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The Ilhan Omar controversy is real antisemitism or basic political facts?

SHAFAQNA- Following the Ilhan Omar controversy, it’s incredibly important to be able to decipher between real antisemitism and basic political facts. Donald Trump has condemned Representative Ilhan Omar for her tweet criticizing the Israeli lobby, and called on her to resign.

Do large contributions from pro-Israeli groups determine U.S. policy in Israel? That’s not a new question, but it’s surged back into the news following a series of tweets from Minnesota Congressional representative Ilhan Omar.

After the Muslim Congress member tweeted that American political leaders’ support for Israel is “all about the Benjamins,” a political firestorm broke out over the question of whether the tweet was anti-Semitic, vox mentioned.

She specifically called out AIPAC — the largest American pro-Israel lobbying group — for paying lawmakers to support Israeli policies. Omar’s tweets, inadvertently, referenced painful anti-Semitic tropes by framing Jewish money as a corrupting influence in politics. But she also raised real, legitimate concerns about the role of pro-Israeli lobbying influence on Congress.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is one of the most influential pro-Israel lobbying groups. As Quartz reported, the group has been shelling out millions of dollars into US politics in the past 20 years. According to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan nonprofit group tracking spending and lobbying in American politics, reported that AIPAC has spent about $3.5m in pro-Israeli lobbying in the 2018 fiscal year. Some of their lobbying efforts included their opposition to the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal and their support for Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement.

The backlash to the comments was swift and intense; both Republicans and Democrats condemned them. Omar apologized pressure from the House Democratic leadership, who issued a unified statement condemning her comments. Donald Trump has called on her to resign — characteristically ignoring his own much worse history of anti-Semitic remarks, nbcnews told.

“I think she should be ashamed of herself,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he flew to El Paso, Texas, for his first political rally of the year. “I think it was a terrible statement. And I don’t think her apology was adequate”, usatoday reported.

“I think she should either resign from congress or she should certainly resign from the House Foreign Affairs Committee,” Mr Trump said from the Oval Office on Tuesday, independent reported.

Conservatives have been trying to label Omar an anti-Semite since she was elected in November.

In the day and a half since Omar’s initial comments, a number of left-wing writers have emerged to defend her. They argue that Omar was attempting to point out the financial clout of the pro-Israel lobby — the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC — and not to make generalizations about Jews. The pushback against Omar, they say, is part of a broader campaign to smear a young Muslim congresswoman and silence criticism of Israel.

“Of course everyone knows [AIPAC money matters]. And to call that anti-Semitic is just obscene,” the Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald said on Democracy Now.

Donald Trump and his Republican allies deployed their disingenuous outrage machine in full force against Rep. Ilhan Omar this week.

While Rep. Omar was quick to apologize, and rightly so, her comments demonstrated how individuals can internalize and unintentionally give voice to anti-Semitic stereotypes. But Trump’s call for Omar’s resignation is too hypocritical and opportunistic to comprehend, newsweek told.

It’s important to remember how the controversy around Ilhan Omar, who Trump said should resign over tweets critical of a pro-Israel lobbying group, began. The first two Muslim congresswomen in the history of the United States – Ilhan Omar, a freshman representative from Minnesota and Somali refugee, and her fellow freshman representative Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American – have bravely criticized the Israeli government for its grotesque treatment of the Palestinian people.

Acknowledging this apartheid system is a dangerous thing for American elected officials to do. Just in 2016, when presidential candidate Bernie Sanders dared to say that “We are going to have to treat the Palestinian people with respect and dignity” it became a major media event, theguardian told.

 

Read more from Shafaqna:

MUSLIM CONGRESSWOMAN ILHAN OMAR TELLS TRUMP ‘YOU HAVE TRAFFICKED IN HATE YOUR WHOLE LIFE’         

US: ILHAN OMAR AND HER DAUGHTER’S MESSAGE ON WOMEN’S MARCH

ILHAN OMAR: TRUMP SHUTS DOWN THE GOVERNMENT OVER A WALL      

RASHIDA TLAIB AND ILHAN OMAR BECOME FIRST MUSLIM WOMEN ELECTED TO US CONGRESS           

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