US Rep. Rashida Tlaib confirms growing support for Palestinians in US Congress
A growing number of US lawmakers are showing support for Palestinians and condemning the Israeli occupation in previously unheard-of terms, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib said this week.
In a webinar hosted by American Muslims for Palestine and the Jewish anti-occupation IfNotNow Movement, Tlaib pointed to a congressional letter she recently spearheaded alongside Congressman Mark Pocan.
Ten other lawmakers signed the letter, which called on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to revise Washington's approach towards Israel and support "the human rights and dignity of the Palestinian people".
Notably, the letter condemned Israel's occuption of the West Bank, East Al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip as "settler colonialism".
"Just a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable to have 12 members of Congress refer to Israeli occupation as colonialism, so I have no doubt that the needle on Palestinian human rights is moving," Tlaib told the webinar.
Pro-Palestine activism is making a "huge difference" in institutions of power, including in Congress, she was quoted as saying by Haaretz.
Tlaib went on to condemn Israel's refusal to vaccinate the occupied Palestinian population of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, also referenced in this month's letter to the secretary of state.
"We all need to raise awareness of how the systems that oppress Palestinians in Israel and occupied Palestine are mirrored in the United States, where racism in our health care system means that indigenous and Black Americans die at more than twice the rate of our white counterparts," Tlaib said.