Pro-Israel Democratic group releases ad criticizing Rashida Tlaib

A pro-Israel Democratic group released an ad in Detroit on Thursday attacking Rep. Rashida Tlaib for her calls for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war and her criticism of the Israeli government.

The six-figure TV ad bought by the Democratic Majority for Israel airs in Tlaib’s district in Michigan and points to her vote against a bill to replenish Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system in 2021 and against a resolution to stand with Israel amid the war last week.

Tlaib was also one of the five House Democrats who co-sponsored a resolution in October that calls for a cease-fire in "Israel and occupied Palestine,” which the ad argues “would allow the terrorists to rearm themselves.”

“The people in the Detroit area deserve to know the facts about her positions,” DMFI President Mark Mellman said in a statement. “Our ad clearly shows her wanton disregard for the safety of the citizens of one of the United States’ closest allies, Israel.”

When reached for comment in response to the ad, a spokesperson for Tlaib pointed POLITICO to past statements the congresswoman has made on the Israel-Hamas war. Last week, Tlaib said in a statement that "achieving a just and lasting peace where Israelis and Palestinians have equal rights and freedoms, and where no person lives in fear for their safety, requires ending the blockade, occupation, and dehumanizing system of apartheid."

The ad buy comes after the House on Wednesday tabled a resolution to censure Tlaib led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). Greene falsely alleged that Tlaib’s support for a demonstration seeking a ceasefire in Gaza led by Jewish groups in a House office building amounted to an “insurrection.” Tlaib called the censure effort “unhinged.”

Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, has come under fire since the war started on Oct. 7 from some in her party over what her critics saw as insufficient condemning of Hamas' attacks on civilians. Tlaib has said she does not “support the targeting and killing of civilians, whether in Israel or Palestine.”