Rep. Juan Vargas Attack on Congresswoman Ilhan Omar for Anti-Semitism Proves Her Point
I loathe writing about certain topics, most of them relating to foreign policy and/or religion, mostly because there’s always another layer to the story an outsider can’t see.
Today, I’m making an exception because sometimes the contradictions of the world manifest themselves in domestic politics.
This is the case with Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Somali-American representing Minnesota's 5th congressional district currently in the middle of a controversy over statements she’s made about the influence of Israel on US politics.
To hear San Diego Congressman Juan Vargas and others, you’d think Omar was a raving lunatic anti-Semite, rather than a first term Congresswoman challenging (albeit with a lack of awareness about her choice of words) a decades-old plank of U.S. foreign policy: unfaltering support for Israel.
https://twitter.com/RepJuanVargas/status/1102636576524374016
In the last election cycle, Vargas endorsed DA candidate Summer Stephan, whose campaign used imagery widely considered to be anti Semitic to attack her opponent. He had nothing to say, even when the media called attention to the ads.
This hoopla in DC started last month, when Omar called out the political influence of AIPAC — on twitter using the phrase, "It's all about the Benjamins baby" — drawing sharp scrutiny on Capitol Hill. AIPAC’s oversized sway in foreign policy isn’t about campaign donations; it’s about marshalling political forces (who may be donors).
Omar did apologize for that statement, though House Republicans still pushed a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, without specifically naming her. The measure was overwhelmingly approved on the floor, including winning Omar’s vote.
https://twitter.com/IlhanMN/status/1102297974154113026
In recent days, the Congresswoman has been targeted by anti-Muslim attacks and death threats. On Friday, an Islamophobic poster displayed at an event sponsored by the West Virginia GOP included a photo of the World Trade Center buildings on fire and a photo of Omar below it.
Following remarks made by Omar during an appearance at a town hall, it seems like the entire political establishment starting with Donald trump on the right to a gaggle of establishment Democrats in the center have expressed outrage.
Politico reported yesterday on Democratic leaders planning to bring a resolution in the House condemning anti-Semitism. Although the draft text does not name Omar, it is seen as a direct rebuke and public shaming.
Representative Omar’s town hall comments triggering this wave of “concern” were made in response to a broad question about anti-Semitism, via The Nation:
I know what intolerance looks like and I’m sensitive when someone says, “the words you use Ilhan, are resemblance of intolerance.” And I am cautious of that and I feel pained by that.
But it’s almost as if every single time we say something, regardless of what it is we say, that it’s supposed to be about foreign policy or engagement, our advocacy about ending oppression, or the freeing of every human life and wanting dignity, we get to be labeled in something, and that ends the discussion, because we end up defending that, 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 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, of fossil-fuel industries, or Big Pharma, and not talk about a powerful lobby that is influencing policy.…
I mean, most of us are new, but many members of Congress have been there forever. Some of them have been there before we were born. So I know many of them, many of them, were fighting for people to be free, for people to live in dignity in South Africa. I know many of them fight for people around the world to have dignity, to have self-determination. So I know, I know that they care about these things.
But now that you have two Muslims who are saying, “here is a group of people that we want to make sure they have the dignity that you want everyone else to have!”…we get to be called names, we get to be labeled as hateful.
Here’s Jordan Weismann’s take on all this at Slate:
I find Omar’s rhetoric tone-deaf, but haven’t seen compelling evidence that she has any real animus toward Jews. The more likely explanation for these statements is that she’s an inexperienced politician who arrived at the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia at age 12 and probably came of age in left-wing circles where vocal opposition to Israel was the norm, and there wasn’t a lot of thought given to words that Jews consider anti-Semitic dog whistles. Once the outrage crested last week, she could have shown a little sensitivity to people’s concerns and backed down. But I have trouble blaming her for not doing so.
First, this week arguably demonstrated her broader point. She gave a talk about how accusations of anti-Semitism tend to silence critics of Israel. In response, she was swiftly called a “Jew hater.”
Second, there’s the sheer hypocrisy factor. Many of the Republicans attacking Omar now have shown little if any concern about their own party’s use of anti-Semitic tropes. And as Omar points out, they also haven’t shown much concern about the Islamophobic attacks or death threats that have come her way.
Here’s what I think: Rep. Ilhan Omar is asking questions about American policy in the Middle East and elsewhere that should have been asked decades ago. The establishment is terrified, and they're trying to take her down.
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