A Comment on House Representative Ilhan Omar and Alleged “Anti-Semitic Tropes” (11 Feb 2019) See March 8 update at end of essay
Ilhan Omar, a Muslim woman from Minnesota and one of the new Democratic Representatives in the House, is now being accused of having used “anti-Semtic tropes” and “prejudicial accusations about Israel’s supporters.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others said they found her words “deeply offensive.” What had Omar said? Well, basically, it went like this: “Republican support for Israel is fueled by campaign donations from pro-Israel groups like AIPAC.” Wow! What a bad thing to say!
There are several things that make Omar’s statement superficial, but none of them detract from its core truth. Basically, the problem with Omar’s assertion is that it was made without supporting context and is incomplete. These are important points and the consequences of omitting them are real. Here is what I mean:
— It is certainly not just the Republicans whose support of Israel is “fueled by campaign donations.” It is also the Democrats, and Omar might have expected that her claim would call the motives of her fellow Democrats’ support for Israel into question as well. No doubt Pelosi caught the connection and that may be one of the reasons she quickly demanded “an immediate apology” from Omar. There are two other points to be made here: One is that the connection between Zionist organizations and the federal, as well as state, politicians of this nation are at least a century old. That means the deal whereby these particular groups give money and the other party delivers legislation and foreign/military aid is so established that it is generally taken for granted. When Omar questions the propriety of this arrangement it is a shock—even for the politicians. The second point is that it is probably true that some politicians, say Senator Chuck Schumer and Vice President Mike Pence, support Israel for personal or religious reasons and would do so whether they are monetarily rewarded or not. However, such politicians are probably in the minority.
— Moving on, Omar states that the campaign contributions come from “pro-Israeli groups like AIPAC.” She probably should have left out the example of a mostly Jewish group (AIPAC) because by throwing it in she opened herself to the charge of anti-Semitism—specifically, as her disparagers allege, she (apparently without knowing she was doing so) “invoked the anti-Semitic trope of Jewish money.” Of course, the truth of the matter is that it is not only “Jewish money” that is involved here (though Sheldon Adelson did give Republicans tens of millions of dollars in 2018). It is also “Christian money” in the form of donations from Christian Zionist individuals and organizations. And, finally on this point, the fact is that AIPAC as an organization does not make financial contributions, but is quite active in suggesting to other donating groups which politicians are worthy of receiving such largess.
There is little doubt that the Democrats in the House are going to try to make an example of Omar and scare the rest of the new House Democrats, and any others who might come along in the future. Ilhan Omar herself took the message and did apologize very quickly.
There is a lesson for us to learn from all of this. We are at a new stage of what has always been, and continues to be, a very nasty fight. All statements by pro-Palestinian politicians (which now are indeed showing up on the radar) about Israel, Zionists, their relation to U.S. politicians and U.S. foreign policy, should be carefully crafted so as to assure that they can be defended from distortion, slander and innuendo. Perhaps the various pro-Palestinian organizations in and about Washington can create a consultative committee to help with just such a task.
Update on the Attack on U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar (8 March 2019) by Lawrence Davidson
We all owe Representative Ilhan Omar a debt of gratitude for doing what no Washington politician has had the courage to do, perhaps since Senator William Fulbright’s 1963 investigation of AIPAC. That is, she challenged the Zionist lobby’s role as an operative of the Israeli government.
It is perhaps Omar’s lack of historical awareness on the subject of American Zionist power (Nancy Pelosi explained that Omar did not understand the “weight of the words she used”) that allows her to speak out with such courage. Whatever the case might be, her forthright honesty is like a breath of fresh air wafting through the halls of Congress. That is, of course, why the Zionist lobby and its fellow travelers have their daggers drawn and are showing such public bloodlust.
The knee jerk charge that Omar’s statements are anti-Semitic constitutes an obvious red-herring. As Omar tellingly points out, it is a tactic that is designed to keep people from dealing with the real subject at hand—the inhumane treatment of the Palestinian people.
Here is how she put it: “If every single time we say something regardless of what it is … about foreign policy or … about ending oppression … we get to be labeled something … that [labeling] ends the discussion. Because we end up defending [ourselves] and nobody ever gets to have the broader debate of what is happening with Palestine. So for me, I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is okay for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country.”
Omar’s statement describes reality in Washington and there is nothing anti-Semitic about it. When it comes to Israel, it is not just Jewish-American politicians who are expected to be “loyal” to the Zionist state. Every politician is expected to support Israel or, at the very least, keep their mouth shut about Israeli demands for support.
So, it is at once very encouraging to see Omar take a stand—and this writer hopes she will continue to do so—but at the same time it is depressing (actually it is downright disgusting) to see the temper tantrums thrown by Israeli loyalists in the Congress no matter what their religion or ethnicity. After all, they are jumping up and down in support of a state that practices apartheid-style racism against Palestinians. That means Israel and its supporters are also a threat to the moral character of the Jewish people.
