(Detroit News) Detroit U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American member of Congress, held up a sign saying “war criminal” and “guilty of genocide” Wednesday during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s joint address to lawmakers, during which he delivered a fiery defense of the Gaza war.
Wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh, Tlaib stayed sitting and did not stand with other lawmakers when Netanyahu came into the chamber Wednesday and remained sitting during most of the applause lines of his speech, sometimes with a pained look on her face. At one point, she stood and raised the “guilty of genocide” side of her sign overhead.
“It’s my birthday. It’s Detroit’s birthday. But unfortunately I’m having to be here and watching a genocidal maniac, a war criminal ― Netanyahu ― is coming to address Congress,” Tlaib said on social media ahead of the address.
