Democratic leaders call for Omar to apologize for 'anti-Semitic tropes' (1 Viewer)

[IC FBGCav]

While I agree, I am not convinced the Democrats will get it together with that single goal in mind enough to take back the White House.  You've got some Democrats already moaning about the fact that Bernie is running again, AOC is speaking out against moderate Democrats, and I am not sure it will stop there.  It's hard to imagine the eventual 2020 Democratic candidate making it to Election Day unscathed by their own side (relative to how much scathing usually happens over the course of election year when battling it out for the nomination). 

Moderate Dems do nothing for me.  They are pro war, pro corporations,  want to play nice with Republicans who take them to school at every turn.  Nothing there.

 

[Ghost Rider]

Moderate Dems do nothing for me.  They are pro war, pro corporations,  want to play nice with Republicans who take them to school at every turn.  Nothing there.

Eh, playing nice is how you get things done, generally speaking.  These far left (or far right) folks who want it their way and refuse to budge and cooperate with others who don't want exactly what they want can go jump off a bridge for all I care. 

 

[IC FBGCav]

Eh, playing nice is how you get things done, generally speaking.  These far left (or far right) folks who want it their way and refuse to budge and cooperate with others who don't want exactly what they want can go jump off a bridge for all I care. 

Yep, cooperation is the key to losing a SCJ seat and everything else.

 

[Summer Wheat]

Omar and Tlaibs hatred of jews is something they were born and raised with.   They should not have to apologize for anything they believe in.

 

[That one guy]

At this point I expect to find out next week that her hijab is covering up the 666 tattooed across her forehead.

On the House floor today, @replouiegohmert characterized Omar's remarks as "what leads to a Holocaust."

"It has started... There's a problem with not calling out the kind of comments that start the ball rolling toward another Holocaust."

That’s not real, right?  There’s no way that came out of his mouth in public for others to hear and record?  He should be run out of Congress for saying such things 

 

[That one guy]

At this point I expect to find out next week that her hijab is covering up the 666 tattooed across her forehead.

On the House floor today, @replouiegohmert characterized Omar's remarks as "what leads to a Holocaust."

"It has started... There's a problem with not calling out the kind of comments that start the ball rolling toward another Holocaust."

That’s not real, right?  There’s no way that came out of his mouth in public for others to hear and record?  He should be run out of Congress for saying such things 

 

[JuniorNB]

While I agree, I am not convinced the Democrats will get it together with that single goal in mind enough to take back the White House.  You've got some Democrats already moaning about the fact that Bernie is running again, AOC is speaking out against moderate Democrats, and I am not sure it will stop there.  It's hard to imagine the eventual 2020 Democratic candidate making it to Election Day unscathed by their own side (relative to how much scathing usually happens over the course of election year when battling it out for the nomination). 

I'm starting to fear you may be right 

 

[Herb]

Omar and Tlaibs hatred of jews is something they were born and raised with.   They should not have to apologize for anything they believe in.

They don't hate Jews. They criticized the Israeli government,  which is a completely legitimate action for anyone, but especially for someone predisposed to seeing the Palestinian side of the conflict. 

Conflating criticism of Israel and their heinous treatment of Palestinians with anti-Semitism is a myth that's been propagated for a long time and is bull####. 

 

[jerry jones]

That’s not real, right?  There’s no way that came out of his mouth in public for others to hear and record?  He should be run out of Congress for saying such things 

But yet Trump is like Hitler 

 

[BobbyLayne]

They don't hate Jews. They criticized the Israeli government,  which is a completely legitimate action for anyone, but especially for someone predisposed to seeing the Palestinian side of the conflict. 

Conflating criticism of Israel and their heinous treatment of Palestinians with anti-Semitism is a myth that's been propagated for a long time and is bull####. 

I agree with this.

Yet I continue to see Op-Ed pieces everyday decrying the underlying anti-Semitic message.

Criticism of the state of Israel has been the third rail my entire life.

