "apartheid state" on Tuesday, moments before she and several progressive members voted against a resolution asserting that Israel "is not a racist or apartheid state."
"Israel is an apartheid state. To assert otherwise, Mr. Speaker, in the face of this body of evidence, is an attempt to deny the reality and to normalize violence of apartheid," Tlaib said on Tuesday. The resolution supporting the U.S. ally passed overwhelmingly, with only nine members voting against it, all members of the Progressive Caucus.
The resolution stated that "Israel not a racist or apartheid state." It also said the United States will "always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel."
The comments came one day before a joint session address to Congress by Israeli president Isaac Herzog, who will commemorate the 75th anniversary of Israel's founding.
Tlaib and several other progressive House members, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (Minn.) have announced they plan to boycott Herzog's Wednesday speech.
"There is no way in hell I am attending the joint session address from a President whose country has banned me and denied @RashidaTlaib the ability to see her grandma," Omar said last week.
Fellow progressive Pramila Jayapal (Wash.) has been under fire since the weekend, when she dragged Israel during a speech in Chicago.
"Can I say something as somebody who's been in the streets and participated in a lot of demonstrations?" Jayapal told the crowd. "I want you to know that we have been fighting to make it clear that Israel is a racist state, that the Palestinian people deserve self-determination and autonomy."
House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) on Monday called out House Democrats for making anti-Semitic comments and blamed the Democratic Party for not holding them accountable.
