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Rashida Tlaib, the Democratic Representative from Michigan, has once again demonstrated her unwavering commitment to the anti-Israel cause by introducing an amendment to the Republican-led DETERRENT Act.
This legislation is designed to curb the influence of foreign gifts and contracts at American universities, and has been met with Tlaib's insistence that Israel's relationships with these institutions must be subjected to intense scrutiny.
One can almost hear the echoes of age-old prejudices in her words as she spoke on the House floor, demanding that Israel be added to the "countries of concern" meddling in American academia.
Tlaib, a figure who has made no secret of her disdain for Israel, [and thus, the Jews] had the audacity of dope to claim that the Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions (DETERRENT) Act is nothing more than a Republican ploy to "scapegoat" the woes of US higher education on nations like Iran, Qatar, and China. Yet, the act itself, if passed, would sensibly amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to limit contracts with adversarial foreign entities, mandate disclosure of gifts and contracts from foreign actors by faculty and staff, and require transparency regarding certain foreign investments within endowments.
In a moment of breathtaking absurdity, Tlaib declared, "We know that President Trump is the biggest threat to our education system in America right now, not someone in North Korea or China, so please give me a break."
Both American and Israeli leaders have rightly condemned these actions by the ICC and ICJ as groundless and indicative of a deep-seated anti-Israel bias. Yet Tlaib, in her speech, pointed to her colleagues' support for Israel as evidence of their supposed failure in "holding countries with human rights abuses accountable" and their reluctance to "uphold international law."
In the 17 months since Hamas's barbaric invasion and massacre across southern Israel on October 7, 2023, Tlaib has unleashed a torrent of vitriol against the Jewish state. As the only Palestinian American woman in Congress, she has repeatedly accused Israel of "genocide" and "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza, as well as causing a famine—claims that fly in the face of the Israeli military's efforts to minimize civilian casualties and facilitate aid to the enclave.
The issue gained urgency in Washington following the October 7 attacks, as campuses became breeding grounds for anti-Zionist [read: anti-Semites] and anti-American protests. Critics have long warned of the lavish financial gifts and investments bestowed upon American universities by countries like Qatar, which harbors high-ranking Hamas leaders living in luxury outside Gaza while severely restricting academic freedom at American schools operating within its borders.
Tlaib's outrage over Khalil's arrest led her to pen a letter to Homeland Security's Kristi Noem, demanding that he be "freed from DHS custody immediately." The missive further alleged that Khalil's arrest exemplifies the Trump administration's "anti-Palestinian racism" and accused the White House of attempting to dismantle the "Palestine solidarity movement in this country."
Tlaib, a figure who has made no secret of her disdain for Israel, [and thus, the Jews] had the audacity of dope to claim that the Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions (DETERRENT) Act is nothing more than a Republican ploy to "scapegoat" the woes of US higher education on nations like Iran, Qatar, and China. Yet, the act itself, if passed, would sensibly amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to limit contracts with adversarial foreign entities, mandate disclosure of gifts and contracts from foreign actors by faculty and staff, and require transparency regarding certain foreign investments within endowments.
In a moment of breathtaking absurdity, Tlaib declared, "We know that President Trump is the biggest threat to our education system in America right now, not someone in North Korea or China, so please give me a break."
She then tacked on an amendment to ensure the bill includes "countries whose leaders have active arrest warrants issued against them by the International Criminal Court [ICC]" and "countries actively on trial with the International Court of Justice [ICJ] for violating the Genocide Convention and the Geneva Conventions."
This, of course, is a thinly veiled attack on Israel, whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant face ludicrous ICC arrest warrants for alleged war crimes in Gaza, while South Africa pursues a baseless case at the ICJ accusing Israel of "state-led genocide" in its defensive war against the terrorist group Hamas.
Both American and Israeli leaders have rightly condemned these actions by the ICC and ICJ as groundless and indicative of a deep-seated anti-Israel bias. Yet Tlaib, in her speech, pointed to her colleagues' support for Israel as evidence of their supposed failure in "holding countries with human rights abuses accountable" and their reluctance to "uphold international law."
The irony is palpable as she accuses her fellow lawmakers of protecting the "Israeli government apartheid regime" by supporting the detainment and arrest of non-citizen college students who protest Israel.
In the 17 months since Hamas's barbaric invasion and massacre across southern Israel on October 7, 2023, Tlaib has unleashed a torrent of vitriol against the Jewish state. As the only Palestinian American woman in Congress, she has repeatedly accused Israel of "genocide" and "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza, as well as causing a famine—claims that fly in the face of the Israeli military's efforts to minimize civilian casualties and facilitate aid to the enclave.
"This is not about transparency, as it is claimed. It’s truly about destroying freedom of speech," Tlaib asserted, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the DETERRENT Act addresses legitimate concerns over foreign adversaries using financial influence to censor free speech and spread anti-Western propaganda in American universities.
The issue gained urgency in Washington following the October 7 attacks, as campuses became breeding grounds for anti-Zionist [read: anti-Semites] and anti-American protests. Critics have long warned of the lavish financial gifts and investments bestowed upon American universities by countries like Qatar, which harbors high-ranking Hamas leaders living in luxury outside Gaza while severely restricting academic freedom at American schools operating within its borders.
The legislation also coincides with the Trump administration's efforts to detain and deport non-citizens accused of supporting terrorist groups, such as Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian legal resident from Syria apprehended for supporting Hamas after completing post-graduate studies at Columbia.
Tlaib's outrage over Khalil's arrest led her to pen a letter to Homeland Security's Kristi Noem, demanding that he be "freed from DHS custody immediately." The missive further alleged that Khalil's arrest exemplifies the Trump administration's "anti-Palestinian racism" and accused the White House of attempting to dismantle the "Palestine solidarity movement in this country."
One might ask whether Tlaib's unwavering support for such figures and her relentless attacks on Israel reveal more about her own biases than those she claims to oppose.
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