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A4 U.S. NEWS
Wednesday 6 March 2019

Omar the flashpoint as Democrats confront divide over Israel

By LAURIE KELLMAN happy to stoke the fu- says that what she is ques-
Associated Press ror, with President Donald tioning is the influence
WASHINGTON (AP) — Back Trump calling Omar’s re- game in Washington and
in January, the Democrats marks “a dark day for Is- she worries that anything
welcomed their brash rael” and posting a photo she says about Israel and
young newcomers to Con- of himself in Jerusalem. In- its treatment of Palestinians
gress with smiles and hugs. side the Democratic fam- will be construed as anti-
That was before the new ily, meanwhile, leaders are Semitic. “Being opposed to
colleagues dragged the in a bind, torn between a (Prime Minister Benjamin)
party’s simmering divisions need to admonish Omar Netanyahu and the oc-
over Israel out in the open. for her comments and their cupation is not the same
Provocative comments desire to defend one of the as being anti-Semitic,” she
from Rep. Ilhan Omar of first Muslim women ever tweeted on Sunday. “I am
Minnesota have thrust the elected to Congress. grateful to the many Jew-
Democrats into an uncom- This time Omar is not apol- ish allies who have spoken
fortable debate over Israel In this Feb. 5, 2019 photo, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., arrives for ogizing. And this time pro- out and said the same.”
policy a few weeks before President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address to a joint Israel Democrats led by But Democrats in Con-
a high-profile conference session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington. Speaker Nancy Pelosi are gress remain largely sup-
where senior Democrats Associated Press not just warning her about portive of Israel. Pelosi, for
typically make a show the party line. country.” It’s at least the the dangers of Jewish example, often attends
of support for the Jewish Omar became the flash third time she has forced tropes. They’re expected the American Israel Public
state. Increasingly, the rift point after she suggested older, pro-Israel Democrats to offer a resolution con- Affairs Committee confer-
appears as much genera- last week that Israel’s sup- who run the House into demning anti-Semitism on ence in Washington, which
tional as ideological, with porters are pushing U.S. law- awkward territory over U.S.- the House floor. is coming up later this
newly elected Democrats makers to take a pledge of Israeli policy. “Accusations of dual loy- month.
showing less deference to “allegiance to a foreign Republicans have been alty generally have an in- Omar on Tuesday got a
sidious, bigoted history,” boost from allies who point
a draft of the resolution out that the congresswom-
reads in part. “The House of an, too, has been the tar-
Representatives acknowl- get of threats and bigotry.
edges the dangerous con- “No one seeks this level of
sequences of perpetuating reprimand when members
anti-Semitic stereotypes make statements about
and rejects anti-Semitism Latinx + other communi-
as hateful expressions of in- ties,” the New York Demo-
tolerance that are contra- crat wrote.
dictory to the values that “We are concerned that
define the people of the the timing of this resolu-
United States.” tion will be seen as singling
The text, which includes a out and focusing special
history of bigotry against condemnation on a Mus-
Muslims and blacks as well lim woman of color as if
as Jews, sounds unobjec- her views and insensitive
tionable by itself. But the comments pose a greater
fact that senior Demo- threat than the torrent of
crats felt obliged to put hatred that the white na-
the House on-record on tionalist right continues to
the topic points to a trans- level against Jews, Mus-
formation in the country — lims, people of color and
mostly among Democrats other vulnerable minor-
— about supporting the ity groups,” said J Street,
Jewish state. a nonprofit that says it’s a
In a poll by the Pew Re- home for “pro-Israel, pro-
search Center in January Peace Americans.” The
of last year, 46 percent of Democrats’ strategy, the
Americans said they sym- group added, “plays di-
pathized more with Israel rectly into the hands of
and 16 percent with the the president and his al-
Palestinians in their Middle lies, who act in bad faith to
East discord. weaponize the debate for
Omar, a Somali-American, political gain.”q