The U.S. House of Representatives passed by voice vote on Wednesday afternoon an amendment to condemn anti-Semitism.
Introduced by Rep. David Kustoff (R-Tenn.), who is one of two Jewish Republicans in Congress, it was added to a resolution calling on U.S. President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from Yemen.
The procedural vote, a motion to recommit, on the amendment passed 424-0 with Reps. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) voting present.
The resolution itself passed 248-177.
It was passed in the aftermath of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who accused on Sunday the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the largest pro-Israel lobbying organization, of paying members of Congress to back Israel.
Omar replied to a Twitter post by journalist Glenn Greenwald about House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) “[threatening punishment for [Omar] and [Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib] over their criticisms of Israel.”
“It’s stunning how much time U.S. political leaders spend defending a foreign nation even if it means attacking free speech rights of Americans,” he added.
Omar retweeted Greenwald’s post and added, “It’s all about the Benjamins baby.”
Batya Ungar-Sargon, opinion editor for The Forward, responded: “Would love to know who @IlhanMN thinks is paying American politicians to be pro-Israel, though I think I can guess. Bad form, Congresswoman.”
Without specifying, she added, “That’s the second anti-Semitic trope you’ve tweeted.”
Replying to Ungar-Sargon, Omar, who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tweeted: “AIPAC!”
Omar’s remarks received swift condemnation from both Democrats and Republicans. The congresswoman later apologized.
