I felt More Comfortable In Palestine Than In Israel. The People Were Friendlier. Does That Make Me An Antisemite?

Interesting that none of the presidential candidates have come to the defense of Ilhan Omar except the one Jew in the race, the guy who understands what antisemitism actually is (and isn't) and whose family was nearly wiped out by it. Watch the video. That's Ilhan at the 11 minute mark. If you think you hear any antisemitism, you are incorrect. These were the answers to the question about antisemitism:

Rashida: This conversation about human rights for everyone, this convo around what this looks like is not centered around hate, it’s actually centered around love.

Ilhan: I get emotional every time I hear Rashida, and I think I’m just gonna stop hanging out with her, she’s messing with my smile.

I know that I have a huge Jewish constituency, and, every time I meet with them they share stories of safety and sanctuary that they would love for the people of Israel, and most of the time when we’re having the conversation, there is no actual relative that they speak of, and there still is lots of emotion that comes through because it’s family, right? Like my children still speak of Somalia with passion and compassion even though they don’t have a family member there.

But we never really allow space for the stories of Palestinians seeking safety and sanctuary to be uplifted. And to me, it is the dehumanization and the silencing of a particular pain and suffering of people, should not be ok and normal. And you can’t be in the practice of humanizing and uplifting the suffering of one, if you’re not willing to do that for everyone. And so for me I know that when I hear my Jewish constituents or friends or colleagues speak about Palestinians who don’t want safety, or Palestinians who aren’t deserving I stay focused on the actual debate about what that process should look like. I never go to the dark place of saying 'here’s a Jewish person, they’re talking about Palestinians, Palestinians are Muslim, maybe they’re Islamophobic.' I never allow myself to go there because I don’t have to. And what I am fearful of is that because Rashida and I are Muslim, that a lot of Jewish colleagues, a lot of our constituents, a lot of our allies, go to thinking that everything we say about Israel, to be anti-Semitic, because we are Muslim. And so to me, it is something that becomes designed to end the debate. Because you get in this space, of like, I know what intolerance looks like and I’m sensitive when someone says that the words you use Ilhan, are resemblance of intolerance. And I am cautious of that and I feel pained by that. But it’s almost as if every single time we say something, regardless of what it is we say, that it’s supposed to about foreign policy or engagement, that our advocacy about ending oppression, or the freeing of every human life and wanting dignity, we get to be labeled in something, and that’s the end of the discussion, because we end up defending that, and nobody gets to have the broader debate of 'what is happening with Palestine?'

So for me I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is ok for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country. And I want to ask, why is it ok for me to talk about the influence of the NRA, of fossil fuel industries, or Big Pharma, and not talk about a powerful lobbying group that is influencing policy? And I want to ask the question, why is it ok for you to push, for you to be… there are so many people… I mean most of us are new, but many members of Congress have been there forever. Some of them have been there before we were born. So I know many of them were fighting for people to be free, for people to live in dignity in South Africa. I know many of them fight for people around the world to have dignity to have self-determination. So I know, I know that they care about these things. But now that you have two Muslims that are saying 'here is a group of people that we want to make sure that they have the dignity that you want everyone else to have!' …we get to be called names, we get to be labeled as hateful. No, we know what hate looks like. We experience it every single day. We have to deal with death threats. I have colleagues who talk about death threats. And sometimes… there are cities in my state where the gas stations have written on their bathrooms 'assassinate Ilhan Omar.' I have people driving around my district looking for my home, for my office, causing me harm. I have people every single day on Fox News and everywhere, posting that I am a threat to this country. SO I know what fear looks like.

The masjid I pray in in Minnesota got bombed by two domestic white terrorists. So I know what it feels to be someone who is of a faith that is vilified. I know what it means to be someone whose ethnicity that is vilified. I know what it feels to be of a race that is, like I am an immigrant, so I don’t have some of the historical drama of some of my sisters and brothers have in this country, but I know what it means for people to just see me as a black person, and to treat me as less than a human. And so, when people say 'you are bringing hate,' I know what their intention is. Their intention is to make sure that our lights are dimmed. That we walk around with our heads bowed. That we lower our face and our voice. But we have news for people. You can call us any kind of name. You can threaten us any kind of way. Rashida and I are not ourselves. Every single day we walk in the halls of Congress and we have people who have never had the opportunity to walk there walking with us.

So we’re here, we’re here to stay and represent all the people who have been silenced for many decades and many generations. And we’re here to fight for the people of our district who want to make sure that there is actual prosperity, actual prosperity, being guaranteed. Because there is a direct correlation between not having clean water, and starting endless wars. It’s all about the profit and who gets benefit. There’s a direct correlation between corporations that are getting rich, and the fact that we have students who are shackled with debt. There is a direct correlation between the White House and the people who are benefiting from detention beds that are profitized. So, what people are afraid of is not that there are two Muslims in Congress. What people are afraid of is that there are two Muslims in Congress that have their eyes wide open, that have their feet to the ground, that know what they’re talking about, that are fearless, and that understand that they have the same election certificate that everyone in Congress does.

