The House vote to advance a measure to censure "Squad" Michigan Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib over her comments after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel is an "important part of recognizing there are ramifications for First Amendment free speech," when it becomes harmful, Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, said on Newsmax Wednesday.
"When you say things that are harmful, hurtful, but more importantly evoke this kind of violence that would be a Holocaust of the people of Israel, that was called out not just by Republicans but by nearly two dozen Democrats," he said on "Newsline." That shows the cross-section here of people who are calling out this bad behavior."
The House Tuesday voted 213-208 against a Democrat-led attempt to block a censure measure against Tlaib, with a final vote on censuring her expected Wednesday.
Tlaib insisted Tuesday that she "will not be silenced, and I will not let you distort my words," and that "no government is beyond criticism."
"The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic sets a very dangerous precedent, and it's been used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation," she said.
Tuesday's action was the second attempt to censure Tlaib. Last week, 23 Republicans and 199 Democrats voted to stop the first attempt. Since then, she has released a video on X, where she extolled the "from the river to the sea" call from terrorists who want to eradicate Israel. She also accused President Joe Biden of promoting genocide.
"We're in a situation where 'from the river to the sea' is a call that Tlaib has put out to ask for a genocide against the people of Israel who have lived there for millennia," Nunn told Newsmax. "We have a situation here, where a few individuals are putting a personal passion above their constitutional duty to represent all Americans and America's national security interest."
But Tlaib is using "antisemitic rhetoric to try and enfranchise herself, to post things that are knowingly false, to try and create this mechanization that would do harm not only to national security but to our allies in the region," he added.
Nunn also spoke out about a group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators who Wednesday disrupted a House Judiciary Committee meeting.
"They obviously feel empowered that they can walk into a hearing and disrupt it," said Nunn. "This is a distraction from the important work that we need to be doing right here in Congress. I'm a 20-year military combat veteran. It is important that we are leading pragmatic solutions. That's why we have led on the resolution to support Israel. That's why I'm personally leading the bill to stop Iranian funding through our sanctions regime and hold the primary provider of terrorist funding accountable."
But even while making sure to protect the protesters' free speech, "we're not allowing for the type of hate speech that is trying to shut down conversations and ultimately become antisemitic and anti-Israel as a role for people who want to do harm and not work toward solutions," Nunn said.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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