House Censures Rashida Tlaib: What does censure mean? Is there a punishment?

While many of her Democratic colleagues came to her defense, Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib was censured by the House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon. According to House.gov, the body can censure a member to “register the House’s deep disapproval of Member misconduct that, nevertheless, does not meet the threshold for expulsion.” Tlaib’s misconduct? Standing against what Holocaust scholars are calling a genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

If a member is censured, they are required to stand in the “well of the House while the Speaker or presiding officer reads aloud the censure resolution and its preamble as a form of public rebuke.” The congresswoman was given a chance to speak before the vote took place. Twenty Democrats joined the majority of Republicans to approve the censure; four GOP members voting against the resolution.

Rep. Tlaib singled out for her comments in support of Palestine

Rep. Tlaib, the only Palestinian member of Congress, repeatedly condemned the attack by Hamas and other resistance groups on 7 October, as well as the subsequent Israeli assault on Gaza. To date, the Gaza Health Ministry has reported 10,000 deaths, including 4,104 children, since the Israeli bombings began a month ago in response to the attack. While humanitarian aid is trickling in through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, the slow pace is turning a potentially dire situation into a catastrophic one marred by hunger, thirst, and a lack of essential medical supplies.

The Michigan congresswoman who represents the city of Dearborn, one of the largest Arab-American enclaves in the United States, has called for a ceasefire and for the United States to stop sending arms to Israel. Those who spoke in support of Rep. Tlaib called out the language of the resolution as a total misrepresentation of the Congresswoman’s comments.

The congresswoman stood accused of defending the attack by Hamas, with the resolution referring to the statement released by her office on 8 October. “I grieve the Palestinian and Israeli lives lost yesterday, today, and every day. I am determined as ever to fight for a just future where everyone can live in peace, without fear and with true freedom, equal rights, and human dignity,” begins the statement. Those who voted in favor of the censure took issue with the fact that she said that Israeli’s “apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance.” The opinion that Israel is an apartheid state is not an invention of the Congresswoman. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Israel’s leading human rights organization, B’Tselem have all published reports that Israel’s conduct towards the Palestinians can be classified as an apartheid.

The resolution also said that Rep. Tlaib “knowingly spread the false narrative that Israel intentionally bombed the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital on October 17.” There has been no third-party investigation into the events at the hospital, but the resolution stated that Israeli and US intelligence suggests that “Israel did not cause the explosion.”

Finally, the use of the slogan, “For the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” by Rep. Tlaib, was also seen as unacceptable by many members of Congress. The Anti-Defimation League (ADL) has said that the slogan is a call for the genocide of the Jewish people and that description of the state of Israel. However, this argument from the ADL is new, and many peace activists see the debate over the popular chant as a way to divert attention away from the crisis facing the civilians of Gaza.

Before the attack on 7 October, the organization had described the phrase as “a slogan commonly featured in pro-Palestinian campaigns.”

The congresswoman has remained clear-eyed and said that the censure will not stop her from continuing to talk about the plight of the Palestinian people, particularly those in Gaza who are suffering under constant bombardment. On the other side of the aisle, Republicans are applauding the symbolic significance of the censure and containing their attacks on the congresswoman.