The 2023 award for ‘Antisemite of the Year’ was gifted to Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib by StopAntisemitism. As antisemitism rose internationally after Hamas’s October 7 attack, the congresswoman beat some fierce competition all seemingly vying for the top spot. Tlaib beat Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Supermodel and Influencer Gigi Hadid.
Tlaib, who represents the 12th district, won the title after 15,000 people casted their votes.
As the fifth crowned Antisemite of the Year, Tlaib follows in the footsteps of Kanye West (2022) and Anuradha Mittal, the head of Ben & Jerry’s board of directors and vice president of Ben & Jerry’s Foundation Inc. (2021).
“Rep. Tlaib’s well-earned title reflects a long history of antisemitism, but her statements in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attacks were particularly unconscionable,” said StopAntisemitism Executive Director Liora Rez. “Tlaib not only victim-blamed Israel, but she also accused it of committing genocide against the Palestinians and continues to defend calls to ethnically cleanse Israel of Jews and genocide.”
“This is a historically dangerous time for American Jews,” said Rez. “Amid an explosion in antisemitic incidents and hate crimes, we can’t afford to have our elected representatives adding fuel to the fire.”
What led to Tlaib winning the 2023 ‘Antisemite of the Year’ award?
Tlaib has now become one of only 26 congresspeople to be formally censured, according to StopAntisemitism. Tlaib was censured after she blamed Hamas’s attack on Israel on Israel.
The congresswoman, in July, became one of only 9 members of Congress to vote against a bill that asserted that Israel is not a racist or apartheid state. That same bill also expressed Congress’ rejection of all forms of antisemitism and xenophobia.
Adding to her list of false claims, Tlaib falsely spread the claim that Israel had conducted an airstrike on a Gazan hospital. The strike in question had been carried out by a failed missile launch by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Even after the United States confirmed that PIJ had been behind the hospital blast, Tlaib continued to spread false claims that Israel was committing genocide.
In November, Tlaib’s claims escalated to the point she made a video accusing US Joe Biden of supporting “the genocide of the Palestinian people” and calling for a ceasefire. She has vilified Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “genocidal maniac” and criticized the US for funding “massacres” in Gaza.
While Tlaib has accused Israel of genocide repeatedly, many have criticized her for defending the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The slogan claims that a Palestinian state would fall between the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, meaning the entire state of Israel would be wiped off the map. This slogan is thought to advocate for a single-state solution and many consider it genocidal.
Tlaib denied that the slogan was problematic, instead posting on X that “From the river to the sea is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate.”