Commissioners in a South Florida city are reprimanding a fellow councilmember for calling freshman U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., an anti-Semite who might “blow up Capitol Hill.”
Commissioner Anabelle Lima-Taub, who is Jewish, started a fiery social media war after accusing Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of being an anti-Semite who might “blow up Capitol Hill.” Tlaib, D-Mich., is a Muslim and Palestinian-American.
Lima-Taub remains unapologetic, telling commissioners her life is in danger. She threatened the board that if she's found dead she holds Commissioner Michelle Lazarow, who sponsored the resolution, responsible.
Lazarow said the controversy has "brought out hate as I have never seen before."
Lima-Taub repeated and then justified her remarks by pointing to the Palestinian-American congresswoman’s position on Israel as evidence of a possible connection to terrorist organizations. Washington-based politicians including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio have denounced Lima-Taub’s comments.
“It’s been a horrible, offensive, Islamophobic mess,” said Hallandale Beach Vice Mayor Sabrina Javellana. Javellana said she’s concerned because hateful words lead to actions. “There were people in support of it [the post] who were extremely scary,” she said.
Denzel McCampbell, a spokesman for Tlaib, commended the commission for standing up against inflammatory rhetoric directed at Muslims.
“It is our hope that [Lima-Taub’s] community holds her accountable and encourages her to accept that our country is made up of all different faiths and ethnicities,” McCampbell said. “It is what makes America unique and special."
