Rashida Tlaib Calls Out Israel 'Apartheid'

Democrat Rashida Tlaib joined international condemnation of Israel after a pair of violent police raids on Palestinian Muslims celebrating Ramadan this week, drawing characterizations of "apartheid" from a number of international humanitarian groups.

Multiple news outlets reported Israeli police stormed Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem for the second time Wednesday, violently clashing with worshippers hours after authorities arrested hundreds of Palestinians observing the Islamic holy month.

Israeli authorities claimed the arrests came after "hundreds of rioters and mosque desecrators barricaded themselves" inside, according to statements provided to media outlets with some accounts arguing the police response was in response to reports of a handful of extremists holding them hostage. Others claimed the arrests represented a crackdown on Islamic worship taking place in the Jewish nation-state, deepening longstanding rifts between cultures in the region.

The arrests—which took place concurrently with the Jewish celebration of Passover—drew widespread condemnation from the Islamic world and a number of international groups, and prompted retaliatory rocket strikes from Hamas forces in neighboring Lebanon.

Hours later, Israel Defense Forces conducted counterstrikes against the country, drawing concern about escalating tensions in the region, and further straining the U.S. relationship with one of its closest allies in the Middle East.

The Biden Administration has recently begun to push back against the country's conservative leader, President Benjamin Netanyahu, amid widespread protests over a series of proposed judicial reforms in the country, placing him in a precarious position as the U.S. has pushed to normalize ties between Israel and its Saudi Arabian allies, according to CNN.

And in recent days, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced a pair of planned visits to the country by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in what some believe could set the stage for a compromise on Netanyahu's proposed reforms.

Some, however, have begun to believe such deals are not worth the price. In the United Kingdom, controversial MP Jeremy Corbyn and Francie Molloy both issued statements condemning the arrests, with the former describing the "assault" on Palestinian worshippers at al-Aqsa mosque as an "egregious violation of human rights."

In a Thursday Twitter post, Tlaib—who is Palestinian-American—criticized media outlets who have characterized the violence as a "clash" between police and worshippers at what is considered one of Islam's holiest sites, saying it only serves to whitewash what it really was: apartheid in action.

"It's not 'clashes,'" wrote Tlaib. "It's called apartheid."

Others, like fellow progressive Democratic Congresswoman Cori Bush, called for the United States to withhold funding from Israel over the arrests.

"Brutal police violence against Palestinians," Bush wrote in response to the arrests. "Inside not just a place of worship—but one of the holiest Muslim sites. During Ramadan prayers. This is the kind of horror our government supports with billions of our tax dollars. It's time we stop funding Israeli apartheid."

Newsweek has reached out to Jeffries and McCarthy's offices for comment via email.