I had Ilhan Omar pegged as an anti-Semite last year, before she won the primary that guaranteed her election. The primary was competitive. If the Star Tribune had covered the issue or pressed Omar on it, it might even have made a difference. Now she bids to become a permanent disgrace to Minneapolis and the inner-ring suburbs she represents.
Omar matters. She has injected Islamist anti-Semitism into the heart of the Democratic Party. There she sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. As James Simpson puts it at PJ Media, she is the poster child for the red-green alliance.
I wrote about Omar’s anti-Semitism last year several times on Power Line and for City Journal in the column “A question for Democrats” (July 20, 2018). It wasn’t hard to figure out Omar’s anti-Semitism. I make this point repeatedly because it discredits those who ignored it (e.g., the Star Tribune). The silence of Minnesota’s Democratic establishment (and others) is also telling and it continues today.
The thing about anti-Semites is that they will spew anti-Semitism. You don’t need to be a sociologist to figure that out.
Omar was at it again last week when she asserted clearly with reference to Jewish supporters of Israel, “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is okay to push for allegiance to a foreign country.” Omar seemed to suggest, as Jewish Insider (which covered the story) gingerly put it, dual loyalty among a particular group of Americans. This was the context: “Loud rounds of applause and shouts of affirmation punctuated the event’s heavy focus on Israel.” See also Jewish Insider’s editor’s note at the bottom of the article.
Omar’s comments prompted a response from (Democratic) House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel. He called Omar’s imputation of dual loyalty “a vile anti-Semitic slur” and added: “I welcome debate in Congress based on the merits of policy, but it’s unacceptable and deeply offensive to call into question the loyalty of fellow American citizens because of their political views, including support for the U.S.-Israel relationship. Her comments were outrageous and deeply hurtful, and I ask that she retract them, apologize, and commit to making her case on policy issues without resorting to attacks that have no place in the Foreign Affairs Committee or the House of Representatives.” Hot Air collects other comments elicited by Omar.
Politico reported late Friday night that a spokesman for Omar did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Engel’s statement. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that Omar is sticking with it.
Indeed, Omar’s spokesman told the Star Tribune in response to its request for comment that Omar “has consistently spoken out about the undue influence of lobbying groups for foreign interests of all kinds and her comments were about just that. To suggest otherwise is an inaccurate reading of her remarks.”
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