Ilhan Omar
The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) said he will not eject Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from the committee over her latest anti-Semitic remarks.
The resolution states that “anti-Semitism entails prejudicial attitudes or discriminatory acts toward people who are Jewish on the basis of their identity.”
Staffers for top House Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have been drafting a resolution in response to the situation.
They also sounded the alarm ahead of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s scheduled appearance at Islamic Relief USA, “whose parent organization and chapters have documented ties to terrorist organizations.”
“No member of Congress is asked to swear allegiance to another country. Throughout history, Jews have been accused of dual loyalty, leading to discrimination and violence, which is why these accusations are so hurtful,” said Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), who is Jewish. “I believe we can debate important policy without using offensive, painful stereotypes.”
“We reject the parallels Representative Omar has repeatedly drawn between Israel and apartheid South Africa,” the Jewish Democratic Council of America said in a statement. “We also want to make clear to both Reps. Omar and Tlaib that our denunciation of their recent tweets was completely unrelated to their religion.”
A conference call among leaders included the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Democratic Council of America, Americans for Peace Now, the refugee resettlement organization HIAS and Bend the Arc.
Do condemnations from lawmakers and others demonstrate AIPAC’s strength? Do these remarks cause more members of Congress to rally behind Israel?
U.S. President Donald Trump: “She should either resign from Congress or she should certainly resign from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.”
Despite accusations of anti-Semitism, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is due to speak at a fundraising event alongside a senior charity official who has published social-media posts praising the killing of Jews.
“As Members of Congress, we are deeply alarmed by recent rhetoric from certain members within our Caucus, including just last night, that has disparaged some members and called into question their loyalty to our nation. We urge you to join us in calling on each member of our Caucus to unite against anti-Semitism and hateful tropes and stereotypes.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) accused AIPAC, the largest pro-Israel lobbying organization, of paying members of Congress to back Israel.
