Top Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, issued a statement Monday condemning what they called the "anti-Semitic tropes" of freshman Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
"Legitimate criticism of Israel's policies is protected by the values of free speech and democratic debate that the United States and Israel share,” they wrote in a joint statement from the entire Democratic Leadership team. "But Congresswoman Omar’s use of anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about Israel’s supporters is deeply offensive. We condemn these remarks and we call upon Congresswoman Omar to immediately apologize for these hurtful comments."
Rep. Omar, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress last fall, sent several tweets drawing a link between U.S. foreign policy toward Israel and money spent by the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Omar believes the U.S. should use sanctions and other tools to penalize Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.
See the tweets in question below.