MUSLIM REP. ILHAN OMAR KEEPS PLACE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE DESPITE HER ANTI-SEMITISM
BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS
SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2019/02/muslim-rep-ilhan-omar-keeps-place-on-foreign-affairs-committee-despite-her-anti-semitism; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:
Omar apologized as a means to lighten the pressure from an onslaught of criticisms she didn’t expect, even from her own camp, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on her to apologize. But it is noteworthy that she was not dropped from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Omar has “suggested that Jewish money was behind American elected officials’ support for Israel,” specifically the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. “Members of the American Jewish community, including from the left, criticized Omar’s comments….as blatantly anti-Semitic.”
Omar is also vehemently against two anti-BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) bills “that are being pushed in Congress,” and has referenced Israel as the “apartheid Israeli regime.”
BDS is intended to delegitimize the Jewish state and erode it economically. Ilhan Omar once stated that: “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.” When called out publicly for her words, she disingenuously apologized as expected. But she suffered no consequences, which is in itself telling.
“Congresswoman Ilhan Omar suggests Jewish money behind US support of Israel,” by Eric Cortellessa, The Times of Israel, February 11, 2019:
_______________________________________________________________WASHINGTON — Newly elected Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar suggested on Sunday that Jewish money was behind American elected officials’ support for Israel, sparking widespread condemnation and fresh allegations of anti-Semitism.Omar, one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress, was responding on Twitter to Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCathy’s vow to “take action” against her and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, both of whom support the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.“It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” Omar tweeted, reacting to another tweet from the prominent journalist Glenn Greenwald, who said it was “stunning how much time US political leaders spend defending a foreign nation even if it means attacking free speech rights of Americans,” referring to McCarthy’s pledge.Benjamins are a slang term for $100 bills, which feature US founding father Benjamin Franklin.When one journalist followed up by saying she wondered who Omar thought was paying American politicians to be pro-Israel, Omar responded: “AIPAC!,” referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.While the pro-Israel lobby wields considerable influence in Washington, it does not contribute to campaigns, nor does it make endorsements.Omar, a Somali-born refugee from Ethiopia, was recently appointed to the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee. In recent weeks, Omar and others have been vociferous critics of two anti-BDS bills that are being pushed in Congress….
ILHAN OMAR’S NON-APOLOGY FOR HER ANTI-SEMITISM
Will she make more anti-Semitic statements?
Will the sun rise?
BY ROBERT SPENCER
SEE: https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/272841/ilhan-omars-non-apology-her-anti-semitism-robert-spencer; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:
The anti-Semitism of hijabbed Muslim Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has apparently gotten to be too much even for the inveterately anti-Israel Democrat Party leadership. “I unequivocally apologize,” Omar tweeted Monday, after party leaders including Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, James E. Clyburn and others publicly castigated her: “Congresswoman Omar’s use of anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about Israel’s supporters is deeply offensive. We condemn these remarks and we call upon Congresswoman Omar to immediately apologize for these hurtful comments.”
However, Omar’s apology was more of an admission that she had gotten caught than a sign of a genuine change of heart.
Omar wrote:
Anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes. My intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole. We have to always be willing to step back and think through criticism, just as I expect people to hear me when others attack me for my identity. This is why I unequivocally apologize.
At the same time, I reaffirm the problematic role of lobbyists in our politics, whether it be AIPAC, the NRA or the fossil fuel industry. It’s gone on too long and we must be willing to address it.
Omar’s second paragraph nullified her apology. She had claimed that AIPAC was paying American politicians to be pro-Israel; she made it clear in her apology that she still believes that. All her widely criticized anti-Semitic tweets, meanwhile, are still on her Twitter feed.
It all started when far-Left hate propagandist Glenn Greenwald tweeted: “GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy threatens punishment for @IlhanMN and @RashidaTlaib over their criticisms of Israel.” To that, Omar responded: “It’s all about the Benjamins baby.” The Forward’s Opinion editor, Batya Ungar-Sargon, then tweeted: “Would love to know who @IlhanMN thinks is paying American politicians to be pro-Israel, though I think I can guess.” Omar answered: “AIPAC!” And clearly she still believes it.
