Hallandale Beach commissioner claims Muslim congresswoman would ‘blow up Capitol Hill’

HALLANDALE BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida commissioner has come under fire for her anti-Muslim remarks about a lawmaker.

Hallandale Beach Commissioner Annabelle Lima-Taub, who’s Jewish, signed a petition that sought to remove U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., from office.

Tlaib recently received both support and backlash when she said she would go after President Trump and “impeach the mother[expletive].”

When Lima-Taub shared the signed petition to her Facebook page, it was accompanied by a caption that read, “A Hamas-loving anti-Semite has NO place in government! She is a danger and [I] would not put it past her to become a martyr and blow up Capitol Hill.”

The remarks were first reported by the Sun Sentinel.

Tlaib took to Twitter after coming across the post.

“This sort of hateful anti-Muslim rhetoric doesn’t happen in a vacuum — this President embraced it and Republicans have happily gone along with it,” the tweet read.

Lima-Taub’s remarks prompted a response from her colleagues.

“Hallandale Beach is a city that celebrates diversity and enjoys the benefit of it,” a statement from Commissioner Mike Butler read. “To say that someone might be a terrorist because they’re Muslim is plain wrong. People of all faiths are welcome here in Hallandale Beach.”

“We are an inclusive community,” Commissioner Michele Lazarow said. “I don’t promote or tolerate hateful stereotypes of any faith, religion, background. It was a very big disappointment.”

Despite all of the backlash she’s receiving, Lima-Taub is standing by her comment.

“I do not apologize for my remark,” she said in a phone interview. “I do not agree, and I’m very hurt that anybody would support a woman like Rashida Tlaib. When you have someone in Congress that lines themselves up with rhetoric and does not condone the BDS movement but rather speaks for it, does not condone Hamas, does not condone Hezbollah, does not condone hateful rhetoric but rather promotes that hateful rhetoric. That is very upsetting to me.”

Hallandale Beach Vice Mayor Sabrina Javellana expressed how she felt after coming across the post.

“I was disgusted,” she said. “These types of comments are what we usually see from anonymous users who are too afraid to show their face because they will not back up these hateful remarks.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called on Rep. Lima-Taub to resign.

“This is dangerous, this should not take place, this is unworthy of who we are as Americans,” said Wilfredo Ruiz with CAIR. “I cannot think of more of an un-American statement.”

7News asked Vice Mayor Javellana if Lima-Taub could face a formal reprimand, but she said she would have to check with the city attorney.

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