UPDATE: The NYT allowed my comment on Michelle Goldberg’s story linked at the bottom. My comment:
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Yesterday Ilhan Omar, rebuked by the House Democratic leadership for anti-Semitism, tweeted this notapology that included a criticism of lobbyists:
Listening and learning, but standing strong 💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/7TSroSf8h1
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 11, 2019
Today a friend of mine made some inquiries and found out this:
No wonder Omar didn’t call out CAIR for lobbying! As I mentioned yesterday, that was a glaring omission from her list of lobbyist miscreants.
In the meantime, CAIR, of course, is blaming Omar’s disgrace on the fact that she’s Muslim and therefore is being hounded for her faith (from their Facebook page):
Meanwhile, Linda Sarsour is defending Omar and also playing the victim, taking time out to practice “self care” (or is it “self CAIR”?) after this rabid Islamophobic attack on Omar. Sarsour is “triggered.”
If you’re an antisemitic Muslim and get criticized for your Jew-hating, the Woke Playbook says to blame it all on Islamophobia. And if you’re a Leftist who is anti-Israel, you criticize anti-Semitism not because it’s wrong, but because it plays to the Right (see here for an example).
For a less slanted view of Omar, see this post:
An excerpt:
But criticism of Israel is not inherently free of anti-Semitism, either — a point that I wish more critics of Israel would acknowledge. Here are a few such forms of anti-Semitism:
Calls for the elimination of the Jewish state that are suspiciously silent about the need to eliminate other religious states. Questioning Israel’s right to exist often falls into this category.
The old trope that Jews have secret powers to control other people. Ilhan Omar, the Minnesota congresswoman, dabbled in this sort of conspiracy when she tweeted in 2012 that Israel had “hypnotized the world” to keep people from seeing its “evil doings.”
The related trope that Jews use their money to control people. An example: A London mural that depicted hooknosed bankers running the world — which Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain’s Labour Party, initially defended. Another example: Omar’s claim over the weekend that members of Congress support Israel because of money they receive from pro-Israel lobbyists. “It’s all about the Benjamins,” she tweeted.
h/t: Orli
The hypocrisy is more difficult to hide behind. She would have done better to stay away from lobby idea unless she was free of them herself. These young democrats who think it a good idea to politic via tweet might want to reconsider their methods. Maybe learn something from the idiot in that other party.
Let’s see if she votes to regulate/limit lobbying and campaign financing. Any such bill is unlikely to see the light of day with this president in office, but I’ll be curious to see if she puts vote to it even if it’s a symbolic, Dem-making-the-GOP-look-bad sort of bill.
I think this small disaster illustrates a distinction between (R) and (D).
(R)’s are a team of sorts – they’re all in on all their teams objectives, _no_matter_what, and they all seem to rarely destroy one another. I can’t see this happening in the (R)’s party. If anything, they’d B.S. to defend the team.
(D)s are more about expression of individuality, arguing for or against objectives and letting debate fuel the laws, etc. however, this means the perception to an outsider is that of an unruly party, chaotic, fighting, a mess. It is, I think, where the appeal of an (R) team wins voters.
It seems clear to me this Congresswoman has a particular set of priorities that is not shared by all citizens.
The old trope has it that Democrats fall in (and out of) love with their candidates; Republicans fall in line behind theirs.
This trope is not valid (anymore), if recent events in Virginia are any indicator.
They aren’t standard Democrats. AOC and Tlaib are members of the marxist Democratic Socialists of America. Omar is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which once was populist, but has steadily become home to many radicals.
You say marxist like it is a bad thing…..
It is, Roger.
Check out their political objectives on their web page. Not bad things.
Yes, Marxists typically have political objectives that sound like “not bad things”. The only problem is that it invariably requires climbing over a mountain of corpses to reach them.
I present these excerpts without comment. The full 5,600 word bowel movement is worth a read, however, to get a sense of its complete detachment from reality:
https://www.dsausa.org/strategy/resistance_rising_socialist_strategy_in_the_age_of_political_revolution/
This bit isn’t too bad.
I really can’t wrap my head around “dismantling heteronormativity” though. Straight people are the majority, so if one wants to get their assumptions right more often than not, then assuming heterosexuality is the correct thing to do.
-Ryan
Restorative Justice involves mediation between the perp and the victim, either with some form of monetary compensation or a sincere promise to not do it again. If the perp can’t pay up, I suppose they could always sell a kidney.
