Tlaib paid $170,000 to Israel-bashing political consultant

U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) paid $170,000 to a political consultant who has repeatedly called Israel an apartheid state, Fox News reported on Tuesday.

According to Fox, since March 2020, Tlaib’s re-election campaign has paid $147,000 to Unbought Power LLC, a political and advocacy consulting firm based in Orlando, Fla. and headed by Rasha Mubarak. Mubarak’s website describes her as a “Palestinian Muslim American community activist.”

A separate $23,000 was paid to Unbought Power by Tlaib’s PAC, Rooted in Community Leadership. According to Federal Election Commission filings, Mubarak is listed as the treasurer of Tlaib’s PAC, Fox reported.

Mubarak’s Twitter feed is rife with statements against Israel and calls to defund the police.

In tweet about clashes in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah dated May 8, 2021, Mubarak tweeted, “These aren’t clashes — it’s an ongoing occupation. These aren’t evictions — they are forced expulsions. This isn’t a conflict — it’s settler colonialism, it’s ethnic cleansing, it’s oppression, it’s apartheid. Say it loud. Say it clear. Palestine will be FREE. #SaveSheikhJarrah.”

In another tweet dated March 4, 2021, Mubarak slammed Secretary of State Antony Blinken for opposing an International Criminal Court investigation of Israeli settlements and alleged war crimes.

“Shame on you @SecBlinken — not only are you NOT holding ISRAEL accountable for their human rights violation and violent medical apartheid. You are blaming the oppressed,” Mubarak tweeted, adding, “Disgusting. The Palestinian people are NOT disposable.”

Mubarak has also tweeted calls to defund police departments. A July 20, 2021 tweet urged Orlando Mayor to reject a $15 million raise for police, insisting that “Orange County needs to defund the police, stop subsidizing corporations, and fund the community.”

Those views are in line with Tlaib, who tweeted on April 13, 2021, “Daunte Wright was met with aggression & violence. I am done with those who condone government-funded murder. No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It can’t be reformed.”

Tlaib, the U.S.-born daughter of Palestinian immigrants, supports BDS and has called Israel a racist state.

Neither Mubarak nor Tlaib responded to media queries.