Being an anti-Semite no longer a disqualifies one from being honored by today’s Democratic Party.
The cultural barriers against Jew-hatred that American Jews believed protected them are being shredded by the Democratic Party, with the help of the echo chamber that is the mainstream media. There is a new tone in American politics, in the media and on university campuses—one that should scare every American Jew.
On Thursday, May 9, a virulently anti-Semitic imam, Omar Suleiman, was given the honor of delivering the opening prayer for a session of the (Democrat-controlled) U.S. House of Representatives. Democrats chose to ignore Suleiman’s past public statements comparing Israel to Nazi Germany and calling for the destruction of the State of Israel. Will we next see Louis Farrakhan or Obama’s former minister Rev. Jeremiah Wright giving the congressional invocation?
When the 2014 war in Gaza broke out, Suleiman posted on social media: “God willing on this blessed night as the 3rd Intifada begins, the beginning of the end of Zionism is here. May Allah help us overcome this monster.”
Not one Democrat publicly objected to someone with these abhorrent views being honored by Congress.
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) tweeted: “Totally unacceptable that @SpeakerPelosi had Omar Suleiman give the opening prayer yesterday in the House. He compares Israel to the Nazis & calls them terrorists, supports Muslim Brotherhood, incites violence calling for a Palestinian intifada & the end of Zionism, etc. Bad call.”
The only reaction from the left has been to attack critics as Islamophobes. This is the standard leftist tactic: accuse your opponents of what you yourself are doing, just make your accusation louder.
Suleiman is the racist, not those who quote his statements.
The silence of congressional Democrats is telling, and of course,none of the Democratic presidential candidates criticized the choice of this imam, either.
This is consistent with their outrageous silence about the hundreds of rockets fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip last week. Every single on of the Democratic frontrunners—former Vice President Joseph Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg—remained silent about the attacks.
How can you claim to support Israel if you do not condemn Hamas for shooting rockets at Israeli civilians? The silence of these candidates suggests their polling tells them that supporting Israel is no longer a winning position in the Democratic Party. Think about that.
Vice President Mike Pence last Friday again called for freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) to be removed from the prestigious House Foreign Affairs Committee for making anti-Semitic and anti-Israel comments while in Congress. But there she remains, along with her aggressive supporter and fellow Jew-hater, freshman Rep. Rashid Tlaib (D-Mich.).
But just because Democrats in Congress have concurred in elevating Omar to the Foreign Affairs Committee does not mean that we, the voters, have to be silent.
A rally demanding the expulsion from the Foreign Affairs Committee of Rep. Ilhan Omar will take places on Monday, May 20, at 5 p.m. in Times Square, 711 Seventh Ave in New York City. The rally will launch a massive billboard in Times Square demanding: “Ilhan Omar Must Go.” (For further information, go to www.IlhanMustGo.org.)
While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insists that the “three witches of Congress”—Omar, Tlaib and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)—are a minority and do not represent the Democratic Party, she continues to honor them. Last Friday, Ocasio-Cortez was given an hour to live out her fantasy; she took over Speaker Pelosi’s spot presiding over the House. A scary taste of the future.
In his article “Ilhan Omar’s anti-Semitism wins the pop-culture primary,” Jonathan Tobin concludes:
“For some on the left, anti-Semitism is not a disqualifying factor if those who are guilty are in the forefront of opposing Trump. In this manner, anti-Semitism isn’t merely given a pass; it is actually being defended and legitimized on popular programs with broad audiences. If the late-night comedians are now ok with anti-Semitism (as long as it comes from a person of color who is an anti-Trump Muslim) then the cultural barriers against Jew-hatred that many of us assumed were still strong may really be collapsing.”
Carol Greenwald is the chairman of JewsChooseTrump.org.
