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The Muslim congresswoman who spoke out against Israel was removed from the foreign affairs committee - voila! news

2023-02-02T21:24:28.046Z


The Republicans claim that the move against Ilhan Omar is a statement against anti-Semitism, while the Democrats see it as revenge. Omar strongly condemned the decision and claimed that it stems, among other things, from her being a Muslim immigrant: "Is anyone surprised that I am considered unfit to talk about foreign policy?"


"Cancer in the House of Representatives" Congresswoman Ilhan Omar condemned a poster linking her to the 9/11 attacks at a Republican rally in West Virginia (Photo: Reuters, Editing: Tomer Levy)

Ilhan Omar, the Democratic congresswoman from the state of Minnesota, was removed today (Thursday) from her position in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives following her statements against Israel.

According to the Republicans, this is a strong statement against anti-Semitism, while according to the Democrats and Omar, it was revenge after two Republicans were removed from the committees in 2020 when the Democrats held the majority in the House of Representatives.



Omar also claimed that her removal from the position was done due to her being a Muslim woman who immigrated to the United States as a refugee.

"Is anyone surprised that I am somehow deemed unfit to speak about American foreign policy?" she said shortly before the vote.



Omar frequently criticizes Israel, supports the Boycott of Israel (BDS) movement and condemns the settlement policy and military activity in the territories, as well as what she describes as the influence of pro-Israel lobbies.

Ilhan Omar, the Democratic congresswoman from the state of Minnesota, was removed today (Thursday) from her position in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives following her statements against Israel.

According to the Republicans, this is a strong statement against anti-Semitism, while according to the Democrats and Omar, it was revenge after two Republicans were removed from the committees in 2020 when the Democrats held the majority in the House of Representatives.



Omar also claimed that her removal from the position was done due to her being a Muslim woman who immigrated to the United States as a refugee.

"Is anyone surprised that I am somehow deemed unfit to speak about American foreign policy?" she said shortly before the vote.



Omar frequently criticizes Israel, supports the Boycott of Israel (BDS) movement and condemns the settlement policy and military activity in the territories, as well as what she describes as the influence of pro-Israel lobbies.

Removed from the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Ilhan Omar (Photo: Reuters)

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About four years ago, the leadership of the Democratic Party announced in an extremely unusual move that it would hold a vote in Congress on a proposal condemning anti-Semitism and directly referring to the statements of Omar, who is considered to be the harshest critic of Israel in Congress.

However, two days later the vote was postponed to an unknown date due to disputes within the party that prevent condemnation of her statements.

At the same time, three presidential candidates from the Democratic Party issued statements backing Omar.



Omar, who got into trouble several times with anti-Semitic statements, immediately after being elected to Congress in an interview with "Yahoo" compared Israel and Iran, in a blatant criticism of the nationality law: "When Israel passes a law that recognizes it as a Jewish state, and does not recognize other religions that live there, and we treat it as a democracy In the Middle East, I almost laugh. Because we see it in the societies we visit like Iran," she said.



Later that year, she participated in a panel at a neighborhood cafe in Washington, and was asked to address the uproar due to her previous anti-Semitic statement, in which she implied that the support of members of Congress for Israel was bought with money.

Omar explained her opposition to the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC by saying: "I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says you can be loyal to another country." "Why can we talk about the NRA or 'Big Pharma' but not about another lobby that affects policy?".

"Anti-Semitism is real."

Ilhan Omar (Photo: Reuters)

Alongside this, she previously apologized, in 2019, for implying that money was behind the support for Israel.

Members of both parties, including then-Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, condemned her comments as anti-Semitic, claiming they evoked stereotypes about Jews using money for influence.



"Anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful to Jewish allies and colleagues who educate me about the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes," Omar said in a statement at the time.

On Thursday, Democrats, including Jewish members, also said that Omar had taken appropriate steps to educate herself about anti-Semitism.

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Source: walla

All news articles on 2023-02-02

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