Silence of the Dems

Victor Davis Hanson brings his scholarly temperament and detachment to what he calls “The new, new anti-Semitism.” The new, new anti-Semitism has manifested itself in the House of Representatives, but I seriously doubt that it will be discussed or condemned there any time soon. Professor Hanson deserves a Pulitzer Prize for commentary, but that won’t be happening any time soon either.

Doing the job that the Star Tribune refuses to do, Professor Hanson even gives us a glimpse of the local Minnesota angle:

Michigan’s new congresswoman, Rashida Tlaib, assumed she’d face little pushback from her party when she tweeted out the old slur that Jewish supporters of Israel have dual loyalties: Opponents of the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions movement, which targets Israel, “forgot what country they represent,” she said. Ironically, Tlaib is not shy about her own spirited support of the Palestinians: She earlier had won some attention for an eliminationist map in her office that had the label “Palestine” pasted onto the Middle East, with an arrow pointing to Israel.

Similarly, Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) — like Tlaib, a new female Muslim representative in the House — used to be candid in her views of Israel as an “apartheid regime”: “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.” On matters of apartheid, one wonders whether Omar would prefer to be an Arab citizen inside “evil” Israel or an Israeli currently living in Saudi Arabia or Egypt.

Sarsour defended Omar with the usual anti-Israel talking points, in her now obsessive fashion. Predictably, her targets were old-style Jewish Democrats. This criticism of Omar, Sarsour said, “is not only coming from the right-wing but [from] some folks who masquerade as progressives but always choose their allegiance to Israel over their commitment to democracy and free speech.” Again, note the anti-Semitic idea that support for the only functioning democracy in the Middle East is proof of lackluster support for democracy and free speech.

I will just add this footnote. In the City Journal column “A question for Democrats” I documented my failure to elicit any comment from prominent Minnesota Democrats including Senator Amy Klobuchar on Omar’s contribution. To borrow the cliché, the silence — the silence of of the Dems and their media adjunct — is deafening.

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