Democrat Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar has once again sparked controversy and outrage after making overtly anti-Semitic remarks in a public setting.
Just as before, Omar has been called out for her public disparagement of Jewish people, but this time she was also taken to task by a fellow Democrat who happens to not only be Jewish, but who is also the chairman of one of the committees to which she has been assigned.
The anti-Semitic trope of dual loyalty
New York Magazine, to its credit, got the ball rolling by highlighting what Omar said while speaking with leftist supporters at a small event in Washington D.C., during which she called into the question the loyalty of American Jews to the U.S.
Omar said, “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is okay to push for allegiance to a foreign country.”
That remark is arguably worse than her previous anti-Semitic remarks, as was noted by liberal writer Jonathan Chait. “Accusing Jews of ‘allegiance to a foreign country’ is a historically classic way of delegitimizing their participation in the political system,” wrote Chait.
“To believe in a strong American alliance with Israel (or Canada, or the United Kingdom, or any other country) is not the same thing as giving one’s allegiance to that country,” he added. “Omar is directly invoking the hoary myth of dual loyalty, in which the Americanness of Jews is inherently suspect, and their political participation must be contingent upon proving their patriotism.”
Chait compared this latest anti-Semitic trope from Omar with those she has uttered before, and found it to be the worst she has said thus far. After noting how she had apologized for the prior offensive statements, he concluded, “And whatever presumption of good faith she deserved last time should be gone now.”
Called out by her own committee chairman
That notion put forward by Chait — that Omar has used up any good faith offered to her previously — seemed to be shared by the Jewish-American chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on which she sits, Democrat New York Rep. Eliot Engel.
In an official statement released on the committee website, Engel said, “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. We all take the same oath.”
“Worse, Representative Omar’s comments leveled that charge by invoking a vile anti-Semitic slur. This episode is especially disappointing following so closely on another instance of Ms. Omar seeming to invoke an anti-Semitic stereotype,” he continued. “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,” Engel added.
Will retribution be forthcoming?
This is now the second time within a month that Omar has been publicly chastised by Democrat leadership, following outcry over several since-deleted tweets from the young congresswoman which not so subtly implied that the pro-Israel Jewish lobby — particularly the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC — consistently used wealth to buy favor and influence with U.S. politicians.
It remains to be seen if Omar will apologize, yet again, for her offensive anti-Semitic remarks that questioned the loyalty of American Jews or those who support the nation of Israel.
Furthermore, it also remains to be seen if the congresswoman will face any sort of tangible retribution for her repeated offenses, such as being censured by fellow Representatives, stripped of her assignment to the powerful foreign affairs committee, or even expelled from Congress entirely, as Engel was absolutely correct to say that there is no place there for Omar’s brand of hateful rhetoric.
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