New MI. Congresswoman Says She Is Palestinian Instead of American

[HARDCORE]

Rashida Tlaib

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Member-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 13th district

Assuming office
January 3, 2019
Succeeding Brenda Jones
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the 6th district
12th district (2009–2012)
In office
January 1, 2009 – December 31, 2014
Preceded by Steve Tobocman
Succeeded by Stephanie Chang
Personal details
Born
Rashida Harbi

July 24, 1976 (age 42)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s)
Fayez Tlaib
(m. 1998; div. 2015)
Children 2
Education Wayne State University (BA)
Thomas M. Cooley Law School (JD)

Rashida Harbi Tlaib[a] (born July 24, 1976) is an American politician and lawyer who is the U.S. Representative-elect for Michigan's 13th Congressional district.[2] She is a Democratic[3] former member of the Michigan House of Representatives. Until term-limited out, she represented the 6th District, which is in Southwest Detroit and stretches from an area just south of Downtown to the city's southern border, and west to the city of Dearborn. Upon taking office on January 1, 2009, Tlaib became the first Muslim woman to serve in the Michigan Legislature, and the first Muslim woman in history to be elected to any U.S. state legislature.[4]

In 2018, Tlaib won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives seat from Michigan's 13th congressional district. She ran unopposed in the general election and became one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, alongside Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and the first Palestinian-American woman in Congress.[5][6] She is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.[7]
Early life and education

The eldest of fourteen children, Rashida Harbi was born on July 24, 1976, to working-class Palestinian immigrants in Detroit. Her mother was born in Beit Ur El Foka, near the West Bank city of Ramallah. Her father was born in Beit Hanina, a neighborhood in Jerusalem. He moved first to Nicaragua, then to Detroit, where he worked on an assembly line in a Ford Motor Company plant. As the eldest, Tlaib played a role in raising her siblings while her parents worked but sometimes relied on welfare for support.[8]

Rashida Tlaib attended elementary school at Harms, Bennett Elementary and Phoenix Academy. She graduated from Southwestern High School in Detroit in 1994, and from Wayne State University with a B.A. in political science in 1998. She earned a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2004.[9]
Earlier political career

Tlaib began her political career in 2004, when she took an internship with State Representative Steve Tobocman. When Tobocman became Majority Floor Leader in 2007, he recruited Tlaib to be on his staff.[10][11]
Michigan House of Representatives

In 2008, Tobocman encouraged Tlaib to run for his seat, which he was vacating due to term limits. The urban district is 40% Hispanic, 25% African-American, 30% non-Hispanic white, and 2% Arab American. Tlaib faced a crowded primary that included several Latinos, including former State Representative Belda Garza. Tlaib emerged victorious, carrying 44% of the vote in the eight-way Democratic primary. The 12th District is overwhelmingly Democratic, and Tlaib won the general election with over 90% of the vote.[12]

In 2010, Tlaib faced a primary election challenge from Jim Czachorowski in his first bid for office.[13] Tlaib picked up 85% of the vote, to Czachorowski's 15%. Tlaib also won the general election with 92% of the vote against Republican challenger Darrin Daigle.

In 2012 Tlaib won reelection to the Michigan House in the newly redrawn 6th District against fellow incumbent Maureen Stapleton. She could not run again in 2014 because of term limits.

During her tenure as a legislator, Tlaib was one of ten Muslims serving in state legislatures across the United States. She is the second Muslim to serve in the Michigan State House of Representatives, after James Karoub. Tlaib is the second Muslim woman to serve in a state legislature nationwide, after Jamilah Nasheed of Missouri.[14] She and Justin Amash, a Republican who was also elected in 2008, were the first two Palestinian-American members of the Michigan legislature.

