Representative Rashida Tlaib Stands Up for Palestinians
In a historic move today, United States Representative of Michigan's 13th District, Rashida Tlaib stood against House Resolution 326, which “strives to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a negotiated two-state solution”. Representative Tlaib opposed it by highlighting the very real facts inside the Occupied West Bank, where the Palestinian people have lived under constant Israeli military occupation and control for decades. A de-jure state of inequality under an ethnocratic demos is the very real reality for the Palestinians and the facade of democracy, that is the Palestinian Authority has no power to end it. A reality that Tlaib’s grandmother lives under.
Citing the numerous and continual roadblocks, Israel has made sure Palestine doesn't rise. The current Israeli party in power, Likud, has stated several times that they will do everything in their power to make sure there will never be a Palestine and a two-state solution. This resolution only panders to a very passive and frankly obsolete mentality that still thinks Palestinians and Israelis are equal. This resolution doesn’t take into account that there is an extremely large power dynamic which is heavily skewed in Israel’s favor. It doesn’t take into account the settlement expansions, the walls being built inside Palestinian territory which close off whole villages to the outside world. Representative Tlaib bravely stood up to this resolution today inside the House of Representatives. Advocating for a large Arab minority in Detroit, Michigan, Tlaib is acutely aware of the injustices imposed on Palestinians by Israel and the frankly stoic response they get from the usual American politicians that cite security concerns in order to legitimize an entrenched system of inequality. Supporting this resolution only ensures a passive voice to a very active situation where occupation, inequality, and injustice reign supreme.
“This resolution not only endorses an unrealistic/unattainable solution but one that Israel has made impossible [to attain]. But also one that legitimizes inequality, ethnic discrimination, and inhumane conditions” says Representative Tlaib.
Watch and listen to Tlaib’s speech below:
