Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has condemned Rep. Rashida Tlaib's accusation that Attorney General Dana Nessel is motivated by religious bias in her prosecution of anti-Israel campus protesters at the University of Michigan. Whitmer's statement comes after she initially refused to take a side in the feud between the two Democrats.
### Article:
Michigan Gov. Whitmer Condemns Rashida Tlaib's "Antisemitic" Attack on Attorney General Nessel
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has issued a strong statement condemning Rep. Rashida Tlaib's accusation that Attorney General Dana Nessel is motivated by religious bias in her prosecution of anti-Israel campus protesters at the University of Michigan.
"The suggestion that Attorney General Nessel would make charging decisions based on her religion as opposed to the rule of law is antisemitic," Whitmer wrote in a statement shared by CNN host Jake Tapper. "Attorney General Nessel has always conducted her work with integrity and followed the rule of law."
Michigan Gov. Whitmer Condemns Rashida Tlaib's "Antisemitic" Attack on Attorney General Nessel
Whitmer's statement comes one day after she refused to take a side in the feud between Nessel and Tlaib, a member of the progressive "Squad" who has been vocal in her support of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
Tlaib had accused Nessel of bringing charges against the protesters because she is Jewish, a claim that Nessel has strongly denied.
Michigan Gov. Whitmer Condemns Rashida Tlaib's "Antisemitic" Attack on Attorney General Nessel
"It seems that the Attorney General decided if the issue was Palestine, she was going to treat it differently, and that alone speaks volumes about possible biases within the agency she runs," Tlaib told the Detroit Metro Times in an interview.
Nessel responded by calling Tlaib's accusation "anti-Semitic and wrong."
"Rashida Tlaib should not use my religion to imply I cannot perform my job fairly as Attorney General," Nessel said.
In an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, reporter Jake Tapper pressed Whitmer on whether she agreed with Nessel's accusation that Tlaib's statement was rooted in antisemitism.
"Do you think Attorney General Nessel is not doing her job? Because Congresswoman Tlaib is suggesting that she shouldn't be prosecuting these individuals that Nessel says broke the law, and that she's only doing it because she's Jewish, and the protesters are not," Tapper asked. "That's quite an accusation. Do you think it's true?"
Whitmer initially declined to take a side in the feud, saying that she wanted to ensure that students are safe on campus and that everyone has the right to express their views.
However, her hesitation to defend Nessel caught the attention of Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, who scolded the governor for failing to support her attorney general.
"@GovWhitmer, when your attorney general prosecutes people for violating the law, harassing Jews, and attacking police officers, it's in the interest of public safety. When a congresswoman accuses the attorney general of prosecuting protesters simply because she's Jewish, it's bias," he wrote on Twitter.
Whitmer's subsequent statement condemning Tlaib's accusation was seen as a reversal of her initial position and a clear signal of support for Nessel.
The feud between Nessel and Tlaib has been brewing for some time, with Tlaib criticizing Nessel's handling of various cases, including the prosecution of a black teen who was charged with assault after an alleged altercation with a white man in a Detroit suburb.
Nessel has defended her record, saying that she has always prosecuted cases based on the evidence and the law, regardless of the race or religion of the parties involved.
The feud has also highlighted the deep divisions within the Democratic Party over the issue of Israel and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Tlaib is a vocal supporter of BDS, while Nessel has condemned the movement as antisemitic.
Whitmer's statement condemning Tlaib's accusation is seen as a sign that she is aligning herself with the more moderate wing of the Democratic Party, which has been critical of the BDS movement and the "Squad" members who support it.