So why have senile dinosaurs Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn gone on the warpath against Ilhan? What are they hearing that no one else is? The phone ringing form AIPAC and Haim Saban, the Likud's plenipotentiary from the Likud Party? Tomorrow they were going to pass a denunciation of antisemitism. But, after an uproar from grassroots activists, they decided to wait 'til Thursday and pass a resolution denouncing both antisemitism and Islamophobia. Choke on it, conservatives! Monday night Politico reported that the House Dems finally decided not to name Ilhan in their 4 page resolution about the history of the rise of antisemitism in the U.S., which normal people realize is about hate-filled right-wingers, not about people like Ilhan Omar. Maybe someone should lock Pelosi and Hoyer in a room and make them listen to the actual tape of Ilhan and Rashida speaking. Needless to say, Republicans want some kind of serious punishment for Ilhan. Of course they do. And of course Pelosi and Hoyer are playing right into their hands.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and other senior Republicans are considering offering a censure motion against Omar, according to GOP sources. Republicans may also formally demand that Democrats strip Omar of her seat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, a move that Pelosi and other senior Democrats won't take at this point

Republicans see the furor over Omar as an opportunity to drive a wedge between Democratic supporters of Israel-- long an unquestioned position inside both parties-- and younger lawmakers who are highly critical of Israel's treatment of Palestinians.

...Two of the House’s most senior Democrats-- Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel and Lowey-- called out Omar in public statements, demanding she apologize.

Lowey condemned Omar’s use of “offensive, painful stereotypes,” leading to a fight on Twitter as Omar dug in on her comments and was cheered by some on the left.

“Our democracy is built on debate, Congresswoman!” Omar wrote, later adding, “I have not mischaracterized our relationship with Israel, I have questioned it and that has been clear from my end.”

Staffers for several Jewish lawmakers, including Engel and Lowey, soon began working with Democratic leaders on the resolution. Aides for House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) along with Reps. Ted Deutch (D-FL), Josh Gottheimer (Blue Dog-NJ) and fellow Minnesota freshman Rep. Dean Phillips (New Dem) are also involved, according to multiple sources.

A resolution on the floor, regardless of whether it specifically mentions Omar, would be an extraordinary public admonishment from House leaders, particularly against a member of their own party, and speaks to the seriousness with which Democratic leaders view the ongoing controversy.

Just three weeks earlier, Pelosi and her top lieutenants issued a rare public rebuke of Omar’s previous remarks, which suggested pro-Israel groups were using their financial heft to shape U.S.-Middle East policy.

The announcement of floor action Monday came after a mounting backlash from outside groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, which wrote a letter to Pelosi calling for a House resolution to reject what the organization called Omar’s “latest slur.”

“We urge you and your colleagues to send the unambiguous message that the United States Congress is no place for hate,” the group’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, wrote in a letter. Democratic staffers had already started working on the resolution before the group's letter, according to one senior Democratic aide.

Nearly a dozen pro-Israel groups also urged Pelosi to oust Omar from her coveted spot on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Engel, the chairman of that committee, called out Omar for a “vile anti-Semitic slur” over the weekend, but did not call for her to be removed from the committee.

Out of the two dozen other Democrats on the Foreign Affairs committee, nearly all did not respond or declined a request to comment on Monday. Rep. Juan Vargas (D-CA), who sits on the committee, wrote on Twitter that Omar should apologize for “hurtful anti-Semitic stereotypes.”

“Questioning support for the U.S.-Israel relationship is unacceptable,” Vargas wrote.

No congressional Democrats have publicly called for Omar to lose her seat on the Foreign Affairs panel, though GOP leaders have begun to pounce as Pelosi and her leadership team prepare yet another rebuke of Omar’s language.

“Resolutions are all well and good, but Speaker Pelosi is clearly afraid to stand up to Rep. Omar if she continues to reward her with a plum spot on the Foreign Affairs Committee,” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) wrote on Twitter Monday.

Omar has received support from prominent progressive figures, including fellow freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI)-- the first Palestinian-American congresswoman, who has also strongly argued that U.S. policy toward Israel should be overhauled. Another popular progressive, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), has also come to Omar's defense.

In response to Lowey’s criticism, Tlaib defended Omar and said she had been “targeted just like many civil rights icons before us who spoke out about oppressive policies.”

I've been counseling people not to waste their energy on a primary against Muslim-hater and Likud-Congressman Eliot Engel. Now I'm ready to pledge to max out to a good candidate who runs against him.

