Jewish Congressional Democrats Sign Letter Condemning ‘Toxically Islamophobic’ Cartoon of Rashida Tlaib

A number of Jewish Democrats signed a letting in support of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) after National Review published a cartoon depicting her as a member of the militant group Hezbollah.

Last week, hundreds of handheld pagers commonly used by Hezbollah exploded across Lebanon and Syria. That came a day before other devices suddenly exploded, as well. The coordinated attack, widely believed to have been carried out by Israel, injured thousands and killed multiple civilians.

Days after the attack, Henry Payne of The Detroit News created a political cartoon about it. In the image, Tlaib — who’s been critical of Israel’s actions in the region — is shown sitting at a desk when her pager explodes on the desk. It was later shared by National Review.

The cartoon was met with intense backlash from multiple members of congress.

On Sunday, Rep. Sara Jacobs posted a statement online on behalf of several other Jewish members of Congress — including Becca Balint (VT), Suzanne Bonamici (OR), Seth Magaziner (RI), Jamie Raskin (MD), Susan Wild (PA), and Jerry Nadler (NY).

“As Jewish Members of Congress, we condemn this appalling and hateful cartoon depicting our colleague, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, as a terrorist and making a dangerous joke about a pager exploding at her desk,” the statement read. “While none of us always agrees with Representative Tlaib (just as she surely does not always agree with any of us), that is no reason to excuse this toxically Islamophobic and anti-Arab affront. At a time of rising violence against Arab, Muslim, and Jewish communities alike, we must stand together in solidarity against ethnic scapegoating and hateful provocations, which are often the prelude to actual racial violence and attack.”

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