Tlaib history of anti-Israel rhetoric informs current biased conflict interpretations

“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a historically hate-filled call for the annihilation of Israel, has experienced a new heyday since Hamas’ terror attacks on Israel sparked deadly conflict in the region. In an alarming Tweet, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) attempted to redeem and revise the phrase. “From the river to the sea is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate,” the Congresswoman wrote.

Tlaib provoked notable ire with her remarks. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel wrote that she had “defended [Tlaib] countless times, even when [she had] said the indefensible,” and called on Tlaib to “please retract this cruel and hateful remark.”

According to the Anti-Defamation League, the phrase is “fundamentally a call for a Palestinian state extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, territory that includes the State of Israel, which would mean the dismantling of the Jewish state. It is an antisemitic charge denying the Jewish right to self-determination, including through the removal of Jews from their ancestral homeland.”

Despite a coterie of U.S. leaders condemning Tlaib’s remarks, the Congresswoman has not amended her statement. Nor has she retracted her condemnation of the Israeli Air Force, whom she blamed for the Oct. 17 rocket attack on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza, despite available evidence showing the…