Mn. Rep Ilhan Omar Rebuked Over Anti-Semitic Tweet, Faces Loss Of Seat On Foreign Relations Committee

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) with fellow lawmakers ahead of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 5, 2019. Image: Minneapolis Star Tribune via Erin Schaff New York Times

In a dramatic statement delivered on Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders are calling on Minn. Rep Ilhan Omar to apologize for tweeting the strong suggestion that political donations drive politiciams’ support for Israel.

In the dramatic statement, House Democratic leadership said that while "legitimate criticism of Israel's policies is protected by the values of free speech and democratic debate," Omar's "use of anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about Israel's top supporters is deeply offensive."

"We condemn these remarks and we call upon congresswoman Omar to immediately apologize for these hurtful comments," read the statement, tweeted out by Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Omar is facing fresh criticism and scrutiny, including from some of the most powerful members of her own party, after using language in a tweet condemned as a "vile anti-Semitic trope."

The Democratic congresswoman shared a tweet Sunday on House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy pledging to take "action" in response to her support of movements to boycott and sanction Israel over its treatment of Palestinians. "It's all about the Benjamins baby," she wrote, adding a musical note emoji.

The line comes from a 1997 Puff Daddy song and drew immediate criticism from local Minnesota and national leaders, with some issuing calls to remove her from her position on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel said it is "shocking to hear a member of Congress invoke the anti-Semitic trope of 'Jewish money.'"  Engel, who is a Jewish New York Democrat, did not address calls to have Omar removed from his committee.

Locally, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas condemned the tweet, saying the language "should have no place in politics."

"Such rhetoric puts our community in danger," read the statement, which added that it's insulting "to falsely suggest that elected officials only support Israel because they are paid to do so."

In a follow-up tweet, the freshman congresswoman said she was referencing the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, a powerful pro-Israel lobbying organization.  While all acknowledge that pro-Israel lobbying supports candidates in both parties, AIPAC is a nonprofit forbidden from making political candidate contributions.

"We should expect all elected officials, regardless of party, and all public figures to not traffic in anti-Semitism," Chelsea Clinton, whose husband is Jewish, tweeted.

Fellow freshman Democratic Rep. Max Rose of New York called the comments "deeply hurtful to Jews, including myself," according to Politico. Two other Democratic representatives wrote a letter to congressional leaders saying they are "deeply alarmed by the language," according to the Washington Post. "We urge you to join us in calling on each member of our Caucus to unite against anti-Semitism and hateful tropes and stereotypes," they wrote.

GOP groups, including the National Republican Congressional Committee, blasted Omar over the remarks. Minnesota Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan called on Minnesota Democrats, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar, to denounce the remarks and said House leadership should strip the freshman congresswoman of her committee assignments. Sen. Klobuchar’s office has not responded.

"It's clear that congresswoman Ilhan Omar harbors deep-seated anti-Semitic views," Carnahan said in a statement. "There's no place for this in Congress or among our Minnesota congressional delegation."

The Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas echoed those calls for rebuke.

"We completely agree with Ambassador Dan Shapiro that Rep. Omar's 'outrageous comments equating politicians' support for Israel with being bought off by American Jewish money are a vile anti-Semitic trope," the group said. "They need to be condemned by all in our party."

The Minneapolis Tribune writes that Omar previously came under fire for her 2012 tweet saying "Israel has hypnotized the world" was also widely rebuked for using anti-Semitic stereotypes. Omar has since said that tweet, sent in response to reports of military action against Hamas, used "unfortunate words." Last month, she also faced criticism for suggesting, without evidence, that U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., remained a staunch ally to the president because he was somehow "compromised."

Jonathan A. Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation Leauge, cited that record in joining calls for House leadership to respond, saying the latest tweets are "part of a disturbing pattern of behavior that must end."

"Unfortunately, making insensitive statements toward the Jewish community is not new for Rep. Omar ... The congresswoman needs to understand that these comments promote dangerous stereotypes and are hurtful to her Jewish constituents and Jewish-Americans throughout the country," Greenblatt's statement read.

A spokesman for Omar did not immediately respond to the Star Tribune's request for comment on the latest backlash. Her office told Politico that the tweets "speak for themselves."

Democrats Court Rural Southern Voters With Stacey Abrams’ State of the Union Response

Stacey Abrams is the first African-American woman to deliver a State of the Union response in the 53-year history of this tradition. Pool response image via AP.

By Sharon Austin, Professor of Political Scieence and Director of the African American Studies Program, University of Florida. First published on The Conversation

In a brief, direct and optimistic speech about fighting immigrant scapegoating, racism and voter suppression, Stacey Abrams celebrated diversity in her Democratic rebuttal to Donald Trump’s divisive 2019 State of the Union address.

“We will create a stronger America together,” she said.

Abrams is the first African-American woman to deliver a State of the Union response in the 53-year history of this tradition. She is the first black woman to be nominated by a major party to run for governor. Before that, she was the first African-American ever to serve as House minority leader in the Georgia General Assembly.

Her State of the Union response has increased speculation that she is a rising political starwith a bright future in the Democratic Party.

By choosing Abrams to give the State of the Union response, Democrats were clearly reaching out to African-Americans and women, a key base for the party.

But Abrams’ speech also spoke to an often-overlooked constituency the Democratic Party may not have even thought about when they picked her. It’s a constituency Abrams has already cultivated: rural Southerners of color.

Abrams campaigned in both urban and rural counties last year, defying the logic of a Democratic Party that tends to court big city voters while leaving rural Americans to be won over by Republicans like Donald Trump.

Stacey Abrams vows to keep fighting for voting rights in a speech, November 16, 2018. (Alyssa Pointer / Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Forgotten Southerners

I have been studying minority politics in the South for over 20 years.

The rural South is home to about 90 percent of America’s entire black rural population, and politics in this region have long been defined by black and white polarization. The South was a Democratic stronghold until the civil rights movement, and Democrats know they can’t win national office without winning here.

But the South – both urban and rural – is changing. In recent decades, a large number of Asian and Hispanic immigrants have settled in Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolinaand other southern states, bringing greater demographic and political diversity to this formerly black-and-white region.

Chinese immigrants first came to rural southern areas like the Mississippi Delta after the Civil War, so Asian-Americans have deep roots in the South. But between 2000 and 2010, the population of Asian-Americans in the South grew 69 percent, to over 3.8 million, largely due to the region’s many job opportunities and affordable housing.

The South’s Hispanic population has grown by 70 percent in recent years, surpassing 2.3 million people in 2010, when the last U.S. Census was taken. Many of these individuals have settled in rural communities, filling agricultural and other jobs and sending their children to public school.

Racial and ethnic minorities now make up over 20 percent of the entire rural population in 10 southern states, from Florida to Virginia.