Ilhan Omar is planning a trip to Israel to see the country’s “occupation” of Palestine.
The first-term Democrat, who has been accused of making anti-Semitic remarks, announced the plans on Wednesday as she introduced a resolution to boycott Israel. Omar and fellow Democrat Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who is also planning a visit, are supporters of the anti-Israel Boycott and Divestments Movement.
“Everything that I hear points to both sides feeling like there is still an occupation,” she said.
Omar to visit Israel
Omar told J-Insider reporter Laura Kelly on Wednesday that she will visit Israel and Palestine in a “few weeks,” likely joining the Palestinian-American Tlaib, who has also expressed interest in making the trip. But if they do go, the journey will surely be marred by controversy — if it even happens.
Both radical left lawmakers, who are members of the “squad” at the center of a partisan war with president Trump, have been accused of making anti-Semitic comments. Omar first incited controversy when she claimed in February that American politicians who are pro-Israel have been bought off with “Benjamins,” which many took as an anti-Semitic slur. The furor caused a tweet to resurface from 2012 in which Omar claimed that Israel had “hypnotized the world.”
Omar apologized, only to claim again that pro-Israel politicians have an “allegiance to a foreign country.” A resolution to specifically condemn Omar in the Democrat-led House fizzled out, and the Democrat certainly seems to have gotten the message that she won’t be held accountable for her comments.
The same day Omar announced her Israel trip, the Democrat introduced a resolution in Congress affirming “that all Americans have the right to participate in boycotts in pursuit of civil and human rights at home and abroad, as protected by the First Amendment to the [US] Constitution.” The resolution compared boycotts of Israel to boycotts of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Although it doesn’t mention the BDS movement, Omar told reporters that the movement is clearly on her mind.
“We are introducing a resolution…to really speak about the American values that support and believe in our ability to exercise our First Amendment rights in regard to boycotting,” Omar told Al-Monitor. “And it is an opportunity for us to explain why it is we support a nonviolent movement, which is the BDS movement,” she added.
Tlaib, who is co-sponsoring the resolution along with Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), has also been accused of making insensitive and anti-Semitic comments. The Democrat was accused of misappropriating the history of the Holocaust earlier this year when she said that the Holocaust gave her “kind of a calming feeling” because it led to Palestinians helping to create “a safe haven for Jews.”
Will Netanyahu block?
Given their comments on Israel, it’s not clear if Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will let them visit. Netanyahu addressed Omar directly at the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) this year. “Take it from this Benjamin: It’s not about the Benjamins!” he said.
Omar and Tlaib are vicious critics of President Trump, who enjoys a close alliance with Netanyahu. Under Israeli law, a person who calls to boycott Israel may be barred from entering the country. Jerusalem Post reported Thursday that Netanyahu will likely not bar their visit.
Dems rally to defend Omar
Republican critics have blasted Omar over her anti-Semitic comments and her continued support of the BDS movement. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), who is Jewish, slammed the resolution after Omar proposed it, noting that BDS supporters have not distanced themselves from Hamas. “Israel is our best ally in the Mid East; a beacon of hope, freedom & liberty, surrounded by existential threats,” Zeldin wrote in a tweet. “Shame on Rep Omar for bringing her hateful twist on that reality to House Foreign today, propping up the BDS movement & blaming Israel for all of its challenges.”
Meanwhile, in a sign of continued party divides between the “squad” of Omar and Tlaib and party moderates, House Democrats approved a separate resolution this week condemning the BDS movement. Omar’s resolution was a response to a slate of pro-Israel resolutions and bills sponsored by the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
It’s not clear if either the pro- or anti-BDS bills will be taken up on the House floor, particularly as Democrats unite around the “squad” amidst a partisan war with Donald Trump. Democrats rallied to defend Omar after Trump supporters erupted into chants of “send her back” at a rally Wednesday night. The chanting began after Trump criticized Omar’s anti-Semitic and anti-American comments, including remarks that 9/11 was the day “some people did something.”
The chanting controversy came amid a wider firestorm that erupted Sunday when Trump attacked Omar, Tlaib and other members of the so-called “squad” of progressive Democrats, telling them to “go back” to their countries of origin. Omar is an American citizen and came to the United States as a refugee from Somalia, while Tlaib and other “squad” members were born in America.
Trump disavowed the chants on Thursday, saying, “I was not happy with it, I disagree with it, but again I didn’t say that, they did.”
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