Mia Khalifa Blasts Elizabeth Warren's Response to Palestinian Woman: 'Evil'

Mia Khalifa criticized Elizabeth Warren on Friday for her response to a Palestinian woman who called for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, by calling the senator "evil."

Hamas' October 7 surprise attack was the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza. According to Israeli officials, 1,200 people in Israel have been killed as of Saturday the Associated Press reported, while over 11,070 Palestinians have been killed, according to officials from the health ministry in Gaza, the AP said. Since the attack, which Hamas said was retribution for worsening conditions for Palestinians under Israeli occupation, Khalifa has been outspoken on her stance in the conflict as she previously voiced support for what she described as Palestinian "freedom fighters," which prompted backlash.

"I just want to make it clear that this statement in no way shape or form is [inciting] spread of violence," Khalifa wrote in a since-deleted X post on October 9 in response to criticism she received. "I specifically said freedom fighters because that's what the Palestinian citizens are...fighting for freedom every day."

Meanwhile, Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, has faced criticism from some for declining to follow other progressive lawmakers in calling for a ceasefire.

The former adult film actress took to X, formerly Twitter, on Friday to respond to a video posted by Jewish Voice for Peace-Boston, a progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization, in which a Palestinian woman is shown confronting Warren at a restaurant demanding she call for a ceasefire.

"This privileged crow really said 'I'm having dinner...' in response to '68 members of my family died' Evil. Putrid. Deplorable. I hope she never has a peaceful meal or bowel movement in her life again," Khalifa, a Lebanese-American, wrote.

Newsweek has reached out to Khalifa via email for comment.

In the video, the Palestinian woman states that she has lost 68 family members in Gaza, asking Warren how many more have to die before she calls for a ceasefire while Warren seemingly says "I'm sorry," but does not directly respond to the demand of a ceasefire.

The senator had previously spoken out about her support for Israel in the days after the October 7 attack in an emotional speech at a pro-Israel rally as she said there is "no justification for terrorism ever" and pledged that America would be a "steadfast ally" to Israel.

However, her language changed when Israel moved to cut off all supplies of food, water and electricity to Gaza, calling on Israel to "minimize civilian harm" and backed President Joe Biden's move to send $100 million in humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

"I'm working on trying to get a humanitarian corridor open into Gaza and get supplies delivered into Gaza," Warren wrote on X in October.

Newsweek has reached out to Warren via email for comment

Meanwhile, this is not the first time Warren has faced calls for a ceasefire as more than 260 staffers from her 2020 presidential campaign have signed an open letter to the senator in late October demanding that she call for an "immediate ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas.

In their letter, Warren's former presidential campaign staffers call on her to "advocate for de-escalation in the region" and for Hamas to return Israeli hostages. They also urged her to "condemn Israeli violations of international law and call for independent investigations of human rights violations in Gaza."

Warren responded to the letter at an event in Cape Cod and said, "I respect my former staffers, who are doing exactly what I have always encouraged them to do — stand up and fight for what they believe in."

Khalifia Responds to Representative Rashida Tlaib's Censure

Khalifa has continued to weigh in on the ongoing conflict and lawmakers' stance on Palestinians as she previously shared a statement on the censure of Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat, over what she said about the Israel-Hamas war that included backlash over a video the congresswoman posted featuring the chant "from the river to the sea," a phrase that has different meanings for different groups.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) describes the chant as a "call for a Palestinian state extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, territory that includes the State of Israel, which would mean the dismantling of the Jewish state."

However, Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American in Congress, responded in an X post that she views it as an "aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate."

Khalifa also shared a claim that all of the Democrats who voted to censure Tlaib had taken sizable donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a bipartisan, pro-Israel political action committee.

"Every single democrat that voted to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib got between $35k up to $1.2M in campaign donations from AIPAC, a pro-Israel policy lobby group," she wrote on X on Thursday.

However, one X user responded to Khalifa's claim by sharing a link to the website of OpenSecrets, a nonprofit organization that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. The website lists the several Democrats and Republicans in Congress who have received funds campaign funds from AIPAC. In addition, there is no evidence to suggest that those who voted to censure Tlaib did not do so independently of this. A number of Democrats listed as having received AIPAC funds did not vote to censure Tlaib.

Update, 11/11/2023 at 3:59 p.m. ET: The Israeli death toll from October 7 was changed to reflect the new lower number that Israeli officials have reported.