Kevin McCarthy blocks Rashida Tlaib from hosting 'antisemitic' event calling Israel a 'catastrophe'

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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy canceled an upcoming event at the U.S. Capitol hosted by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., that would have decried Israel as a "catastrophe" for Palestinians and the world.

Tlaib had sought to reserve space at the Capitol Visitor Center to mark the "Nakba," a Palestinian term for the 1948 founding of Israel that translates to "catastrophe." McCarthy decried her plans as "antisemitic" and used his seniority to reserve the event space for himself. The event will instead commemorate Israel's 75th anniversary, which will land on May 14.

"This event at the U.S. Capitol is canceled," McCarthy tweeted late Tuesday. "Instead, I will host a bipartisan discussion to honor the 75th anniversary of the U.S.-Israel relationship."

Neither McCarthy's office nor Tlaib's immediately responded to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

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Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who has derided Israel as an "apartheid state," will no longer be hosting an anti-Israel event at the Capitol. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Tlaib has a long history of attacks on Israel. She derided the country as an "apartheid state" earlier in May, claiming it was founded on the "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians.

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In that instance, Tlaib's comments were widely rejected on Twitter, where users were quick to apply the "community notes" fact-check feature.

Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations Gilad Erdan also told Fox News Digital the comments were an example of the Democrat's "antisemitic lies."

"Tlaib’s ignorance and hatred toward the Jewish people and the State of Israel know no bounds," Erdan said. "The facts are clear: the Arabs rejected the U.N.’s resolution to establish a Jewish state and started a war to annihilate the Jews in Israel."

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy canceled an anti-Israel event at the U.S. Capitol, rebuking Rep. Rashida Tlaib. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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McCarthy's move to cancel Tlaib's event comes as Israel's Iron Dome defense system warded off waves of rockets launched out of Gaza on Wednesday morning. The attack came in response to three Israeli airstrikes that killed a trio of senior members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group.