WASHINGTON — Democrats on Monday defended a freshman member of their ranks after President Donald Trump and his allies mischaracterized her remarks about the Holocaust to accuse her of anti-Semitism.
Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib told a Yahoo News podcast that she gets “a calming feeling” when she thinks of “the tragedy of the Holocaust” and how the suffering of her Palestinian ancestors helped in trying to create “a safe haven” for Jews in the new state of Israel.
The remark instantly ignited an online fight, with Republicans incorrectly describing Tlaib’s words as reflecting her feelings about the genocide itself that cost millions of lives, including those of 6 million Jews.
Trump spread the idea by tweeting on Monday that Tlaib has a “hatred” of Israel and Jews.
It was the latest upheaval over the words of some of the first Muslims in Congress after Rep. Ilhan Omar questioned Israel’s influence in Washington. Senior Democrats rebuked her, and Omar apologized once.
A Democratic leader demanded an apology to Tlaib.
“If you read Rep. Tlaib’s comments, it is clear that President Trump and Congressional Republicans are taking them out of context,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland. “They must stop, and they owe her an apology.”
“Obviously I don’t think that she hates Israel or hates Jews,” said Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Michigan, on Fox News. “She’s not a hateful person. She’s not a bigoted person.”
The issue had its roots in Tlaib’s remarks on the Yahoo News podcast “Skullduggery,” in which she was asked about her backing of a one-state solution to the conflict in Israel. She replied by noting the U.S. recently commemorated Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“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 that it was my ancestors — Palestinians — who lost their land, and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity, their existence, in many ways, had been wiped out,” Tlaib said around the halfway point in the 55-minute podcast , dated Friday. “I mean, just all of it was in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post-the Holocaust, post-the tragedy and horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time.”
She continued: “I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that, right, in many ways. But they did it in a way that took their human dignity away, right? And it was forced on them. And so, when I think about one-state, I think about the fact that, why couldn’t we do it in a better way?”
Republicans pounced on the phrasing “calming feeling.” Trump tweeted Tlaib “obviously has tremendous hatred of Israel and the Jewish people.” That echoed earlier comments by House Republicans, who called on Democrats to stand against what House GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney called “anti-Semitism.”
“All of us, regardless of party, must stand as Americans against the evil of anti-Semitism,” Cheney, R-Wyo., said in a statement. “If the Democratic leadership continues to stand by in silence, they are enabling the spread of evil.”
Tlaib shot back in a tweet and a statement that Republicans were twisting her words.
“Policing my words, twisting & turning them to ignite vile attacks on me will not work,” she said. “All of you who are trying to silence me will fail miserably. I will never allow you to take my words out of context to push your racist and hateful agenda. The truth will always win.”
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