Rep. Omar apologizes for statements some say were anti-Semitic
WASHINGTON — Rep. Ilhan Omar, who has been battling charges of antiSemitism for weeks, apologized Monday for insinuating that U.S. support for Israel is fueled by money from a pro-Israel lobbying group — a comment that drew swift and unqualified condemnation from fellow Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“Anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes,” Omar, a freshman Democrat from Minnesota and one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, said in a statement she released on Twitter. “My intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole.” She added, “I unequivocally apologize.”
Her comments came after Pelosi and the entire House Democratic leadership issued a statement condemning her for tweeting Sunday night that support for Israel was “all about the Benjamins, baby,” a reference to hundred-dollar bills.
“Legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies is protected by the values of free speech and democratic debate that the United States and Israel share. But Congresswoman Omar’s use of anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about Israel’s supporters is deeply offensive,” the five House Democratic leaders said in a joint statement. “We condemn these remarks and we call upon Congresswoman Omar to immediately apologize.”
The leadership statement came as concern crescendoed over Omar’s Twitter comment linking money from the American Israel Political Affairs Committee to political support in Washington for Israel. That raised the anti-Semitic trope of Jewish money holding inordinate power over foreign policy.
Omar did not back away from her contention that AIPAC has too much power. “At the same time, I reaffirm the problematic role of lobbyists in our politics, whether it be AIPAC, the NRA or the fossil fuel industry,” Omar wrote.
Before the leaders’ statement, other Democrats had broken rank to voice their condemnations. Two House Democrats, Reps. Elaine Luria, a freshman from Virginia, and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, released a letter Monday morning calling on Democratic leaders to speak out against any lawmaker who “uses harmful tropes and stereotypes, levels accusations of dual loyalty, or makes reckless statements like those yesterday.” Other Democrats also criticized her.
The controversy began when Omar, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, responded to a tweet by journalist Glenn Greenwald. Greenwald had accused Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the House Republican leader, of targeting Omar and another Democratic freshman, Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, who has also been critical of Israel. That’s when she said, “It’s all about the Benjamins, baby.”
Then, a Jewish journalist asked whom Omar was referring to when she suggested that money was driving U.S. Israel policy. “AIPAC!” she replied. AIPAC does not contribute to political campaigns, but its conferences and congressional trips to Israel have long drawn enthusiastic and bipartisan participation. These trips have also elicited charges that AIPAC has fed a one-sided view of the Israel-Palestinian conflict into U.S. politics. Tlaib has been trying to organize her own congressional trip to the West Bank to give lawmakers the Palestinian side of the issue.