The common refrain is "if we don't support the only western style democracy of the entire region, then we are implicitly supporting their enemies. And the nations surrounding them have the unifying goal of the destruction of Israel. Therefore, you're asking for another holocaust if you don't support Israel lock, stock & barrel." It's a bit maddening; there is no room for discourse within such a framework.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Conflating criticism of Israel and their heinous treatment of Palestinians with anti-Semitism is a myth that's been propagated for a long time and is bull####. 

It's not that difficult to criticize Israel in general and its treatment of the Palestinians in particular.  For example: "Israel should stop bulldozing Palestinian homes."  See how easy that is?  Nothing anti-semitic about that at all.

Contrast that "Israel is hypnotizing the world" or "Israel buys all of its supporters."  The latter two criticize Israel by drawing on anti-semitic themes in a way that the first one doesn't.  Just stick to the way and avoid the second way and you'll be fine.  It's not that hard.

 

[ZEKEPA]

They don't hate Jews. They criticized the Israeli government,  which is a completely legitimate action for anyone, but especially for someone predisposed to seeing the Palestinian side of the conflict. 

Conflating criticism of Israel and their heinous treatment of Palestinians with anti-Semitism is a myth that's been propagated for a long time and is bull####. 

"It's all about the Benjamins baby," 

 

[Dickies]

The only goal that should matter is getting this nightmare of a president out of office. That's what the 2020 election is about. 

Disagree. I think the goal should be implementing good ideas. Since Trump lacks any ideas it leaves him nowhere to go. 

 

[timschochet]

.

The common refrain is "if we don't support the only western style democracy of the entire region, then we are implicitly supporting their enemies. And the nations surrounding them have the unifying goal of the destruction of Israel. Therefore, you're asking for another holocaust if you don't support Israel lock, stock & barrel." It's a bit maddening; there is no room for discourse within such a framework.

When you hear this stuff, keep in mind that there is a very specific political goal: which is to get older Jews in Florida to switch to the Republican Party in order to keep Florida a red state. If you understand that, the rhetoric becomes much easier to understand. 

 

[Sinn Fein]

Contrast that "Israel is hypnotizing the world" or "Israel buys all of its supporters."  The latter two criticize Israel by drawing on anti-semitic themes in a way that the first one doesn't.  Just stick to the way and avoid the second way and you'll be fine.  It's not that hard.

Contrast that with: "The oil lobby buys all of its supporters."  or  "The banking lobby buys all of its supporters."  or "The pharmaceutical industry buys all of its supporters."

Are those statements anti-semitic?

The reality is that Israel lobbies the US hard - and yes, like any other lobby group - that includes financial support.

interesting article from Andrew Sullivan: How Should We Talk About the Israel Lobby’s Power?

Its hard to describe the leverage that Israel hold over the US in any terms other than that they have bought that support in congress.

 

[jon_mx]

I have not followed this, but an Arab-American Democrat member of Congress makes anti-Semitic remarks and the response is to pass a resolution condemning white supremists?  Is this really what happened?    

 

[rockaction]

I have not followed this, but an Arab-American Democrat member of Congress makes anti-Semitic remarks and the response is to pass a resolution condemning white supremists?  Is this really what happened?    

Oh, indeedy-do. You heard it in DC and in the PSF first, baby!

 

[Dickies]

I have not followed this, but an Arab-American Democrat member of Congress makes anti-Semitic remarks and the response is to pass a resolution condemning white supremists?  Is this really what happened?    

She didn’t make anti-Semitic remarks

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Contrast that with: "The oil lobby buys all of its supporters."  or  "The banking lobby buys all of its supporters."  or "The pharmaceutical industry buys all of its supporters."

Are those statements anti-semitic?

No, those are just dumb.  But there's a long history of blaming rich Jews for hiring people to do their bidding, and it's best not to phrase things that way when discussing Israel.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

I mean, nobody actually thinks that the banking industry (for example) buys its supporters.  A lot of people think that the banking industry is -- on par -- a good thing, and would support it regardless.  And a lot of congresspeople represent districts where banking is important, so of course they're going to support that industry.

So if nobody would seriously say that everybody who supports the banking industry is bought and paid for, why would you say that about Israel?  

