THE BLAZE
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) issued a statement in which he noted that the phrase “from the river to the sea,” is broadly viewed as a call for Israel to be destroyed.
“Echoing slogans that are widely understood as calling for the complete destruction of Israel – such as from the River to the Sea – does not advance progress toward a two-state solution. Instead, it unacceptably risks further polarization, division and incitement to violence,” Jeffries said in the statement marking the one-month anniversary of the heinous Hamas terror attacks perpetrated against Israel in October.
“There are millions of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza who legitimately aspire to peaceful self-determination and economic dignity. The continued presence of Hamas undermines that cause, further making clear that the ongoing effort to decisively defeat this brutal terrorist regime must succeed,” Jeffries noted.
Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan shared a video last week that apparently included clips of crowds saying “from the river to the sea.” In another post, Tlaib claimed that the phrase “is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate.”
Even before she had made the controversial posts, Tlaib was already being targeted by a censure resolution put forward last week by a Republican. Though that resolution was tabled last week, the Democratic lawmaker is being targeted with censure resolutions put forward by Republicans this week.
“It’s a shame my colleagues are more focused on silencing me than they are on saving lives, as the death toll in Gaza surpasses 10,000,” Tlaib said in a statement on Monday. “Rather than acknowledge the voice and perspective of the only Palestinian American in Congress, my colleagues have resorted to distorting my positions in resolutions filled with obvious lies. I have repeatedly denounced the horrific targeting and killing of civilians by Hamas and the Israeli government, and have mourned the Israeli and Palestinian lives lost.”
