Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) shared a tweet on March 26 purporting to show video of Israeli police attacking Palestinian teens in Jerusalem during the month of Ramadan, which started on the evening of March 22.
“This is the violent apartheid government of Israel. Don’t look away,” she wrote.
Many Twitter users noted that Tlaib’s comment was completely inaccurate, and Twitter flagged it with a message sharing context from readers. In fact, the video showed Israeli police officers breaking up a fight between Palestinian teenagers at the Damascus Gate who were entering the Old City as hundreds came to celebrate on the second night of the holiday.
The original tweet with the video has been removed. But Tlaib has not deleted her post, which has been viewed 1.5 million times, and has 10,500 likes and more than 3,100 retweets.
“No Rashida! Palestinian teens were fighting each other and causing a public disturbance,” tweeted watchdog group Honest Reporting. “Israeli police came in to restore the peace. Spreading lies and misinformation is unbecoming of a congresswoman.”
The Democratic Majority for Israel added on Twitter: “This is just the latest in your pattern of using false reports to delegitimize and demonize the world’s only Jewish state.” It urged the congresswoman to remove the post.
Also on Twitter, the Republican Jewish Coalition posted: “Another day, another blatant anti-Israel lie by Rashida Tlaib—and no one in House Democratic Party leadership will hold her accountable.”
