Representative Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) is facing backlash for continuing to fly a Palestinian flag flying outside her congressional office despite the brutal terror attack Hamas carried out against Israel, prompting a House Republican to push for a ban on foreign flags in the Capitol.
Representative Max Miller (R., Ohio) introduced an appropriations amendment on Monday that would effectively prohibit the flying of any foreign flags, including Tlaib’s, in Congress.
“The halls of Congress belong to America. They should be reserved for flags that embody our great nation. The Palestinian flag should not have a place here,” Miller posted on X, in response to a Washington Examiner story about the flag. “That’s why I sponsored an appropriations amendment to end this silliness.”
While foreign flags cannot be promoted on Capitol Hill under the amendment, it does allow for flags of U.S. states, territories, or possessions to be displayed as well as the prisoner-of-war/missing-in-action flag.
Tlaib, a far-left “Squad” member of Palestinian descent, has been extremely critical of Israel during her time in Congress, especially in the last few days since Hamas’s invasion of Israel began Saturday.
While grieving both Palestinian and Israeli lives lost in the conflict, the Democratic congresswoman suggested Israel is an “apartheid government” that inevitably provoked Hamas to attack. According to Tlaib, the correct and only way for Israel to respond to the terror it faces is by “lifting the blockade, ending the occupation, and dismantling the apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance,” she said in a recent statement posted to her Instagram account.
“As long as our country provides billions in unconditional funding to support the apartheid government, this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue,” she added, arguing the U.S. should end its support for the Jewish state.
Other members of the Democratic Squad also received criticism from colleagues on their side of the aisle after condemning Israel. Representative Ritchie Torres (D., N.Y.), for one, called the Squad members’ comments about the “largest single-day mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust … reprehensible and repulsive.” Torres argued the U.S. should continue providing military support to Israel given the circumstances.
Tlaib erected the Palestinian flag outside her office in January, not because of the recent war. She has not taken it down since.
In the last three days, over 900 civilians in Israel, including at least 11 Americans, have been killed by Hamas terrorists. At least 765 people have reportedly been killed in retaliatory strikes in Gaza while thousands more have been injured on both sides.