Join DSA to Defend Rashida Tlaib in the Movement for a Ceasefire

Yesterday, in a shameful bipartisan attack, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 234-188 to censure Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Detroit, Michigan. Tlaib is a member and representative of the Democratic Socialists of America, and the only Palestinian-American member of the House. She has shown immense bravery in exposing the truth about Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians while she endures vicious and racist attacks, which now extend to the halls of government. 

This vote comes as Rashida stands strong alongside fellow DSA member and Representative Cori Bush of St. Louis, MO as an original co-author of the Ceasefire NOW resolution. Her unwavering dedication and leadership in the movement of peace and liberation of all people is a threat to the capitalist war machine. 

DSA is proud to call Rashida a comrade. Throughout her long career of public service in Michigan and beyond, she has not backed down against the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world. She has taken on Marathon Oil and the Koch brothers after they dumped toxic dust on her district in Detroit. She is a fixture on picket lines and has hosted workplace organizing trainings, empowering her constituents to fight austerity and corporate greed by strengthening their unions and forming new ones. She is central to the life of the Detroit DSA chapter and movement coalitions in her district.

But this move to censure is not just about her. It was designed to distract from the majority public support for a #CeasefireNOW and to intimidate anyone who criticizes American imperialism. It is part of an attempt to stifle the voices of the millions of people who have gone to the streets to demand a ceasefire and the millions who want peace and justice for the Palestinian people. But like Rashida, we will not back down. The Democratic Socialists of America stands in steadfast solidarity with the Palestinian people, with Muslim, Arab, and Jewish people around the world, and with Rashida. 

Twenty-two Democrats in the House voted alongside Republicans to attack Rashida – but the entire bipartisan establishment is complicit in creating a climate of fear and hate for Arab Americans across the country. These Democrats, many in thrall to the same AIPAC money that funds the far-right, speak over the millions of Jewish Americans who stand for Palestinian freedom. These “progressive” Democratic politicians claim to be anti-racist and pro-immigrant but then vote to spend billions for death and destruction in Gaza, despite the vast majority of their own constituents supporting a ceasefire. They attack Rashida because she exposes their corruption and cowardice in refusing to stand up to American war profiteers and their puppets: when the chips are down, they choose to side with the ruling class and forever wars. Rashida chooses to side with the working class, peace, and justice. 

To defeat the powerful forces that wage war on working people both here and abroad, we need to build an alternative to the empty politics of the Democratic Party. Rashida says: “Millions of ordinary people like you must take to the streets, organize your neighbors and coworkers, lead your unions in massive strikes, and unite across faiths and nationalities to wield our power as the working class. But don’t do it alone; join DSA.”