Ilhan Omar Holding Private Fundraisers with Islamist Groups Linked to Terrorism - Report
Democrat freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota is reportedly participating in a series of fundraisers closed to the press with groups that have been tied to Islamic terrorism.
“Omar recently spoke in Florida at a private event hosted by Islamic Relief, a charity organization long said to have deep ties to groups that advocate terrorism against Israel,” The Washington Free Beacon reported.
“Over the weekend, she will appear at another private event in (Irvine,) California that is hosted by CAIR-CA PAC, a political action committee affiliated with the Council on American Islamic Relations, or CAIR a group that was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a massive terror-funding incident.”
On Saturday, the congresswoman is slated to participate in still another fundraiser for CAIR-LA, which has been sold out.
“With Omar’s popularity skyrocketing on the anti-Israel left, it appears her rhetoric is translating into fundraising prowess,” the Beacon’s Adam Kredo wrote.
A representative from Islamic Relief declined to provide any information to the reporter regarding the Florida fundraiser, responding, “The event was closed to the media. No materials are available.”
“Democratic freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) has been holding a series of secret fundraisers with groups that have been tied to the support of terrorism, appearances that have been closed to the press and hidden from public view.” https://t.co/lvy8SloMVW
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) March 22, 2019
CAIR, which stands for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, is a pro-Palestinian organization with ties to Islamic terror groups, according to The Daily Caller News Foundation.
“The U.S. Department of Justice listed CAIR as an unindicted co-conspirator in funding millions of dollars to the terrorist organization Hamas. Additionally, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) named CAIR a terrorist organization along with al-Qaeda and ISIS in 2014,” the DCNF noted.
In a 2009 letter to then-Attorney General Eric Holder, multiple Republican House members highlighted that the FBI suspended all contacts with CAIR, due to its connections with the Palestinian group Hamas, which had been designated a terrorist organization in 1995.
“As lawmakers, we must ensure we are not influenced by organizations with ties to terrorists groups,” the House members wrote, calling on Holder to release further information about the links between CAIR and Hamas.
The Beacon wondered — given Omar’s very controversial public statements about Israel, condemned by many as anti-Semitic — what sort of things she may be saying behind closed doors at these fundraisers.
Earlier this month, the House passed an anti-bigotry resolution in response to Omar’s comments.
In a tweet last month, Omar suggested that the reason Israel enjoys such strong support in Congress is because the nation pays lawmakers off.
“It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” the freshman congresswoman wrote, in reference to $100 bills. She specifically mentioned the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as the source of these funds, though the group is non-partisan and does not contribute to political candidates.
Earlier this month, Omar stirred further controversy when she said at a bookstore event, “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,” referring to Israel, The Hill reported.
Two tropes that have been leveled against Jewish people over the centuries is that they use money to control the levers of power from behind the scenes and question their loyalty to their home country.
The anti-bigotry resolution failed to mention Omar by name and included a condemnation of anti-Muslim bigotry alongside anti-Semitism in the lead sentence of the document.
The congresswoman praised its inclusion as an “historic” win.
President Donald Trump responded to the broadly-worded resolution, which failed to condemn Omar’s remarks, as a “disgrace.”
“Democrats have become an anti-Israel party. They’ve become an anti-Jewish party,” he said.
He repeated the charge on Friday when asked about the apparent decision by all of the Democratic presidential candidates to heed a MoveOn.org call to boycott the upcoming annual AIPAC conference, which starts on Sunday.
Before departing the @WhiteHouse for Florida, Trump tells reporters:
“The Democrats have proven to be anti-Israel. I don’t know what’s happened to them. Frankly, I think they’re anti-Jewish.” pic.twitter.com/wnWKyllhRG
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) March 22, 2019
“The Democrats have proven to be anti-Israel,” the president said. “I don’t know what’s happened to them. … Frankly, I think they’re anti-Jewish.”
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