House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) to serve on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, despite anti-Israel statements made by the freshman Democrat, such as tweeting that “Israel has hypnotized the world,” and her support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
Republicans blasted the move.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said that by appointing Omar, “House Democrats have now just endorsed that ideology.”
House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) labeled Pelosi’s choice “shameful” and called on her to reverse the appointment, which was made on Jan. 17.
The Republican Jewish Coalition echoed their party leaders.
“This really cuts against Democrats claiming that she and [Michigan Rep. Rashida] Tlaib are just freshmen, and don’t have any real power in the party. Democratic leadership just chose to put an anti-Semite on the all-important committee rather than take a stand against her abhorrent views,” RJC spokesperson Neil Strauss told JNS. “It is despicable that Democrats are so afraid to upset their far-left base that they no longer are willing to oppose anti-Semitism.”
In a CNN interview that aired Wednesday night, Omar defended her record on Israel, including the “hypnotized” tweet: “Those unfortunate words were the only words I could think about expressing at that moment.”
She added, “What is really important to me is that people recognize that there is a difference between criticizing a military action by a government that has exercised really oppressive policies and being offensive or attacking to particular people of faith.”
Regarding the comments about an American citizen elected to the US Congress. First, unlike the apparent stance of the Republican Jewish Coalition, she works for America and Americans only. That’s the job!
Second, how is supporting BDS against a foreign country “Anti -Semetic”. Judaism is an ethno-religion, to which many Americans, including veterans, adhere.
I’m kind of tired of “love me, love my dog”. I have no idea why the USA, with its 1st Amendment, cares one way or another if there is a Jewish State. The USA is a good place to be both American and Jewish, American and Catholic, American and Wiccan, etc. I understand that Israel is the result of the Holocaust. The USA had nothing to do with the Holocaust, other than that we and the Brits helped the Russians end it. We should get gratitude, not guilt inducement. Finally, why did the Palestinians have to pay for the Holocaust? Have I been taught revisionist history that it was hell inflicted by Europeans on other Europeans?
I expect elected US officials to be loyal to but one country. It’s obvious that the Orange Menace Trump is loyal to Russia, treason in itself