A bipartisan group of legislators in the Arizona State House issued a statement on Thursday condemning Representative Rashida Tlaib for her “extremist, antisemitic views” after a Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) protest at Arizona State University (ASU) shut down a student government meeting and required police to escort Jewish students way from the building on Wednesday. The university’s SJP chapter plans for Tlaib to headline an event it is hosting Friday.
State Representatives Michael Carbone (R-Buckeye), Alma Hernandez (D-Tucson), Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale), and Consuelo Hernandez (D-Cochise) declared Tlaib’s views “are not welcome in Arizona,” stating that “Arizona is a safe place for Jews, both on and off campus, and the antisemitic rants regurgitated by SJP and others are not representative of Arizona values.”
The legislators noted students “supporting Israel have been verbally and physically assaulted on campus in recent days, requiring police escort,” apparently referring to the recent ASU student government meeting that was shut down due to a protester at an SJP protest throwing a rock at the building’s window, and chants from the crowd becoming loud enough to be heard inside.
The student government was considering a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) resolution for the university. The BDS movement seeks to put economic pressure on Israel until it grants “full equality” to Palestinians and ends its “occupation” of Palestinian territories, according to The New York Times, which reported that many Israelis believe these concessions would mean the total elimination of the nation of Israel.
Jewish News reported that those in favor and against the resolution were represented equally at the meeting, but the meeting was ended, with participants escorted away by police for their own safety, before a vote could be taken.
SJP confirmed Tlaib will appear at a Friday event in a social media post on Wednesday, bragging that it “will be hosting ‘Squad’ member” Tlaib on November 17.
The group also held a “Day of Resistance” rally in October on the ASU campus in Tempe just days after the devastating Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, when chapters of the group across the United States were called to action by the national organization. They were protesting “to demonstrate in support of Palestinians and to demand that the US government and University of Arizona disinvest from Israeli apartheid and violence against the Palestinian people,” and a second protest was planned at ASU’s Tucson campus was ultimately canceled.
Tlaib was censured by the U.S. House on November 7 for “promoting false narratives regarding the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, and calling for the destruction of the State of Israel.” Tlaib falsely claimed Israel bombed a hospital in Gaza, killing 500 Palestinians. Tlaib refused to retract her story when it was determined the hospital parking lot was likely hit by a rocket fired by a “Palestinian armed group,” meaning both the culprit she blamed and the number of victims she cited was likely incorrect.
Noting her censure, the Arizona legislators charge Tlaib with having “a history of espousing” “anti-Jewish sentiments that support the history of Israel” even before the October 7 attacks in Israel and declare “such extremist, antisemitic views should be condemned, and they are not welcome in the state of Arizona.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Rashida Tlaib” by Rashida Tlaib.