After leaving the state legislature, Tlaib worked at Sugar Law Center, a Detroit nonprofit that provides free legal representation for workers.[15]
U.S. House of Representatives

2018 Special Election
Main article: Michigan's 13th congressional district special election, 2018

In 2018, Tlaib announced her intention to run for John Conyers's seat in Congress. As of July 16, 2018, she had raised $893,030 in funds, more than her five opponents in the August 7 Democratic primary.[16]

Tlaib finished second in the Democratic primary to Brenda Jones, President of the Detroit City Council, receiving 31,084 votes, or 35.9%.[17]

2018 general election
Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan, 2018 § District 13

Tlaib announced her intention to run to succeed Conyers in the November 6 general elections. She defeated Brenda Jones, President of the Detroit City Council and Bill Wild, Mayor of Westland, among others.[18] She received 27,803 votes, or 31.2%. She ran unopposed in November 2018 and became the one of the first two Muslim women in Congress along with Ilhan Omar, and the first Palestinian-American woman in Congress.[5]
Political positions
Affiliation

Tlaib, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, aligns politically with the left wing of the Democratic Party.[19][20]
Domestic policy

She supports domestic reforms including Medicare For All and a $15 minimum wage.[21]
Immigration

Tlaib was a strong, early supporter of the movement to abolish the Immigration Customs Enforcement agency.[19]
Israel and Palestine

Tlaib supports a one-state solution;[22][23] "It has to be one state", she has said; two states for two peoples "does not work."[22] She opposes United States aid to Israel.[24][23]

Tlaib changed her position on Israel after winning the Democratic primary in her district on August 7, 2018.[22][24][23] Before the primary, she voiced support for a two-state solution as well as "aid to Israel and the Palestinian Authority, particularly to fund initiatives that foster peace", and was endorsed by J Street.[22] But in an August 2018 interview she said she opposed providing aid to a “Netanyahu Israel” and supported the Palestinian right of return and a one-state solution. As a result, J Street withdrew its endorsement of her candidacy in the general election.[25][26][22]
Trump Administration

Tlaib is critical of President Donald Trump. In August 2016, a military veteran who supported then Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump gave Trump his Purple Heart and Trump responded, "I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier." Trump did not serve; he received multiple student deferments and a medical deferment for a bone spur. His comment drew considerable criticism nationwide. On August 8, 2016, Tlaib attended a speech Trump gave at Cobo Center and asked him to return the Purple Heart, saying that Trump had not earned the medal. Tlaib was then ejected from the venue.[27]
Personal life

In 1998, at the age of 22, Tlaib married Fayez Tlaib. They have two sons, Adam and Yousif. They have since divorced. In 2018, a campaign spokesperson called Tlaib a single mother.[28]
Electoral history

2008 campaign for State House
Rashida Tlaib (D), 90%
Darrin Daigle (R), 10%
2008 campaign for State House, Democratic Primary
Rashida Tlaib (D), 44%
Carl Ramsey (D), 26%
Belda Garza (D), 9%
Daniel Solano (D), 7%
Lisa Randon (D), 7%
Denise Hearn (D), 5%
Rochelle Smith (D), 1%
Nellie Saenz (D), 1%
2010 campaign for State House, Democratic Primary
Rashida Tlaib (D), 85%
Jim Czachorowski (D), 15%
2010 campaign for State House
Rashida Tlaib (D), 92%
Darrin Daigle (R), 8%

Democratic primary results, Michigan's 13th congressional district special election, 2018 Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Brenda Jones 32,727 37.7
Democratic Rashida Tlaib 31,084 35.9
Democratic Bill Wild 13,152 15.2
Democratic Ian Conyers 9,740 11.2
Total votes 86,703 100.0
Democratic primary results, United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan, 2018 § District 13 Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Rashida Tlaib 27,803 31.2
Democratic Brenda Jones 26,916 30.2
Democratic Bill Wild 12,589 14.1
Democratic Coleman Young II 11,162 12.5
Democratic Ian Conyers 5,861 6.6
Democratic Shanelle Jackson 4,848 5.3
Total votes 89,179 100.0



https://www.nbcnews.com/card/rashida...ngress-n932886
Rashida Tlaib is first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress

Rashida Tlaib won Michigan's 13th Congressional District on Tuesday, NBC News projects, becoming the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress.

