Democratic Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib was the only Rep. Wednesday to not vote in favor of a resolution condemning Hamas for its rape of civilians in its Oct. 7 assault on Israel.
“418-0-1: House approved a bipartisan resolution condemning rape and sexual violence committed by Hamas in its war against Israel. Tlaib (D-MI) voted Present,” Craig Caplan, a producer for C-SPAN, noted in his tweet. (RELATED: Squad Dems Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Cori Bush Vote Against Bill Banning Hamas Terrorists From US)
418-0-1: House approved a bipartisan resolution condemning rape and sexual violence committed by Hamas in its war against Israel. Tlaib (D-MI) voted Present. pic.twitter.com/2uOmRcaiPp
— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) February 14, 2024
Rep. Tlaib explained her decision to vote present on the resolution by claiming that the bill did not “denounce sexual violence in all forms, regardless of who is responsible” and that the Israelis were guilty of the same practice. Consequently, in her view the “resolution falls well short of also acknowledging the sexual abuse of Palestinians.”
We all have a responsibility to denounce sexual violence in all forms, regardless of who is responsible. War crimes cannot justify more war crimes. This resolution falls well short of also acknowledging the sexual abuse of Palestinians. pic.twitter.com/T4kdm1WXxk
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) February 14, 2024
As evidence for her accusations against Israelis, the Congresswoman introduced an article from the Israeli newspaper Haaretz titled “Settlers and Soldiers Abused Palestinians.”
The article purports to document an incident in which settlers and soldiers handcuffed, robbed and beat up Palestinian villagers and leftist Israeli activists.
The captors allegedly urinated on and attempted to penetrate one of the captives with an object, among other degrading acts, the outlet reported. An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson told the outlet that they had opened an investigation into the serious matter and had dismissed the unit commander over this affair.
Contrary to Tlaib’s assertions over the resolution’s selectively, the text of the resolution denounced “all rape and forms of sexual violence as weapons of war, including those acts committed by Hamas terrorists on and since October 7th” and called “on all nations to criminalize rape and sexual assault, and hold accountable all perpetrators of sexual violence, including state and non-state armed groups.”
Such universality was stressed by at least one of the introducers of the resolution. “Our bipartisan resolution says it loud and clear: rape and sexual violence are crimes against humanity and should never be used or accepted as weapons of war,” Democratic Florida Rep. Lois Frankel is quoted as saying according to a Jan. 16 press release on the introduction of the resolution.