Minnesotan State Representative Ilhan Omar, arrives at the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) General Assembly in Paris on November 15, 2017. [State Department Photo/ Public Domain]
But some Jewish leaders say Omar then revived an old trope about divided loyalties among Jewish-Americans when she criticized the idea that it’s “OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country.”
Steve Hunegs of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas says he’s appalled.
Spokesman Jeremy Slevin says Omar was just speaking out Wednesday about “the undue influence of lobbying groups for foreign interests.” Slevin said Omar repeated her remorse for the pain that her previous comments caused.
After Omar’s remarks circulated through Washington, D.C., a vote was set in the House of Representatives on a formal condemnation of them. Sheryl Ga Stolberg reports at The New York Times:
A formal condemnation of anti-Semitism that is up for a vote in the House this week has touched off a furious debate between older House Democrats and their young liberal colleagues over whether Representative Ilhan Omar is being singled out for unfair treatment over her statements on Israel.
The resolution, likely to be voted on Thursday, grew out of Ms. Omar’s suggestion last week that pro-Israel activists were pushing “for allegiance to a foreign country” — a remark that infuriated leading Jewish members of the House, who say it played into the anti-Semitic trope of “dual loyalty.”
It comes just weeks after Ms. Omar apologized for tweeting that support for Israel was “all about the Benjamins baby,” a reference to hundred-dollar bills that critics said echoed a common anti-Semitic belief that Jewish money is controlling foreign policy.
Even President Trump, no friend to Democrats in the House, expressed his support for the resolution in a Tweet saying “Jewish groups have just sent a petition to Speaker Pelosi asking her to remove Omar from Foreign Relations Committee. A dark day for Israel!”
Representative Ilhan Omar is again under fire for her terrible comments concerning Israel. Jewish groups have just sent a petition to Speaker Pelosi asking her to remove Omar from Foreign Relations Committee. A dark day for Israel!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2019
Unhinged outbursts are becoming a regular part of Omar’s routine in Congress, and the inability to control her shows just how little control Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi has over her newest caucus members.