A South Florida official on Tuesday refused to apologize after calling Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) an anti-Semite who might “blow up Capitol Hill.”
Anabelle Lima-Taub, a city commissioner in Hallandale Beach in Broward County, doubled down on her remarks against Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress.
{mosads}Lima-Taub wrote on her Facebook page that she remains “unapologetic” after calling Tlaib a “Hamas-loving anti-Semite” who was a danger to the country.
“[I] would not put it past her to become a martyr and blow up Capitol Hill,” Lima-Taub wrote initially in a post online.
The commissioner, who is Jewish, signed an online petition seeking to remove Tlaib from office after the lawmaker made comments about President Trump, saying she wanted to “impeach the motherf—er.”
On her Facebook page, the commissioner describes herself as a “nonconventional politician”
“That means all comments made won’t be stained by politically correct (aka bogus) statements,” her Facebook page reads.
Tlaib decried Lima-Taub’s comments as “hateful anti-Muslim rhetoric” on Tuesday.
“This sort of hateful anti-Muslim rhetoric doesn’t happen in a vacuum — this President embraced it and Republicans have happily gone along with it,” Tlaib wrote on Twitter.
Lima-Taub’s colleagues told The Sun-Sentinel newspaper that they seek a public reprimand for her comments against Tlaib.
Fellow Hallandale Beach Commissioner Michele Lazarow told the newspaper that seeks to censure Lima-Taub for promoting bigotry, fueling hatred and creating a hostile environment for Hallandale Beach’s Muslim community.
“Instead of apologizing for her remarks, Commissioner Lima-Taub has doubled down, even going as far as demanding an apology from Congresswoman Tlaib,” Lazarow said. “I believe we must take action to show all who are watching that Hallandale Beach isn’t a place that tolerates hatred and bigotry.”
Lazarow added that she hopes Lima-Taub “comes to her senses” and issues an apology.
The Hill has reached out to Tlaib’s office for comment.