OPINION:
Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar’s anti-Israel rhetoric and blatant antisemitism should disqualify her from serving on the House Foreign Relations Committee.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would like to brush Ms. Omar’s comments – comparing the U.S. and Israel to terrorist organizations Hamas and the Taliban – under the rug, stating Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Ms. Omar is a “valued member of our caucus,” apparently satisfied with Ms. Omar’s clarification she wasn’t equating the two.
This is horse manure, and Republicans should force a vote this week to both censure Ms. Omar and remove her from the Foreign Relations Committee, as they did with Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. There should be no double standard here – both parties have their radical fringes, and Ms. Omar is certainly a problem for the left.
It’s not Ms. Omar’s first foray into racist and inflammatory comments directed at Israel. She has a well-documented history of antisemitism, and if Democrats value their relationship with Israel at all, they can’t afford to have her serve on a committee that drafts U.S.-Israel policy.
For it was Ms. Omar who stated U.S. lobbying support for Israel was “all about the Benjamins.” It was Ms. Omar who commented that Israel has a way of “hypnotizing” the world. It was Ms. Omar who drafted a resolution comparing Israel to the likes of Nazi Germany and the Soviet state. It was Ms. Omar who has repeatedly supported and defended the pro-Palestinian boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. It was Ms. Omar who stated: “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country,” speaking about the U.S.-Israel alliance.
After she made those remarks in 2019, the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s then-Chairman Eliot L. Engel, New York Democrat, resisted Republican calls to kick Ms. Omar off the committee. But he did accuse her of “invoking a vile, anti-Semitic slur.” It prompted the House to pass a nonbinding resolution condemning antisemitism and Islamophobia that year.
Yet, Ms. Omar has proven over and over again, she simply hasn’t learned her lesson and will continue to thwart traditionally bipartisan support for our greatest ally in the Middle East. She’s pulling the Democratic Party radically left, and Republicans should force their hand to expose whether or not they have the back of many of their Jewish constituents.
For now, the so-called “Squad” seems to have won. Mrs. Pelosi said she wouldn’t punish Ms. Omar. This was only after Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, tweeted: “Freedom of speech doesn’t exist for Muslim women in Congress. The benefit of the doubt doesn’t exist for Muslim women in Congress. House Democratic leadership should be ashamed of its relentless, exclusive tone policing of Congresswoman of color.”
And Ms. Omar, before walking back her comments, accused her critics of “harassment” and “Islamophobia.”
Democrats must choose between their desire to be “woke” and what once was their unwavering support for Israel.
For there’s no in-between. There should be no daylight between allies, yet Democrats are increasingly proving anti-Israel bigotry is not only allowed in their caucus but encouraged.
What else could be the takeaway if Ms. Omar is allowed to serve on the Foreign Relations Committee?
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