From Yahoo:
“Pelosi seeks to quell uproar
over Omar's latest comments”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said
Thursday that she welcomed a clarification from Rep. Ilhan Omar over a tweet
about Israel that critics on both sides of the aisle said had unfairly compared
the U.S. and Israel to terrorist groups. In a written statement, Pelosi,
D-Calif., said that “drawing false equivalencies between democracies like the
U.S. and Israel and groups that engage in terrorism like Hamas and the Taliban
foments prejudice and undermines peace and security for all. “We welcome the
clarification by Congresswoman Omar that there is no moral equivalency between
the U.S. and Israel and Hamas and the Taliban,” Pelosi continued.
Jewish lawmakers criticized Omar,
D-Minn., for the tweet she posted Monday showing a video of her questioning
Secretary of State Antony Blinken about how domestic courts can handle war
crimes. Accompanying the clip, Omar added a message that read, “We must have
the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against
humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas,
Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban. I asked [Blinken] where people are
supposed to go for justice.”A group of legislators led by Rep. Brad Schneider,
D-Ill., released a statement late Wednesday condemning Omar’s tweet: “Equating
the United States and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban is as offensive as it is
misguided. Ignoring the differences between democracies governed by the rule of
law and contemptible organizations that engage in terrorism at best discredits
one’s intended argument and at worst reflects deep-seated prejudice.”
In response, Omar initially
blasted her fellow Democrats. “It’s shameful for colleagues who call me when
they need my support to now put out a statement asking for ‘clarification’ and
not just call,” she wrote in a tweet on Wednesday. “The Islamophobic tropes in
this statement are offensive. The constant harassment & silencing from the
signers of this letter is unbearable.” On Thursday afternoon, however, Omar
released a statement offering the requested clarification. "To be clear:
the conversation was about accountability for specific incidents regarding
those [International Criminal Court] cases, not a moral comparison between
Hamas and the Taliban and the U.S. and Israel,” she wrote. “I was in no way
equating terrorist organizations with democratic countries with
well-established judicial systems."
With a number of key votes that
will require a unified Democratic caucus, the statement from Pelosi appeared
designed to strike a delicate balance, condemning the likening of Israel to terrorist
groups while accepting Omar’s clarification. Omar, a Somali refugee and one of
the first Muslim women elected to Congress, has battled with pro-Israel members
of Congress and Democratic leadership since taking office. In 2019, she
apologized after making controversial comments about the pro-Israel lobby
American Israel Public Affairs Committee. While most Democrats stayed quiet on
Omar’s latest remarks, she received backing from other progressives who have
been more outspoken in their criticism of Israeli policy toward Palestinians. “I
am tired of colleagues (both D+R) demonizing [Omar],” tweeted Rep. Rashida
Tlaib, D-Mich., who is of Palestinian descent. “Their obsession with policing
her is sick. She has the courage to call out human rights abuses no matter who
is responsible. That’s better than colleagues who look away if it serves their
politics.” “Pretty sick & tired of the constant vilification, intentional
mischaracterization, and public targeting of [Omar] coming from our caucus,”
tweeted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. “They have no concept for the
danger they put her in by skipping private conversations & leaping to
fueling targeted news cycles around her.”
Ahead of Pelosi’s statement,
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., tried to ramp up pressure on
the speaker to take action against Omar. “Rep. Omar's anti-Semitic &
anti-American comments are abhorrent,” McCarthy tweeted. “Speaker Pelosi’s
continued failure to address the issues in her caucus sends a message to the
world that Democrats are tolerant of anti-Semitism and sympathizing with terrorists.
It’s time for the Speaker to act.” Israel has faced increased scrutiny in
Washington after weeks of military clashes between Israel and Hamas earlier
this year that killed more than 200 Palestinian residents of Gaza and at least
12 Israelis. Omar, Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez were among the Democrats supporting
a resolution that would have delayed a $735 million arms deal between the U.S.
and Israel.
^ Omar’s statements show her anti-Semitism/anti-Jewish attitude in general. If a Member of Congress made an anti-Muslim statement they would be vilified from everyone and yet the Democrats seem to think it is okay to allow one of their own to make anti-Jewish statements. If Omar doesn’t like the United States (since she considers us a Terrorist Country) she is more than welcomed to return to her native Somalia and see how the Al-Shabaab (a real Muslim Terrorist Group) will view her, as a woman, from speaking her mind. Anyone who supports Omar’s anti-Jewish statements are just as anti-Semitic as she is (and that includes those that stay silent.) I stand with the Jews! The United States and the world needs to speak out against Omar and people like her who only want to provoke violence against Jews. She is a bigot plain and simple and Congress is no place for bigots – regardless of their Politics or Political Party. And FYI: I said the same thing about Marjorie Taylor Greene and her anti-Jewish/Holocaust statement. Again it doesn't matter to me if you are a Republican or a Democrat - a bigot is a bigot. Omar is one and so is Taylor Greene. ^
https://www.yahoo.com/news/pelosi-seeks-to-quell-uproar-over-omars-latest-comments-195000783.html
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