Jeffries defends Tlaib protest at Netanyahu speech

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is defending Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) in the wake of her silent protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the House chamber Wednesday, saying she was merely representing voters in her district.

“Rashida Tlaib is an elected member of Congress,” Jeffries said during a press briefing Thursday in the Capitol. “She has a responsibility to her district in the same way that I have a responsibility to my district.”

Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, made waves during Netanyahu’s address to Congress on Wednesday when she held up a small sign accusing the Israeli prime minister of being a “war criminal” and “guilty of genocide.” 

The charges came in protest to Netanyahu’s handling of Israel’s war with Hamas sparked by the terrorist group’s attack on Israel last October, which led to the death of roughly 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 250 more, according to Israeli authorities.

In response, Netanyahu has vowed to eliminate Hamas, launching military operations in Gaza that have led to mass the displacement of Palestinians and a humanitarian crisis that borders on famine, according to the United Nations and international aid groups. Almost 40,000 people have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, with women and children making up the majority of identified deaths.

In May, the top prosecutor at the International Criminal Court recommended charges against several Hamas leaders, for their role in the Oct. 7 massacre, and against Netanyahu and his defense minister, for their response to those attacks. Among the charges against the Israeli leaders: using starvation as a weapon of war and intentionally targeting civilians.

Netanyahu, in Wednesday’s address to a joint meeting of Congress, rejected the accusations outright, calling the charges of starvation “a complete fabrication” and arguing that Israeli forces have taken pains to protect civilians as they hunt for Hamas militants. 

“The [Israeli military] has dropped millions of fliers, sent millions of text messages and hundreds of thousands of phone calls to get Palestinian civilians out of harm’s way,” he said.

Still, there has been plenty of collateral damage stemming from Israel’s operations. Aside from the tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths, hundreds of aid workers and journalists have also been killed amid the fighting. In April, seven aid workers for World Central Kitchen, a food relief group run by the celebrity chef José Andrés, were killed in an errant Israeli strike that churned headlines around the globe.

Tlaib, who represents a significant Muslim population in her district outside of Detroit, has been perhaps the most vocal of Netanyahu’s critics on Capitol Hill. On Wednesday, she brought a Palestinian American to the speech who has lost 150 members of his extended family in the war in Gaza. And ahead of the speech, Tlaib issued a statement condemning congressional leaders for bringing the Israeli leader to the Capitol, calling the invitation “utterly disgraceful.” 

“He should be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court,” she said. 

Republicans wasted no time attacking Tlaib for her protest during the speech. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) referred to Tlaib as “Iran’s useful idiot,” while Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) said she should be “run out of town.”

Tlaib was hardly alone in protesting Netanyahu’s visit. Scores of other Democrats, including prominent figures like former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), highlighted their opposition by boycotting the speech and visiting instead with the family members of Oct. 7 hostages still held in Gaza. 

Afterward, Pelosi characterized the speech as “by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States.”