Rashida Tlaib Slams Cartoon Showing Her With Exploding Pager

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) has condemned a political cartoon published on the National Review’s website that shows a pager exploding on her desk.

“This racism will incite more hate + violence against our Arab & Muslim communities, and it makes everyone less safe,” the Palestinian American congresswoman wrote Friday on X. “It’s disgraceful that the media continues to normalize this racism.”

The image, featured as one of the “Cartoons of the Day” on the conservative magazine’s website on Thursday, shows Tlaib sitting at her desk looking at a puff of smoke and a burnt-out electronic device. A thought bubble reads, “Odd. My pager just exploded.”

The cartoonist is credited to Henry Payne, an auto columnist for The Detroit News. Payne did not immediately reply to a request for comment from HuffPost. The Detroit News told Reuters that it had no involvement with the cartoon and did not run it.

The cartoon came out days after hundreds of pagers in Lebanon, used by members of the militant group Hezbollah, exploded at the same time. The explosions occurred in crowded public areas, and nine people, including an 8-year-old girl, were killed, along with thousands injured. In a second wave of attacks, walkie-talkies and solar equipment blew up, killing at least 20 and wounding hundreds.

Israel is widely believed to be behind the attacks, though it has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.

On Thursday, Tlaib reposted a statement from New York Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez saying the pager attack “clearly and unequivocally” violated “international humanitarian law.”

Tlaib has been a fiery critic of Israel, particularly amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza war. In November, Tlaib was censured in the House, facing accusations from Republicans and some fellow Democrats that her comments crossed over into antisemitism. Tlaib hit back after the censure, calling it a “shame” that her colleagues were “more focusing on silencing” her “than they are on saving lives,” as the civilian death toll climbed.