‘It’s Not an Easy One’

Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips has revealed to Newsweek that his friendship with progressive Democrat Rashida Tlaib is “not an easy one.”

Phillips, a Minnesota congressman, maintains that he and Tlaib are friends, despite their differences on the Israel-Hamas conflict.

In an exclusive interview at Newsweek‘s Manhattan office on Tuesday, Phillip said of the Michigan Congresswoman, “We are friends. It’s an important friendship. It’s not an easy one. I’m sure she would say the same thing.”

Tlaib is the only Palestinian-American in Congress. She has been a fierce critic of Israel for its treatment of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Meanwhile, Phillips is Jewish and said on Real Time with Bill Maher in November that “being a Jewish member of Congress in the Democratic caucus is very difficult right now.” Despite appearing to have differences amid the mounting tension faced by Muslim and Jewish people across the world as the violence in the Middle East wages on, the pair have remained friends.

On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza, home to more than 2 million Palestinians. Israeli officials have said that 1,200 people in Israel were killed in Hamas’ attack, according to the Associated Press. More than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed, officials from the health ministry in Gaza said.

Newsweek reached out to Tlaib’s office via email on Saturday for comment.

The Congressman entered the race for the White House in late October. While Phillips said he has “respect” for President Joe Biden, he believes the incumbent does not have the numbers to win the 2024 general election.

Phillips told reporters after a campaign event in New Hampshire in late October that it was “deeply disappointing” that some progressive members of the House, including Tlaib voted against a resolution condemning Hamas’ attack.

During his interview with Newsweek, Phillips explained that the conflict in the Middle East is “very personal” for Tlaib, noting, “She has a grandmother who lives in the West Bank.”

“She has Palestinian descent,” Phillips said. “I am a Jewish man. I have great affection for the Israeli people and for Jewish history. And it’s tragic what her community is facing right now, what the Jewish community is facing right now is horrifying.”

Phillips expressed his hope for Americans to come together on this conflict.

“What I’ve spoken with her about and so many others is it’s time for us to join hands. You know, take hands, take arms in that sense of togetherness, before people take arms in the terrible sense, and that’s something I want to work with her on,” Phillips said. “It doesn’t mean we see things the same way, doesn’t mean that we hurt each other’s feelings when we say things about what’s very personal. But when we withdraw from those relationships, it’s dangerous.”

The Democratic presidential hopeful pointed to the mended relationship between the U.S. and Japan as an example for peace in the Middle East.

“Japan is one of our dearest friends now, and we dropped nuclear bombs on them during World War II. But now we became friends again. Anything is possible if we reconcile. And the same will be [true], I believe, with Israelis and Palestinians. But it starts with people like Rashida Tlaib and me. Because if we can’t do it, how can we expect nations to do it?” Phillips said.