Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) posted a cartoon drawn by an anti-Semitic cartoonist who has drawn criticizing for mocking victims of the Holocaust to their Instagram stories on Saturday.
The drawing by Carlos Latuff, who in 2006 came in second in an Iranian "International Holocaust Cartoon Contest," depicts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump with their hands over Tlaib and Omar's mouths. Tlaib posted it with the caption, "The more they try to silence us, our voices rise. The more they try to weaken us, the stronger we become. The more they try to discredit us, the truth prevails."
Opinion editor at The Forward Batya Ungar-Sargon called attention to the social media post on Twitter. "Looks like both Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib shared this awful Carlos Latuff cartoon in Instagram stories yesterday. In 2006, Latuff came in second in Iran's International Holocaust Cartoon Contest, which is a thing that exists, in case you thought the TL couldn't get any worse," she wrote.
Oof. Looks like both Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib shared this awful Carlos Latuff cartoon in Instagram stories yesterday. In 2006, Latuff came in second in Iran's International Holocaust Cartoon Contest, which is a thing that exists, in case you thought the TL couldn't get any worse. pic.twitter.com/uwyBPAsz7T
— Batya Ungar-Sargon (@bungarsargon) August 18, 2019
Latuff has a history of anti-Semitic drawings accusing Israeli lobbyists of controlling U.S. foreign policy. He has also drawn criticism for invoking and minimizing the Holocaust in criticizing Israeli policies towards Palestinians.
"Of course Israel isn’t building gas chambers in the West Bank, but surely we can find some similarities between the treatment given to Palestinians by the [Israel Defense Forces] and the Jews under Nazi rule," he told The Forward in a 2008 interview.
He also defended his second place finish in the "International Holocaust Cartoon Contest," saying, "I saw this contest as both a good chance for denouncing the suffering of the Palestinian people before the eyes of world public opinion and for raising questions about the West’s double standards."
He posted the cartoon of Tlaib and Omar to his Twitter account with the caption, "Trump-Netanyahu's war on @RashidaTlaib and @IlhanMN is a war against freedom of speech, a war against everyone who dare to criticize #Israel's apartheid."
New York Democrat Dov Hikind blasted congressional Democrats on Twitter, writing, "We are watching YOU @SpeakerPelosi & Schumer after Tlaib and Omar indulged yet again in vile antisemitism by sharing a cartoon from a Holocaust denier who consistently mocks the memory of my grandparents and the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis!"
We are watching YOU @SpeakerPelosi & Schumer after Tlaib and Omar indulged yet again in vile antisemitism by sharing a cartoon from a Holocaust denier who consistently mocks the memory of my grandparents and the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis!
Judge his work for yourself: pic.twitter.com/oj6coP18ui
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) August 18, 2019
The two new congresswoman shared the cartoon following the controversy over Israel denying them entry into their country over their support for the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) movement. Israel later granted access to Tlaib on humanitarian grounds so she could visit her grandmother in the West Bank. Tlaib announced she would not go because of Israel's "racist treatment" of her. On Friday, the Michigan representative attended an event on Friday with a group that supports the BDS movement.