Wasserman Schultz condemns congressional colleague’s ‘river to the sea’ comment about Israel and Jews
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz condemned U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s use of a “phrase (that) means eradicating Israel and Jews.”
Wasserman Schultz, of Weston, is the first Jewish woman from Florida elected to Congress. Tlaib, from Michigan, is the first Palestinian American woman to serve in Congress.
Both are Democrats.
Tlaib has a history of comments about Israel that have been widely condemned by many of her colleagues, including Jewish Democrats from South Florida, over the years. She is a member of the Squad, a small group of outspoken progressive Democrats in Congress who espouse far-left policies.
Her latest missive was launched Friday on social media. First she posted a video in which she accused President Joe Biden of supporting a “genocide” of Palestinians and said that voters would remember, unfavorably, how he responded to the Israel-Hamas war when he’s facing reelection.
Tlaib subsequently posted this comment: “From the river to the sea is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate. My work and advocacy is always centered in justice and dignity for all people no matter faith or ethnicity.”
Wasserman Schultz forcefully countered Tlaib in her Sunday post on X, formerly known as Twitter:
“This phrase means eradicating Israel and Jews. Period. Dressing it up in a new PR ploy won’t change that. Only a return of hostages, eliminating Hamas and liberating Gaza from oppressive terror will save civilian lives and secure the peace, justice and dignity you seek,” Wasserman Schultz wrote.
U.S. Reps. Lois Frankel, a Palm Beach County Democrat, and Jared Moskowitz, a Broward-Palm Beach County Democrat, both of whom are also Jewish, didn’t name Tlaib or link to her in their social media reactions over the weekend.
But their messages were clear: “‘From the river to the sea’ is not inspirational, it’s aspirational. And the people who use it (like Hamas), call for the elimination of the State of Israel. The statement has no other meaning. Just like the term ‘Final Solution’ has no other meaning,” Moskowitz wrote Saturday evening. He also reposted Wasserman Schultz’ denunciation.
“‘From the river to the sea’ has historically been a call to wipe Israel off the earth; it does nothing to further peace. Hamas is committing acts of terror. They should release the hostages and surrender,” Frankel wrote Sunday afternoon.
The Detroit News reported that Tlaib has said in the past that “she’s not calling for the expulsion of Jews from Israel or their destruction but for peaceful co-existence and equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis.”
The Detroit News also reported that Tlaib’s campaign sent an email blast on Sunday promising she “will not back down in leading our movement and demanding a ceasefire now” in the war. “The lie that any critique of the Israeli government is antisemitic sets a dangerous precedent, and it’s being used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our country.”
The American Jewish Committee’s Translate Hate Glossary defines “From the River to the Sea” as a “catch-all phrase symbolizing Palestinian control over the entire territory of Israel’s borders, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.”
AJC said “‘From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free’ is a common call-to-arms for pro-Palestinian activists, especially student activists on college campuses. It calls for the establishment of a State of Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, erasing the State of Israel and its people. It is also a rallying cry for terrorist groups and their sympathizers … (including) Hamas, which called for Israel’s destruction in its original governing charter in 1988 and was responsible for the October 7, 2023 terror attack on Israeli civilians, murdering over 1,000 people in the single deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.”
AJC is led by former U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, who was a Democrat representing Broward and Palm Beach counties until he resigned to become the organization’s CEO last year.
On Saturday, Deutch endorsed social media posts from the state attorney general and president pro tem of the state Senate in Michigan, which Tlaib represents, condemning her comments.
Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Facebook, Threads.net and Post.news.