The war of words over race and anti-Semitism is heating up on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers in both parties launched new salvos Tuesday in the escalating uproar over recent comments from Rep. Rashida Tlaib Rashida Harbi TlaibTrump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' George Conway: 'Trump is like a practical joke that got out of hand' Pelosi endorses Kennedy in Massachusetts Senate primary challenge MORE (D-Mich.) invoking the Holocaust.

House Republicans fired shots at the Michigan freshman and her party defenders, accusing Democrats of whitewashing sentiments that GOP lawmakers have portrayed as anti-Semitic.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiHoyer: House should vote on COVID-19 aid — with or without a bipartisan deal Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose at Supreme Court McCarthy threatens motion to oust Pelosi if she moves forward with impeachment MORE (D-Calif.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer Steny Hamilton HoyerOVERNIGHT ENERGY: California seeks to sell only electric cars by 2035 | EPA threatens to close New York City office after Trump threats to 'anarchist' cities | House energy package sparks criticism from left and right House energy package sparks criticism from left and right Hoyer: House should vote on COVID-19 aid — with or without a bipartisan deal MORE (D-Md.) have responded in kind, denouncing Tlaib’s critics for twisting her message in an effort to divide the party and win the favor of Jewish voters, who have long flocked to the Democrats’ side.

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Other top Democrats joined in defending Tlaib on Tuesday.

“Rep. Tlaib has been purposefully slandered by the President and other Republicans with her comments deliberately taken out of context and mischaracterized,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler Jerrold (Jerry) Lewis NadlerDemocrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court Schumer: 'Nothing is off the table' if GOP moves forward with Ginsburg replacement Top Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence MORE (D-N.Y.), one of the most powerful Jewish lawmakers, said in a statement. “It is clear from the full quote that she was not making any antisemitic reference.”

The bitter back-and-forth marked the latest development in the ongoing debate over Israel and Congress’s approach to its longtime Middle East ally. That dynamic took on new dimensions this year with the arrival of two outspoken Muslim women — Tlaib and Rep. Ilhan Omar Ilhan OmarOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Trump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' Democrats scramble on COVID-19 relief amid division, Trump surprise MORE (D-Minn.) — on Capitol Hill.

The partisan brawl is also playing out against the backdrop of the 2020 campaign, with President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE accusing Tlaib of harboring “tremendous hatred of Israel and the Jewish people.”

More than any other Republican, House GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney Elizabeth (Liz) Lynn CheneyOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Cheney asks DOJ to probe environmental groups | Kudlow: 'No sector worse hurt than energy' during pandemic | Trump pledges 'no politics' in Pebble Mine review Cheney asks DOJ to probe environmental groups Press: The big no-show at the RNC MORE (Wyo.) has seized on the issue, taking to social media and cable TV to attack Tlaib and the Democratic leaders who “enable the anti-Semitism in their ranks.” Her involvement has boosted her profile and comes amid speculation that Cheney, a defense hawk and fierce Israel backer, might jump into next year’s Wyoming Senate race and could land on a future Republican presidential ticket.

Campaign politics may also have motivated Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) to wade into the fight on Tuesday. The Sunshine State, where Scott served eight years as governor, is a critical battleground in the 2020 presidential election, and winning over a larger chunk of the influential Jewish vote there could tip the balance for Trump as he seeks a second term.

“Democrats’ tolerance of anti-Semitism exposes their intolerance,” Scott tweeted.

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In the 2018 midterms, 70 percent of Jewish voters in Florida voted for Democrats, compared with the 76 percent who stuck with the party nationwide, according to a poll commissioned by the progressive Jewish group J Street. Republican Ron DeSantis Ron DeSantisFlorida attorney general scrutinizing Bloomberg paying fines for felons to vote Trump may meet with potential Supreme Court pick in Miami Florida governor unveils legislation targeting protesters in 'violent or disorderly' demonstrations MORE narrowly beat Democrat Andrew Gillum in Florida’s gubernatorial race last fall, while Scott edged out Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson Clarence (Bill) William NelsonDemocrats sound alarm on possible election chaos Trump, facing trouble in Florida, goes all in NASA names DC headquarters after agency's first Black female engineer Mary W. Jackson MORE by 0.4 percent.

