Newly elected Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar posted a list of celebratory firsts and records Thursday on Twitter, but Republican Michigan Rep. Justin Amash pointed out one falsehood. Omar, the first Somali-American elected to U.S. Congress, wrote “The #116thCongress has SO much to be proud of” before listing several broken barriers that came with Thursday’s swearing-in ceremony. The #116thCongress has SO much to be proud of: ✅1st Somali-American + Refugee ✅1st Muslim women (@RashidaTlaib & I) ✅1st Indigenous women ✅1st Palestinian-American ✅Youngest (28) @AOC ✅Record 100+ women ✅Largest ever Black (55), Hispanic (37), & Progressive (98) caucuses — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 3, 2019 Presumably referring to the newly elected representative and Democratic socialist from Michigan, Rashida Tlaib, Omar attributed her the title of the “1st Palestinian-American” in Congress. Tlaib is the first female Palestinian-American serving in Congress, but not the first Palestinian-American, as Amash succinctly pointed out. “My father is Palestinian, and I’ve been in Congress since 2011,” Amash wrote. My father is Palestinian, and I’ve been in Congress since 2011. — Justin Amash (@justinamash) January 4, 2019 Amash was born in the United States and is the son of a Palestinian-refugee father, and his mother is a Syrian immigrant. The Republican has served Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District since 2011. (RELATED: Trump Poses Questions To Those Seeking To Impeach Him) Tlaib made headlines hours after being sworn in to her new job when she made a promise to supporters at a rally that she’d go after Trump and “impeach the motherf****r.” Tlaib also co-wrote an op-ed in the Detroit Free Press Thursday claiming the House doesn’t need to wait to see the results of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation before moving forward “with an inquiry in the U.S. House of Representatives on whether the president has committed impeachable ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ against the state: abuse of power and abuse of the public trust.” Follow Hanna on Twitter Email tips to hanna@dailycallernewsfoundation.org Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.<doc-sep>“That level of racism and bigotry has no place in Florida’s politics,” said Vetnah Monessar, state director for Emgage, a nonprofit focused on civic engagement among Muslim Americans. “Muslims are part of the fabric of this country. We demand that Commissioner Taub apologize to her constituents and the general public.”<doc-sep>Freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib has been condemned after hosting a private celebratory dinner on Saturday featuring anti-Israel activists who praised terror group Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorists, said Israel has no right to exist and called for Israeli “Zionist terrorist” Jews to return to Europe. Tlaib, the first-term Palestinian-American congresswoman from Michigan, first rose to national prominence after being caught on video saying she will “impeach the motherf-----,” in reference to President trump, on the same day she was sworn into Congress Over the weekend, Tlaib came under fire for her ties to radical Palestinian activists. After the official swearing-in ceremony in her home district, Tlaib and a number of anti-Israel activists participated in the dinner. She was photographed with Abbas Hamideh, a supporter of Tlaib and a co-founder of Al-Awda, who made numerous inflammatory and hateful remarks on social media. RASHIDA TLAIB ACCUSED OF ANTI-SEMITIC SLUR, DAYS AFTER PROFANE ANTI-TRUMP TIRADE The controversy over the ties to the activist came about a week after Tlaib was accused of anti-Semitism when she lashed out against Senate Republicans for planning to introduce a measure banning boycotts of Israel, saying: “They forgot what country they represent.” Shortly after his image with Tlaib was discovered, many social media users began pointing out the activist’s social media writings, including his affinity to the terrorist group Hezbollah. “Always loved this heroic resistance leader! Long live Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah!” he wrote in 2015, celebrating the leader of the group that the U.S. government designated as a foreign terrorist organization. “They tried so hard to demonize #Nasrallah and #Hezbollah and we said f--- you!,” he wrote in another tweet. Just a day after the event with Tlaib, the activists suggested “Zionist terrorists” should go back to Europe. He previously wrote that “there's more Jewish history in Brooklyn, New York and Poland than in occupied Palestine” and suggested Israeli Jews should move to New York. PELOSI DOWNPLAYS RASHIDA TLAIB'S PROFANITY-LACED VOW TO IMPEACH TRUMP, AS REPUBLICANS FUME A prominent Chicago anti-Israel activist going by Jbara Mwafaq was also present at the dinner. He is an active leader in the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine (CCJP), an umbrella group of Palestinians and against Israel, Fox News can reveal. On social media, the activist once posted a picture of himself speaking on a podium with the the Palestine Liberation Movement flag and advocated for the end of Israel with Palestine “from the river to the sea.” He frequently posted images of imprisoned Palestinian terrorists, including Karim Younis, the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner in Israel for carrying an attack on Israeli soldiers 1980. Tlaib gave a shout-out at the dinner to activists from Chicago, including Ahlam Jbara – another leader of the CCJP group and Arab and Muslim American Outreach director of Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign. “All those who are from Chicago, thank you so much. Thank you for coming here. Ahlam Jbara not only had one but three events for me in Chicago, helping me raise grassroots money so we can get going door to door and so on,” she said at the dinner. Tlaib’s association