Far-left Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar’s anti-Semitic comments about Israel and Jewish members of Congress have provoked anger from both her colleagues and citizens on social media. However, far from repenting and/or apologizing, she reaffirmed her comments in an interview on CNN on Tuesday, June 29, reports Fox News.
During the interview, Omar said she does not regret her tweet from earlier this month in which she included Israel, the United States, Hamas, and the Taliban in the same group, sparking further outrage.
Later asked if she knew why her fellow Democrats, particularly Jews, considered her earlier comments about Israel anti-Semitic, Omar accused them of not being committed to “seeking justice in the world” and claimed that she herself “knows what it feels like to experience injustice,” asserting that her colleagues don’t know what it’s all about.
“Do you regret these comments?” asked CNN’s Tapper, referring to the Twitter posts.
“I don’t,” Omar replied plainly. ” I think it’s really important to think back to the point that I was trying to make. Obviously, I was addressing Secretary of State Blinken.”
Ilhan Omar: "I don't" regret equating U.S. and Israel with the Taliban and Hamas terrorists. pic.twitter.com/XpR0e6kVeo
— Mike Berg (@MikeKBerg) June 29, 2021
The interview prompted a swift reaction on social media.
“So, Jews should learn from @IlhanMN what it’s like to experience injustice?” questioned journalist Annika Rothstein. “No one can say that Ilhan Omar didn’t show the world exactly who and what she is.”
So Jews should learn from @IlhanMN what it’s like to experience injustice? 🤯🤯🤯🤯
— Annika H Rothstein (@truthandfiction) June 30, 2021
No one can ever say Ilhan Omar didn’t show the world exactly who and what she is. https://t.co/1zaHLeAVlj
Zionist Organization of America President Morton Klein called Omar an “[i]insolent anti-Semite,” and called on Democrats “to condemn her and remove her from all committees.”
Ignorant antisemite Ilhan Omar supports BDS,says Israel hypnotizes world,compares US and Israel to terrorist Taliban&Hamas, yet Pelosi calls Omar a “valued member”of her party&refuses to criticize her. It’s high time for her party to condemn her&remove her from every committee.
— Morton Klein (@MortonAKlein7) June 30, 2021
Jay Sekulow, an attorney for former President Donald Trump, continued in the same vein as other critics stating that:
“Rep. Ilhan Omar is a repeat offender for antisemitic rhetoric & is past due to be censured & removed from committees. Recently she went as far as comparing the U.S. & Israel to the Taliban & Hamas terrorists.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar is a repeat offender for antisemitic rhetoric & is past due to be censured & removed from committees.
— Jay Sekulow (@JaySekulow) June 26, 2021
Recently she went as far as comparing the U.S. & Israel to the Taliban & Hamas terrorists. Fight back against antisemitism – sign. https://t.co/1oGpimh73y
Following her initial remarks, more than 200 rabbis called in a statement to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to fire Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, accusing the lawmaker of inciting the targeting of American Jews.
“We reiterate that the mob attacks on American Jews today are directly attributable to the rhetoric of Rep. Omar and those who stand with her within and beyond Congress,” the rabbis wrote. “To protect Jewish Americans and, moreover, safeguard the integrity of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, we thus insist upon the removal of Rep. Omar from her appointment.”
Pelosi, not surprisingly, responded by saying that the Democratic leadership will take no further action against Omar over her controversial tweet and will continue to play her role in the House as she had been doing.
A group of House Republicans introduced a resolution to condemn and censure Rep. Ilhan Omar and her fellow members of the progressive group called “The Democrat Squad,” for their comments endorsing the actions of terrorist organizations.
According to the resolution, Omar and her far-left allies, including Democratic Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, would be condemned and censured for “defending foreign terrorist organizations and inciting anti-Semitic attacks in the United States.”