Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) wrote in 2006 an op-ed for the Final Call, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan's publication known for espousing anti-Semitism.
Tlaib's piece focused on how legal immigrants should not be deported for minor criminal offenses, according to a report from journalist Jeryl Bier. At the end of her article, the now freshman congresswoman is identified as an "advocacy coordinator of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) in Detroit." Tlaib has not written in the Final Call since then.
Tlaib has come under fire since her election to Congress for ties to individuals and groups that have espoused anti-Semitic views. In January, she attended a private dinner after her swearing-in with Abbas Hamideh, a "Palestinian right of return" activist who has called Israel a "terrorist entity." Hamideh has also tweeted that Israel has a "delusional ISIS-like ideology" and that the creation of the country was a "crime."
In late January, Tlaib advocated against Sen. Marco Rubio's (Fla.) bill concerning Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel, which would allow state and local governments to boycott companies that boycott Israel. Tlaib called the bill an "anti-First Amendment, anti-speech bill," in an interview for the Intercept‘s "Deconstructed" podcast.
"Do you know what we’ve done in this country with the right to boycott, what we’ve done in this country with the right to speak up and to protest and to say we disagree with this country and their doings? You look at Apartheid. You look at all the, you know, anti-blackness in our country and what we’ve been able to try to do to push back against that, you know, I don’t even call it an anti-B — I call it anti-First Amendment, anti-speech bill," Tlaib said.
In further support of the BDS movement, Tlaib attempted to organize a congressional trip to the West Bank. The attempt was in opposition to an Israel trip traditionally organized for freshman members of Congress by AIPAC, a group that advocates pro-Israel policies.
"I want us to see that segregation [between Israelis and Palestinians] and how that has really harmed us being able to achieve real peace in that region," Tlaib told the Intercept before she took office. "I don’t think AIPAC provides a real, fair lens into this issue."