Rashida Tlaib calls Israel ‘apartheid regime’ as Congress votes on Iron Dome funding

Congresswoman was one of several Democrats who briefly delayed measure to give Israel an extra $1bn for missile defence system

Rashida Tlaib, a congresswoman from Michigan, labelled Israel an “apartheid regime” on the floor of the US House of Representatives shortly before the chamber overwhelmingly voted to give Israel $1 billion in additional funds for its Iron Dome missile defence system.

“The Israeli government is an apartheid regime — not my words: the words of Human Rights Watch and Israel’s own human rights organisation, B’Tselem,” Ms Tlaib said before the 420-9 vote in favour of the funding.

Her comments drew condemnation from Republicans and fellow Democrats alike.

Ms Tlaib, who identifies as Palestinian American, had previously called Israel an “apartheid state” in May after Human Rights Watch reached the same conclusion in April.

“I cannot allow one of my colleagues to stand on the floor of the House of Representatives and label the Jewish democratic state of Israel an apartheid state,” Democrat Ted Deutch, chairman of the Middle East panel, said in response to Ms Tlaib’s remarks. “I reject it.”

Ms Tlaib’s remarks came after she joined forces with several of her pro-Palestinian colleagues in the Congressional Progressive Caucus to briefly delay the additional Iron Dome funding, which the party’s leaders had initially inserted as an extra provision in a bill to temporarily extend federal funding needed to prevent a government shutdown.

Because Republicans opposed the government funding bill, Democrats could afford few defections.

This forced Democratic leaders to remove the Iron Dome provision and introduce it as a stand-alone bill on the House floor, highlighting the feud between a new generation of pro-Palestinian Democrats and the party’s pro-Israel old guard.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and President Joe Biden's administration had asked Congress for the $1bn in additional Iron Dome funding.

They assert that the sum is necessary to replenish Iron Dome batteries that were depleted during Israel’s latest war against Hamas in May, which killed at least 243 Palestinians and 12 Israelis while devastating the Gaza Strip.

“Iron Dome is a purely defensive system designed to safeguard all civilians living in Israel,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said before the vote. “The system was co-developed by the United States and Israel and has saved thousands of lives.”

“Passage of the bill reflects a great unity in Congress on a bipartisan and bicameral basis for Israel’s security.”

The bill is easily expected to pass the Senate.

Ms Tlaib called the $1bn price tag “absurd, an unjustifiable 140 per cent increase for the Iron Dome".

The amount represents a 60 per cent increase over what Congress has provided in funding for the programme over the past decade, said Seth Binder, the advocacy director at the Project on Middle East Democracy.

He noted that the $1bn in the bill is 14 times more than the $73 million the US gave to Israel for the Iron Dome this year.

The US provides Israel with $3.3bn in foreign military financing every year, and an additional $500m for its missile programmes, which include the Iron Dome.

Congress last passed emergency funding for the Iron Dome after Israel’s 2014 war with Hamas — but that totalled $225m, a fraction of the $1bn that the House passed on Thursday.

An August poll from the Chicago Council Survey found that half of Americans believe the US should restrict military aid to Israel, including 62 per cent of Democrats and 32 per cent of Republicans.

Despite the growing support within the Democratic party to leverage US military aid to Israel, Mr Biden has refused to budge on the issue.

His nominee to serve as ambassador to Israel, Thomas Nides, also came out in favour of funding Israel’s replenishment of Iron Dome batteries during his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

Rockets fired towards Israel from Beit Lahia in northern Gaza on Friday. Anas Baba / AFP

Smoke and flames rise after an Israeli air strike in northern Gaza early on Friday. Gaza’s Health Ministry said 109 Palestinians, including 28 children and 15 women, had been killed by air strikes. EPA

Rockets launched towards Israel from northern Gaza Strip are countered by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system overnight on Thursday. Seven people in Israel have been killed in the cross-border rocket exchanges. Fatima Shbair / Getty Images

Smoke and flames caused by an Israeli air strike on Gaza city early on Friday. Reuters / Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

A policeman stops traffic to allow police cars to make their way towards reported rioting in Haifa, Israel, on Thursday. Jews and Arabs have been involved in mob violence. Daniel Rolider / Getty Images

A fire blazes in the middle of a street in Haifa's Hadar neighbourhood on Thursday night, as rioting continued in several Israeli cities. Daniel Rolider / Getty Images

Rockets fired towards Israel from Beit Lahia in northern Gaza on Friday. Israel massed troops on the border as barrages were fired by both sides. AFP / Mohammed Abed

Smoke rises over houses in Ashkelon, in southern Israel, after a rocket attack launched from Gaza. Reuters / Amir Cohen

An explosion during an Israeli air strike on Beit Lahia in northern Gaza on Friday. AFP / Mohammed Abed

An explosion lights up the sky during an Israeli air strike on Beit Lahia in northern Gaza on Friday. AFP / Mohammed Abed

A Palestinian family flee from their home in the east of Gaza city during Israeli air strikes early on Friday. EPA / Mohammed Saber

Rockets are fired towards Israel from Rafah in southern Gaza on Friday. AFP / Said Khatib

A field blazes after an explosion in Ramla, Israel, caused by a rocket launched from Gaza on Thursday night. Amir Levy/Getty Images

Palestinian families take shelter in a UN school in Gaza city on Thursday, after fleeing their homes in the town of Beit Lahia. Israel pounded Gaza and sent extra troops to the border as Palestinians fired barrages of rockets back. AFP / Mahmud Hams

A Palestinian family takes shelter in a UN school in Gaza city on Thursday, after after fleeing their home Beit Lahia. AFP / Mahmud Hams