Tlaib was previously elected to the Michigan House of Representatives.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...ngress-n898836
Decision 2018
First Muslim woman, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, bound for Congress
Former state Rep. Rashida Tlaib won the Democratic nomination late Tuesday to run unopposed for a Detroit-area congressional seat.
Aug. 8, 2018 / 5:48 PM GMT
By Associated Press

DETROIT — An attorney and former Michigan lawmaker is looking ahead to becoming the first Muslim woman elected to Congress.

Former state Rep. Rashida Tlaib won the Democratic nomination late Tuesday to run unopposed for the Detroit-area congressional seat long held by former U.S. Rep. John Conyers. No Republicans or third-party candidates were in the race, meaning the daughter of Palestinian immigrants is set to win the seat in November and begin serving a full two-year term in January.

"I will uplift you in so many ways," she told supporters during a victory speech early Wednesday morning. "Not only through service but fighting back, against every single oppressive, racist structure that needs to be dismantled, because you deserve better than what we have today in our country."
Tuesday a historic night for female candidates
Aug. 8, 201806:30
And she wasted no time in challenging President Donald Trump, calling him a "bully" and adding: "I don't know if he's ready for me."

Tlaib, 42, served in the Michigan House from 2009 until 2014. She defeated five other candidates to win the nomination to run for a full term representing the heavily Democratic district, which covers much of Detroit and some of its suburbs.

Since leaving the Legislature, Tlaib has worked as an attorney for the Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice. On Wednesday, she said her agenda in Washington will be Medicare for all, a $15 minimum wage, sustainable environmental policies, public school funding and fair immigration reform.

"This is a huge victory for the Arab and Muslim American communities — it's also a huge victory for the city of Detroit," said Sally Howell, director of the Center for Arab American Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

"Rashida Tlaib brings forward the legacy of John Conyers in terms of the groundbreaking role he played in Congress and his commitment to civil rights."

The 89-year-old Conyers was first elected to the House in 1964. He stepped down in December citing health reasons, though several former female staffers had accused him of sexual harassment. That resulted in Michigan's 13th Congressional District going without representation in Congress ever since.

There are currently two Muslim men serving in Congress: Minnesota's Keith Ellison was the first to be elected and took office in 2007, followed by Andre Carson in Indiana. Ellison's decision to run for Minnesota attorney general has left his U.S. House seat open, and two candidates seeking to replace him are also Muslim: Democrats Ilhan Omar, the country's first Somali-American state lawmaker, and Jamal Abdulahi, a Somali-American activist.

There were as many as 90 Muslim-Americans running for national or statewide offices this election cycle. They've been spurred to action by the anti-Muslim policies and rhetoric of President Donald Trump and his supporters, and they're running for elected offices in numbers not seen since before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to Muslim groups and political observers.

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed had hoped to become the nation's first Muslim governor, but the former Detroit health director lost his bid Tuesday to be the Democratic nominee in the Michigan governor's race . Former legislative leader Gretchen Whitmer will face Republican state Attorney General Bill Schuette, an ally of President Donald Trump, in the November election.

Arabs have been coming to the U.S. in large numbers since the late 19th century, and their ranks have grown in recent decades due to wars and political instability in the Middle East. Many settled in and around Detroit, New York and Los Angeles.

The U.S. Census Bureau's 2013 American Community Survey, which had a sample size of about 3 million addresses, estimated that 1.5 million people living the U.S at the time were of Arab ancestry.

The Detroit area alone has one of the largest Middle East populations in the U.S., with at least 150,000 Arabs and Chaldeans, or Iraqi Christians, calling the region home, according to the latest available data and scholarly research. Experts say estimating the size of the Muslim community is difficult, but say Arab-Muslims represent the largest ethnic group of Muslims in the area.

The area Tlaib will represent, Michigan's 13th Congressional District, is not majority Arab or Muslim. It's a diverse district with predominantly white, black and Hispanic residents.

"Her accomplishments were recognized by the larger public," said Howell, the University of Michigan professor. "This shows that Arab and Muslim candidates in Michigan are part of the political mainstream."

Conyers' seat was among three open House seats in Michigan heading into the primary, including another that the Democrats expect to keep and a Republican-held seat they hope to flip in their push to take control of the chamber.

