Congress punished an antisemite, but more must be done
Brooke Goldstein
Jew hatred is no longer tolerated in the United States Congress — at least not where international affairs are concerned.
In a long-anticipated move, the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives voted to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a seat she has held for the four years she has been a member of Congress. Republicans cited six antisemitic statements made by Omar in removing her from the highly-coveted committee, noting that members should be held to the “highest standard of conduct” when engaged in sensitive international relations and national security.
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I support the notion that an antisemite like Omar, who downplays 9/11 and the Holocaust and who has compared Israel to Hamas and the Taliban, has no place on a committee focused on American interests around the globe. Yet I question the logic that would accept her poison in our government at all.
If our representatives represent us, what does Omar’s place in the House of Representatives say about the 728,000 people in her district that she speaks for? Why is her kind of discourse unacceptable in “polite” society while being just a difference of opinion in the Washington, D.C., halls of power?
Nancy Pelosi’s shameful enabling of Omar’s behavior when Democrats held the majority in the House was at least in keeping with the Left’s antagonistic attitude toward Jews and the State of Israel.
Republicans have called Omar to task. But by only rebuking her up to the water’s edge, they, too, have highlighted the long way yet to go to remove Jew hatred from the mainstream.
Particularly with the proliferation of social media, members of Congress have a megaphone almost unparalleled in American life. Committee member or no, Omar’s opinions on Jews — and the levers of power she believes we pull — will continue to be front-page news for as long as she holds public office. Her every tweet will be dissected by talking heads on any news station you can name.
Although members of Congress are not empowered to recall their colleagues on a whim, they each carry their own megaphones. Last week’s vote to remove Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee was the perfect opportunity not only to denounce her qualifications as a committee member but also the beliefs and opinions that disqualify her.
American support for Israel is not bought and paid for by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — a charge Omar has leveled at members of her own party as well as at Republicans. Describing September 11, 2001, as a day on which “some people did something” minimizes the largest terrorist attack on American soil in history and disrespects the memory of the 3,000 civilians slaughtered on that day. As an American politician, her disregard for the sanctity of our shared national history is all the more shocking.
American safety and military power in the Middle East come, in part, from our strong alliance with the State of Israel. Omar’s repeated description of the Jewish state as an “apartheid state” not only undermines the only democracy in the region but American democracy as well.
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I heartily say bravo to Congress for its removal of Omar from a committee she is undeserving to serve on. But I am still awaiting a full repudiation of Omar and the destruction she wreaks from her perch in the highest levels of American government. At a time of unprecedented antisemitism and Jew hatred around the globe and here at home, we should expect nothing less from those elected to speak for us.
Brooke Goldstein is a human rights attorney and founder and executive director of The Lawfare Project.