{"id":108039,"date":"2021-04-05T15:32:49","date_gmt":"2021-04-05T15:32:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/radiofree.asia\/?guid=3c5df10de9eb676dc34e1ca5daeacb87"},"modified":"2021-04-05T15:32:49","modified_gmt":"2021-04-05T15:32:49","slug":"rashida-tlaib-says-that-support-is-growing-in-congress-for-palestinian-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/04\/05\/rashida-tlaib-says-that-support-is-growing-in-congress-for-palestinian-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"Rashida Tlaib Says That Support Is Growing in Congress for Palestinian Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"<a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/rashida-tlaib-says-that-support-is-growing-in-congress-for-palestinian-rights\/\"><img width=\"200\" height=\"133\" src=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/2021_0405-rashida-tlaib-200x133.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"A masked Rashida Tlaib wears blue against a blue sky\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/2021_0405-rashida-tlaib-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/2021_0405-rashida-tlaib-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/2021_0405-rashida-tlaib-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/2021_0405-rashida-tlaib-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/2021_0405-rashida-tlaib-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/2021_0405-rashida-tlaib-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/2021_0405-rashida-tlaib.jpg 2400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><p><span>Referring to a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepRashida\/status\/1370453083151605764\">recent letter<\/a><span> in which a dozen House Democrats called on the Biden administration to oppose Israeli &#8220;settler colonialism&#8221; in Palestine, Rep. Rashida Tlaib on Friday said that support is growing like never before in Congress for Palestinian human rights.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Haaretz<\/em><span> <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/us-news\/.premium-growing-support-in-u-s-congress-for-palestinian-rights-rashida-tlaib-says-1.9677225\">reports<\/a><span> <\/span>the Michigan Democrat&#8217;s remarks came during a webinar hosted by American Muslims for Palestine and the Jewish anti-occupation IfNotNow Movement, during which she condemned Israel&#8217;s &#8220;apartheid system&#8221; \u2014 including &#8220;medical apartheid&#8221; during the coronavirus pandemic \u2014 while sounding hopeful about the erosion of the reflexively pro-Israel stance that has long characterized Congress. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Just a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable to have 12 members of Congress refer to Israeli occupation as colonialism, so I have no doubt that the needle on Palestinian human rights is moving,&#8221; said Tlaib, the first Palestinian American ever elected to Congress. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Settler colonialism describes the reality of what the Netanyahu government is doing,&#8221; she continued, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right government. &#8220;They&#8217;re building illegal settlements for settlers to colonize Palestinian land. When you have separate roads and license plates and existing set of laws for different populations in your country, that is an apartheid system.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Thank you, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepRashida?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RepRashida<\/a>, for joining us today with your inspiring message that progressive politics must include <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/justice?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#justice<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/equality?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#equality<\/a> for <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Palestinians?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Palestinians<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/loUDCLj7E6\">pic.twitter.com\/loUDCLj7E6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 American Muslims for Palestine (@AMPalestine) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AMPalestine\/status\/1378076626987188225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 2, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Tlaib was referring to a March 12 letter that she \u2014 along with progressive House lawmakers including Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), and others \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2021\/03\/12\/house-progressives-implore-biden-state-dept-center-palestinian-rights\">sent<\/a><span> <\/span>to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the Biden administration to pursue a foreign policy &#8220;that supports the human rights and dignity of the Palestinian people.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>The letter cites &#8220;Israel&#8217;s policy of demolishing Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank&#8221; using U.S. equipment, its failure to fulfill its &#8220;obligation under international law&#8221; to vaccinate Palestinians against the coronavirus, and its &#8220;ongoing colonization&#8221; of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The message from this administration must be clear,&#8221; the letter asserts, &#8220;settler colonialism in any form \u2014 including Israel&#8217;s settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank \u2014 is illegal under international law and will not be tolerated.&#8221; <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">I am proud to join <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/repmarkpocan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RepMarkPocan<\/a> and 10 other of my colleagues in calling for <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecBlinken?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SecBlinken<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/StateDept?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@StateDept<\/a> to ground its engagement on Palestine and Israel in international law and human rights and undue the damage done by the Trump Admin. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DdO8qXFA4P\">pic.twitter.com\/DdO8qXFA4P<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepRashida\/status\/1370453083151605764?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 12, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>During the webinar, Tlaib said the coronavirus pandemic underscores how Israel&#8217;s &#8220;occupation threatens the lives and wellbeing of Palestinians, not only through military violence but by denying access to adequate healthcare.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>She then drew parallels between the situation in Palestine and racism in U.S. healthcare.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We all need to raise awareness of how the systems that oppress Palestinians in Israel and occupied Palestine are mirrored in the United States, where racism in our healthcare system means that Indigenous and Black Americans die at more than twice the rate of our white counterparts,&#8221; Tlaib said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When I see the United States sending nearly $4 billion in military aid to Israel, I not only see money to support occupation, but tax dollars that could be used to fund health care in my home district \u2014 one of the poorest in the nation,&#8221; she added. &#8220;This is just one example of the need to stop investing in war and start investing in healthcare.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Rejecting what critics call the &#8220;progressive except Palestine&#8221; mentality of many Americans and some members of Congress, Tlaib praised Jewish allies who have &#8220;spoken truth to power&#8221; and called on more people to take a stand for Palestinian rights. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The systems that oppress us and our struggles for freedom are so interconnected,&#8221; she said. &#8220;You don&#8217;t wait until it&#8217;s your community that&#8217;s targeted.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"syndicated-attribution\">This post was originally published on <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/rashida-tlaib-says-that-support-is-growing-in-congress-for-palestinian-rights\/\">Latest \u2013 Truthout<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/rashida-tlaib-says-that-support-is-growing-in-congress-for-palestinian-rights\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"133\" src=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/2021_0405-rashida-tlaib-200x133.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"A masked Rashida Tlaib wears blue against a blue sky\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-summary\">Tlaib also said the pandemic underscores how Israel&#8217;s &#8220;occupation threatens the lives and well-being of Palestinians.&#8221;<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2436,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[133,6,82,4,473,1142],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108039"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2436"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108039"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108041,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108039\/revisions\/108041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}