Rashida Tlaib's revisionist Holocaust comments get fact-checked — by CNN
Left-leaning outlet CNN issued a fact check on controversial comments made by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) over the weekend, reporting that the congresswoman attempted to revise history with her assertion that Palestinians helped create a safe haven for Jews after the Holocaust.
What are the details?
Last week, Tlaib told Yahoo News's Skullduggery Podcast "a calming feeling" comes over her when she thinks of the Holocaust because her Palestinian ancestors "provided" a "safe haven" for Jews in the aftermath of the tragedy, even though "it was forced on them."
Her comments were quickly condemned by Republican House leadership, whom the congresswoman accused of "twisting and turning" her words. But even CNN wouldn't let Tlaib off the hook for her reinterpretation of history.
CNN's John King played a clip of Tlaib's Yahoo interview on "Inside Politics" Monday before responding, "Now, 'calming' is at best an awkward word choice in any sentence referencing the Holocaust, and one ready-made for Republican critics."
The host went on to point out that Tlaib did refer to the Holocaust as "horrific" and a "tragedy" during her interview and said Republicans did twist the congresswoman's words by focusing on her use of the word "calming."
"But," King continued, "she also fails a critical fact and context test: Yes, she said Palestinians lost land in the creation of Israel. But she ignored the fact that Palestinian leaders at the time aligned themselves with [Adolf] Hitler, and that total war was how the Arab world reacted to the declaration of Israeli independence."
CNN global affairs analyst Aaron David Miller agreed, saying Tlaib "has her history wrong" on at least two fronts, pointing out that even if there were no Holocaust, many of the institutions of Israel were in place before Hitler began killing Jews.
Miller explained that Palestinian leadership at the time actually collaborated with the Nazis in planning to exterminate "the entire Jewish community" had Germany been successful in Egypt.
Anything else?
President Donald Trump also weighed in on Tlaib's comments, saying on Twitter that the freshman congresswoman "obviously has tremendous hatred of Israel and the Jewish people."
Democrat Rep. Tlaib is being slammed for her horrible and highly insensitive statement on the Holocaust. She obviously has tremendous hatred of Israel and the Jewish people. Can you imagine what would happen if I ever said what she said, and says?— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2019
In response, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) defended his fellow Democrat and insisted she was actually the victim, saying, "If you read Rep. Tlaib's comments, it is clear that President Trump and Congressional Republicans are taking them out of context. They must stop, and they owe her an apology," Time reported.
