Supposedly Pro-Jewish Dems Refuse To Remove Rep. Omar from Foreign Affairs Committee Despite Anti-Semitic Statements Galore
Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar is once again catching heat for making anti-Semitic remarks, and once again it appears she is being let off the hook by Democratic Party leaders.
Omar recently utilized the disgusting anti-Semitic trope of “dual loyalty” to seemingly question whether American Jews and supporters of Israel held an allegiance to the Jewish state over the United States, commentary that had many seeking to hold the freshman congresswoman accountable.
Alas, it doesn’t appear that Omar will face any real retribution for once again smearing innocent individuals on the basis of race and religion. The chairman of the incredibly important committee to which she has been assigned revealed that he had no intentions of removing her from the panel.
Democratic New York Rep. Eliot Engel, who chairs the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, appeared on CNN on Tuesday to discuss the situation with Omar, specifically a House resolution that would broadly condemn anti-Semitism, though without mentioning Omar by name.
Engel, a Jewish man who has called out Omar for her anti-Semitic remarks, declined to specifically label her as an anti-Semite when pressed — he expressed hope that she would eventually “grow and change” for the better — and instead stressed that he condemned hatred in all of its forms, whether aimed at Jews, Muslims or any other particular class or group of people.
Toward the end of the segment, Engel was asked if he was “close” to deciding whether Omar should continue to serve or be removed from the Foreign Affairs Committee, to which he replied, “No, I’m not close to it.”
“First of all, it’s not up to me. This is done by the leadership,” he said. “I don’t know that that would do anything except exacerbate the situation even more. I’m looking to get rid of anti-Semitism, not looking to punish anybody.
“I think it’s very important that we keep our eye on the prize. I think that whenever there is hatred being spewed — again, racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, Islamophobia — I think we have to speak out, and that is what I’m doing here.”
Interestingly, Engel’s refusal to remove Omar from the powerful committee he chairs would seem to undermine the official statement he released in the wake of Omar’s recent commentary about an alleged “allegiance” to foreign nations like Israel.
In that statement, Engel said it was “unacceptable and deeply offensive to call into question the loyalty of fellow American citizens because of their political views, including support for the U.S.-Israel relationship. We all take the same oath. Worse, Representative Omar’s comments leveled that charge by invoking a vile anti-Semitic slur.”
He concluded by saying, “Her comments were outrageous and deeply hurtful, and I ask that she retract them, apologize, and commit to making her case on policy issues without resorting to attacks that have no place in the Foreign Affairs Committee or the House of Representatives.”
Except Omar has yet to retract or apologize for her latest remarks, and the fact that Engel isn’t removing her from the committee would seem to belie his claim that there was “no place” on that committee or in the House for Omar’s anti-Semitic attacks.
In the end, the Democratic inaction on Omar only serves to highlight the left’s incredible hypocrisy when it comes to holding its own to account for unacceptable behavior.
Rest assured, had a Republican member of the House repeatedly uttered the same sort of anti-Semitic commentary as Omar, that individual already would have been stripped of committee assignments, censured by the entire assembled body of the House and possibly forced to resign from office.
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