Over the weekend, a pro-Palestine rally in Dearborn, Michigan drew backlash after some attendees were filmed chanting “death to America” and “death to Israel.”
Oddly, a pro-Israel congresswoman took the brunt of the backlash. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who is not in the district, remained silent on the incident until this morning, earning her critcism.
In a viral video shared by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), participants of an Al-Quds Day rally in Dearborn on April 5 are heard saying “death to America” and “death to Israel” while activist Terek Bazzi was giving a speech.
Many elected officials condemned the chants, including Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud and the Biden administration. In a tweet, Hammoud said Dearborn rejects “all inflammatory and violent statements made at the gathering,” and in a statement to right-wing news outlet the Daily Caller, the White House said it “condemns these abhorrent and Antisemitic remarks in the strongest terms.”
Despite the statements from Hammoud and Biden, though, Slotkin, a Michigan representative, was harangued online for not saying anything about the rally. Slotkin’s district ends 20 miles outside of Dearborn.
Dearborn, Michigan is the first Arab-American majority city in the U.S.
Slotkin is a pro-Israel Democrat who initially criticized Dearborn’s own representative, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), when Tlaib urged the Biden administration to stop funding Israel in October 2023.
Last week, though, Slotkin called for a ceasefire in the Israeli-Hamas war. She is running for an open Michigan Senate seat this year.
In response to an innocuous tweet yesterday about the eclipse from Slotkin, many demanded she address the incident at the Al-Quds Day rally in Dearborn.
“Nice to see you focused on what really matters,” one X user replied to Slotkin alongside a screenshot of a @LibsofTikTok tweet about the rally. @LibsofTikTok is a prominent right-wing, anti-LGBTQ X account run by Chaya Raichik.
“Care to mention the ‘Death to America’ rally in Dearborn,” another X user wrote.
“Will you chant death to the Moon for repressing the Sun?” an X user replied, referencing the solar eclipse. “How about the Dearborn hate speech chant of death to America?”
This morning, Slotkin tweeted a statement on the rally.
“Violent, hateful language has no place in our communities, no matter the cause,” Slotkin wrote on X. “I’m grateful to the Dearborn leaders and others for making clear that these statements do not reflect the views of Michigan’s communities.”
But the content of her statement wasn’t enough for some, despite the events not taking place in her district.
“It took Democrat Rep. Elissa Slotkin nearly 5 days to come up with a soft statement in response to her constituents chanting ‘Death to America,’” conservative communications professional Steve Guest tweeted. “Weak and feckless ‘leadership.’”
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