DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – Even amid the escalating tensions between Israel and Hamas, and Israel and Iran, it appears that being anti-Israel is still good business for Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.

Tlaib, who represents the 12th Congressional District which includes the city of Detroit, Dearborn, Southfield and many surrounding communities, is part of what is referred to as “The Squad,” an informal group of progressive Democrats, mostly women of color, who were first elected in 2018 to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Young and progressive.

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All of the “Squad” members were under 50-years-old when elected and are considered to be a part of the “left-wing” of the party. Their views include things like the Green New Deal, Medicare for All and tuition-free college. Many are also anti-Israel and have spoken out against Israel’s war in Gaza.

47-year-old Tlaib, a Muslim and the first Palestinian American woman to be voted into Congress, has been consistently outspoken in her anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian views and was even censured by the House of Representatives in November of 2023 for “promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.”

Rep. Tlaib hasn’t condemned “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” chants in Dearborn.

Tlaib, who was born and raised in Detroit, has yet to condemn the “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” chants that went on at a Dearborn rally last Friday. When Fox News Business reporter Hillary Vaughn asked her if she condemned the chants, Tlaib answered, “I don’t talk to Fox News. Using racist tropes about my community is what Fox News is about and I don’t talk to Fox News….You guys are Islamaphobic.”

Tlaib won her first congressional election in 2018 and won again in 2020 and 2022. In her most recent general election, she won with 71% of the vote.

A supporter of her sister’s anti-Biden vote during the presidential primary election in Michigan.

During Michigan’s presidential primary election in March, her sister, Layla Elabed, a Dearborn-based activist, organized an “uncommitted” campaign against Biden as a protest vote of his pro-Israel position. More than 100,000 “uncommitted” votes were cast in the Democratic primary instead of for Biden. Tlaib endorsed the effort saying, “If you want us to be louder, come here and vote uncommitted…We don’t want a country that supports wars and bombs and destruction. We want to support life. We want to stand up for every single life killed in Gaza”

Millions raised for re-election fight.

Up for re-election again in 2024, Tlaib raised $3.7 million in last year’s fourth quarter according to FEC filings. She also has a war chest of over $5 million cash on hand according to Melissa Nann Burke, Washington bureau chief, Detroit News, who says about the windfall on the social media platform X, “That’s above and beyond what many MI Senate candidates did last quarter, excluding Slotkin.”

Supporters all over the country put money behind Rep. Tlaib.

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Wayne County Commissioner and 13th District Democratic Party Chair Jonathan Kinloch alluded to Axios that the money came from outside of the district by saying, “She’s the only person in the country for people who support Palestine to donate their money to. We don’t have that kind of money in Detroit.”

Tlaib isn’t the only squad member who is up for re-election and needs funding amid their progressive views and Gaza support. With other Squad members facing re-election as well, they are not only facing opposition in the general election, some also have pro-Israel opponents in their own party in the primary, including Rep. Jamaal Bowman whose opponent, George Latimer, has the backing of the Democratic Majority for Israel – and Rep. Cori Bush who faces a challenger who is supported by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

The “Squad” is up for re-election in November and antisemitism statements haven’t stopped the donations.

Fighting against the AIPAC is the “Protect the Squad” campaign. Their website says, “Every member of the Squad is up for re-election this year, and five of these young, working-class, Black and brown progressives are facing serious threats to their U.S. House seats: Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, Summer Lee, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib.”

The website goes on to say, “With right-wing megadonor-funded groups like AIPAC and Moderate PAC threatening to drop upwards of $100 million on attack ads and hand-picked challengers to unseat these Squad members, we need to come together to combat their attacks with the power of our grassroots movement.”

Rep. Tlaib asks for money to save the Squad from attacks.

According to WCPT820 Radio, the group hopes to raise $100 million in their re-election fight. Tlaib is urging supporters to donate saying, “Please join me in supporting my colleagues that are standing up. They’re getting attacked right now, calls into their offices. They need to hear from the American people who know this is the answer to try to get a peace-loving solution to the violence (in Gaza).”

Fresh off calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, the 19th Newsroom says that the campaigns of the Squad got an influx of donations in the last quarter of 2023. In addition to Tlaib’s fundraising numbers, they say, “Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota cleared about $1.6 million; Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts received about $155,000; Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri brought in more than $485,000; and Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania reported receiving more than $987,000, according to Federal Election Commission filings.”

Usamah Andrabi with Justice Democrats, a group that supports progressive lawmakers, (including the Squad) says about the donations, “Despite all of the attacks and malignment that these representatives have gotten, they pulled in record fundraising quarters, which shows progressive policies are still overwhelmingly popular.”

Whether a progressive brand of antisemitism is able contribute to some Democrats securing another term in office in certain pockets of the United States will be determined on November 5th.