U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) doubled down on Tuesday her criticism of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who recently said that Palestinians enabled a “safe haven” for Jews after the Holocaust.
Cheney also doubled down on her criticism of Democratic House leadership not condemning Tlaib’s remark.
“It’s sickening. People can have disagreements. Certainly, when I was working at the State Department, we had disagreements about what’s sort of the overall structure for working toward peace should look like,” she said at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. “But what you are seeing today out of some of my colleagues on the Democratic side in the House is a kind of vitriol of anti-Semitism.”
The comments on Tuesday by Cheney were the latest in a back and forth she has been having with Tlaib on Twitter.
“Surely now @SpeakerPelosi & @LeaderHoyer will finally take action against vile anti-Semitism in their ranks. This must cross the line, even for them. Rashida Tlaib says thinking of the Holocaust provides her a ‘calming feeling,’” tweeted Cheney on Sunday.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer defended Tlaib. “I am deeply sorry for our nation that the House Democratic leadership continues to enable the anti-Semitism in their ranks,” he tweeted on Monday.
That same day, Cheney tweeted in response: “I am deeply sorry for our nation that the House Democratic leadership continues to enable the anti-Semitism in their ranks.”
Tlaib responded to Cheney on Sunday: “Once again, Republican leaders and right-wing extremists are spreading outright lies to incite hate. Congresswoman Liz Cheney should be ashamed of herself for using the tragedy of the Holocaust in a transparent attempt to score political points. Her behavior cheapens our public discourse and is an insult to the Jewish community and the millions of Americans who stand opposed to the hatred being spread by Donald Trump’s Republican Party.”
Cheney served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs from 2002 to 2004, when her father, Dick Cheney, was vice president.
Regarding Tlaib, Cheney said on Tuesday that what the Michigan congresswoman said “was a set of lies to delegitimize the State of Israel.”
“There is no context in which saying the Holocaust gives a calming feeling is OK,” added Cheney. “The rise in anti-Semitism is deeply concerning, if you’re afraid to speak out against it, it becomes an accepted part of discourse.”
Cheney made similar comments earlier Tuesday on Fox News.
