Twelve Jewish House Democrats have penned a letter to Rep.Ilhan Omar seeking clarification for remarks she made that compared Israel and the United States to Hamas.
We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity.
We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.
I asked @SecBlinken where people are supposed to go for justice. pic.twitter.com/tUtxW5cIow
— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) June 7, 2021
The letter was organized by Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois and was released as a statement on Wednesday evening.
“Equating the United States and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban is as offensive as it is misguided,” said the statement. “Ignoring the differences between democracies governed by the rule of law and contemptible organizations that engage in terrorism at best discredits one’s intended argument and at worst reflects deep-seated prejudice.”
“The United States and Israel are imperfect and, like all democracies, at times deserving of critique, but false equivalencies give cover to terrorist groups,” the statement continued. “We urge Congresswoman Omar to clarify her words placing the US and Israel in the same category as Hamas and the Taliban.”
What do you expect from someone who equates BDS boycotts of Israel with boycotts of Nazi Germany? Of course she uses false equivalencies. That’s her schtick. And the brain-dead lefties who agree with her anti-Semitism cheer her on.
Omar and a number of other progressives have been harshly critical of Israel in the wake of its conflict last month with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Some Jewish Democrats have broadly criticized their colleagues, but until Wednesday refrained from naming them.
The Jewish Democrats met Wednesday to discuss rising antisemitism after the Gaza conflict, but Schneider steered the conversation to Omar, whose tweet had drawn sharp criticism from centrist and rightist pro-Israel groups and Israeli officials, as well as Republicans and conservative media.
Many Jewish Democratic lawmakers want to condemn Omar but fear the consequences.
Sources said there was unanimous frustration among the caucus members with Omar’s comment, but not about how to address it. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, a leading progressive, appeared to be hesitant, but did not outright oppose a statement, the sources said.
The same holds true for other progressive Jewish Democrats who know how Omar and other members of the squad can cover their tracks by accusing critics of bias or racism.
Some Jewish Democrats hesitated to make a statement. Omar’s spokesman, Jeremy Slevin, said her remarks were ripped from context and distorted by the right-wing. “As usual, the far right is ginning up hate against Rep. Omar for a technical question about an ongoing investigation,” he said. “It is the congresswoman’s role as a member of Congress conducting federal oversight to follow the facts, ask questions of the administration and work to make sure the public understands our government shouldn’t deny any person from seeking justice.”
The notion that Omar was asking a “technical question” is absurd. It was an out-and-out smear of Israel and the United States. Does she think that no one can read?
After the letter went public, Omar went on the attack — against her own Democratic colleagues.
It’s shameful for colleagues who call me when they need my support to now put out a statement asking for “clarification” and not just call.
The islamophobic tropes in this statement are offensive. The constant harassment & silencing from the signers of this letter is unbearable. https://t.co/37dy2UduW0
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) June 10, 2021
What “Islamophobic tropes” are those? I see nothing in that statement remotely resembling criticism or denigration of Islam. But she’s a victim because of the “constant harassment and silencing” from members who signed the letter.
Poor baby.
Turning a self-evident statement comparing Israel and the U.S. to the Taliban and Hamas into the defense that she was asking a “technical question” is ludicrous. The extraordinary danger is that so many agree with her.
