Palestine Is No Longer the Third Rail for Democrats
Today’s cease-fire is a victory and a relief for Palestinians. But with Palestinians still under siege, the struggle against ethnic cleansing and occupation isn’t over. For Democrats, “progressive except Palestine” still won’t cut it.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) confronts President Joe Biden about his administration’s continued support for Israel on a tarmac in Detroit, Michigan, on May 18, 2021. (Nicholas Kamm / AFP via Getty Images)
On May 18, amid the growing carnage of the Israel’s eleven-day assault on Gaza, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D‑MI) — the only Palestinian American member of Congress — confronted President Joe Biden on a tarmac in Detroit over his administration’s continued support for Israel. According to the New York Times, Tlaib told the president he was enabling crimes against humanity and failing to protect Palestinian lives.
Less than a week earlier, while Israeli air strikes flattened residential buildings and killed hundreds of civilians, members of the US Congress did something they had never done before on the House floor: openly criticize the state of Israel. Progressive Democrats took issue not only with Israel’s assault on Gaza but with its longstanding reality of occupation, ethnic cleansing, and, yes, apartheid.
Rep. Mark Pocan (D‑WI) had organized the bloc in support of Palestinian rights; Tlaib spoke first. “To read the statements from President Biden, Secretary Blinken, General Austin, and leaders of both parties, you’d hardly know Palestinians existed at all,” Tlaib said. She continued:
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