Rashida Tlaib Supporter Posted Anti-Semitic Khazar Theory To Facebook

A Rashida Tlaib fundraiser shared anti-Semitic posts on Facebook

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, left, gave a medal to a supporter who posted anti-Semitic theories on Facebook. Image by Getty/Facebook/Forward Montage

By Ari Feldman January 30, 2019

A supporter of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) has posted anti-Semitic theories about the origins of Jews to Facebook, the Daily Caller first reported.

Maher Abdel-qader, an engineer and fundraiser for Tlaib, publicly shared a video earlier this month that falsely suggests that Jews are descended from Khazars, a semi-nomadic Eurasian tribe that was destroyed in the Middle Ages.

In April 2018, Tlaib presented Abdel-qader with a “medal of appreciation” for his support of her campaign. Abdel-qader help organize campaign events for Tlaib across the country, the Daily Beast reported.

Mahel Abdel-qader's anti-Semitic post on Facebook

A screenshot of a video Maher Abdel-qader posted to Facebook. Image by facebook

Maher Abdel-qader posted in 2016 about Khazars

A post about Khazars from 2016. Image by Facebook

Tlaib has previously come under fire for her opinions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In 2017, gene-testing company 23andMe erroneously told Jewish users that they might be descended from Khazars. They later retracted the statement.

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. He covers Jewish religious organizations, synagogue life, anti-Semitism and the Orthodox world. If you have any tips, you can email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aefeldman.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO