On Wednesday, asked by a reporter about comments made by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) that have widely been interpreted as anti-Semitic, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has assiduously avoided the idea of taking Omar off of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, answered that she did not think Omar’s comments were “intentionally anti-Semitic.”
It’s not entirely surprising that Pelosi would take such a stance; when asked about the preparation of a resolution in the House condemning anti-Semitism that was supposed to be initiated on Wednesday, Pelosi acknowledged that she didn’t know precisely when it would be finished. The House Foreign Affairs Committee was writing the measure, Pelosi said, but she said had no specific timing yet for a vote. She told the Washington Examiner, “It just depends on when they are finished writing the resolution.” She revealed that the resolution will not focus on anti-Semitism, but condemn prejudice against many groups, including Muslims and blacks.
It just so happens that the panel that will draft the resolution includes Omar.
Noting the poster in West Virginia that linked Omar with the 9/11 attacks and claiming there were other anti-Muslim attacks targeting Omar, Pelosi continued, “I don’t think this is just about comments by Congresswoman Omar, which I do not think were intentionally anti-Semitic … It has raised interest in having some resolution about [denouncing] anti-Semitism, of course, always, anti-Islamaphobia, always, anti-White Supremacy, always.”
Here are some of the numerous anti-Semitic comments made by Omar just since she was elected to the House of Representatives:
Suggesting Israel should not exist as a Jewish state: “And so when I see Israel institute, um, law that recognizes it as a Jewish state and does not recognize, um, the other religions that are living in it and we still uphold it as a democracy in the Middle East, I almost chuckle because I know that if, you know, we, we, we, we see that in any other society we would criticize it.” Omar either ignored or was ignorant of the fact that even some European states have similar structures. As noted in The Wall Street Journal:
Consider the Slovak Constitution, which opens with the words, “We the Slovak nation,” and lays claim to “the natural right of nations to self-determination.” Some provisions are found in places like the Baltics, which have large, alienated minority populations. The Latvian Constitution opens by invoking the “unwavering will of the Latvian nation to have its own State and its inalienable right of self-determination in order to guarantee the existence and development of the Latvian nation, its language and culture throughout the centuries.” Latvia’s population is about 25% Russian.
Tweeting that the GOP’s support of Israel was “All about the Benjamins,” as well as tweeting that AIPAC paid legislators to support Israel.
Offering a supposed apology but attacking AIPAC again, writing, “At the same time, I reaffirm the problematic role of lobbyists in our politics, whether it be AIPAC, the NRA or the fossil fuel industry. It’s gone on too long and we must be willing to address it.”
Responding to an audience member shouting out, “It’s all about the Benjamins,” by raising the dual allegiance trope, saying, “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is okay to push for allegiance to a foreign country.’” She later claimed without proof that her “Jewish colleagues” “designed” a plan “to end the debate” on Israel by accusing her of being anti-Semitic.
