Rashida Tlaib hosts anti-Israel event at the Capitol despite Kevin McCarthy’s move to block it
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) on Wednesday held an event at the Capitol decrying the founding of Israel as a “catastrophe” despite House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s move to block it.
The event, hosted by Tlaib and organized by nine anti-Israel groups, was moved at the last minute to the Senate side of the Capitol complex after McCarthy intervened late Tuesday to reserve the space in the Capitol Visitor Center where Tlaib’s event was initially slated to be held.
A source familiar with the matter told The Post that Senate committee chairs are responsible for approving rooms used for events.
Tlaib’s event was held in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Hearing Room in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, a panel chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
During the event, Tlaib confirmed that Sanders allowed her to use his committee’s room.
A source close to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he was “totally unaware” that the event would be hosted on the Senate side of the Capitol.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the ranking member of the Senate committee, released a statement after the event expressing strong disapproval.
“I wholeheartedly disapprove of the Majority permitting the use of the HELP Committee room for this divisive event,” he said. “The Capitol Grounds should not be used as a pedestal to legitimize anti-Semitic bigotry.”
A committee spokesman also said Sanders had not asked Cassidy for his permission to let Tlaib use the room for the event, and that the senator was not aware of it being held until later.
Tlaib, a member of the far-left “Squad” of congressional lawmakers, took to Instagram minutes before the event started and issued a cryptic message.
“I think folks need to be reminded, nothing stops Detroit,” Tlaib said in a video filmed right outside the Capitol Building.
The event, titled, “Nakba 75 & the Palestinian People,” was a standing-room-only affair, and it appeared that Tlaib and Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) – who received a standing ovation when recognized by Tlaib – were the only lawmakers present. Tlaib did not take questions from reporters as she entered the hearing room.
“Nakba” — which means “catastrophe” — is the Arabic term for the events surrounding the founding of Israel.
“The Nakba never ended. Each year our country sends billions to explicitly maintain an apartheid state and support ethnic cleansing without a second thought.” Tlaib said during her remarks.
The description for the event reads: “May 15th marks 75 years since the beginning of the Nakba, which means ‘catastrophe.’ Seventy-five years ago, Zionist militias and the new Israeli military violently expelled approximately three-quarters of all Palestinians from their homes and homeland in what became the state of Israel.”
The organizers also said they hope to educate members of Congress and their staffs on the “ongoing Nakba to which Israel continues to subject Palestinians.”
One of the groups behind the event, Jewish Voice for Peace, is described by the Anti-Defamation League as a “radical anti-Israel activist group that advocates for a complete economic, cultural and academic boycott of the state of Israel” and that “celebrates figures who have been convicted of engaging in terrorism.”
Liora Rez, the executive director of the nonprofit group StopAntisemitism, told The Post on Monday that another group behind the event, the Institute for Middle East Understanding, is “one of the top propagators of false anti-Israel rhetoric on social media.”
The House speaker told the Washington Free Beacon on Tuesday that he nixed the event from taking place on his side of the Capitol because “it’s wrong for members of Congress to traffic in anti-Semitic tropes about Israel.”
“As long as I’m speaker, we are going to support Israel’s right to self-determination and self-defense, unequivocally and in a bipartisan fashion,” McCarthy said, noting that he would instead host “a bipartisan discussion to honor the 75th anniversary of the US-Israel relationship.”
Tlaib’s office did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
