Rashida Tlaib Supporter Posted Anti-Semitic Khazar Theory To 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.
A screenshot of a video Maher Abdel-qader posted to Facebook. Image by facebook
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 feldman@forward.com or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman
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