EXCLUSIVE: PA Rep. Guy Reschenthaler Blasts Rashida Tlaib, Demands Swift Action

[IceWizard]

EXCLUSIVE:
PA Rep. Guy Reschenthaler
Blasts Rashida Tlaib,
Demands Swift Action




JOSHUA KLEIN
5 Dec 2020


In an exclusive statement to Breitbart News on Friday,
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.) blasted
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) for recent anti-Israel and
antisemitic rhetoric, urging his colleagues “across the aisle”
to join him in calling for Tlaib’s immediate removal from
all congressional committees.




In response to Tlaib’s recent participation in an anti-Israel conference
with purported terrorist ties as well having recently retweeted a
slogan calling for the elimination of the Jewish State, the Western
Pennsylvania Republican sought to garner support from fellow
congressmen for his proposal.

“This week, Democrat Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib participated
in a forum led by one of the nation’s most anti-Israel advocacy
groups that featured other participants with reported connections
to Hamas, terrorism financiers, and the Boycott, Divestment, and
Sanctions (BDS) movement,”  the statement reads.

“Rep. Tlaib’s participation in this conference, coupled with her
recently deleted retweet of a slogan calling for the elimination
of Israel, are just the latest examples of a deeply disturbing
pattern of anti-Semitism that has been on display since she
was elected. Yet Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats refuse
to condemn her heinous behavior.”

Noting his history of speaking out against hatred and intolerance,
Reschenthaler expressed his awareness of the harm caused
when antisemitism and other forms of bigotry are allowed to spread.

“As a Member of Congress representing southwestern Pennsylvania,
I have seen firsthand what happens when we stand by and allow
anti-Semitism and intolerance to pervade our communities.
In 2018, eleven Jewish worshippers were killed and six others
were wounded at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
The day after this cowardly act of violence, I stood in solidarity
with Americans of all religions, races, and ethnicities at a vigil
honoring the victims of this heinous crime, and the first time
I ever spoke on the House floor was to denounce hatred and
bigotry in all forms.”

Reschenthaler also contrasted Republicans vehemently rejecting
such hate among their own while Democrats sit silently as
fellow Democrats continue to spew hate.

“House Republicans demonstrated we have zero tolerance for
hateful speech in our ranks. When outgoing Republican
Congressman Steve King made inexcusable racist remarks,
not only did he receive widespread condemnation from both
sides of the aisle, but Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy
rightfully stripped him of his committee assignments,” he wrote.

“Speaker Pelosi, on the other hand, is deafeningly silent. By
failing to act and hold Rep. Tlaib accountable, Pelosi is
emboldening her and others to continue spreading and
escalating this dangerous, hateful bigotry.”

Reschenthaler concludes by urging his fellow congressmen
on both sides of the political divide to join him promptly in
calling for Tlaib’s dismissal from her committee assignments.

“It is past time we show the American people that there is
no place in Congress, or anywhere, for this shameful intolerance.
I call on my colleagues across the aisle to join me in calling
for Rep. Tlaib to immediately lose her committee assignments,”
he wrote.

Last week, as Breitbart News reported, Tlaib retweeted a
post in honor of “International Day of Solidarity with the
Palestinian People” that read, “From the river to the sea,
Palestine will be free” before deleting the text which implied
that “Palestine” rests between the Jordan River and the
Mediterranean Sea, leaving no room for the current
State of Israel.

After deleting the text, the radical legislator replaced it
with a message saying she was thinking of her family
in the West Bank.

The deleted phrase was coined by Palestinian nationalists
in the 1960s, when the entire Palestinian movement
sought Israel’s elimination, and was later adopted by
Islamists, including the Hamas terrorist group.

Along with Reschenthaler, other congressmen were quick
to respond to Tlaib’s retweet.

Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-MI) called Tlaib “an embarrassment
to the Michigan congressional delegation.”

“Disgraceful,” wrote Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) who is
running against the anti-Israel Georgia Democratic Senate
candidate Rev. Raphael Warnock.

“No wonder [Rev. Warnock] has your full support — and
the support of the Squad,” she added. “He’s bashed Israel
for years, calling it an ‘apartheid state’ & celebrating
anti-Semite Jeremiah Wright. I will ALWAYS stand with Israel.”

“Where’s Speaker Pelosi?” asked Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney.
“Where’s Leader Hoyer? Where’s the media asking Dems
if they condemn this?”

Over Thanksgiving weekend, Tlaib along with Democratic
representatives Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Betty McCollum (Minn.)
headlined the annual conference of American Muslims for
Palestine (AMP), one of the most prolific anti-Israel advocacy
groups, lending their support to an organization which
champions boycotts of Israel and has reportedly partnered
with individuals tied to terrorism.

Judicial Watch, a conservative legal advocacy group, said,
“Congress should reprimand three of its members for participating
with financiers of Islamic terrorism in a conference sponsored
by an anti-Semitic group with deep ties to Hamas, the
Palestinian extremist group that calls for eradicating the
state of Israel.”

Tlaib is scheduled to participate in a December 15 panel
co-sponsored by the radical IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for
Peace groups, among others, under the banner
“Dismantling Antisemitism, Winning Justice,” though some
have expressed their reservations at having Tlaib speak on
matters pertaining to what qualifies as antisemitism.

“Criminals don’t decide what a crime is,” says Director of
Combat Anti-Semitism Sacha Dratwa. “With the same
rationale, anti-Semites can’t determine what Jew-hatred is.”





Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.