US Representative Rashida Tlaib on Wednesday emerged victorious from the Democratic primary election in her home state of Michigan, continuing her political career as the first Palestinian American US congresswoman.
Tlaib, a member of the “squad” of four first-term congresswomen of color who have drawn attention for their liberal views and distaste for President Donald Trump, scored a convincing victory over Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones.
According to The New York Times, Tlaib had 66 percent of the vote to Jones’ 34 percent with 90 percent of votes counted.
Jones had criticized Tlaib as being too divisive.
“The work continues,” Tlaib tweeted following her victory. “Onward.”
Upon her first election victory in 2018, Tlaib became one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, as she was sworn into the US House of Representatives in the same year as Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, another member of the “squad”.
Tlaib has become well-known for her Palestinian advocacy inside Congress, showing up to this year’s State of the Union in a traditional thobe and at one point being banned from entering Israel due to her activism.
"For all the corporate bullies and corporations that think they’re going to make government about them, there’s a bunch of us coming. Our squad is getting bigger and bigger.” – @RashidaTlaib pic.twitter.com/juSLwnHXKP
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) August 6, 2020
“The good news from Washington is that, despite Trump’s support for Israel, an incremental but lasting structural change is taking place among Democratic Party supporters throughout the country,” Palestinian journalist and editor of The Palestine Chronicle Ramzy Baroud wrote in a recent article.
“Even Israel’s traditional hold over the country’s Jewish communities is faltering — and quickly so,” Baroud added.
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