Ilhan Omar calls Israel “human rights violator” amid fundraising battle



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Representative Ilhan Omar said on Wednesday that Congress must not approve arms sales to countries accused of human rights abuses, a day after she and other far-left lawmakers forced the withdrawal of $ 1 billion earmarked for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system from a massive government funding bill.

“We sold $ 175 billion worth of weapons last year, more than anyone in the world, to some of the world’s worst human rights abusers,” Omar tweeted on Wednesday. “Here’s an idea: don’t sell weapons to anyone who violates human rights.

A spokesperson for Omar told The Post on Wednesday evening that the tweet was not intended to accuse Israel of human rights violations.

On the contrary, he said, Omar was promoting a bill she had introduced months earlier that would create a commission to help determine which nations should receive American aid and arms.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) On Tuesday announced he would introduce a stand-alone bill in the House that would restore funding for the Iron Dome, hours after it was withdrawn of a continuing resolution that would keep the government in office until December 31. 3, avoid a stop

Hoyer told the House on Tuesday night that the measure would be put to a vote by the end of this week under suspension of House rules – meaning debate will be limited and the bill would require approval two-thirds to be adopted.

“I was all for that,” Hoyer said of the Iron Dome funding allocation. “I’m still in favor, we should be doing it.” Before speaking, the majority leader reassured Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid that the removal of the provision was only a “technical postponement”, according to Lapid, and that funding would soon be restored.

Omar’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post on Hoyer’s maneuver.

Moderate Democrats have expressed frustration with their progressive colleagues over the decision to cut funding, with some pointing out that Iron Dome is not an offensive weapon, but rather a defensive mechanism used to protect Israelis from rocket attacks by Islamist militants.

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip on May 12, 2021.
Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip on May 12, 2021.
REUTERS / Amir Cohen

“[T]o Targeting Iron Dome now means the problem is not a real concern about the system, but rather the desire to attack something – anything – related to the State of Israel, ”the representative tweeted on Tuesday. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich). “[I]It is devoid of substance and irresponsible.

Omar, the first Somali American elected to Congress, has a history of persistent criticism of Israel – some of which has turned into outright anti-Semitism.

Representative Elissa Slotkin
Representative Elissa Slotkin argues that it is “irresponsible” for Congress not to fund Israel’s iron dome system.
Shannon Finney / Getty Images

In 2019, she tweeted that the relationship between the United States and Israel was “all about the Benjamins.” When asked who she thinks was paying American politicians to support Israel, Omar replied “AIPAC”, referring to the United States Committee on Israel’s Public Affairs. The congresswoman then deleted the tweet and apologized.

Weeks later, Omar responded to critics who demanded that she be kicked out of the House Foreign Affairs Committee by tweeting: “I shouldn’t be supposed to have allegiance / support to a foreign country in order to serve my country in Congress or to sit on committee, “prompting further outcry and accusations that she accused Jews of” dual loyalty “to Israel and the United States.

In May this year, during the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Omar joined a motorcade of far-left lawmakers who broke with the Biden administration to denounce the conduct of the IDF on the floor of the House.

In his remarks, Omar condemned then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “a far-right ethno-nationalist” and asked: The Israeli government we are funding is trying to make this impossible? “

The following month, Omar tweeted that “[w]We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the United States, Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan and the Taliban, ”an equivalence that sparked an uproar among her colleagues who urged her to“ clarify ”her statement.

Omar initially responded by accusing his fellow Democrats of using “Islamophobic tropes”. In a subsequent statement, the lawmaker asserted that she “in no way equates terrorist organizations with democratic countries with well-established judicial systems”.

Although she retracted her statement, Omar told CNN in an interview at the end of June that she did not regret making the initial comment and claimed that colleagues who criticized her ” had not been partners with justice. They haven’t been, you know, also engaged in the pursuit of justice in the world.

In addition to Omar, Reps Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) And Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Threatened to vote against continued resolution if Iron Dome money was included. With Democrats holding a majority of just eight seats, leaders cannot afford three members of the conference to vote against the legislation before it is defeated.



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