A Florida official said that Rashida Tlaib—one of the first Muslim women in Congress—might “blow up the White house”
Recently-elected Representative Rashida Tlaib is one of the first Muslim women to ever be elected to U.S. Congress. It’s been less than two weeks since she was sworn in, along with several other history-making congresswomen, but unfortunately, she’s already facing Islamophobic backlash. According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, a city commissioner in Florida has accused Tlaib of being an anti-Semite who might “blow up Capitol Hill.”
The Sun Sentinel reports that on January 8th, Hallandale Beach City Commissioner Anabelle Lima-Taub signed and shared a petition on Facebook asking for Tlaib to be removed from office. The petition cited a recent video that showed Tlaib promising to “impeach the mother f*cker” in reference to President Donald Trump.
"A Hamas-loving anti-Semite has NO place in government! She is a danger and [I] would not put it past her to become a martyr and blow up Capitol Hill" Lima-Taub wrote in her post.
The Facebook post in question was reportedly removed on January 14th—after the Sun Sentinel began asking about it. Lima-Taub did not return the paper’s request for comment.
Hallandale Beach Commissioner Annabelle Lima-Taub says Muslim congresswoman Rep. Rashida Tlaib might “blow up” Capitol Hill because Florida https://t.co/hKPGqU0Uw6 pic.twitter.com/TS5ETGyYUG
— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) January 16, 2019
As a Palestinian-American, Tlaib has expressed pride in her culture since joining Congress. According to BuzzFeed News, she took her oath of office with her hand on a Qur’an, and she wore a traditional Palestinian dress called a thobe to the swearing-in ceremony. She addressed Lima-Taub’s comments in a January 15th tweet.
"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," she wrote.
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.https://t.co/3THoHQmRVy
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) January 15, 2019
Several of Lima-Taub’s fellow commissioners told the Sun Sentinel that they condemned her comments. And in a statement issued to HuffPost, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called for Lima-Taub to step down.
"Xenophobic stereotypes must not be embraced by any elected official," CAIR-Florida’s communications director, Wilfredo Ruiz, told the website. "Her un-American, xenophobic statements establish that she is unfit to hold the Commissioner’s seat. She must apologize immediately and follow up that apology with her resignation."
Ignorant comments like this are unacceptable—especially from a person in power. We want more from our elected officials.
