Vote against all forms of bigotry
The US House has passed a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, discrimination against Muslims and other bigotry against minorities.
The 407-23 vote yesterday was a bid to end dissension among Democrats over congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s latest remarks on Israel. Omar said the Jewish state’s allies pressure lawmakers to pledge “allegiance” to a foreign country.
Some lawmakers wanted Omar implicitly rebuked with a measure condemning anti-Semitism. But others said the resolution should condemn discrimination against Muslims, too.
The developments seem to highlight a divide in the Democratic Party that’s as generational as it is ideological. The dynamics on Israel have seeped into the party’s fight over the 2020 presidential nomination.
Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, said: “What I fear is going on in the House now is an effort to target Congresswoman Omar as a way of stifling that debate. That’s wrong.
“Anti-Semitism is a hateful and dangerous ideology which must be vigorously opposed in the United States and around the world,” the Senator said. “
We must not, however, equate anti-Semitism with legitimate criticism of the right-wing, Netanyahu Government in Israel.”
Omar has been critical of the Jewish state in the past and apologised for those previous comments. But she has not apologised for her latest comment.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she did not believe that Omar understood the “weight of her words” or that they would be perceived by some as antiSemitic.