CAPITOL ‘CEASE FIRE’ STORM
Far-left Rep. Rashida Tlaib tearfully accused Israel of committing “genocide” on Wednesday while hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters converged on the US Capitol complex, demanding a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
The Michigan Democrat also doubled down on her bogus claim that the Israeli military was responsible for “bombing” doctors, patients and children at Gaza’s Al-Ahli Arab Hospital — despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
“We just continue to watch people think it’s OK to bomb a hospital. With children,” she told demonstrators before bursting in tears. “I’m telling you right now, President Biden, not all of America is with you on this one.”
Tlaib made the claims as overwhelming evidence provided by US and Israeli officials showed that the blast at the hospital in Gaza City came from members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a separate regional terrorist group from Hamas.
“We are literally watching people commit genocide and killing a vast majority just like this, and we still stand by and say nothing,” Tlaib shouted.
“We will remember this. But all of you, you need to know, I swear to God, you are on the right side of history. You are doing everything possible to save lives.”
Protest arrests made
Dozens of protesters from the IfNotNowMovement and Jewish Voice for Peace who listened to Tlaib later entered the Cannon House Office Building to demonstrate.
Capitol Police, which had tightened security in advance of the protests, said an unspecified amount of demonstrators were arrested, including at least three on charges of assaulting a police officer.
Emotions were tense as the largely progressive crowd felt betrayed by President Biden and leading Democrats for backing Israel’s bid to eliminate the terrorist threat in the Gaza Strip.
“I think the White House and everyone thinks we’re just gonna sit back and let this just continue to happen. No!” Tlaib declared to a sea of activists outside the Cannon House Office Building.
A swarm of protesters also made their way to a sit-in protest in the Cannon Rotunda, where politicians and reporters often
perform TV spots for cable news.
The massive demonstration was promoted by Jewish Voice for Peace, a progressive Jewish pro-Palestinian group.
Members donned black shirts emblazoned with the words “Jews say ceasefire now” and chanted while waving signs with similar pleas to end the war.
“The root of violence is oppression, and we’re here to say not in our names,” the organization posted on social media.
Activist org skepticism
“We have the power to stop the ongoing atrocities against Palestinians. We refuse to stand by as the Israeli government commits genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. #ceasefirenow,” the group said, vowing that “We won’t leave until Congress calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.”
Despite the impassioned showing at the Capitol, the progressive activists appeared to get a frosty reception from Congress, even among Democrats.
“Many have asked me ‘who is Jewish Voice for Peace?’ ” Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) shared in an X post. “Their website says they are ‘proud to be a part of the global, Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement,’ which, by its founder’s admission & tenets, seeks to end Israel as a Jewish & democratic state.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) likened the gathering to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
“There’s an insurrection happening now on Capitol Hill,” she posted on X alongside a video of her grimly peering out a Capitol Office complex balcony at the protesters.