Tag: AIPAC

Freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar Tests the Limits of Party Loyalty, Attracts Challengers as 2020 Nears

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Rep Ilhan Omar

by Katherine Gypson   Four months ago, the Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar became the first Somali-American and one of the first two Muslim women to serve in Congress. Her election was heralded by many as a sign of a more diverse generation of politicians coming to power on Capitol Hill. But just weeks into her first congressional term, Omar ignited a controversy with a tweet invoking an offensive trope suggesting U.S. lawmakers’ support for Israel was swayed by money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a powerful lobbying group. Shortly after her apology for that tweet, Omar suggested in a public statement that lawmakers held a dual loyalty to the U.S. and Israel. Omar’s comments triggered two congressional resolutions condemning hate speech. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, including senior Democratic leadership, strongly criticized Omar for making remarks that many felt crossed the line into anti-Semitism. In a speech on Sunday to the opening session of AIPAC’s annual conference in Washington, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland declared that “what weakens us … is when, instead of engaging in legitimate debate about policies, someone questions the motives of his or her fellow citizens.” The controversy jeopardized…

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AIPAC Protester Who Called Israel Supporters ‘Progressive Nazis’ Attended Private Dinner for Rashida Tlaib

Anthony Gockowski

A protester outside of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) recent conference in Washington, D.C. called supporters of Israel “progressive Nazis” and was later identified as an acquaintance of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13). In fact, he attended a private dinner in Detroit in January to celebrate Tlaib’s official entrance into Congress and posted a picture to Twitter of him posing with Tlaib. https://twitter.com/Resistance48/status/1084233942591520770 He was identified as Abbas Hamideh, co-founder of the BDS organization Al-Awda and member of the Palestine Right to Return Coalition. As The Ohio Star reported, Hamideh once praised Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of the terrorist organization Hezbollah, as a “heroic resistance leader.” In another instance, he mourned the passing of “legendary Hezbollah martyr” Samir Kuntar, who led an attack that resulted in the deaths of four Israelis. Kuntar personally murdered a four-year-old child by smashing her head in with the butt of his rifle. “Israel does not have a right to exist. The terrorist entity is illegal and has no basis to exist other than delusional ISIS-like ideology,” he said in another tweet. Hamideh was back in the news Tuesday after a speech he made at a protest outside of an AIPAC conference spread on…

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Top Ranking Democrat Slams Ilhan Omar’s Comments During AIPAC Speech: ‘I Stand With Israel, Proudly and Unapologetically’

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by Molly Prince   House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer defended the American-Israeli alliance on Sunday, taking aim at Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar for her repeated anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements. “I am an American who believes passionately in the idea of Israel, in the State of Israel, and in the essential right of Jews to have a place of sanctuary in their homeland after millennia of hatred, prejudice, exclusion, dehumanization, and attempted annihilation,” Hoyer said during a speech at American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) 2019 conference. “The State of Israel, founded upon that profound and transcendent premise, must never be allowed to fail.” Hoyer, the second-ranking Democrat in the House, explained that he is not Jewish and neither are the majority of his constituents, but that he has traveled to Israel multiple times and witnessed firsthand “the courage of its people and their enduring spirit to make their country flourish.” “I stand with Israel, proudly and unapologetically. So, when someone accuses American supporters of Israel of dual loyalty, I say: accuse me,” the Maryland representative continued. “I am part of a large, bipartisan coalition in Congress supporting Israel. I tell Israel’s detractors: accuse us. And millions of Americans, regardless…

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Omar Erupts After Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Calls Her Out

Anthony Gockowski

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Twitter Tuesday after he indirectly singled her out during his televised address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference in Washington. Omar faced significant backlash for her February criticisms of AIPAC when she said it’s “all about the Benjamins, baby,” and suggested that AIPAC’s money was to blame for American support of Israel. Then, during a town hall at a Washington, D.C. coffee shop, Omar said she wants to “talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country.” The comments were widely rebuked for invoking the anti-Semitic dual-loyalty trope, which Netanyahu addressed during his Tuesday speech. “In recent weeks, we’ve heard a lot of about the rise of forces who want to pull America and Israel apart. So I can tell you one thing, I can guarantee this: they will fail. They will fail. Our shared values are too deep, our shared interests too strong, our shared destiny too intertwined,” Netanyahu said. “Those who seek to defame this great organization, AIPAC, those who seek to undermine American support for Israel,…

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Ilhan Omar Says She’s Been Accused of Anti-Semitism ‘Because I’m Muslim’

Anthony Gockowski

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) is now suggesting that she’s been accused of anti-Semitism “because I’m Muslim.” As was widely reported, Omar faced significant backlash earlier this month after she suggested that Jewish money is influencing bipartisan support of Israel—a variation of a common anti-Semitic trope. She eventually issued an apology, called “lame” by the president, but is now claiming she was criticized for her comments because she’s Muslim. “But I think the theme here is because I’m Muslim. You know, there have been many members within journalism, within politics, within all kinds of aspects of our society who have spoken about the kind of influence that AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] has on Congress and on our foreign policy. No one calls them anti-Semitic because they are Jewish but when it comes to someone like me, even the slight mention of them…,” she said before being cut off in an interview on the The Intercept’s Deconstructed podcast. She then repeated those claims during a Wednesday town hall at Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C. with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13) and other progressive colleagues. “What I am fearful of is that because Rashida and I are Muslim that a lot…

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Omar Uses Backlash Over Anti-Semitic Comments to Ask for Donations

Anthony Gockowski

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) is running an advertisement on Facebook asking for donations in response to the criticism she received for making anti-Semitic comments. “Stand with Ilhan. We will not be silenced,” the advertisement states and quotes President Donald Trump calling for Omar’s resignation. https://twitter.com/RubensteinAdam/status/1095880581848666113 As The Minnesota Sun reported, Trump said Omar should resign from Congress during a Tuesday cabinet meeting. “One other thing I want to say is that anti-Semitism has no place in the United States Congress, and Congresswoman Omar is—terrible what she said. And I think she should either resign from Congress, or she should certainly resign from the House Foreign Affairs Committee,” Trump said. “What she said is do deep-seated in her heart that her lame apology—that’s what it was, it was lame, and she didn’t mean a word of it.” His comments came in response to widespread backlash Omar received after she suggested that Jewish money is influencing bipartisan support of Israel. “The notion that wealthy Jews are controlling the government is a longstanding anti-Semitic trope and one of the pillars of modern anti-Semitism, a retread of ideas spread by bigots from David Duke to Louis Farrakhan,” the Anti-Defamation League said in a statement.…

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Ilhan Omar Faces Widespread Condemnation for Using Anti-Semitic Tropes

Anthony Gockowski

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) is once again facing backlash for multiple anti-Semitic tweets in which she suggested that Jewish money is responsible for bipartisan support of Israel. In response to journalist Glenn Greenwald’s claim that “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,” Omar suggested that it’s “all about the Benjamins baby.” https://twitter.com/IlhanMN/status/1094747501578633216 Then, when another journalist said she would “love to know who [Omar] thinks is paying American politicians to be pro-Israel,” Omar responded by exclaiming, “AIPAC,” which stands for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. https://twitter.com/IlhanMN/status/1094761790595088384 Her tweets were later condemned by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, as well as several Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). “As Americans and Jews, we expect our politicians to condemn bigotry, not to fuel it. Words matter. At a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise in the U.S. and abroad, Rep. Omar is promoting the ugly, anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Jews have an outsized influence over politics,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of ADL. “The notion that wealthy Jews are controlling the government is a longstanding anti-Semitic trope and one…

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