by Joshua Gill
Florida officials and Muslim advocacy groups have lambasted a city commissioner for calling Rep. Rashida Tlaib a “Hamas-loving anti-Semite” who might “blow up Capitol Hill.”
Hallandale Beach Commissioner Annabelle Lima-Taub made the comments in a Jan. 8 Facebook post, announcing that she had signed an online petition demanding that Tlaib be removed from office. Lima-Taub, originally from Israel, argued that Tlaib should not be a part of the U.S. government given her allegiance to Palestine.
The post came five days after Tlaib urged Democrats to “impeach the motherf—,” referring to President Donald Trump.
“Proudly signed. A Hamas-loving anti-Semite has NO place in government! She is a danger and [I] would not put it past her to become a martyr and blow up Capitol Hill,” Lima-Taub wrote, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Lima-Taub reportedly removed her post shortly after the Sun-Sentinel reached out to her for comment, and has since faced harsh criticism from fellow Hallandale Beach commissioners and demands for an apology from Muslim advocacy groups.
This sort of hateful anti-Muslim rhetoric doesn’t happen in a vacuum – this President embraced it and Republicans have happily gone along with it.https://t.co/3THoHQmRVy
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) January 15, 2019
“This sort of hateful anti-Muslim rhetoric doesn’t happen in a vacuum – this President embraced it and Republicans have happily gone along with it,” Tlaib said.
“Commissioner Lima-Taub’s behavior is indefensible and a black eye for Hallandale Beach,” Commissioner Michele Lazaro said, according to the Sun Sentinel.
Vice Mayor Sabrina Javellana also condemned Lima-Taub’s post as “really inappropriate” and “outrageous.”
State director of the Muslim advocacy group Emgage, Vetnah Monessar, demanded an apology from Lim-Taub.
“That level of racism and bigotry has no place in Florida’s politics. Muslims are part of the fabric of this country. We demand that Commissioner Taub apologize to her constituents and the general public,” Monessar said.
Communications director for Florida’s chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Wilfredo Ruiz, went so far as to demand Lima-Taub’s resignation.
“Her un-American, xenophobic statements establish that she is unfit to hold the Commissioner’s seat,” Ruiz said in a statement, according to Huffington Post. “She must apologize immediately and follow up that apology with her resignation.”
Tlaib has drawn criticism for favoring Palestine. She stated publicly that she intends to be a “voice for Palestinians” and also gave a victory speech with the Palestinian flag draped around her shoulders after winning her primary race.
Tlaib also wore a traditional Palestinian Thobe to her swearing-in ceremony, during which she made a point to take her oaths on a copy of the Quran.
Tlaib was photographed with pro-Hezbollah activist Abbas Hamden, the executive director and co-founder of Al-Awda who attended her swearing-in ceremony and a subsequent dinner with her and her family.
She has also stated her support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which promotes boycotts of Israeli businesses and economic sanctions against Israel. The BDS movement has been linked through Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights to economic support of the terrorist organization Hamas.
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Joshua Gill is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation. Follow Joshua on Twitter.
Photo “Rashida Tlaib” by Rashida Tlaib.
Photo “Anabelle Lima-Taub” by Anabelle Lima-Taub.
Background Photo “Capital Hill” by Lars Di Scenza. CC BY-SA 4.0.
