Ilhan Omar:
anti-Semitic poster child.
Omar’s positions on Israel and Palestine have changed for political gain.
During her House campaign, she did not support the BDS movement, describing it as “counterproductive to peace.” However, a week after winning the election, her campaign told Muslim Girl that she supports the BDS movement despite “reservations of the effectiveness of the movement in accomplishing a lasting solution.”
Omar was critical of the Israeli government during her time in the Minnesota legislature, referring to the country as “the apartheid Israeli regime,” recommending that the University of Minnesota divest from Israel bonds, and criticized a law intended to prohibit the BDS movement.
Nancy Pelosi initially condemned – but then backtracked on Omar’s anti-Semitic statements
“Congresswoman Omar’s use of anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about Israel’s supporters is deeply offensive. We condemn these remarks and we call upon Congresswoman Omar to immediately apologize for these comments.”
House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi
Actions speak louder than words
In 2013, Ilhan Omar sat for an interview with a reporter who has referred to Israel as “Jewish ISIS” and compared the terrorist organization Hamas to Holocaust victims. During the interview Omar chuckled and joked with the interviewer about various terrorist groups including Hezbollah and Al Qaeda.
Omar has also claimed that because Israel is a Jewish state it is not a true democracy and has spoke at Hamas terror linked organization CAIR’s annual banquet, using the time to minimize the September 11th terror attacks.
In recent months, Representative Omar has used her soapbox in Congress to lobby for the release of Hoda Abdelmonem, a leader in the women’s wing of the Muslim brotherhood which is designated as a terrorist organization by multiple countries worldwide.
Lesson NOT learned
In an attempt to educate Omar on anti-Semitic tropes and language, Jewish Community leaders in Minnesota met with her in 2018. The Jewish leaders left the meeting “very troubled by the answers received [and were] not convinced she was going to give a balanced approach to policy in the Middle East, and [were] not convinced … where her heart is on these [issues].”
Omar and BDS
After her flip flop on the issue, Omar has become a big supporter of the anti-Semitic BDS Movement. BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) seeks to delegitimize the very legal and legitimate state of Israel by controlling who it can and cannot do business with, taking away its right to self determination. The BDS movement singles out Israel in a thinly veiled anti-Semitic attempt to hold Israel accountable for “crimes” only perpetrated by the world’s only Jewish State.
In 2010 President Barack Obama’s State Department put together a working definition of anti-Semitism that said attempts to “delegitimize Israel” and applying a “double standard for Israel” are both anti-Semitic. These are two goals for the BDS Movement and it must be stopped.
In response to House Resolution 246 – Opposing efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel and the Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement targeting Israel- Ilhan Omar voiced strong opposition. She even sponsored a counter-resolution, House Resolution 496, affirming the Boycott of Israel, regardless of its hateful and anti-Semitic implications. All this despite initially campaigning for her seat in the house on an anti-BDS platform.