Tlaib to Host Event Mourning Israel’s Founding.

Anti-Semitic Democrat to Co-Host Event with Radical Groups Defending Terrorists

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) is set to host a congressional event this week to mourn Israel’s founding alongside an array of anti-Israel groups, some of which have defended terrorism. The Wednesday event marks the “Nakba,” a Palestinian term for the creation of Israel that loosely translates as “catastrophe.”

Who’s Involved?

Tlaib’s cosponsors include Jewish Voice for Peace, a “radical anti-Israel activist group” that pushes the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and has come under fire for glorifying Palestinian terrorism. Other organizers include Emgage Action, another BDS supporter that claims Israel is an “apartheid state,” and Americans for Justice in Palestine Action, an advocacy group that claims Jewish money is infecting politics.

Other cosponsors include Democracy for the Arab World Now, which is led by prominent anti-Israel advocate Sarah Leah Whitson. Pro-BDS groups, such as the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights and the American Friends Service Committee, also are sponsoring the event.

What’s the Event About?

The event aims to “uplift the experiences of Palestinians who underwent the Nakba, and educate members of Congress and their staff about this history and the ongoing Nakba to which Israel continues to subject Palestinians,” according to the invitation.

The invitation accuses “Zionist militias” of violently expelling Palestinians from the region when Israel was created in 1948 and maintains that Israel continues to brutalize Palestinians.

Why is This Controversial?

Nakba celebrations are common among anti-Israel groups and supporters of the Palestinian government who seek to delegitimize the Jewish state. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) warns that this rhetoric “constitutes a wholesale attack on American Jews, a majority of whom view a connection with Israel, and support for its right to exist, as part of their Jewish religious, cultural, and/or ethnic identities.”

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which combats anti-Semitism, expressed alarm that an event of this nature would be held inside Congress. “Instead, she continues to serve as a cheerleader for demonization and delegitimization of the Jewish state,” Cooper said.

What’s Next?

Tlaib’s office did not respond to a request for comment. The event is Tlaib’s latest effort to give a mainstream platform to organizations long shunned by the majority of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Who’s Involved?

• Jewish Voice for Peace
• Emgage Action
• Americans for Justice in Palestine Action
• Democracy for the Arab World Now
• U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights
• American Friends Service Committee

These groups have been criticized for their anti-Israel stance and support of the BDS movement.

What’s the Concern?

The ADL warns that Nakba celebrations often descend “into expressions of support for terror groups or attacks against Israelis.” This rhetoric “constitutes a wholesale attack on American Jews, a majority of whom view a connection with Israel, and support for its right to exist, as part of their Jewish religious, cultural, and/or ethnic identities.”