Rashida Tlaib Talks at Controversial Anti-Israel Conference

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) addressed an anti-Israel conference in Detroit, Michigan, this past Saturday, which had connections to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), recognized by the U.S. as a Foreign Terror Organization (FTO).

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib criticized President Joe Biden and some congressional colleagues in a speech at the People’s Conference for Palestine in downtown Detroit, urging them to take action against what she terms the “genocide” in Gaza. … Organizers indicated that over 3,000 people registered for the three-day People’s Conference for Palestine, with attendees converging on Detroit from across the United States and some internationally. The event aimed to “serve as a space to assess, strategize and prepare for what is required for us in the next phase of struggle,” as stated by the organizers. … Sessions included discussions on “Palestinian Resistance and the Path to Liberation,” “Confronting Zionism in Higher Education,” and “Zionism and U.S. Imperialism.” There was also a vendor fair featuring Palestinian art, clothing, and more. Many participants wore keffiyehs, a symbol for Palestinians.

The National Review reported that one speaker, Wisam Rafeedie, is “associated” with the PFLP, while another, Sana Daqqah, is married to a PFLP terrorist:

Wisam Rafeedie, an activist linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Marxist-Leninist terror group active in Gaza and based in Damascus, Syria, spoke at the Michigan event. The U.S. State Department, as well as Japan, Canada, and the European Union, have designated the PFLP as a terrorist organization. … The keynote speaker at the People’s Conference for Palestine was Sana’ Daqqah, the wife of PFLP terrorist Walid Daqqah. Daqqah died of cancer in April in an Israeli prison, where he was serving time for leading the PFLP operation that kidnapped, tortured, and murdered Israeli soldier Moshe Tamam in 1984. In November, the Israel Defense Forces stated that Hamas, responsible for the brutal October 7 invasion of Israel, likely handed over a ten-month-old Israeli infant and his family to a separate Palestinian terror group in Gaza. Security analyst Michael Horowitz informed the Telegraph that the group is believed to be the PFLP.

A photo of Daqqah at the conference surfaced online:

Posters of Walid Daqqah have been spotted at pro-Palestinian “encampments” in recent campus protests.

The Jerusalem Post reported:

As part of the event promotion, the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), one of the organizing groups, shared an endorsement video by Salah Salah, a founding member of the PFLP, which has been recognized by the US as a terrorist organization since 1997. The PFLP has described Salah as a “historic leader.” … Wisam Rafeedie, a self-admitted PFLP member, is one of the speakers at the event. According to Amnesty International and the UN’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Rafeedie ran a clandestine publishing house for the PFLP during the 1980s. Another notable speaker is Sana’ Daqqa, the wife of Walid Daqqa, a PFLP member indicted for kidnapping and murdering an Israeli soldier in 1984, who recently died in an Israeli prison. The PFLP has openly claimed involvement in the October 7 massacre, in which 1,200 people were murdered by Palestinian terrorists, and an additional 240 were taken hostage into Gaza, some allegedly held by the PFLP. Hamas and the PFLP have been collaborating in Gaza, including joint positions on potential hostage release deals.

Tlaib has previously expressed support for a “one-state solution,” implying the dismantling of Israel. She urged the conference attendees not to vote for President Joe Biden in the November 2024 election as a stance against his support for Israel.

The PFLP was designated as a foreign terror organization by the U.S. State Department in 1997.