 

[IC FBGCav]

I mean, nobody actually thinks that the banking industry (for example) buys its supporters.  A lot of people think that the banking industry is -- on par -- a good thing, and would support it regardless.  And a lot of congresspeople represent districts where banking is important, so of course they're going to support that industry.

So if nobody would seriously say that everybody who supports the banking industry is bought and paid for, why would you say that about Israel?  

What you talkin' about Willis?  Bankers pay 250k because HRC is that entertaining to listen too?

 

[ren hoek]

I have not followed this

no kiddin

No, those are just dumb.  But there's a long history of blaming rich Jews for hiring people to do their bidding, and it's best not to phrase things that way when discussing Israel.

she didn't mention jews

she mentioned an apartheid nation state 

 

[Sinn Fein]

I mean, nobody actually thinks that the banking industry (for example) buys its supporters.  A lot of people think that the banking industry is -- on par -- a good thing, and would support it regardless.  And a lot of congresspeople represent districts where banking is important, so of course they're going to support that industry.

So if nobody would seriously say that everybody who supports the banking industry is bought and paid for, why would you say that about Israel?  

I think a lot of people would say that about the lobby industry.  And, I think a lot of people should say that about the lobby industry.

Just how do you think this works?  Money makes the world go around - and there is a reason politicians end up siding with various lobby groups - and it has nothing to do with what it best for the country. 

 

[squistion]

She didn’t make anti-Semitic remarks

Not that I have seen.

 

[zoonation]

The fact that this Omar nonsense is dominating national headlines for this long is pathetic.  

But the GOP is so much better at realpolitik than the Democrats.  I mean, seriously.  The President has engaged in way worse bigoted rhetoric than this  manufactued bs and it barely even registers anymore.  

 

[JohnnyU]

She didn’t make anti-Semitic remarks

I think Pelosi and others in the democratic party disagree with you.  Per Pelosi and I paraphrase, "She knows not what she does".

 

[rascal]

I haven't been paying attention to this, but what did she actually say that was anti-Semitic?  First, people realize that most arabs are Semites, right?

 

[Dedfin]

https://ips-dc.org/what-did-ilhan-omar-say-heres-the-full-transcript-of-her-response-to-a-question-about-anti-semitism/

I know that I have a huge Jewish constituency, and you know, every time I meet with them they share stories of [the] safety and sanctuary that they would love for the people of Israel, and most of the time when we’re having the conversation, there is no actual relative that they speak of, and there still is lots of emotion that comes through because it’s family, right? Like my children still speak of Somalia with passion and compassion even though they don’t have a family member there.

But we never really allow space for the stories of Palestinians seeking safety and sanctuary to be uplifted. And to me, it is the dehumanization and the silencing of a particular pain and suffering of people, should not be ok and normal. And you can’t be in the practice of humanizing and uplifting the suffering of one, if you’re not willing to do that for everyone. And so for me I know that when I hear my Jewish constituents or friends or colleagues speak about Palestinians who don’t want safety, or Palestinians who aren’t deserving I stay focused on the actual debate about what that process should look like. I never go to the dark place of saying “here’s a Jewish person, they’re talking about Palestinians, Palestinians are Muslim, maybe they’re Islamophobic.” I never allow myself to go there because I don’t have to.

And what I am fearful of is that because Rashida and I are Muslim, that a lot of Jewish colleagues, a lot of our Jewish constituents, a lot of our allies, go to thinking that everything we say about Israel, to be anti-Semitic, because we are Muslim. And so to me, it is something that becomes designed to end the debate. Because you get in this space, of like, I know what intolerance looks like and I’m sensitive when someone says that the words you use Ilhan, are resemblance of intolerance. And I am cautious of that and I feel pained by that. But it’s almost as if every single time we say something, regardless of what it is we say, that it’s supposed to about foreign policy or engagement, that our advocacy about ending oppression, or the freeing of every human life and wanting dignity, we get to be labeled in something, and that’s the end of the discussion, because we end up defending that, and nobody gets to have the broader debate of “what is happening with Palestine?” [applause]

So for me, I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is ok for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country. And I want to ask, why is it ok for me to talk about the influence of the NRA, of fossil fuel industries, or Big Pharma, and not talk about a powerful lobby that is influencing policy? [applause] And I want to ask the question, why is it ok for you to push, for you to be… there are so many people… I mean most of us are new, but many members of Congress have been there forever. Some of them have been there before we were born. So I know many of them were fighting for people to be free, for people to live in dignity in South Africa. I know many of them fight for people around the world to have dignity to have self-determination. So I know, I know that they care about these things.

