Congresswoman Ilhan Omar Dodges Anti-Semitism Question with Rambling Answer
Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar dodged a question about anti-Semitism Tuesday morning and did not mention anything about Jewish people or her offensive comments regarding Israel.
Omar was asked during a panel at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., about what she has “learned about anti-Semitism from engaging in these debates.”
“So a lot of the conversation, oftentimes it’s one that refuses to separate, I think, discussions around the country and its policies and one that is hatred for the people and their faith,” Omar said.
“I think I am at a breaking point where we’re starting to have a conversation about what it means to be a people that harbor hate and the kind of journey we could all be on in fighting discrimination collectively, while still having the freedom to debate foreign policy and not only think about how we engage our allies but also how we criticize and hold them accountable,” Omar continued.
Omar, who has come under fire for saying “Israel has hypnotized the world,” said she was unaware of the anti-Semitic connotations associated with the word “hypnotized” in relation to Jewish people.
She was also accused of anti-Semitic behavior by New York GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin after he received anti-Semitic voicemails on his office phone.
This new VM just came into my office. @IlhanMN, this is just another day in my world as an American Jew in Congress. Would love to know what part of this hate filled, anti-Semitic rant you disagree with? I disagree with all of it. Do you? pic.twitter.com/4WoJqiATCf
— Lee Zeldin (@RepLeeZeldin) January 31, 2019
The freshman Democratic congresswoman has also said she “almost chuckle(s)” when Israel is labeled as a “democracy,” during an interview with Yahoo News in late January.
Omar did not take questions from the media and members of the press were held inside the room until Omar had exited in her car.
Rep. Ilhan Omar responds to a question about anti-semitism… pic.twitter.com/di1wa2X22v
— Henry Rodgers (@henryrodgersdc) February 5, 2019
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