JERUSALEM — Just a few weeks after launching her campaign to unseat Democrat congresswoman Ilhan Omar, the Muslim journalist running as a Republican in the district is traveling in Israel this week to show support for the Jewish people as it wages war on Hamas.
Dalia Al-Aqidi, who has spent her career covering warzones and terrorist groups, said she felt compelled to travel to Israel to convey the message that the people of her home district in Minnesota stand with Israel, despite its anti-Semitic representative in Congress.
“Minnesotans need somebody to convey their message — they are not represented by Ilhan Omar,” Al-Aqidi told The Daily Wire. “The 5th District is not anti-Semitic. So I came to tell the Jewish people, to tell the Israelis, that I feel your pain. I’m with you. We are with you. And it’s not only your fight, it’s our fight. It’s the fight between good and evil.”
WATCH: Muslim Journalist Running Against Ilhan Omar Says She’s ‘Taking A Stand’ For Israel
Al-Aqidi traveled to a kibbutz that was attacked by Hamas terrorists and says what she witnessed was beyond anything she’s seen before.
“’I’ve covered war zones and I’ve covered terrorist attacks,” Al-Aqidi said. “I’ve seen what ISIS has done, and I’ve seen what Al Qaeda has done. Combine the actions of Al Qaeda and ISIS and put it in Nir Oz kibbutz. That’s what I’ve seen.”
Omar has emerged as one of Israel’s harshest critics in Congress, including demanding a ceasefire after Israel responded to Hamas’s brutal terror attack with air strikes. Omar voted against a resolution in support of Israel that was supported by nearly the entire House, with over 200 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle.
The Minnesota congresswoman also joined 22 Democrats and one Republican in voting against a resolution condemning anti-Semitism on college campuses Thursday.
Al-Aqidi says the calls for a ceasefire from Omar and her allies in the so-called “Squad” convey a misunderstanding of the conflict, and said the Hamas terrorists alone have the power to stop Israel’s onslaught on Gaza.
“There’s only one way to stop the bloodshed. Number one, release the hostages right away. Number two, surrender,” she explained. “If Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib really would like to stop the bloodshed … they should pressure their Hamas friends to do so.”
Al-Aqidi, a Muslim who was born in Iraq, said she is wearing the Star of David around her neck until all the hostages are returned by Hamas — a sign of solidarity she says she also performed when Christians were being persecuted elsewhere in the Middle East.
“I’m wearing the Star of David and saying I’m not going to take it off until every hostage comes back to their cities and villages,” she said. “It’s about taking a stand. It’s not a political stand, it’s taking a stand.”
Omar has represented Minnesota’s 5th district since 2019, and Al-Aqidi will likely face an uphill fight to unseat her. Omar won her last election by more than 50 percentage points in the deep-blue pocket of the state.
Al-Aqidi is hopeful that Omar’s radical stance against Israel, however, could be a breaking point.
“She’s supposed to represent her district. She’s dividing her district,” she said. “The only goal Ilhan Omar has is to serve herself. That’s it.”