But now that you have two Muslims that are saying “here is a group of people that we want to make sure that they have the dignity that you want everyone else to have!” …we get to be called names, we get to be labeled as hateful. No, we know what hate looks like. We experience it every single day. [applause] We have to deal with death threats. I have colleagues who talk about death threats. And sometimes… there are cities in my state where the gas stations have written on their bathrooms “assassinate Ilhan Omar”. I have people driving around my district looking for my home, for my office, causing me harm. I have people every single day on Fox News and everywhere, posting that I am a threat to this country. So I know what fear looks like. The masjid I pray in in Minnesota got bombed by two domestic white terrorists. So I know what it feels to be someone who is of a faith that is vilified. I know what it means to be someone whose ethnicity that is vilified. I know what it feels to be of a race that is, like I am an immigrant, so I don’t have some of the historical drama of some of my sisters and brothers have in this country, but I know what it means for people to just see me as a black person, and to treat me as less than a human.

And so, when people say “you are bringing hate,” I know what their intention is. Their intention is to make sure that our lights are dimmed. That we walk around with our heads bowed. That we lower our face and our voice. But we have news for people. You can call us any kind of name. You can threaten us any kind of way. Rashida and I are not ourselves. Every single day we walk in the halls of Congress and we have people who have never had the opportunity to walk there walking with us. So we’re here, we’re here to stay and represent all the people who have been silenced for many decades and many generations. And we’re here to fight for the people of our district who want to make sure that there is actual prosperity, actual prosperity, being guaranteed. Because there is a direct correlation between not having clean water, and starting endless wars. It’s all about the profit and who gets benefit. There’s a direct correlation between corporations that are getting rich, and the fact that we have students who are shackled with debt. There is a direct correlation between the White House and the people who are benefiting from detention beds that are profitized. So, what people are afraid of is not that there are two Muslims in Congress. What people are afraid of is that there are two Muslims in Congress that have their eyes wide open, that have their feet to the ground, that know what they’re talking about, that are fearless, and that understand that they have the same election certificate that everyone in Congress does. [applause] 

 

[Franknbeans]

Eh, playing nice is how you get things done, generally speaking.  These far left (or far right) folks who want it their way and refuse to budge and cooperate with others who don't want exactly what they want can go jump off a bridge for all I care. 

If playing nice entails getting corporatist policies passed at the expense of the electorate, no thanks. We need true alternatives to bad policies.

 

[Statorama]

Omar : spouts anti-Semitic garbage 

Conservatives : she must be forced to apologize!

Omar : bad-mouths Obama

Conservatives : hang on, hang on....let's see where she's going with this....

 

[Dedfin]

https://ips-dc.org/what-did-ilhan-omar-say-heres-the-full-transcript-of-her-response-to-a-question-about-anti-semitism/

If someone could read that transcript and tell me where the anti-Semitic phrases are I'd like to know. Thanks.

 

[jonessed]

Omar : spouts anti-Semitic garbage 

Conservatives : she must be forced to apologize!

Omar : bad-mouths Obama

Conservatives : hang on, hang on....let's see where she's going with this....

What does bad-mouthing Obama have to do with anti-semitic comments?  Do you see those as similar?

 

[timschochet]

  First, people realize that most arabs are Semites, right?

Putting aside what this woman said, this comment needs to be dismissed. It’s the old Vanessa Redgrave line. 

In modern parlance, anti-Semitism means bigotry towards people with a Jewish ethnicity or heritage. Full stop. 