...Omar and Tlaib have relished making public their opposition to Israeli policies-- from settlements in Palestinian territories to the lobbying influence of AIPAC-- in a way that has struck a nerve with Jewish lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Omar’s positions have directly challenged a decades-old plank of U.S. foreign policy: unfaltering U.S. support for Israel.

“I am told everyday that I am anti-American if I am not pro-Israel. I find that to be problematic and I am not alone. I just happen to be willing to speak up on it and open myself to attacks,” Omar wrote on Twitter in response to Lowey.

Mehdi Hasan's piece for The Intercept today, Republicans And Democrats Say Their Criticism of Ilhan Omar Is About Anti-Semitism. They’re Gaslighting You; is the kind of fierce defense of Ilhan that should be a lot more pervasive on the left right now. "So let me het this straight," Hasan began, "The president of the United States has called neo-Nazis 'very fine people;' retweeted neo-Nazis; told an audience of Jewish Americans that Israel is 'your country;' and indulged in viciously anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. While running for office, he tweeted an image of Hillary Clinton inside a Star of David, next to a pile of cash; told an audience of Jewish donors, 'You want to control your politicians, that’s fine;' and put out a campaign ad that attacked three rich and powerful Jewish figures. While a private citizen, he insisted only 'short guys that wear yarmulkes' should count his money and kept a book of Adolf Hitler’s speeches on his bedside table. He has never apologized for any of this. Nor has he been censured by Congress. Since coming to office, he has hired, among others, Sebastian Gorka-- who made the Nazi-linked Hungarian group Vitezi Rend 'proud' when he wore its medal to an inauguration ball-- and Steve Bannon, who didn’t want his daughters attending a particular school in Los Angeles because of 'the number of Jews' Neither of them has apologized. Nor have they been censured by Congress." Nor did Hasan stop with Trump, Gorka and Bannon. Real antisemitism is pervasive among denizens the far right in the U.S. Perhaps someone should tell Pelosi and Hoyer.

In the Senate, Sen. Ted Cruz has denounced “New York values” while on the campaign trail and  Sen. Chuck Grassley has suggested George Soros paid the protestors who confronted then-Sen. Jeff Flake in an elevator with their stories of sexual assault in October 2018.

Neither of them has apologized. Nor have they been censured by Congress.

In the House, Republican members have referred to themselves as “David Duke without the baggage,” accused Soros of turning on his “fellow Jews” and taking “the property that they owned,” claimed Soros funded the far-right rally at Charlottesville in 2017, sat on panels with white nationalists, invited a Holocaust denier to the State of the Union, and tweeted that three Jewish billionaires-- Soros, Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer-- were trying to “buy” the midterms. On Sunday, Rep. Jim Jordan tweeted that Steyer-- whose name he spelled “$teyer” and whose father is Jewish-- was trying to influence Rep. Jerry Nadler (who is Jewish) to investigate Trump.

None of these Republicans have ever apologized. Nor have they been censured by Congress.

Trump and the Republicans’ favorite cable channels, Fox News and Fox Business, have run segments in which guests have referred to the State Department as “Soros-occupied,” and accused Soros of working with the Nazis, while top-rated Fox host Sean Hannity used to regularly interview a neo-Nazi on his radio show. Their favorite news website, Breitbart, has referred to columnist Bill Kristol as a “renegade Jew” and to columnist Anne Applebaum as a “Polish, Jewish, American elitist.” Their favorite talk radio host Rush Limbaugh has spoken of a “Jewish lobby” and was accused of “borderline” anti-Semitism by the Anti-Defamation League for his comments about Jewish bankers.

Last October, a far-right conspiracy theorist who, like the president and other prominent Republicans, blamed “globalists” like Soros for allowing immigrant “invaders” to come into the United States, shot and killed 11 Jewish worshippers in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. To quote Adam Serwer of the Atlantic: “The apparent spark for the worst anti-Semitic massacre in American history was a racist hoax inflamed by a U.S. president seeking to help his party win a midterm election.”

On Wednesday, however, the House Democratic leadership will try and formally censure Rep. Ilhan Omar-- a black Somali-American Muslim woman who came to the United States as a refugee, and who, in recent days, has been compared to the 9/11 terrorists by Republicans in West Virginia and described as “filth” by an adviser to President-- for saying she wanted “to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country.” Her fellow congressional Democrats have said little or nothing about the aforementioned and shameful Republican record of anti-Semitism, but many have joined the pile on against Omar. One of them-- Rep. Juan Vargas-- went out of his way to insist, rather revealingly, that “questioning support for the U.S.-Israel relationship is unacceptable.”

So my simple point is this: whether or not you agree with Omar’s remarks, whether or not you were personally offended, anyone who tells you that these non-stop, bipartisan political attacks on her are about fighting anti-Semitism is gaslighting you.