Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter on Tuesday to reply to criticisms about her colleague, Rep. Ilhan Omar. Omar has received significant criticism in the last month regarding statements she’s made about Israel. Ocasio-Cortez contributed to the discussion with an angle less about Israel-U.S. politics and more about why other examples of offensive or controversial speech aren’t handled the same way.
But before we get into what Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, let’s review what Omar actually said. Most recently, while at a progressive issues town hall in Washington, D.C., representatives were asked questions from the audience that involved Israel and Palestine. Among other things on the subject, Omar said, "I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country. … I want to ask, 'Why is it OK for me to talk about the influence of the NRA, or fossil fuel industries or Big Pharma, and not talk about a powerful lobbying group that is influencing policy?’”
(You can watch a full stream of the event on the Busboys and Poets Facebook page).
Last month, Omar faced criticism when she tweeted a controversial statement that some felt suggested Congress supports Israel for financial reasons. Omar apologized shortly after people pointed out that her message rang close to dangerous stereotypes about money and the Jewish community. Now the House will vote on Wednesday on a resolution that condemns anti-Semitism. At this point, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have criticized Omar’s comments. Notably, the resolution doesn’t explicitly mention Omar by name.
OK. So let’s get to what Ocasio-Cortez (and others) have said.
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt wrote to Pelosi, asking her to hold a congressional vote on the abovementioned resolution. He wrote:
“Accusing Jews of having allegiance to a foreign government has long been a vile anti-Semitic slur that has been used to harass, marginalize, and persecute the Jewish people for centuries. Sometimes referred to as the 'dual loyalty' charge, it alleges that Jews should be suspected of being disloyal neighbors or citizens because their true allegiance is to their co-religionists around the world or to a secret and immoral Jewish agenda."
Previously, Omar tweeted:
Also related to tomorrow’s resolution vote, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted out:
Do you think lawmakers are criticizing Omar’s statements unfairly?