16 | JUNE 6 • 2024 
J
N

R

aising her fist in the 
air to a cheering crowd 
of hundreds of anti-
Israel activists at the People’s 
Conference for Palestine 
on May 24-26 at Detroit’s 
Huntington Place, U.S. Rep. 
Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) accused 
President Joe Biden of being 
“complicit with the genocidal 
maniac Benjamin Netanyahu” 
and blamed the societal ills 
facing her constituents — 
from low Social Security 
payouts, homelessness, lack 
of affordable healthcare and 
no clean drinking water in 
Detroit’s public schools — on 
the fact that U.S. tax dollars 
are being used to send “bombs 
and bullets” to aid Israel.
“Every single bullet, gun, 

weapon and bomb that we 
send is a sacrifice of our own 
schools here at home,” Tlaib 
told a cheering crowd who 
passed the time waiting for 
Tlaib’s surprise appearance by 
dancing to music inspired by 
the first intifada of the 1980s. 
“When I go into many 
schools here in Detroit, [there 
are] garbage bags over their 
drinking fountains because 
they don’t have clean water. 
Every single bomb, bullet and 
weapon we send is less money 
to house the unhoused. 
“The veterans we send off 
to endless wars based on lies 
come back needing healthcare 
and have nowhere to go. But 
we [send weapons to Israel] 
for genocide.” 

Tlaib made no mention 
of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks 
carried out by Hamas, the 
massacre of some 1,200 
Israelis and other foreign 
nationals, or the ongoing 
plight of the remaining 
hostages, about six of whom 
are American citizens. 
“Israel is literally allowing 
children to starve to death 
with our money,” Tlaib said, 
as the audience erupted with 
cheers. “Israeli snipers are 
deliberately targeting children. 
One hundred Palestinian 
journalists have been killed 
and mass graves have been 
unearthed in Gaza by the 
Al-Shifa Hospital, where the 
bodies of mostly women and 
children showed signs of 

torture, execution and being 
burned alive.” 
She then told the crowd she 
hoped “President Biden can 
hear us loud and clear.” 
More than once, Tlaib said 
that Biden was complicit in 
genocide because he refuted 
claims from international 
critics, including the 
International Criminal Court, 
that Israel is committing 
genocide. 
“
Attacking the authority of 
the International Criminal 
Court and interfering in the 
legal process is nothing more 
than an attempt to prevent the 
genocidal maniac Netanyahu 
from being held accountable 
for both crimes against 
humanity. You are an enabler, 

Rep. Tlaib unleashes diatribe at ‘People’s Conference for Palestine.’
Railing Against Israel

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

FACEBOOK

Rashida 
Tlaib