 

[rockaction]

Tlaib, Omar, and AOC are definite symptoms of a long-simmering anti-Semitism shoved down campus throats. May the Democrats figure out how to lay in bed with it and figure out what to do with it. It's not a Republican problem anymore. 

 

[timschochet]

 It's not a Republican problem anymore. 

Not true. 

The root of the issue, as I keep pointing out, is that the Palestinian people have been ignored by us for far too long and their plight has continued to fester. The Republicans cannot escape having to deal with this problem. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a national security issue for the United States. 

 

[rockaction]

Not true. 

The root of the issue, as I keep pointing out, is that the Palestinian people have been ignored by us for far too long and their plight has continued to fester. The Republicans cannot escape having to deal with this problem. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a national security issue for the United States. 

Republicans cannot escape the Israel/Palestine conflict but the rank anti-Semitism I've seen over the past twenty years comes from the campus left. 

It goes hand in hand with goat meat on third world diversity campus hall dining days.  

 

[Henry Ford]

I agree with you completely. You may be one of the few to call him out or maybe I don’t see it often....seems many more outlandish claims like the post before  than honest ones like yours.  Good post. 

I don’t think many people who understand what happened in the last ten years think Obama was exactly a master at foreign policy or loved what he did in the Middle East. If the right had just backed reasonable policies that deserved to be backed (or fixed) in this country, we all could have done a lot of good for a lot of people on common ground.  And I think he probably would have been a one term President. 

 

[Henry Ford]

This is a blatant justification for racism of any kind.  Not acceptable especially from members of congress. 

Hell no.

That account is a trolling “I’m a liberal!” account. I don’t think anyone on the actual left espouses that view who doesn’t shop at Goop. 

 

[jon_mx]

If someone could read that transcript and tell me where the anti-Semitic phrases are I'd like to know. Thanks.

I think it had to do with her dog-whistling references to the Jewish lobby which she has more explicited stated in the past.  

 

[ren hoek]

https://twitter.com/existentialfish/status/1104567449784123393

Fox News' Jeanine Pirro, on Omar's "heejab".  

 

[JuniorNB]

https://twitter.com/existentialfish/status/1104567449784123393

Fox News' Jeanine Pirro, on Omar's "heejab".  

Pirro sits awake at night trying to think of things to say so that she gets mentioned nationally. She joins Trump as one of the top ten worst human beings on the planet.  Even Fox News came out and condemned her statement. How damn horrible do you have to be for Fox News to condemn your statements?

 

[jon_mx]

Pirro sits awake at night trying to think of things to say so that she gets mentioned nationally. She joins Trump as one of the top ten human beings on the planet.  Even Fox News came out and condemned her statement. How damn horrible do you have to be for Fox News to condemn your statements?

I assume you left out a word.  

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

So for me, I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is ok for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country. And I want to ask, why is it ok for me to talk about the influence of the NRA, of fossil fuel industries, or Big Pharma, and not talk about a powerful lobby that is influencing policy? [applause] And I want to ask the question, why is it ok for you to push, for you to be… there are so many people…

- Omar.

Thanks for posting this. I haven’t been tracking this story. - I think the claim or argument is that this is an old theme, such as was used with Irish & Catholics with the Pope, that there is allegiance to a different country or cause over America. And I’m guessing there’s something about there being something automatically pernicious or corrupt about being pro-Israel in Congress.

 

[JuniorNB]

I assume you left out a word.  

For sure.  Fixed

 

[timschochet]

When you hear this stuff, keep in mind that there is a very specific political goal: which is to get older Jews in Florida to switch to the Republican Party in order to keep Florida a red state. If you understand that, the rhetoric becomes much easier to understand. 

President Trump doubles down on this yesterday by stating that he doesn’t understand how any Jew could support the Democrats at this point. 

Meanwhile in Israel the election is on April 9, and Netanyahu is aligning himself heavily to Trump. 

 

[jon_mx]

For sure.  Fixed

So in your opinion, some talking head who spews out stupidity is worse than rapists, murderers, child molesters?

