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Tlaib Addresses the 'Lies' Being Spread About Her Holocaust Comment

Cortney O'Brien
Cortney O'Brien  |  May 13, 2019 9:45 AM

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) gained the wrath of her colleagues for yet another controversial remark about the Jewish people over the weekend. In an interview with Yahoo's SkullDuggery Podcast, Tlaib said she gets a "calming feeling" when she thinks about how her ancestors helped give asylum to Jews whose lives had been upended by the Holocaust. 

Her full comments were as follows:

"There’s always kind of a calming feeling, I tell folks, when I think of the Holocaust, and the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the fact that it was my ancestors — Palestinians — who lost their land and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity, their existence in many ways, have been wiped out, and some people's passports," Tlaib said on the podcast's most recent episode, published Friday. "And, just all of it was in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post-the Holocaust, post-the tragedy and the horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time. And, I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that, right, in many ways, but they did it in a way that took their human dignity away and it was forced on them."

House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) was among the Republican leaders abhorred by Tlaib's choice of words.

“Representative Tlaib’s comments about the Holocaust are sickening," Cheney said. "I call on Speaker Pelosi and Leader Hoyer to finally take action against Representative Tlaib and other members of the Democratic caucus who are spreading vile anti-Semitism. All of us, regardless of party, must stand as Americans against the evil of anti-Semitism. If the Democratic leadership continues to stand by in silence, they are enabling the spread of evil. History teaches us that anti-Semitism begins with words and becomes something far worse. Speaker Pelosi and Leader Hoyer must act now.”

Countering Cheney's response, Tlaib issued a clarification accusing Cheney of spreading lies and taking her remarks out of context. At no point, Tlaib's communications team insisted, did the congresswoman say the Holocaust itself gave her warm, fuzzy feelings.

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More often than not, these freshman Democrats are causing uproars or releasing clarifications. In her first week in Congress, Tlaib said it's time to impeach President Trump. Or, as she called him, "the motherf***er." Her fellow freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has issued statement after statement about her past comments about Israel, including how she once tweeted Israel had "hypnotized" the world. Both Omar and Tlaib are also supportive of the BDS movement, which encourages the boycott of Israeli goods and services.

If you're keeping track, Rep. Cheney had the last word on Monday morning - with Tlaib's own words.