Muslim congresswoman apologizes for Israel tweets
WASHINGTON — Freshman Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar apologized Monday for tweets suggesting that members of Congress support Israel because they are being paid to do so, which drew bipartisan criticism and a rebuke from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The Minnesota Democrat said she had no intention of offending anyone, including Jewish Americans.
“We have to always be willing to step back and think through criticism, just as I expect people to hear me when others attack me about my identity,” Omar tweeted. “This is why I unequivocally apologize.”
The statement was the latest reckoning among Democrats of differences in their ranks over the U.s.-israeli relationship, highlighted by criticism from Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. They are the first Muslim women to serve in Congress.
In a pair of tweets over the weekend, Omar criticized the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. “It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” she wrote, invoking slang about $100 bills.
“Congresswoman Omar’s use of anti-semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about Israel’s supporters is deeply offensive,” Pelosi said in a statement issued by her office and signed by other Democratic leaders after a bipartisan backlash against the Minnesota Democrat. “We condemn these remarks, and we call upon Congresswoman Omar to immediately apologize for these hurtful comments.”
Republicans called on Democrats to strip Omar of her seat on the
House Foreign Relations Committee, but Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., stopped short of that.
“It’s shocking to hear a member of Congress invoke the anti-semitic trope of ‘Jewish money,’ ” Engel said.