Where are the corpses again?
Isn’t it?
Roger,
I am a Bulgarian. When a Marxist dictatorship was introduced into my country in 1944, it produced a mountain of corpses, incidentally including my paternal grandfather. Right now, I am helping to create a database about these victims. Reading your comments, frankly, I don’t know what to think, but let me finish this comment now so that not to violate the rules of this site.
Holy crap. Are you really comparing an organization for American Muslim rights to organization that is dedicated to turning U.S. policy in the same direction of the Israeli government?
That’s right, bucko. Because CAIR is dedicated to turning US policy in the direction of Palestine.
Give me a break.
So, to use other words for your thought:
to be an advocate for Israel and Jews = abomination;
to be an advocate for Palestine and Arabs = noble fight for human rights.
CAIR is closely linked to Hamas, an organisation not only declared a terrorist one by the US, but one that actively seeks to destroy Israel, or, in other words: promotes genocide.
All true.
cf. http://cairunmasked.org
Several of CAIR’s leadership were named by the FBI as “un-indicted co-conspirators” for fundraising for terrorists, while fifteen have themselves been indicted.
CAIR’s close ties to terrorist groups has been well documented, as has its leaders’ statements on eliminating Israel, deporting the Israeli Jews, and their goal of Islam infiltrating and eventually conquering the West.
https://anti-cair-net.org
People define their rights is a lot of different ways.
The usual example is the puritans, to whom “religious freedom” meant the freedom to persecute those who they disagreed with.
A charitable view on CAIR is that they serve as a lobbying front for HAMAS.
I am afraid that for many of our Islamic brethren, defending “Muslim rights” might include defending their right to behead infidels.
I would love to see a Venn diagram comparing the set of CAIR supporters, and the set of people who believe that Jews control the weather.
Someone should remind them we don’t live in a superhero comic.
-Ryan
sub
Regardless of topic, all I’ve witnessed from the trio of trouble (Omar-Ilhan-Cortez) since taking their seats has been language intended to shock and create chaos. All the while, these three build their public profiles and jockey for the camera. No other newcomers have created such friction in such a short period. I do not trust their motivations. I’d rather they hunker down, work with their colleagues, learn from mentors and serve their constituents.
They are not there to serve their constituents, they are there to serve their agenda and think we all know what that is. I least I am sure I know what it is. It’s roots are not founded in democracy.
Error, I think we all know what that is
Nah, why don’t you spell it out for us? Is “Sandy” the Nuyorican from da Bronx a secret Islamist?
Not so secret. Prof. Coyne presented some evidence (in earlier posts).
This is one of the things I loved so much about Al Franken. As soon as he was elected Senator, he refused to go on any talk shows, do media, etc. He said he just wanted to spend the next few years learning about the Senate — its rules, its archaic ways of getting things done, etc. — so he could be the most effective Senator possible. He stuck to this. He never sought the limelight or tried to get himself a soundbite on the evening news. He didn’t do the media circuit or hold rallies. He just wanted to govern. We need more people like that.
AOC is a raging narcissist and a delusional revolutionary; the other two have openly stated their goal is to advocate preferential accommodation of moslems.
I am a voter in Omar’s district. I did not vote for her. That said, I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt that she has said some things that she did not realize were anti-semitic. I think people grow up hearing certain things said around them sometimes, and they don’t think about the full implications around it. For example, I grew up hearing phrases like “Indian Giver” or “You got ‘jipped'” which is really “gypped” as in Gypsies, without really thinking about the racism behind them. I don’t say those things anymore, but I still hear them frequently and most people who keep using them, just haven’t thought much about their histories. They aren’t racists themselves. So I will give Omar the benefit of the doubt for now that her use of some terms is along these lines.
That said, what has troubled me is her resistance to really explaining what she means in some cases. She tries to blow things off and is cagey often times when she is called out. She needs to get better at this, or I will no longer be as gracious.
“I grew up hearing phrases like “Indian Giver” or “You got ‘jipped’” which is really “gypped” as in Gypsies, without really thinking about the racism behind them”
The difference is that those are mere phrases. Most people don’t know their origins, nor use them to stereotype other groups. Saying Israel is evil and has hypnotized the world or that Republicans only support them because they’re being paid off is not at all the same thing. If she didn’t know such things are antisemitic, than her IQ and awareness is too low to be a member of Congress (which, sadly, would be something she has in common with many of her colleagues on both sides of the aisle).
