On Thursday, House Democratic leaders denounced the latest anti-Semitic comments from Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Earlier this week, the Minnesota Democrat unequivocally compared U.S. and Israeli “war crimes” to actions by the Taliban and Hamas.
After initial criticism, Omar issued a statement clarifying her comments.
“To be clear: the conversation was about accountability for specific incidents regarding those ICC (International Criminal Court) cases, not a moral comparison between Hamas and the Taliban and the U.S. and Israel,” she said.
This prompted a response from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leadership.
“Drawing false equivalencies between democracies like the U.S. and Israel and groups that engage in terrorism like Hamas and the Taliban foments prejudice and undermines progress toward a future of peace and security for all. We welcome the clarification by Congresswoman Omar that there is no moral equivalency between the U.S. and Israel and Hamas and the Taliban,” said the statement.
Omar has been on Twitter the last 24 hours, castigating Republicans and her Democratic colleagues, including Minnesota’s Rep. Dean Phillips, who joined 11 Democrats in condemning Omar’s statement and calling it evidence of “deep-seated prejudice.”
The congresswoman still has refused to apologize and predictably claimed her Democratic colleagues are “Islamophobic.”
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
Omar’s usual far-left, anti-Israel allies rallied to her defense.
Her radical colleague across the river in St. Paul, Rep. Betty McCollum, backed Omar, then deemed Israelis terrorists, and bashed Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer and former President Donald Trump.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the statement from her party’s leadership dangerous.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley tried to blame Congress for supposedly ignoring Palestinian suffering.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, often the most vocal critic of America and Israel, audaciously claimed Muslim women in Congress lack freedom of speech.
Former Black Lives Matter agitator and first term Rep. Cori Bush went to her usual card of calling anyone not in agreement with her a racist.
National Review’s David Harsanyi explained how tired and redundant this act by Omar has become.
“It is imperative, in fact, that we don’t let some nuts undercut our ability to freely express our political disagreements — which is what Omar is trying to do,” he wrote. “And, if we are going to start holding politicians responsible for the actions of third parties, then Omar has a lot of answering to do for the spike in anti-Semitic violence last month.”
A.J. Kaufman
A.J. Kaufman is an Alpha News columnist. His work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Florida Sun-Sentinel, Indianapolis Star, Israel National News, Orange County Register, St. Cloud Times, Star-Tribune, and across AIM Media Midwest and the Internet. Kaufman previously worked as a school teacher and military historian.
