WASHINGTON: A Palestinian-American member of US Congress on Friday condemned a cartoon published in a conservative magazine that depicted her next to an exploding pager.

The cartoon, published on Thursday in the National Review, referred to a wave of exploding communication devices this week in Lebanon.

The blasts that killed at least 37 people and wounded nearly 3,000 on Tuesday and Wednesday targeted pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah group, which blamed Israel for the attacks.

“Our community is already in so much pain right now,” Rashida Tlaib, a Democratic representative from the state of Michigan, wrote on X.

She added: “This racism will incite more hate + violence against our Arab & Muslim communities, and it makes everyone less safe. It’s disgraceful that the media continues to normalise this racism.”

In the cartoon, a woman identified as Rep Tlaib is seen sitting at a desk next to an exploding electronic device while a speech bubble reads “Odd. My pager just exploded.”

Lebanese authorities also blamed Israel for the attack and have said the targeted devices were booby-trapped before they entered the country.

Hezbollah is an ally of Palestinian group Hamas, which has been fighting a conflict in Gaza since its Oct 7 raid on Israel.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2024