State Rep. Phil Green has sent a letter to Speaker of the House Joe Tate calling for the removal of Democrat House Floor Leader Abraham Aiyash.

The request stems from a recent exchange on the House floor while House Republicans sought to have a resolution taken up condemning the horrific Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel. House Resolution 146 was previously referred to committee following its introduction, despite bipartisan sponsorship and the Michigan Senate voting to condemn the attack last week.

The letter illustrates insensitive comments made by Aiyash in response to pleas from one Republican representative for the resolution to be taken up, telling the legislator to “pray about it.”

“This exchange was captured on House TV, and those watching at home saw just how callous and dismissive the comment was,” Green writes in the letter. “Making derogatory comments about one’s religious beliefs and practices should not take place anywhere according to the Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act, including on the House floor against colleagues.

“If Rep. Aiyash wants to bury criticism of terrorists and belittle his colleagues’ sincerely held beliefs and practices, then I believe he is unfit for leadership.”

At least 1,400 people in Israel were killed after Hamas militants launched indiscriminate rocket attacks into civilian areas, sent infiltrators into Israeli towns and systematically killed civilians. This death count includes numerous U.S. citizens, as well as citizens from multiple other countries, and over 200 people were taken hostage by Hamas back inside the Gaza Strip.

Green and several other Republican legislators advocated in front of the state Capitol last Wednesday for Democrats to take up HR 146 and publicly condemn these heinous acts.