Ilhan Omar and Marjorie Taylor-Greene

Ilhan Omar (BBC)

Question: What do Ilhan Omar and George Santos have in common? Answer: They are both practiced liars. Only one of them, however, has proven herself to be an antisemite disguised as being anti Zionist.

Omar’s antisemitism has been demonstrated by her many negative comments about Jewish influence and loyalties. Like ‘It’s all about the Benjamins’ blaming congressional support for the Zionist state on Jewish money. Translation: The Jews control congress. Implying that Israel does not deserve congressional support and instead should be boycotted along the lines of BDS. Which she heartily endorses.

This is similar to what rabidly antisemitic groups on the right have said about Jews - referring to congress by the acronym ZOG (Zionist Occupied Congress).The unfortunate reality is that antisemites are kindred spirits no matter how far apart they are politically. (Kind of the way Russia and Nazi Germany were. The only difference was in the degree to which they executed their antisemitic policies.)

Omar is not antisemitic?! What a liar! She may as well have said that her grandparents were Holocaust survivors. I do not buy for a minute that her intentions with respect to the Jewish state are anything other than to destroy it. And certainly not consider the Jewish ‘Apartheid state’ an ally of the US.

That Omar later apologized is irrelevant. She obviously meant what she said. She just wasn’t aware that the way in which she said those things were antisemitic tropes. That was the sum and substance of her public apology. Anyone thinks that her apology was sincere - I've got two words for you: Bridge and Brooklyn. 

One might want to counter this notion by pointing out her inclusion as a sponsor of a pro Israel resolution. What a cynical ploy that was. From JTA, here is what the resolution says:

The resolution is called “Recognizing Israel as America’s Legitimate and Democratic Ally and Condemning Antisemitism,” and its cosponsors are a who’s-who of the pro-Israel Democrats, including leading Jewish lawmakers… 

Among other forms of antisemitism, the resolution condemns a trope Omar was accused of peddling in 2019: that Jewish Americans are more loyal to Israel than the United States. The resolution “rejects hate, discrimination, and antisemitism in all forms, including antisemitism masquerading as anti-Israel sentiment; stands in unity with the Jewish people in the United States and around the world against the rising antisemitism; and explicitly condemns perpetuation of antisemitic tropes, including claims of dual loyalty, control, and other conspiracy theories antithetical to American values.”

Who is she trying to kid?! The biggest lie told by Omar so far is adding her name to the sponsorship list of a pro Israel resolution! The description of what this resolution is against is in part exactly what Omar has been guilty of. In this case her words speak louder than the resolution she sponsored.

Also  you cannot be a supporter of Israel calling it a ally of the US while constantly accusing her of being an Apartheid state. Neither can you be a supporter of Israel while supporting BDS. According to Omar, what does it say about the US if they ally themselves with an oppressive Apartheid regime that should be boycotted? 

This is why I am fully supportive of her removal from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. She has about as much business being on that committee as does the late Yasser Arafat. I am not fooled by her mild mannered demeanor – or her slight stature. Her mouth makes up for all that. Neither am I fooled by her signing on as a sponsor to a pro Israel resolution. 

I also fully reject accusation expressed in congress by her partner in crime, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - that Omar was removed because of racism on the part of the Republican majority. Omar was not kicked off that committee because of her race, religion or ethnicity. That was not the reason.

Marjorie Taylor-Greene (Rolling Stone)

That said, I am am disappointed that far right conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor-Greene has been assigned to serve on important House committees after she was removed by Democrats when they controlled congress. For her her own nutball antisemitic comments. She has no more business serving on an important House committee than does Kanye West.  

Democrats have used used this as proof that Omar was not removed from the Foreign Affairs Committee  because of her antisemitism. and that she was instead removed as a form of revenge against Democrats for removing far right Republicans when they were in charge.

Unfortunately, I think there is some truth to that. You can’t allow one antisemite to serve on an important House committee while not allowing another antisemite to serve on another. That inconsistency gives lie to the Republican claim that it was all about antisemitism. If they are going to be consistent in that claim, Taylor-Greene must go. 

 Off my soapbox.