Rashida Tlaib Blames 'Bigots' for Israel Remark Backlash

Representative Rashida Tlaib hit back at her critics, saying that any comments accusing her of supporting the Hamas attacks in Israel are "rooted in bigoted assumptions about my faith and ethnicity."

Tlaib, who is the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, has fielded immense backlash for her comments following Saturday's surprise Hamas attack on Israel. Her statement addressing the loss on both sides and her decision to keep the Palestinian flag displayed outside her office on Capitol Hill has been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats alike.

On Wednesday, Tlaib, one of Israel's fiercest critics in Congress, broke her silence on the pushback, telling Michigan Advance, "I do not support targeting and killing of civilians, whether in Israel or Palestine. [The] fact that some have suggested otherwise is offensive and rooted in bigoted assumptions about my faith and ethnicity."

In recent days, Tlaib has been badgered by questions about the atrocities committed by Hamas, faced calls to resign and even been subject to a call out from the Biden White House, which called it "wrong" and "repugnant" for lawmakers to see "two sides" to the issue.

Without mentioning Hamas in her Sunday statement following the attack in Israel, Tlaib said she grieves both "the Palestinian and Israeli lives lost yesterday, today and every day," and called for an end to U.S. aid to Israel.

"The failure to recognize the violent reality of living under siege, occupation, and apartheid makes no one safer," Tlaib said. "As long as our country provides billions in unconditional funding to support the apartheid government, this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue."

Her remarks were a departure from the responses of other U.S. politicians who urged Congress to quickly approve military aid to Israel's Iron Dome. The Michigan Democrat was joined by a few members of the so-called progressive Squad in her calls for an end to U.S. aid.

Representative Cori Bush said the nation "must do our part to stop this violence and trauma by ending U.S. government support for Israeli military occupation and apartheid," while Representative Ilhan Omar urged Americans to also honor the Palestinians lost in the fighting.

"Just as we honor the humanity of the hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians and 9 Americans who were killed this weekend, we must honor the humanity of the innocent Palestinian civilians who have been killed and whose lives are upended," Omar said on Monday.

Representative Steny Hoyer also said that while he disagreed with Tlaib's comments on Israel, he felt that she had every right to keep the Palestinian flag in front of her office.

"She's Palestinian, that doesn't mean she's a terrorist. It doesn't mean she condones this. I fly a Danish flag at my house," Hoyer told reporters. "I disagree with some of her comments. She lamented the death on both sides, and I think she condemned...terrorist activity."