During Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the U.S. Congress on July 24, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh, held up a sign that read “War Criminal” on the front and “Guilty of Genocide” on the back. This was in protest of the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation army against civilians there.
The photo circulated widely on social media, and Tlaib's stance received significant positive engagement on Arab platforms. However, the negative response was more pronounced in the American media, which fueled hate speech and incitement against Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and Somali-American Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
Fox News Ignores Hate Speech Against Rashida Tlaib in Its Post
The American Fox News channel posted a report on Facebook about the criticism directed at Representative Rashida Tlaib for holding a sign labeling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a 'War Criminal' during his speech before Congress and her ongoing criticism of Israel. The channel also highlighted in the post Senator Thom Tillis' description of Rashida Tlaib as an 'absolute disgrace.'
Misbar monitored the number of comments containing hate speech in the interactions on the channel's post against Representative Rashida Tlaib, which were not deleted or hidden but rather left as they were by the channel.
Below is a sample of the comments that included incitement and hate speech against Representative Rashida Tlaib, which Fox News did not block or delete.
Continued Incitement Against Rashida Tlaib From Within Congress
The anti-Rashida Tlaib stance has taken on an influential media character, as it has become a trend on social media platforms. This was evident in a post on the account of Thom Tillis, a member of the Republican Party from North Carolina. The post garnered more than a million views on “X” and was part of a smear campaign against Tlaib. In his post, which shared a video from a CSPAN account, Tlaib is seen holding a sign reading “War Criminal” during Netanyahu’s speech, with Tillis commenting, “Rashida Tlaib continues to be an absolute disgrace.”
New York Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito also wrote a comment on Tlaib’s photo, calling her a “useful idiot for a terrorist regime.”
Other Republican lawmakers have also attacked Tlaib for holding the sign, including South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, who commented on the photo of Tlaib calling her a “Iran’s useful idiot”. Her post garnered more than 5 million views.
An “X” account named Allen Mashburn, a contributor to TheBlaze, also shared a photo of Tlaib and accused her of breaking the law, saying, “Rashida Tlaib identified as a war criminal during the speech by the Israeli Prime minister. While we knew that she was a lawbreaker, we had no idea she’d been in a war and broke the law.”
Judicial Watch president and fact-checker Tom Fitton attacked the congresswoman on “X”, commenting on her photo by saying, “A supporter of terrorism sitting in Congress.”
Incitement Against Congresswoman Ilhan Omar
Misbar investigated the repercussions of Representative Rashida Tlaib's stance on social media platforms and looked for any incitement against other representatives due to their affiliations and political positions. As a result, Misbar found many posts targeting Representative Ilhan Omar.
On May 28, an account named “@Chicago1Ray” on X posted a photo of Representatives Tlaib and Omar, asking users to “raise your hand if you think that Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar should be expelled from Congress,” claiming that they were “using their positions in govt to promote Hamas ideology and anti-Semitism.”
A post by a user named “EndWokeness” on X, which garnered more than half a million views, reposted a video from a 2020 discussion about American casualties in Iraq and suggested that Representatives Tlaib and Omar were laughing in the video. The account questioned, “Why are they giggling like that?”
The question was answered with accusatory innuendo in a post by an account called “Paul A. Szypula,” which garnered more than 9,000 views. “I think it’s pretty obvious; Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are happy Americans were killed,” he said. “They find the outrage to be a joke. The fact that these two monsters are still in Congress is ridiculous. They shouldn’t even be in the country. They are terrorist sympathizers.”
Politicized Call Against Ilhan Omar Over Her Stance on Israel
As part of the ongoing attacks on Representative Ilhan Omar during the U.S. elections, Misbar monitored a video posted by an account named “SaltyGoat17” on the X platform. The video targeted Representative Ilhan Omar, a candidate in the Democratic Party primaries for the state of Minnesota, with the message, “Today is the day we can kick Ilhan Omar out once and for all! Share this so everyone knows what an anti-American piece of trash she really is.”
What is striking about the video is the presence of offensive phrases against Ilhan Omar, mixed with scenes taken out of context from her interviews and statements. The provocative video also included a series of accusations written directly within it, such as “anti-American,” “anti-Semitic,” and “double standards,” and labeled Ilhan Omar as an “enemy of the people.”
“Anti-Semitism” and Hostility Toward the United States
Most American media outlets focus on supporting Israel's narratives in combating “anti-Semitism,” particularly concerning positions on the Palestinian cause and the violations of the Israeli occupation against Palestinians. Some media outlets highlight that those accused of “anti-Semitism” are often supporters of the Palestinians or those who “wear the Palestinian flag.” They also indicate that “since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th, and Israel’s subsequent bombing and invasion of Gaza, antisemitic incidents have been rising across the world,” according to journalist Isaac Chotiner in The New Yorker.
Representative Ilhan Omar is a prominent figure who publicly criticizes Israel and its actions in the Middle East. She was previously targeted by the Israeli organization AIPAC in the United States in 2021 and faced significant criticism from Democratic representatives on several occasions.
Media reports revealed that Ilhan Omar had compared the conflict between the Taliban and the United States to the “conflict between Hamas and Israel.” This comparison angered New York Democratic Senator Jerry Nadler, who said, “Equating the United States and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban is as offensive as it is misguided.”
Previous Incitement Against Rep. Ilhan Omar
The incitement against Rep. Ilhan Omar extends beyond the current events surrounding the Israeli war on Gaza. In late 2021, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado, referred to Rep. Omar as a “member of the Jihad squad.” Boebert has also incited violence against Muslims by promoting Islamophobic rhetoric targeting Rep. Omar, including in response to former President Donald Trump’s 2019 criticism of her political positions and religious affiliation.
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