Rashida Tlaib slams anti-BDS bill, calls it 'unconstitutional'

The bill in the House Foreign Affairs Committee was cosponsored by 336 members of the committee from both parties.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) listens to testimony during a hearing of the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee on "Confronting White Supremacy (Part I): The Consequences of Inaction" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 15, 2019 (photo credit: JOSHUA ROBERTS / REUTERS)
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) listens to testimony during a hearing of the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee on "Confronting White Supremacy (Part I): The Consequences of Inaction" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 15, 2019
(photo credit: JOSHUA ROBERTS / REUTERS)
US Rep. Rashida Tlaib took to Twitter to criticize a bill aimed at condemning the anti-Israel BDS movement, calling the legislation an attempt to "silence opposition of Israel's blatantly racist policies" and "unconstitutional."
The bill in the House Foreign Affairs Committee was cosponsored by 336 members of the committee from both parties, and was co-written by Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Illinois) and Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-New York).
".@HouseForeign wants to move forward w/ #HR246 #AntiBDS bill to silence opposition of Israel's blatantly racist policies that demonize both Palestinians & Ethiopians," Tlaib wrote.
"Our 1st [Amendment] right to free speech allows boycott of inhumane policies. This bill is unconstitutional."

Tlaib is the first Palestinian-American women ever elected to Congress.
Tlaib has publicly endorsed the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which claims that Israel is an apartheid state that is oppressing the Palestinian people. The movement seeks to replicate the type of boycotts against South African government in the 1980s just before the fall of the apartheid regime.
“I personally support the BDS movement,” Tlaib has said.
Michael Wilner contributed to this report.