Media top headlines May 11
Martha MacCallum pressing a teachers union president over critical race theory and more round out today's top media headlines
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., claimed Monday, with no pushback from MSNBC, that the Israeli government is guilty of "promoting racism and dehumanization" under an "apartheid system" that discriminates against Palestinians.
The member of the far-left "Squad" made the claim while appearing alongside the liberal network's Ayman Mohyeldin to give her reaction to violence unfolding across Israel. Tlaib also compared the plight of the Palestinians to Black people in the United States facing police brutality.
Mohyeldin began the discussion by asking Tlaib for her reaction to the developments taking place across Israel, in reference to the increased tensions in Jerusalem and exchanges between Hamas and Israeli forces over the past few weeks.
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"This is an apartheid system, Ayman. Israeli’s own prominent human rights organization B'Tselem has declared it, Human Rights Watch has declared it," Tlaib said, "and Palestinians on the ground have been telling us for decades that ... their homes have been demolished, that they have been targeted, that violence has been met by Israeli led forces under Netanyahu’s racist policies."
She went on to claim, without providing evidence, that the message the U.S. is sending to Palestinians fighting against the "apartheid system" is the same message being told to Black Americans "fighting against police brutality," which is that there is no form of acceptable resistance to state violence.
"We need to stop and look at the fact that our own country is enabling it with billions of dollars every year being issued to Israel, even though they are promoting racism and dehumanization," Tlaib said, without providing specific examples.
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Mohyeldin didn't give any pushback to Tlaib or ask for any evidence to reinforce her claims, but instead asked her if she felt the Biden administration needed to take a stronger stance towards Israel in response to the actions taken by Israeli forces.
Tlaib, who is Palestinian-American, responded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ran for re-election based on anti-Arab rhetoric and needed to be held accountable by international human rights laws. Additionally, she claimed Netanyahu was "allowing" Israeli forces to side with Israeli citizens in removing Palestinians from their homes, referring to a dispute over the evictions of dozens of palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem.
"U.S. taxpayer dollars should not be used to commit human rights violations. That needs to be said. I have yet to hear anybody from the Biden administration declare that, that our money will not be used to degrade, to dehumanize, and to kill or evict people out of their homes," she concluded.
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Mohyeldin again failed to ask Tlaib to provide any evidence to back her claims before continuing.
Tlaib took to social media to share similar claims but took on heavy criticism, including from Israel's ambassador to the U.S.