with Hamideh prompted both Republican and Democratic Jewish groups to condemn the congresswoman. “Unfortunately, we really aren’t surprised. Tlaib is turning out to be the exact person we were warning she is. What is perhaps the worst part about this is, Democrats won’t do a single thing about it, nor will Democratic Jewish groups,” Republican Jewish Coalition spokesperson Neil Strauss told JNS. “And it’s all because they’re afraid to stand up to their rabidly anti-Israel, far-left base.” “JDCA stands unequivocally against Abbas Hamideh’s radical record and his extremist anti-Israel views which should be condemned by all,” the Jewish Democratic Council of America told the outlet. “Since August of last year, JDCA has repeatedly stated our strong policy disagreements with Rep. Rashida Tlaib and we urge her to make clear where she stands with regard to Abbas Hamideh.” “Unfortunately, we really aren’t surprised. Tlaib is turning out to be the exact person we were warning she is. What is perhaps the worst part about this is, Democrats won’t do a single thing about it, nor will Democratic Jewish groups. And it’s all because they’re afraid to stand up to their rabidly anti-Israel, far-left base.” — Republican Jewish Coalition spokesperson Neil Strauss This isn’t the first time Tlaib is facing scrutiny over her ties to radical activists in the country. According to Algemeiner, a New York-based Jewish newspaper, Tlaib’s fundraising efforts were backed by Maher Abdelqader, a prominent Palestinian in America, who praised Syrian Catholic bishop Hilarion Capucci who was convicted in Israel for using his status in 1974 to smuggle weapons to the terrorist Palestine Liberation Organization. “Palestine lost one of its loyal freedom fighters, who fought passionately for the liberty and freedom of palestine(sic) from the Zionist apartheid ugly Israeli occupation,” he tweeted after the death of the bishop. Tlaib also interacted with Ahmad Abuznaid, an anti-Israel activist who is the son of Nabil Abuznaid, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) ambassador and former Yasser Arafat advisor. She shared a picture of him on her personal Facebook page, writing “Look at this handsome voter. Ahmad Abuznaid took on hate with his vote today in #FloridaPrimary.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP He is a co-founder of Florida-based Dream Defenders, a group that organized a trip to West Bank in 2015 and 2016, with one of the trips led by Mahmoud Jiddeh, a former member of a U.S.-designated terror group – the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who spent 17 years in prison for planting bombs in Israel that wounded nine civilians. He was released as part of a prisoner swap. The Tlaib office didn’t respond to Fox News’ request for a comment. Fox News' Gregg Re contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
Abbas Hamideh, a "Palestinian right of return" activist with a history of calling Israel a "terrorist entity," attended a swearing-in ceremony and private dinner with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.). Hamideh, executive director of the U.S.-based Palestine Right to Return Coalition, has equated Zionists to Nazis, said Israel has a "delusional ISIS-like ideology," and called the creation of the country a "crime." He tweeted out a picture of himself holding a painting of Tlaib and standing beside the newly sworn-in congresswoman on Saturday. "I was honored to be at Congresswoman @RashidaTlaib swearing in ceremony in #Detroit and private dinner afterward with the entire family, friends and activists across the country. #Palestine #TweetYourThobe #RashidaTlaib," Hamideh tweeted. I was honored to be at Congresswoman @RashidaTlaib swearing in ceremony in #Detroit and private dinner afterward with the entire family, friends and activists across the country. #Palestine #TweetYourThobe #RashidaTlaib pic.twitter.com/caJPN12ODX — Abbas Hamideh (@Resistance48) January 12, 2019 Within hours of the tweet, several pro-Israel activists and conservative reporters pointed out some of his old tweets that showed disdain for Israel. "Criminal Zionism will eventually die just like Nazism. No racist and supremacist political ideology should maintain itself. This is why you’re covert and financed by @AIPAC," Hamideh tweeted on Sunday. https://twitter.com/Resistance48/status/1084527025325592577 "[I]srael does not have a right to exist. The terrorist entity is illegal and has no basis to exist other than a delusional ISIS like ideology," Hamideh tweeted in 2016. israel does not have a right to exist. The terrorist entity is illegal and has no basis to exist other than a delusional ISIS like ideology. — Abbas Hamideh (@Resistance48) November 19, 2016 Similar themes permeated his tweets in 2014 and 2015. "Israel" wants to be recognized as a Jewish state. Hitler too wanted an exclusivist state w/o Jews. Funny how Nazis and Zionists are similar — Abbas Hamideh (@Resistance48) March 21, 2014 Yes, the Nazis are still around with a different name: Zionists! #Intifada pic.twitter.com/BvPNnJue2t — Abbas Hamideh (@Resistance48) October 10, 2015 Quit whining about Jews suffering for 4 centuries that is pure bullshit. The creation of israel is still a crime no matter what religion. — Abbas Hamideh (@Resistance48) May 11, 2014 Are we done with Apartheid Week? I want to go back to calling israel a terrorist entity. — Abbas Hamideh (@Resistance48) February 25, 2014 Tlaib, the first Palestinian woman elected to Congress, has expressed her support of the Palestinian state and last week spoke out against Senate Bill S.1, sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.). She castigated the "Combatting BDS Act," a measure contained in the "Strengthening America's Security in the Middle East Act of 2019" to combat the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement. The BDS movement wages economic boycotts on the Jewish state and its people. Tlaid said the act is "literally an attack on our Constitution."