Bernie Sanders hosts pro-Palestine event after McCarthy canceled it for being 'antisemitic'

WASHINGTON (TND) — Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., helped Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., move her scheduled "Nakba Day" event from the House to the Senate after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., canceled it.

"Nakba" is a Palestinian term that means "catastrophe," and the day refers to the "displacement of Palestinian people when Israel was founded in 1948," according to The Times of Israel. McCarthy said it's "wrong for members of Congress to traffic in antisemitic tropes about Israel" after canceling the event, according to CNN.

Tlaib's event, set for Wednesday, was to be held at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. McCarthy reportedly "thwarted" that plan when he reserved the space himself for a celebration that marked 75 years of United States/Israeli partnership.

Sanders then stepped up to offer a new space for Tlaib's event, according to The Jerusalem Post, letting it be held in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing room where McCarthy has no authority to block it.

We have a right to tell our stories of the Nakba of 1948... because the Nakba never ended,” Tlaib reportedly said at the event, acknowledging Sanders's help and referring to him as "aamu," which is Arabic for uncle.

Tlaib's fervent support of the Palestinian state comes despite 55% of Americans sympathizing with Israelis, compared to just 26% with Palestinians, according to a 2022 Gallup poll.

During the "Nakba Day" event, Tlaib presented a resolution that she wants to introduce that would have Congress recognize Nbaka as a historical event that is ongoing, the Times of Israel reports.

In apparent celebration that her event still went on, Tlaib tweeted: "Let the headlines read 'McCarthy tries to erase Palestine but fails.'"

Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., who also attended Tlaib's event, had tweeted earlier that ".ot a single dollar of U.S. aid should go to funding Israeli Apartheid and violating international law."

Speakers at the event reportedly included Dr. Abed Musa and his daughter, Jumana Musa. Jumana said it was "ironic we’ve been displaced at our Nakba event," according to CNN.

They thought they could bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds," Jumana Musa reportedly said.

Many contest Tlaib's view of "Nakba Day." The Jerusalem Post wrote that Nakba Day events "commemorate the war that led to Israeli independence as a Palestinian tragedy. In 1948, five Arab armies attacked the fledgling Israel, with support from Palestinian leadership." The Jerusalem Post event titled its article on the event "Bernie Sanders helps Rashida Tlaib host 'Nakba' event as rockets rain on Israel."

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt slammed Sanders on social media for aiding Tlaib in finding a venue for her event, calling it "disgraceful."

It is disgraceful that @SenSanders allowed this event by @RepRashida to be held in our nation’s Capitol," Greenblatt said. "Real conversations are needed around a path to peace, but not with groups & individuals who espouse antisemitism. We call on the Senate to condemn this event."

International Legal Forum CEO Arsen Ostrovsky provided harsher criticism, going so far as to say "Sanders is a disgrace and a Jew-hating enabler!"

Sanders reportedly did not personally attend Tlaib's "Nakba Day" event.