Rashida Tlaib...the first Palestinian-American Muslim representative in Congress

Rashida Tlaib at an event outside the US Capitol on December 14, 2023 in Washington, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza (Getty)

She was a politician and the first Palestinian American representative in Congress. She was born in 1976. She took it upon herself to defend the rights of the poor and achieve justice for the people of her district for a better life. She was the voice of Palestine that resonated throughout Congress, and she fought many ongoing battles to defend the Palestinians’ right to their land. She was known for her clear refusal to support... America's unconditional support for Israel.

Birth and upbringing

Rashida Harbi Ahmed Al-Najjar Tlaib was born on July 24, 1976 in the city of Detroit, Wayne County, in the state of Michigan, in the United States of America, to a family that was one of the first American Muslim immigrants whose origins were from Palestine.

She grew up in a home that spoke Arabic as the first language and English as the second. She is the eldest of 13 brothers and sisters. Her parents belong to the working class and did not complete their basic education. They worked in Ford car factories in Detroit.

Her father's birthplace is the town of Beit Hanina, east of Jerusalem, and her mother was born in the village of Beit Ur Al-Fawqa in the Ramallah Governorate in the West Bank.

She married Fayez Tlaib in 1998, gave birth to two sons, and separated from him in 2015, but she still retains his surname.

Study and scientific training

She graduated from Southwestern High School in Detroit, Michigan, in 1994, and earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Wayne State University in 1998.

She received her Juris Doctorate degree from Cooley College of Western University in Michigan in 2004. After completing her academic education, she took up a position as an attorney and was active in social and environmental work in the state of Michigan.

Political and practical experience

Rashida was known for her love of volunteer and human rights work, and working for Arab issues and supporting them was one of her priorities. She is originally an Arab Muslim, so she faced a lot of discrimination and challenges from a young age.

She worked at the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services in Dearborn, Michigan after her graduation.

In 2008, through her work as a lawyer, she was able to enter the political arena. While working at the community center, she met Steve Tobocman, a former member of the Michigan State House of Representatives. He convinced her to run for a seat in the Legislative Council, and appointed her to work with him after he became head of the Democratic Party.

She ran in the general elections for membership in the Michigan State Legislative Council, and received 44% of the votes, becoming the first Palestinian Muslim woman to hold this position in the state.

Rashida fought to protect the environment in her area and provide a safe life for citizens, so she launched the “We Have the Right to Breathe” campaign to remove polluting trucks from residential neighborhoods.

Rashida Tlaib in a campaign calling for signing a petition urging the US House of Representatives to impeach Donald Trump in 2019 (French)

It called for laboratory analysis after receiving citizens' complaints about the presence of black dust covering the banks of the Detroit River, which invaded citizens' homes and led to the pollution of public parks, but the state's Department of Environmental Quality denied the need to conduct analysis, which prompted it to take samples itself and subject them to testing to determine later. It contained cancerous substances, so the state was forced to clean the river bank.

During her period of representation in the Legislative Council, she worked on many issues in which she served the people of her district and achieved a decent life for them. She provided millions of dollars for free health clinics, provided meals for the elderly, established before- and after-school programs, and bilingual education. She also issued laws to protect homeowners. From mortgage banks.

Rashida spent three terms in the Legislative Council, after which she worked as a lawyer at the Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice, a liberal non-profit organization during which she contributed to resolving a number of issues, including combating emissions at the Marathon Oil Refinery.

On November 7, 2018, it was announced that Rashida had been elected to the US House of Representatives for the 12th Congressional District of Michigan as a candidate for the Democratic Party, becoming the first Palestinian-American Muslim representative in Congress.

On January 13, 2019, while taking the constitutional oath, Rashida wore a traditional Palestinian dress, and took the constitutional oath on a copy of the Holy Qur’an in English dating back to the year 1734. She was re-elected to the House of Representatives for 3 electoral terms.

After assuming her position in Congress, she established neighborhood service centers in each region and provided the necessary vital services. She was able to provide $360,000 to non-profit organizations in the United States, and more than $126,000 to local organizations in her region that provide food and basic materials, and collect thousands of dollars to save mothers trapped in prison. Because they are unable to pay cash bail.

Rashida was appointed an honorary member of “The Squad,” a group of progressive democrats who served in the House of Representatives, and she continued to defend the rights of her district’s residents, provide them with a dignified life, and ensure the achievement of health care, environmental and social services, and equality for all.

A fierce war against Tlaib

Rashida has emerged as an opponent of Islamophobic incidents and a defender of the rights and freedoms of Muslims since her candidacy, which made her vulnerable to successive battles and ongoing conflicts.

In 2019, the Israeli authorities prevented Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar - who is also an American representative of Somali origin - from visiting the Palestinian territories under pressure from former US President Donald Trump.

She was constantly subjected to ridicule and racism by Trump, and despite the services she provided to her district - which is one of the poorest regions in the United States, such as health care for all, taxing the rich, and canceling student debt - Trump's irritation towards her was increasing, considering that all of these services would increase her popularity. Between Republicans and Independents.

On October 16, 2023, businessman Linden Nelson offered Democratic Senate candidate Hill Harper a sum of $20 million to contribute to his election campaign if he withdrew from the Senate elections and ran for the House of Representatives elections against Representative Rashida Tlaib, but Hill rejected the offer.

This incident came after criticism directed at it due to its explicit support for the residents of the Gaza Strip since the start of the war on the Strip on October 7, 2023.

AIPAC (the largest Israeli lobby organization in the United States) also announced that it would provide the necessary support to the candidates competing against Rashida Tlaib in the House of Representatives elections, seeking her loss.

Ilhan Omar (right) and Rashida Tlaib at a conference in Minnesota in 2019 (Reuters)

Rashida Tlaib criticized US President Joe Biden's policies towards the war on Gaza, his unconditional support for Israel, his financing of war crimes, and his failure to call for a ceasefire, and called for him not to be elected for a second presidential term in 2024.

In November 2023, the US House of Representatives voted to impose sanctions against Rashida and “censure” her - a punishment that precedes expulsion from the House of Representatives - due to her statements in support of Palestine following the Israeli aggression on Gaza in October 2023.

The decision was supported by 22 members of her Democratic Party, and she was charged with “promoting false news,” “seeking to destroy Israel,” and adopting the slogan “Free Palestine from the river to the sea.”

Rashida defended her adoption of the aforementioned slogan, saying that it was a call for freedom and peace, and demanded an end to the Israeli aggression in which tens of thousands of Palestinians - most of whom were children and women - were martyred. She also demanded an end to American aid to Israel.

The vote against Rashida Tlaib came by a majority of 234 votes to 122. She defended herself against the charges against her and said that she would not allow her words to be distorted, stressing that the intent of her attack was the government of Israel and not the Jewish people.

The House of Representatives reversed its decision against Tlaib on the grounds of the right to expression, in accordance with the constitutional right in the First Constitutional Amendment, which guarantees freedom of expression.

After the US House of Representatives voted against her, the harassment began, as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) broadcast audio recordings of activists supporting Israel threatening to kill Tlaib and discussing ways to sexually harass her during her visit to Arizona.

Source: Al Jazeera + websites