The GOP outcry follows Tlaib’s recent interview with Yahoo News’s “Skullduggery” podcast, in which she denounced the lost lives, forced migrations and other hardships suffered by some Palestinians when Israel was created after World War II. Tlaib, the first Palestinian American woman to serve in Congress, couched her remarks by adding that she also experiences a “calming feeling” in considering that the political upheaval helped “create a safe haven for Jews” after years of “tragedy and horrific persecution,” including the Holocaust.

“All of it was in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post-the Holocaust, post-the tragedy and the horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time,” she said in the podcast, which was published Saturday. “And I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that, right? ... But they did it in a way that took their human dignity away and it was forced on them.”

Historians and prominent Jewish commentators quickly took issue with Tlaib’s version of events, noting that fierce opposition to Israel’s founding by many Palestinians led to years of violence that hurt both sides. Some also pointed out that the leader of Palestine’s Arabs at the time, Muhammad Haj Amin al Husseini, had opposed Jewish immigration to Palestine during Adolf Hitler’s reign in Germany — obstructing one of the few safe havens for Jews seeking to flee Europe — and later aligned himself with the Nazi regime.

Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, called attention to al Husseini in a series of tweets Tuesday.

“He murdered Jews,” Giuliani said. “He did everything he could to destroy a Jewish homeland.”

Rep. Lois Frankel Lois Jane FrankelShakespeare Theatre Company goes virtual for 'Will on the Hill...or Won't They?' Florida Democrat introduces bill to recognize Puerto Rico statehood referendum Hillicon Valley: Democrats demand answers over Russian interference bulletin | Google Cloud wins defense contract for cancer research | Cyberattack disrupts virtual classes MORE (D-Fla.) also characterized some of Tlaib’s remarks as inaccurate, but defended her Democratic colleague.

“Congresswoman Tlaib’s comments that Palestinians helped create a ‘safe haven’ for Jews after the Holocaust is historically inaccurate,” said Frankel, who is Jewish and co-chair of the Women’s Caucus. “However, her statement was taken out of context and the criticism of anti-Semitism is political and not warranted. Personally, I wish all politicians would stop using Jews as political footballs.”

Some congressional Republicans took their critiques beyond the historical realm and alleged that Tlaib’s “calming feeling” was in reference to the killing of more than 6 million Jews in the Holocaust.

“There is just no context in which it is OK to say that a calming feeling comes over you when you think about the Holocaust,” Cheney said in an interview Tuesday with “Fox & Friends.”

“Most fourth graders know what the Holocaust was, and she apparently doesn’t,” Cheney added.

Scott, meanwhile, extended his criticisms to Pelosi, who a day earlier had demanded that Trump and Tlaib’s other GOP critics offer an apology.

“No, @SpeakerPelosi, you should stop defending anti-Semitism,” Scott tweeted on Tuesday.

Tlaib, for her part, is offering no apologies. Appearing on NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Myers” on Monday, she said she was simply lending a voice to her Palestinian ancestors, including her grandmother, who lives in the West Bank.

“I will continue to speak truth to power, continue to uplift my grandmother through love, and that’s all I can do,” Tlaib said. “[I will] continue to share the human impact of what it means to be Palestinian in the occupied territories.”

Overall, the full-throated defense of Tlaib from Pelosi and Hoyer has been markedly different from their response in February, when party leaders banded together to condemn comments from Omar. Many lawmakers deemed those remarks anti-Semitic, resulting in passage of an anti-hate resolution on the House floor.

“Republicans’ desperate attempts to smear @RepRashida & misrepresent her comments,” Pelosi tweeted this week, “are outrageous.”

Updated on May 17 at 1:01 p.m.