A fellow freshman Democrat called out Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) for tweets she posted over the weekend that were critical of American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group.
It's all about the Benjamins baby ? https://t.co/KatcXJnZLV
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 10, 2019
Omar has been criticized by Republicans since she came to Washington for signaling support for the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement against Israel for its government’s treatment of Palestinian people. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) even equated her past comments to Rep. Steve King (R-IA), who was recently stripped of his committee posts and formally disciplined by the House for his white supremacy remarks.
On Sunday evening, journalist Glenn Greenwald tweeted in support of Omar and criticized McCarthy for equating the two, calling his priorities “warped.”
Equating @IlhanMN & @RashidaTlaib's criticism of Israel to Steve King's long defense of white supremacy is obscene (McCarthy said it's worse). In the US, we're allowed to criticize our own government: certainly foreign governments. The GOP House Leader's priorities are warped.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) February 10, 2019
Omar reportedly responded, as Politico flagged, saying “It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” later adding she was referring to AIPAC. Critics interpreted her comments as a perpetuation of anti-Semitic rhetorical tropes — that Jewish people pump money into efforts to support Israel in the U.S. According to Politico, AIPAC doesn’t donate directly to political candidates, but it is known for pushing a pro-Israel message in Washington.
Rep. Max Rose (D-NY) tweeted out a statement, calling Omar’s remarks “deeply hurtful to Jews, including myself.”
Congresswoman Omar’s statements are deeply hurtful to Jews, including myself. pic.twitter.com/u3f2JHESFA
— Max Rose (@MaxRose4NY) February 11, 2019
We have Nazis in the West Wing and Rep. Rose is whining about an imaginary slight to Jews?
So my sister converted to Judaism and married a jew…a really nice guy. But we were very shocked by the anit-minority sentiment inside the Temple.
While clearly anti-semitsm is a form of racism…I find it very hypocritical when jews exploit minorities the way they do and then claim push back as being anit-semitic. Time for jews to stand up and declare anti-semitism as racism and anti-minority as racism…there is no difference.
So does AIPAC really do anything except serve as a confirmation point for antisemites?
Your “n” is too small to draw any statistically valid conclusion about your study population.
I find this controversy a bit confusing. Did Omar actually make a speech against AIPAC? Or just a flippant comment?