Rashida Tlaib says Palestinians created 'safe haven' for Jews after Holocaust

Tlaib's interview was featured on a Skullduggery podcast titled "From Rashida with Love" and discussed the past, the present and the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

MAY 12, 2019 14:42

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) shares a fist bump with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) (photo credit: REUTERS/JIM BOURG) — Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) shares a fist bump with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI)

(photo credit: REUTERS/JIM BOURG)

Palestinian-American US Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., claimed in an interview on Saturday that her ancestors provided a "safe haven" for Jews after the Holocaust.

Tlaib's interview, featured on a Skullduggery podcast titled "From Rashida with Love," which now appears to be "not found or is unavailable," discusses the past, the present and the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"There’s always kind of a calming feeling when I think of the tragedy of the Holocaust, that it was my ancestors – Palestinians – who lost their land and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity and their existence, in many ways, has been wiped out… in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post-Holocaust, post-tragedy and the horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time. And I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that in many ways,” Tlaib said.

Tlaib also attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "We can smell it from far away that, no, you don’t want to look at my grandmother in the eye, Netanyahu, and say ‘You are equal to me. You are as human as I am to you.’”

When asked about the two-state solution, Tlaib criticized Netanyahu and said she does not believe a two-state solution is currently possible because Netanyahu's doctrine prevents it. She added that the only way for a two-state solution to be possible today would be if Netanyahu "gets up tomorrow morning and decides: ‘I’m going to take down the walls, I’m not going to expand settlements, enough is enough.'"

Well-known Australian Imam Mohamad Tawhidi, also known as the "Imam of peace," reacted on Twitter on Sunday, quoting a first report on the podacast by the Hebrew daily Haaretz. He wrote, "You mean my ancestors came and converted yours into Islam by the sword (from Judaism/Christianity), and now you think that by changing your beliefs you can also change Jerusalem’s Jewish identity. Nice try. You’re the guest here, not the Jewish people."

You mean my ancestors came and converted yours into Islam by the sword (from Judaism/Christianity) and now you think that by changing your beliefs you can also change Jerusalem’s Jewish identity. Nice try. You’re the guest here, not the Jewish people. https://t.co/kATgRJ37ne
— Imam Mohamad Tawhidi (@Imamofpeace) May 12, 2019

This is not the first time that Tlaib has made controversial comments about the Jewish state. The day of her inauguration, she hung a map of the world in her office and placed a sticky note over Israel on which she wrote the word Palestine. In addition, she has come under attack for close ties with Muslim Brotherhood activists and some terrorist supporters.

Most recently, the organization Stop Antisemitism put up a petition calling on US Special Envoy Elan Carr to research Tlaib's connection to the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR), which has been found to fund terrorism.