Rabbis Protest Omar Appointment to Foreign Relations

We wrote here about the fact that Nancy Pelosi has appointed Ilhan Omar to the House Foreign Relations Committee, notwithstanding Omar’s vicious hostility toward Israel, one of America’s key strategic partners, and her apparent anti-Semitism. Among other things, Omar is a supporter of the “BDS” movement that seeks to delegitimize Israel as an independent nation.

Today the Coalition for Jewish Values, which represents more than 1,000 rabbis on issues of public policy, delivered a letter to Pelosi, asking her to rescind her appointment of Omar to Foreign Relations. The letter is embedded below. Some excerpts:

We write to express our alarm, dismay and outrage at your elevation of Freshman Representative Ilhan Omar to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. This decision runs contrary to the values of tolerance and equality to which the Democratic Party and your office have always been committed.

In 2012, as Israel defended itself against an expressly genocidal army which fired thousands of missiles at civilians, Ilhan Omar declared: “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”
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According to the United States State Department, “applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation” is anti-Semitic, as is “justifying the killing or harming of Jews” and “making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews.” Rep. Omar has done all three.
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The Republican Party responded to comments attributed to Representative Steve King by stripping him of all committee assignments – although he disavowed those remarks, insisted they did not represent his views, and voted in favor of House Resolution 41 condemning white nationalism and white supremacy.

The Democratic National Committee similarly, and to its credit, pulled its sponsorship from the Women’s March after coleader Tamika Mallory refused to condemn the anti-Semitic statements of Louis Farrakhan.

Now, you have responded to the anti-Semitic statements of Representative Omar by providing her a seat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, from which a House Member with such noxious views of Jewish self-defense can do maximal damage to the special US-Israel relationship and the ongoing fight of the civilized world against terrorism.

… We urge you to immediately rescind this ill-considered appointment.

Here is the letter:

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