US congresswoman slams cartoon of her next to exploding pager

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 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 normalize 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.

Israel has not commented on the device blasts but has said it will widen the scope of its war in Gaza to include the Lebanon front.

Iran-backed Hezbollah is an ally of Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has been fighting a war in Gaza since its October 7 attack on Israel.