In a twist, there was also a special primary election Tuesday for the last two months of Conyers' term, which ends in December. That race was still too close to call Wednesday between Tlaib and Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones. The winner of that race will also run unopposed in November's election but would only hold the seat for two months.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKCN1NC1HL
World News
November 7, 2018 / 11:24 AM / 2 months ago
West Bank kin cheer first Palestinian-American woman in U.S. Congress
Rami Ayyub, Ali Sawafta

3 Min Read

BEIT UR AL-FAUQA, West Bank (Reuters) - Tuning into the news at dawn on Wednesday, the extended family of Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress, celebrated her victory in their home in the Israeli occupied West Bank.
The uncle of Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress, shows her picture on a tablet, in Beit Ur Al-Fauqa, in the occupied West Bank November 7, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

Tlaib, a Democrat, ran virtually unopposed in Michigan’s 13th congressional district, which encompasses southwest Detroit and its suburbs west to the city of Dearborn. She previously served in Michigan’s state legislature.

She has become “a source of pride for Palestine and the entire Arab and Muslim world,” her uncle, Bassam Tlaib, said in the small village of Beit Ur Al-Fauqa.

With her win, Tlaib, 44, will become the first Palestinian-American woman to serve in the U.S. Congress. Alongside incoming Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, she will also be one of the first Muslim women to join the congressional ranks.

“I’m going to speak truth to power,” Tlaib told the Detroit Free Press on election night on Tuesday. “I obviously have a set agenda that’s not going to be a priority for the current president but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to push back.”

Tlaib’s district is home to one of the largest Arab-American populations in the United States. Her win highlights a wave of Palestinian diaspora candidates and activists who have embraced the Democratic Party’s progressive wing at a low point in U.S.-Palestinian relations under Republican President Donald Trump.

In California’s 50th district, Ammar Campa-Najjar, a Palestinian-American who spent part of his childhood in Gaza and whose father served in the Palestinian Authority, was in a close race with incumbent Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter, early results showed.

“The success of [Tlaib and Campa-Najjar’s] progressive messaging on a wide range of issues, including Palestine, is reflective of a shifting public discourse that Palestine activists have played a role in shaping,” said Omar Baddar, deputy director of the Washington-based Arab American Institute.
CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM

Under Trump, Washington has alienated Palestinians by recognizing contested Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving the American embassy there, and by slashing U.S. funding of the U.N. body that aids Palestinians.

Palestinians have broken off contact with his administration, which has promised to announce a peace plan soon for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In the West Bank city of Ramallah and throughout the territory, Palestinians took a cautious view of the election news.

“Change is incremental, and Palestinians in Palestine are intimately aware of that,” said Salem Barahmeh, executive director of the Ramallah-based Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy.

“That said, Tlaib’s election is seen as a glimmer of hope in a very dark chapter in the Palestinian people’s history,” Barahmeh added.

Bassam Tlaib, the candidate’s uncle, said she had “stood against Trump” at a time when “even our Arab leaders are unwilling to face (him).”

[Boats]

Well HC we are country of many peoples. As long as she is now an American first is what counts. I would suspect she has already become an American Citizen in order to run for office. I give her the benefit of the doubt that she will make the US her first priority.

We have to wait and see how she votes and on what issues. We can't judge her on her Nationality after all we all came from other countries to become American's.

Boats

[HARDCORE]

Says She Is Palestinian Instead of American

Even if she was born in America......

[Boats]

HC

I've to written her to refer to herself as an American (first) her place of birth was Palestine (if asked).
-
Due to the many issues we've had with Palestine over many years. It would help to just call yourself an American 1st - and to give her nationality - only if asked. Saying this will go a lot further than stating I'm a Palestinian. No Madame! Your an American!

I've had no reply from her yet if I get one I will let you know. But I do agree with you on your statement.

Boats "An American!"

[HARDCORE]

If she became an American Citizen - THEN SHE IS AN AMERICAN AND NO LONGER A PALESTINIAN!

I DON'T CARE IF SHE IS A DEMOCRAT OR A REPUBLICAN - SHE IS AN AMERICAN FIRST AND ALWAYS.

MRS. HARDCORE