 

[TobiasFunke]

I have not followed this, but an Arab-American Democrat member of Congress makes anti-Semitic remarks and the response is to pass a resolution condemning white supremists?  Is this really what happened?    

Oh, indeedy-do. You heard it in DC and in the PSF first, baby!

So to review: the almost exclusively Christian American conservative movement is (inaccurately) co-opting anti-Semitism for their own political purposes.  They are doing this while supporting, or at best remaining silent and indirectly supporting through broader support of the GOP and conservative propaganda outlets, a US President who called Nazis "very fine people," who made the murder of 11 Jews in their synagogue in part because of bizarre immigration conspiracy fears he promulgated all about him, who has refused at every turn to apologize for and address the fact that his political movement has revitalized and amplified the American white supremacist movement.

I know we are supposed to hold our tongues around here, to try not to show contempt, to pretend that the people on the other side are just people who see things differently. But as a Jew I can't hold my tongue on this.  This is disgraceful political opportunism, and is itself a form of anti-Semitism in the way it dehumanizes Jews and uses historic hatred and violence towards them for cheap political gain. Meghan McCain ought to be ashamed of herself.  Liz Cheney ought to be ashamed of herself . Posters in this forum- both the two I quoted and  others engaging in the same nonsense in this thread and elsewhere in this forum- ought to be ashamed of themselves. Anyone who supports this administration or any politician who has defended or protected it and who has engaged in or even tolerated this Grade A horse#### needs to shut the hell up and clean up the 5 alarm tire fire of bigotry and white supremacy on their own side of the aisle before worrying about whether they've detected a spark of it on the other side.

In the meantime those of us who don't vote the same way as literal ####ing Nazis will take care of this, thank you very much.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

President Trump doubles down on this yesterday by stating that he doesn’t understand how any Jew could support the Democrats at this point. 

Meanwhile in Israel the election is on April 9, and Netanyahu is aligning himself heavily to Trump. 

That's a pretty polite version of what he's doing. He's calling Dems 'anti-Jewish', which is insane and on some level authoritarian rhetoric. Maybe there's a better term, I don't know.

And again pure Trump. Basically in response to arguments from Democratic quarters that support for isn't loyalty, that debates on Israel-Palestine are principled.... he conflates standing on Israel to being a feeling towards Jewish people, and then he fully conflates the US relationship with Israel as being his relationship with Netanyahu and America's as well. (And Netanyahu is doing the same btw). - Obviously Trump's constantly being a self-perpetuating propaganda machine is ignored. It's just a bad example of where we are rhetorically in this country.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

But my problem with this whole thing is that we continue to ignore the root cause of Ms Omar’s comments, which are the grievances of the Palestinian people. Whether or not one believes that all of those grievances are justified , the fact is that they exist, and telling Omar to be quiet isn’t going to make them go away. Israel is our ally and that’s a good thing IMO, but over the last several years we have drifted into a situation in which we support the Israeli government unequivocally, and I don’t think that’s a good thing. 

You and I post in the Israel-Palestine thread (and Ren in his), not too much interest otherwise. But yeah it was one of OBL's two stated reasons for attacking NYC & DC in 2001, and it's been a continuing factor in increasing extremism, war and the danger of war in the mideast since the 1960s. Right now Israel has been running bombing raids in Syria, and Iran is near Israel's border. Meanwhile the US moves its embassy to Jerusalem, shuts down the Palestinian mission, cuts off aid, and appears set on a one state solution and one that doesn't seem to provide for Palestinian interests. But hey don't worry about that, that's in the portfolio of Trump's son in law, who after all is a real estate developer.

 

[JuniorNB]

So in your opinion, some talking head who spews out stupidity is worse than rapists, murderers, child molesters?

When they make a sweeping claim that anyone who wears a hijib is anti-constitutional, then yes. You are a downright awful human being. She is well aware that her viewers are Trump's base and they are gullible and already lean towards thinking anyone who isn't white and Christian isn't a true American patriot. Pumping this obvious nonsense into their brains is evil. Just more hate and divisiveness spread around by the Trump side.