Rep. Rashida Tlaib can reasonably claim to have the toughest job in Washington. Being the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress.
She recently endured an outsized and unfair media firestorm for using a curse-word in relation to Donald Trump. As MediaMatters pointed out, Rep. Tlaib’s call to “Impeach the motherf---er” got five times the media coverage that Steve King’s comments advocating white supremacy did.
It’s safe to say US publications would not attempt to police a male politician’s speech in the same way.
Rep. Tlaib is also enduring attacks from bigoted people across the country who dislike the fact that she’s Palestinian-American. Some of this unhinged hate comes from elected officials. A particularly galling example is this Florida city commissioner who lobbed a vile smear at Rep. Tlaib:
Hallandale Commissioner Annabelle Lima-Taub signed an online petition seeking to remove Tlaib from office and posted the petition on her personal Facebook page.
“Proudly signed,” Lima-Taub wrote. “A Hamas-loving anti-Semite has NO place in government! She is a danger and [I] would not put it past her to become a martyr and blow up Capitol Hill.” — www.sun-sentinel.com/...
Yeah, you read that right, she straight-up compared Rep. Tlaib to a suicide bomber.
Worse, this unhinged opposition is not restricted to random small-city commissioners. Major Israeli newspapers have developed a consuming interest in everything to do with the Michigan Congresswoman, questioning her loyalties in some instances.
Interestingly enough, Tlaib herself has questionable “loyalties.” Upon her electoral victory, she was filmed celebrating draped in a Palestinian flag. She also told the Huffington Post in an interview that she was proud to be in Congress for Palestinians in the West Bank, and stated, “I’m going to be a voice to them.” Can you imagine the uproar if a Jewish member of Congress celebrated electoral victory by draping themselves in an Israeli flag and told the press that they were in Congress to “be a voice of the Israeli people?” — www.jpost.com/...
The Jerusalem Post’s editors seem to have forgotten their regular reporting on AIPAC conferences, where a veritable parade of American politicians vow to deliver aid and support to Israel while posing with Israeli flags of every sort. Entire swaths of Congress wax poetic when it comes to Israel, a fact deemed as unremarkable as the sun rising in the east. Yet, a lone Congresswoman’s statement that she would give voice to Palestinian issues is deemed to be beyond the pale.
The Times of Israel goes even further. They’ve run an article about a Palestinian-American activist who attended a large reception, followed by a dinner in Detroit meant to celebrate Rep. Tlaib. The activist took a photograph with Tlaib and posted it on social media. That seems to be the sole thread tying Tlaib to the story.
The reporter then points out that the activist appears to have expressed support for Hezbollah in the past and stops just short of implying Tlaib is guilty by association.
Yet even this transparent attempt to smear the newly elected representative can be turned into a teachable moment about how differently Palestinian and Israeli stories are covered in most media that we consume. The activist’s family is from Deir Yassin. Deir Yassin is a Palestinian village which was the scene of an infamous massacre in 1948 by Israeli armed forces. Over 100 people, including women and children were killed. The reporter leaves this unsaid, reserving his outrage for the fact that the activist is associated with a group advocating for Palestinian’s “right to return” to their homeland. The Israeli government grants a “right to return” to every Jewish person, but works hard to deny the same to Palestinians who leave for any length of time and their families.
I don’t envy Rep. Tlaib’s task. Purely because of her heritage, she will face immense scrutiny, of the sort that almost no first-term representatives does. At the same time, I am hopeful she will navigate these challenges. She has already demonstrated immense aplomb in the face of unfair criticism. She must, since we sorely need representatives in Congress who can speak credibly and honestly about our foreign policy and the impact it has on vulnerable populations like Palestinians.
So I’m rooting for her, as her home-town paper noted, her mere presence in Congress makes it look and think more like Detroit, and it should be said, like America.
— @subirgrewal