Dems Intro Resolution Condemning Omar's Anti-Semitic Behavior, Then Let Her Committee Edit It: Report
When Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, yet again, uttered anti-Semitic commentary — this time, she questioned the “allegiance” and loyalty of American Jews and those who support Israel — there was much talk, even among some Democrats, of passing a resolution officially condemning Omar and anti-Semitism specifically.
It didn’t take long, however, before the establishment leadership of the Democratic Party lost its will to press forward on that plan after receiving pushback from the radical wing of the party. The planned resolution was temporarily delayed while the House Foreign Affairs Committee wrote up a draft that included condemnation of other forms of bigotry and hate aside from anti-Semitism, such as Islamophobia and white supremacy.
There’s just one problem with that, though, as was noted by the chief congressional correspondent of the Washington Examiner, Susan Ferrechio.
Omar sits on that particular committee, and would therefore presumably have a hand in crafting and editing the resolution that was initially intended to condemn her specifically, however veiled that narrow condemnation may have been.
Ferrechio tweeted, “New: @SpeakerPelosi said the resolution condemning anti-Semitism to be broadened to include more groups and will be drafted by the @HouseForeign. @Ilhan, who is accused of tweeting anti-Semitic comments and was veiled subject of resolution, is a member of the panel.”
New: @SpeakerPelosi said the resolution condemning anti-Semitism to be broadened to include more groups and will be drafted by the @HouseForeign. @Ilhan, who is accused of tweeting anti-Semitic comments and was veiled subject of resolution, is a member of the panel.
— Susan Ferrechio (@susanferrechio) March 6, 2019
Recall, it was Omar herself and her repeated use of offensive anti-Semitic tropes in both speeches and tweets that brought about this House resolution in the first place.
Omar, a Muslim refugee originally from Somalia, has expressed her disdain for Israel in the past, but in recent weeks and months had also expressed similar sentiments for virtually anyone, Jews and non-Jews alike, who supported the Jewish state.
Aside from implying some American lawmakers held a dual loyalty to Israel and the United States, she also insinuated that Jewish money had a controlling influence over U.S. foreign policy, even as she now sits on the committee that, aside from the president, arguably plays the biggest role in setting American foreign policy.
The fact that there is even the appearance that Omar helped write and edit the resolution against anti-Semitism is mind-bogglingly insane, and would roughly be the equivalent of allowing someone like a Ku Klux Klan member to contribute to and edit a resolution against white supremacy.
Speaking of white supremacy, it was mentioned just about as much as anti-Semitism in a publicly released draft of the resolution on Thursday, according to Ferrechio in the Washington Examiner, and even seemed to draw first billing as the greatest priority.
Thus, not only was Omar granted the chance to help write and edit the resolution against her own anti-Semitism, she also managed to avoid being directly mentioned in what is now a watered down and meaningless virtue signal that condemns most forms of hatred, at least, the sort of hatred that the left finds disagreeable … when it is politically expedient.
Now, aside from just anti-Semitic hatred of Jews, Israel and those who support the Jewish state, the resolution also condemns anti-Muslim discrimination and anti-Catholicism, along with white supremacy and law enforcement “profiling” of minorities.
The seven-page draft resolution, which was expected to receive a vote at some point on Thursday, seemed to initially focus on the evils of white supremacism prior to mentioning anti-Semitism — which, based on a reading of the resolution, seemingly only is displayed by right-wing haters — before transitioning seamlessly into a condemnation of anti-Muslim discrimination and Islamophobia and police profiling of minorities.
Indeed, the resolution initially intended to focus directly on the particular form of despicable hatred known as anti-Semitism ended up being a grab bag of leftist virtue signaling that gave rather short-shrift to the plight of Jews facing hatred by placing it on equal footing with the other forms of hate mentioned.
Notably, there was nothing even hinting at condemnation of the growing hatred and violence aimed generally at white people or those who hold certain right-leaning ideological beliefs.
The final line of the document resolved that Congress “encourages all public officials to confront the reality of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism, and other forms of bigotry, as well as historical struggles against them, to ensure that the United States will live up to the transcendent principles of tolerance, religious freedom, and equal protection as embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the first and 14th amendments to the Constitution.”
To be sure, condemning hatred in all of its forms is a good thing and a laudable goal … but that isn’t what this was supposed to be, and that isn’t even really what this resolution is now. It merely condemns the certain forms of hatred and discrimination that the left happens to find intolerable, excluding other forms that don’t align with the progressive narrative.
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