A Republican challenger to Ilhan Omar in Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional district is calling out the three-term progressive Democrat for her stance on the military conflict that has intensified in Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel in recent days.
On Sunday, Dalia Al-Aqidi said she joins “many Americans, Lebanese, Syrians, Iraqis, and Iranians in welcoming the news of Hassan Nasrallah’s elimination by Israel.” Nasrallah, a longtime ranking leader for Hezbollah, was killed in a targeted airstrike Israel conducted in Beirut on Friday.
“Nasrallah has most recently been responsible for the unprovoked launching of some 9,000 rockets, missiles, and drones from Lebanon into Israeli civilian centers since October 8, 2023—just a day after the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza carried out an unparalleled terrorist massacre in Israel,” Al-Aqidi said in a press statement just one day after Hezbollah confirmed that Nasrallah had been killed in the military attack.
Al-Aqidi also criticized Omar’s silence on the conflict following Nasrallah’s death over the weekend.
“Ilhan Omar’s only statement on Hezbollah and Israel came on [Sept. 24], when she declared the only way to prevent an escalation of the conflict is to cut off military aid to Israel ‘to stop the violence both in Lebanon and Gaza,’” Al-Aqidi said. “In Ilhan’s warped worldview, escalation only occurs when the Jewish state responds, not when Hezbollah launches 9,000 missiles at Israel for 11 months.”
Omar’s office offered no statement on the ongoing conflict in Lebanon over the weekend. She was also silent over the matter on her social media accounts.
Omar’s most recent public statement on the escalating conflict in Lebanon came one week ago when she said, “I condemn the attacks by the Israeli military in Lebanon. It is imperative we use every single tool to de-escalate tensions.”
“Just as President Biden stated, a ‘full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest,’” Omar said in a statement she provided to press and posted on social media. “A full-scale war would have catastrophic implications for everyone, especially for Lebanese and Israeli civilians who would bear the brunt of this war and dramatically increase the risk of regional conflict involving the United States. If we are serious about preventing the escalation of this conflict, we must use our leverage to cut off military aid to stop the violence both in Lebanon and Gaza. We cannot continue to stand idly by while innocent civilians are being bombarded with our tax dollars.”
Israel has ramped up its attacks on Hezbollah nearly one year after Hamas terrorists staged an attack on Israeli civilians in the southern part of the country, just outside Gaza.
GOP challenger says she was kicked out of Lebanon in 2014
A native of Iraq and former Middle East-based journalist, Al-Aqidi announced last year that she would challenge Omar for the deep-blue CD5 seat in the U.S. House.
Al-Aqidi sought and received the Republican endorsement for the congressional seat in May.
Al-Aqidi has been outspoken on issues of terrorism and extremism in the Middle East for several decades. She currently serves as the executive director for the American Center for Counter Extremism. Her concern for the conflict partly stems from her connections to the country that abuts the northern border of Israel, just east of Mediterranean Sea. From 2007 to 2014 she lived and worked as a journalist in Lebanon, until she says Hezbollah “kicked her out of the country.”
While Al-Aqidi says she knows that voters in Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District have no shortage of issues they have expressed their concern over with respect to Ilhan Omar’s record, she said that the Democrat’s positions and rhetoric surrounding the Middle East continue to be troubling.
“[Omar’s] repeated inability to differentiate good from evil, and ally from adversary, is yet another reason she is unfit for office,” Al-Aqidi said.
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