It isn’t hard to see how Ilhan Omar’s Congressional career will unfold: she will continue to repeat anti-Semitic tropes; she will blame jihad massacres on the US, Israel, and the victims; and she will continue to claim victim status when called out for her hatred. Omar is a far Leftist and a devout, Sharia-adherent Muslim; neither group is distinguished for mavericks or original thinkers. In fact, both are marked by an ideological lockstep that brooks no dissent, disagreement, or fair consideration of opposing ideas. That makes Omar’s future drearily predictable.
And so when considering the sincerity of Omar’s apology, it should be borne in mind that she wouldn’t be where she is today, in the House of Representatives, if her views were not widely shared among the very Democrat leadership that rebuked her Monday.
For it isn’t as if Omar’s anti-Semitic tweets from this week were something new. Before she was elected to Congress, she had denounced what she called “the apartheid Israeli regime,” and claimed that it Israel had “hypnotized the world” to ignore its “evil doings.” Nancy Pelosi either knew this or was criminally negligent when she named Omar to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The Democrat Party during the Obama years hardened its stance against Israel. Omar was only able to rise in its ranks and gain a plum assignment as a first-term Representative not in spite of her anti-Semitism, but because of it. A January 2018 Pew Research Center poll found that only 27 percent of Democrats sympathized more with the Israelis than with the Palestinians.
This is extraordinary in light of the fact that both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas routinely incite hatred of and violence against Israel in their official media organs. They teach children that it is a good and noble thing to want to grow up and kill Jews. The Democrats have for years ignored this genocidal incitement, and approved of and even participated in the demonization of Israel in the international media and at the United Nations.
And so now the Democrats are appalled at their Muslim Representative’s Jew-hatred, and she is contrite? Do they really expect anyone to fall for this charade? It is noteworthy that while the cowardly Republican House leadership stripped Rep. Steve King (R-IA) of his committee assignments for a misquote, Omar has not been removed from the Foreign Affairs Committee. Nor will she be removed. She is exactly where the Democrat leadership wants her to be.
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Trump calls on anti-Semitic Muslim Rep. Ilhan Omar to resign,
calls her non-apology “lame”
BY ROBERT SPENCER
SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2019/02/trump-calls-on-anti-semitic-muslim-rep-ilhan-omar-to-resign-calls-her-non-apology-lame; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:
If the Left and the establishment media had any standards of decency whatsoever at this point, Omar would be long ago. The Republican establishment likewise has been unaccountably silent. Only President Trump has had the courage to speak up and tell the truth about this.
“Now Trump says new Rep. Ilhan Omar should RESIGN and calls her ‘unequivocal’ apology ‘lame’ after Democratic leaders blasted lawmaker for using ‘anti-Semitic tropes,'” by Geoff Earle, Dailymail.com, February 12, 2019:
President Donald Trump turned up the pressure on Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar Tuesday, demanding the first-term lawmaker resign over her Twitter comments that many of her own colleagues called anti-Semitic.‘I think she should either resign from congress or she should certainly resign from the House Foreign Affairs Committee,’ Trump said – stoking a controversy that prompted senior Democrats and party leaders blasting Omar’s comments about Israel.Speaking at the top of a meeting with his cabinet, Trump said Omar’s comments were ‘deep seeded in her heart.’ He also called her apology, issued Monday after the entire Democratic leadership issued a statement condemning her comments, ‘lame.’Omar apologized ‘unequivocally,’ she said. But she added: ‘At the same time, I reaffirm the problematic role lobbyists in our politics, whether it be AIPAC, the NRA or the fossil fuel industry.’One of the tweets that drew criticism was her one word tweet: ‘AIPAC!’ which referenced the powerful American Israel PAC. She also tweeted ‘all about the Benjamins’ – in comments colleagues said made it seem Israel supporters adopted their positions for cash.Trump’s determination to tee off on the issue was revealed on the bottom of his hand-written notes. They said: in all capital letters that ‘Congresswoman Omar should be asked to resign or at least get off the Foreign Affairs Committee.’Trump also weighed in on the controversy swirling around Rep. Ilhan Omar Monday night, saying the first-term lawmaker ‘should be ashamed of herself’ for her ‘all about the Benjamins’ comment.‘I think she should be ashamed of herself. I think it was a terrible statement. And I don’t think her apology was adequate, the president told reporters aboard Air Force Once en route to a Texas campaign rally….
