It began with anti-Semitism, but it’s about even more

Ilhan Omar could have made a point. She chose to make a controversy.

The Democratic representative from Minnesota, one of three Muslims in Congress, claimed that American support for Israel amounts to “allegiance to a foreign country.” Omar previously had equated congressional backing for Israel with financial support from the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC.

Criticism over Omar’s first comment led to her apologizing. Criticism over the second led to last week’s House resolution condemning hate speech. It began as a vote against anti-Semitism, but Democratic defenders of Omar got the resolution expanded to include Islamophobia. That caused 23 Republicans to vote against the bill.

Hypocritical partisan ranting and social media have left our political landscape tinder-dry. Omar deserved her party’s rebuke for doubling down on anti-Semitism. But then Fox News provocateur Jeannine Pirro yelped that Omar violated the Constitution by wearing her hijab, for which Fox apologized. Islamophobia is real, too.

As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tries to contain the brushfire within her caucus, there’s a lesson that so many in Washington and the political industrial complex ignore: Stick to policy, watch what you say and don’t have a double standard.

Ironically, if Omar had criticized the Israeli government, she would have had Jewish allies. Opposition to occupation of the West Bank and domination of the country’s politics by the ultra-Orthodox have alienated Israel from many American Jews.

The Chief Rabbinate scorns the Conservative and Reform branches to which most Americans belong. Example: Moderate branches of Judaism here and Israel have campaigned for more ecumenical prayer at the holy site. The ultra-Orthodox, with support from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have resisted.

Last week, dozens of ultra-Orthodox youth disrupted a prayer service at the wall to mark the 30thanniversary of Women of the Wall. The milestone coincided with International Women’s Day.

As the Israeli newspaper Haartez reported, “The non-Orthodox leaders and supporters of Women of the Wall were scratched, spit on, bullied and threatened. Meanwhile, the women participating in the prayer service were attacked by the ultra-Orthodox girls.”

Meanwhile, Netanyahu — desperate for another term — has embraced a slice of Israel that makes the ultra-Orthodox look tolerant. His next coalition would include a party linked to the late racist Meir Kahane, who opposed marriages between Jews and Arabs. The FBI considered Kahane’s Jewish Defense League to be a terrorist organization. AIPAC, which usually backs any prime minister, criticized Netanyahu for the alliance.

Omar, however, dealt in stereotypes, not policy. Many Americans feel passionately about their homelands and campaign for U.S. support. Armenian-Americans regularly urge Washington to condemn the 1915-17 genocide of Armenians by Turks. That belief does not constitute “allegiance to a foreign country.”

And if Omar had wanted to criticize oppression of Palestinians who live in the West Bank, she could have singled out Muslim countries with terrible human rights records toward their people. Just last week, the United National Human Rights Council rebuked Saudi Arabia — a council member — for the killing of Jamaal Khashoggi and the kingdom’s crackdown on dissent, which Saudi rulers call a counterterrorism campaign.

Yet Republicans who rail at Omar’s comments show their hypocrisy. Most

GOP lawmakers were silent in 2017 when President Trump refused to condemn neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville, Va., chanting, “Jews will not replace us!” Similarly, Trump has faced little criticism from within his own party for actions the GOP never would tolerate from a Democrat, such as paying hush money to a porn star and chumming around with dictators.

At the moment, however, Omar is the Democrats’ problem. Though it took too long, the Republican leadership finally stripped Rep. Steve King of committee assignments after he expressed sympathy for “white supremacy.” Yet Omar still has her seat on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Omar and her defenders in the Democratic caucus must not veer toward the anti-Semitism that has infected liberal politics in England. She and other ultraliberal Twitter stars like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are in the majority not because they won in safe Democratic districts but because moderate Democrats flipped Republican seats.

Political provocateurs claim that they are promoting free speech and debate. In fact, most are promoting themselves and the extremes are fracturing our democracy. The sensible center must make the right points.

Randy Schultz