Rep. Rashida Tlaib Receives Backlash for Tweet Defending Woman Who Attacked Israeli Soldiers

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) has come under fire for posting a tweet on Saturday about a woman who was killed in June by Israeli soldiers, while omitting that the woman is alleged to have charged at the soldiers with her car and a knife.

In a Twitter thread, Tlaib wrote:

Meet Mai Afana‘s mother, Khuloud, who is fighting to be able to bury her daughter & begin her healing. Mai was a mother, loving daughter & successful PhD student. She was killed by the Israeli government last June. Israel won’t release her body to her family.

I am sharing Mai’s story because I began to only learn last year of this inhumane practice by the Israeli govt. Without proof, they make claims, and all to just continue to dehumanize Palestinians even after they have died. We must stand against this form of collective violence.

The Palestinian people deserve the same dignity as any other human being. To deny the right to see their loved ones for a modicum of closure is another form of painful violence from the U.S. sponsored, Israeli arsenal. Mai’s dead body is one of hundreds being held.

I still remember the Erekat family’s plea last year to release their loving son, Ahmed’s body. Here is his story. @hrw and other human rights organizations have demanded an end to this disgusting practice, and the U.S. must join them in that demand.

I am sharing Mai’s story because I began to only learn last year of this inhumane practice by the Israeli govt. Without proof, they make claims, and all to just continue to dehumanize Palestinians even after they have died. We must stand against this form of collective violence.

— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) August 28, 2021

I still remember the Erekat family’s plea last year to release their loving son, Ahmed’s body. Here is his story. @hrw and other human rights organizations have demanded an end to this disgusting practice, and the U.S. must join them in that demand. https://t.co/coEykaXpSK

— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) August 28, 2021

Verified Twitter users slammed Tlaib.

You forgot the part where she attempted to murder a bunch of Israelis.

Minor detail, for you, we know…

— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) August 29, 2021

Why aren’t you mentioning that Mai Afana tried to ram a group of Israelis with her car and then attempted to stab them before she was killed?

Why is Rashida Tlaib unable to discuss Israel without misinformation? If you can’t make your point without lying, it’s not valid.

— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) August 29, 2021

palestinian activists always celebrate terrorism and glorify terrorists.

They will lie, hide facts and exploit emotions, all to manipulate and spread propaganda.

Its always the same.
This is simply who they are. https://t.co/9o21C4DWDf

— Chad Felix Greene ?? (@chadfelixg) August 30, 2021

I’m not sure if the 1200+ people who liked this Tweet by Congresswoman Tlaib were aware that Mai Afana wasn’t an innocent PhD student. She was killed while trying to run over & stab a female police officer.

Or perhaps they do, & just like the Congresswoman, they just don’t care. https://t.co/GAlwGeM9sF

— Joel M. Petlin (@Joelmpetlin) August 29, 2021

Did you read what actually happened ?
Okay Sensationalism… https://t.co/KmrbiPqq9R

— Olashile Abayomi-Wealth (@thefireofOla) August 30, 2021

If Hitler was alive today, @RashidaTlaib would fight for him to have a proper burial. She’s sick.

— Moti Ankari (@MotiAnkari) August 29, 2021

Somehow unmentioned in this tweet from Rashida Tlaib is why Mai Afana was killed. For instance, the Israel Defense Forces said at the time: “The assailant attempted to ram into a number of IDF soldiers, exited her vehicle with a knife drawn, and was neutralized in response.” https://t.co/OY9XDNeg2J

— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) August 29, 2021

Hey @RashidaTlaib ??

Wasn’t this the terrorist chick with the knife?

— SETH WEATHERS (@sethweathers) August 29, 2021

She was killed trying to attempt a terrorist attack.

— VOTE YES ON RECALL (@fadde) August 30, 2021

Ummm … you left out the small detail that a US designated terrorist group in #Gaza published a statement acknowledging Mai Afana committed a ‘stabbing operation’ on behalf of their org before being shot during her attack. #StayWoke

— Ari Ingel (@OGAride) August 30, 2021

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