Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib refused to apologize Wednesday for saying on Tuesday that Israel is to blame for the hospital explosion that day in Gaza, an accusation that sparked political backlash against her from Republicans as Israel denies fault.
Tlaib joined thousands of protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza during a solidarity rally hosted by the left-leaning group Jewish Voice for Peace at the National Mall. She was visibly emotional, at times pausing her speech to openly weep and criticizing lawmakers who have not backed a ceasefire resolution.
They both made that statement based on reports at that time. Omar has since retracted that claim after US officials concurred with the evidence, but Tlaib hasn’t said anything. Sure, I agree that she should walk back the statement and issue a correction, but I don’t think anything about calling for a “ceasefire” is unhinged. It’s worth noting that she’s also Palestinian. This is an issue that literally hits home for her. I’m happy that she’s one of the few that is standing up to support the Palestinian people here, and not just blindly siding with Israel.
So you imply I’m blindly siding with Israel? Who are you talking to? I’ve stated why I support Israel so far and why Palestinian innocents will die as a result. I argued that calls for a simple ceasefire must be understood as calls to allow more attacks on Israel from Hamas. It is not possible to separate the two. How do you intend to cease fire when one side is chartered to destroy all Jews and Israel? What do you intend to tell Hamas so that they stop? If they say they will stop, what prevents them from biding their time until a future strike on Israel? You and your supporters have so far failed to answer any of these questions. It’s because I care about the deaths of innocents, that I cannot support a ceasefire at this time. I don’t believe that Palestinians should be spared so that Israelites die in their place.
No, I was implying that most people in Washington are blindly siding with Israel on this matter.
Israel doing a ceasefire doesn’t meant they just let Hamas blindly attack, literally no one is saying that. Israel is one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world. They declare a no man’s land, they monitor for attacks, and they allow for the evacuation/humanitarian support of Palestinian citizens. America has forces there - they need to help mediate and figure out what the next steps are. Because carpet bombing Gaza is not the acceptable answer.
This is the argument that’s been used for years to justify the countless death of Palestinian citizens. Check out the chart below…how one sided it is.
Hamas will simply hide under the guise of civilians and the threat to Israel still remains. There is no solution under a ceasefire, because Hamas has committed to the complete destruction of all Jews and Israel. Israel knows this. So they simply will not stop while Hamas exists, because they believe what Hamas says about their stated mission. It’s a nice chart you have showing deaths on each side. But that’s a utilitarian argument and I haven’t been arguing for the utility of sparing Palestine. What I’ve said is, Israel has a right to defend themselves, and the actions they take now are taken in the interests of that defense. So long as they are targeting Hamas, I support them. To do otherwise, is to excuse what Hamas did, because Israel has done bad things in the past too. It’s irrelevant. Hamas is responsible for their actions, and for the actions they’ve taken, they deserve the consequences. The best thing Palestinians can do is get out of the way.
So, by your argument, just “glassing” Gaza would be totally acceptable in your eyes? That the deaths of Palestinian people are acceptable collateral damage in an effort to defend themselves from Hamas? I mean, where do you draw the line between killing a few, and full blown genocide?
No, I would not ever support leveling Gaza. And, I note, Israel has not done that. They’ve declared war on Hamas. Not Palestinians. They’re going to incur more deaths to their people when they invade Gaza. They’re going to spend that blood making sure Hamas is eliminated, because there is no alternative when facing an enemy committed to your complete destruction. You kill good cells to destroy the cancer in your body.