Rashida Tlaib's 'Genocide' Claim Shut Down by White House

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby has rejected a claim by Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib that Israel's military offensive in Gaza was tantamount to "genocide," calling it "an irresponsible way of describing" the situation.

In a social media video on Friday, the Michigan representative, who is of Palestinian descent, called for a ceasefire—as she and other progressives have already requested—before displaying text which read: "Joe Biden supported the genocide of the Palestinian people. The American people won't forget."

Since around 1,500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants staged a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing an estimated 1,400 people including many civilians, Israel has conducted an intensive campaign of air strikes on Gaza and a subsequent ground offensive, with the objective of eliminating Hamas. According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, to date over 10,000 Palestinians have been killed.

Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Kirby noted that members of Congress "speak for themselves," but said that the National Security Council was not focused on the domestic political situation in the U.S.

The president has appeared to soften his rhetoric regarding the conflict since facing criticism from the left over his pro-Israel stance—recently responding to a heckler calling for a ceasefire that he supported a humanitarian "pause"—though one expert previously suggested to Newsweek that this was more likely in light of the realities on the ground in Gaza.

Asked to respond to Tlaib's accusation that the Biden administration was supporting genocide, Kirby said: "Well, of course we're not doing that. And what is happening in Gaza, again, as terrible as all of these civilian casualties are—and we know there's many, many thousands of them, and we don't want there to be any. I don't want to minimize that at all.

"But you can't look at what is happening in Gaza and say that it fits the definition of genocide. And clearly, we don't agree with that description. We think that is an irresponsible way of describing this. We don't associate ourselves with that. In our view, that is not what is happening here."

Newsweek approached Tlaib's office via email for comment on Tuesday.

When previous attacks on Israel have occurred, America has been able to pressure it into less aggressive retaliation. This time, having suffered the worst loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust, the Israeli government refused to commit to a ceasefire.

Commentators have suggested that any pause in its offensive would give the well-entrenched militants time to regroup.

But as Gaza is densely populated, and Hamas is thought to place militant bases within civilian populations, such an operation is likely to incur a high civilian death toll—something that is deeply unpalatable for those who see Palestinians as the victims of historic injustices.

Kirby said the White House did not want to see civilians hurt or killed, and that "we're going to continue working with our Israeli counterparts to try to minimize that to the maximum extent possible."

Other Democrats have increasingly distanced themselves from Tlaib over some of her recent remarks on the conflict.

When asked about whether she agreed with Tlaib's claim that Biden was complicit in a genocide, Pramila Jayapal, a U.S. representative for Washington state and chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told MSNBC that she was "not willing to say," but that her colleague was "not the first person to say this."

After Tlaib defended the use of the controversial pro-Palestinian phrase "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free"—which some Jewish organizations argue implies the erasure of Israel and is antisemitic, though others contest this saying it can have a number of meanings—she was openly criticized by fellow Michigan Democrats, while progressive Senator Bernie Sanders suggested the phrase was unhelpful in resolving a "horrendously complex issue."