Student Op-Ed: Backlash in Response to Ilhan Omar Exposes the Disturbing Truth of Israeli Criticism
Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) has faced bipartisan backlash over comments she made that criticized Israel and Israeli lobbyist organizations such as AIPAC, which some see as anti-semitic. In direct response, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) introduced a resolution that condemned anti-semitism, this resolution was a response to Omar’s comments and an attempt to cool and unify the Democratic party. The resolution was amended to also include clauses on Anti-Islamophobia and white supremacy before it was eventually passed by the house.
This level of condemnation was entirely unwarranted and hypocritical. House Republicans who have time and time again made anti-semitic and other racist, bigoted remarks have not been subject to this type of condemnation. President Trump has repeatedly trafficked anti-semitic tropes and side-stepped the issue such as the time he berated a Jewish White House correspondent for voicing concerns of rising anti-Semitic incidents and brushed the issue off as a political distraction. He made an effort to deepen the divide between members of the democratic party by castigating them for not taking a strong stand against antisemitism:
As many freshman Congress members have mentioned, it is absolutely plausible that Ms. Omar was targeted due to her being a Muslim woman of color. Her words have become sensationalized, and the reaction led to House Republicans fiercely calling for her resignation and using shame to create a divide within the Democratic party. This unfair response to Ms. Omar’s comments is concerning because discussing Israeli war crimes and human rights violations should be protected. Holding Israel accountable for its crimes has been largely ignored, and thus who attempt to speak out have been silenced by accusations of antisemitism by public supporters of the Israeli government. We should support the right for all to display their concerns, and the push of an anti-Semetic resolution is a clearly targeted response to make an example of Ms. Omar and stifle future dialogue of Israeli atrocities by future congress members.
The issue of Anti-Semitism in the United States is very real, and we should acknowledge the uptick of anti-semitic violence in the United States, but the Israeli government is certainly not beyond accountability and must be criticized for committing crimes against humanity. We must recognize the line separating someone’s critique of any nation committing human rights violations (as protected under Freedom of Speech) and discrimination. It was even more evident that house republicans were unfairly targetting Ms.Omar for her identity when 23 republican congress members voted against the updated anti-hate resolution as they wanted Ms. Omar to be “rebuked by name”. No one, including Ms. Omar, should feel targeted for pointing out political influence and legitimate state-sanctioned crimes committed by any country.
*The author Mahad Omar and Ilhan Omar share a surname, but are not related.
