Democrat says he’ll support possible Tlaib censure

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to more accurately describe the hospital bombing in Gaza.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) said Monday that he would consider supporting a censure of fellow Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) amid the criticism she has received over her remarks on the Israel-Hamas war.  

“If a censure comes on her misinformation on the hospital bombing, which obviously we know was not true, that she continued to spread even after intelligence came out it wasn’t true and on from the river to the sea, I would support that censure,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday.

Moskowitz referred to Tlaib’s remarks about a Gaza hospital bombing in October, when she criticized President Biden for supporting Israel’s war efforts after Hamas said more than 500 civilians were killed in a strike at a Gaza hospital. Western intelligence has found the blast was caused by an errant rocket fired by Palestinians, and estimates the death toll is actually much lower.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) introduced a resolution last week to censure Tlaib over her comments on the conflict, but it quickly fell through after lawmakers pointed to the language in the resolution, which accused Tlaib of leading an insurrection for her participation in an anti-war protest at the Capitol last month.

“Well, Marjorie Taylor Greene brought up a censure having nothing to do with an insurrection,” Moskowitz told Tapper. “It was not an insurrection, and October 7th should not be conflated with any other date on the calendar.”

Two competing censure resolutions were introduced on Monday — another from Greene and one from Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) — for Tlaib’s continued criticism of Israel amid its war with Hamas.

The Hamas-Israel conflict began after the militant group conducted a surprise attack against Israel on Oct. 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,400 people and the taking of around 240 hostages who remain in Gaza.

In response, Israel has launched a series of airstrikes and a ground invasion in Gaza, resulting in an estimated 10,000 deaths, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Moskowitz, who is Jewish, alluded to a possible House effort to censure Tlaib last month.

Tlaib, who is of Palestinian heritage, received strong criticism for a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, last week when she claimed that Biden supported the genocide of Palestine people. 

“Mr. President, the American people are not with you on this one,” she tweeted. “We will remember in 2024.” 

“From the river to the sea is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate,” Tlaib added. “My work and advocacy is always centered in justice and dignity for all people no matter faith or ethnicity.”

Updated at 10:25 a.m.