Thread by @JewhadiTM

Blue State Blues: @SpeakerPelosi MUST Remove @IlhanMN from the House Foreign Affairs Committee bit.ly/2D0mg6x

.@IlhanMN has spent two weeks proving that Speaker of the House @SpeakerPelosi made a big mistake promoting her to the House Foreign Affairs Committee — an error that is hurting her party and the country.

In the past several days, Omar has:

Failed to apologize for an antisemitic tweet that, she says, she now realizes is “offensive,” but refuses to delete;

Mocked the idea that Israel is a democracy, comparing it to Iran and saying it should not be accepted as a “Jewish state” — then doubled down; and

Attempted to justify writing a letter to a judge in 2016 asking for a lenient sentence for nine Somali-Americans who were convicted of trying to join the so-called “Islamic State,” or ISIS.

(Omar has also defended the autocratic socialist regime of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro, accusing the U.S. of a “coup” by supporting the opposition, which she falsely called “far right.”)

The result has been a public relations mess for Democratic Party leaders. They have been at pains this week to defend Omar as well as fellow first-year Rep @RepRashida, as the Capitol Hill press corps has finally begun to ask whether their hostility to Israel goes too far.

When Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), the new ranking member on the committee, objected to Pelosi appointing Omar to the committee, Omar accused him of Islamophobia:

Zeldin ., as expected, was accused of Islamophobia, he responded by pointing out that he opposed her views and rhetoric — not her religion, or her gender.

In response, Omar retweeted a number of supporters — including one who tried linking Zeldin to Nazis:

Zeldin is Jewish.

Later, after Zeldin posted an antisemitic voice mail he had received and dared Omar to disagree, she did so — and offered to meet with him to “share notes on how to fight religious discrimination of all kinds.”

As if her anti-Israel views were not discriminatory.

In the midst of her battle with Zeldin, Omar retweeted a supporter who declared, “Israel is not a real democracy,” and compared the Jewish state to the Jim Crow South. She added: “Many of them truly know this, but don’t want to accept it.”

Omar’s claim is a vicious lie. Israel is a diverse society that guarantees equal rights for all. Arabs have the vote, and there is no segregation.

But to Omar, a “Jewish state” cannot be a democracy. That is the warped view of an antisemite.

On the Daily Show Thursday evening, host @Trevornoah claimed — incorrectly — that Omar had apologized for her tweet declaring, “Israel has hypnotized the world.”

She said that she would continue criticize Israel, regardless.

And the tweet remains live.

Criticism of Israeli policies is not necessarily antisemitic — unless that criticism only applies to Israel.

Omar, for example, backs the “boycott, divestment, and sanctions” (BDS) movement against Israel — which she pretended to oppose before the election — but opposes sanctions against Venezuela.

Likewise, it is theoretically possible to oppose the Jewish state without hating Jews — though less convincing when using classic antisemitic themes along the way, as @IlhanMN and @RepRashida have done.

Faced with criticism, Omar and Tlaib have claimed to be the victims of anti-Muslim prejudice. But it is not who they are, but rather the words they use and the policies they embrace, that have invited controversy.

If anything, the backlash to Omar and Tlaib’s views ought to provoke a long-overdue self-examination in the American Muslim community. Many Islamic societies have tolerated Jews (and Christians), but as second-class citizens.

Worldwide, many Muslims remain hostile to the idea of a Jewish state. Some have even embraced old-style European antisemitism.

Democrats have also, independently, become hostile to Israel.

That development began under Obama, who not only sought to create distance from Israel to appease the Arab and Muslim world, but also pushed the Iran deal through despite the protests of the Israeli government (and the existential fears of many Israelis).

On his way out of office, Obama also allowed a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israel’s presence in Jerusalem to pass.

Putting Omar on the House Foreign Affairs Committee gives her the power to disrupt the U.S. alliance with Israel.

It is alarming enough that people who hold anti-Israel views, and use antisemitic rhetoric, are elected to Congress — but that is up to the voters in their districts

The decision to place Omar on the House Foreign Affairs Committee was Speaker Pelosi’s alone.

If she remains on the committee, there will no longer be any doubt that the Democratic Party has become an anti-Israel party — and that Democrats are not only prepared to tolerate and ignore antisemitism, but eager to promote it.

Republicans stripped Rep. Steve King (R-IA) of his committee assignments when he was alleged to have made a racist remark.

Democrats should do the same to Omar. Let her rant against Israel if she wants — from the back benches. (via @joelpollak)