Saying Israel is evil isn’t necessarily anti-Semitic anymore than someone saying the United States is (and many people say that).
The hypnotized thing… I had never heard that as an anti-semitic slur. You are assuming everyone knows the things you know. They don’t. Intelligence has nothing to do with that. If she continues to use the same slurs after being educated on them, that’s when I’ll change my tune. BTW, I can’t emphasize enough how much I dislike Omar’s policies as a whole. I pretty much disagree with her on every single thing, so I’m not defending her as a pro-Omar apologist. Not remotely close. I just think we jump the gun too quickly to call someone a racist, misogynist, xyz-ist these days and completely disregard intentions. We don’t give anyone the benefit of the doubt. That is a sad game.
_+1
Yep, give her a chance.
After reading this, my benefit of the doubt period is officially over: https://www.twincities.com/2019/02/12/mn-jewish-leaders-talked-with-ilhan-omar-about-anti-semitism-last-year-why-they-remain-frustrated/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_content=fb-PioneerPress&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR32QsI6e4FLrgNWp9IjtphcwA9mBDV9wjlLtRiNcZN1u4mTaB6ZpLRsEho
Except Israel is NOT evil. It is not even close to being evil. That’s why saying it is evil is not just wrong, but usually is antisemitic.
I don’t think Israel is evil. I also don’t think the US is evil. But saying so doesn’t automatically equal anti-semitism. It could equal anti-Israelism or anti-US-ism. These are different things. The conflation is stifling the discussion.
Omar may in fact be anti-semitic. I don’t know her heart, but she has a history of troubling statements that at least suggest ignorance. But simply saying the opinion that Isreal is evil (which again I think is wrong) is not anti-semitic.
One of the few worthwhile things Mehdi Hasan has done in his career is write an article called ‘anti-Semitism – our dirty little secret’. In it he called on his fellow Muslims to recognise that they have a problem with it, that it’s rife.
There are certain things that just seem to follow Muslim politicians through the door with them when they’re elected to power, and a blindspot re. Israel is one of them.
There was a Labour politician in Britain whose name escapes me who tweeted something anti-Semitic, something about Israel moving to America – her response to the criticism was immediate and _genuinely_ unequivocal. She apologised and promised to learn from it. Whether she will or not I don’t know, but that kind of response is very different from the fauxpology that Omar gave here. She typed the requisite words of apology, then having got that out of the way proceeded basically to double down on her point.
Thing is, she does actually have a point: but the way she made it was so crass that the possibility of having a reasonable, countrywide discussion of the enormous power of Israeli lobbying groups, or rather powerful lobbying groups in general, was set back significantly.
The Labour MP’s name is Naz Shah.
This belongs to a response which appears to have gone missing.
“the enormous power of Israeli lobbying groups”
AIPAC has a $3.5 million dollar budget and gives no money to PACS or candidates. The only way they can have “enormous influence” is by making cogent arguments.
Is that a problem?
Here is a good read giving numbers on pro-Israel donations to congressional campaigns.
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/02/aipac-dont-contribute-which-pro-israel-groups-do/
Oman cited AIPAC.
And AIPAC is Israeli, not just Jewish or pro-Israel. Which seems relevant to Oman’s statements.
I’m hoping she grows too. I’m hoping all three of them do. And I’m somewhat optimistic about that happening.
To this point, they could succeed by staying in their own social/cultural echo chamber and catering to people who believe the same things they do. But in the House, that’s just not going to be possible. Lots of strong personalities, lots of experience, and lots of different perspectives there – even just amongst the Dem representatives, let alone the GOP members too.
So far, I don’t think they’ve gotten that message. All three seem to think that they’re going to accomplish things via tweets and social media comments. But that isn’t going to get any bills passed, and (for example) Pelosi already basically implied they aren’t going to get their Green bill (unless they start working with others). Fortunately, they’ve only been there 1 month out of 2 years of their first term. There’s time to grow. Hopefully by the end of this period we’ll have a bunch of young dedicated liberals who also can understand, respect, and collaborate with people who don’t agree with everything they believe – rather than thinking that taking social media snarky potshots are their means to fame and fortune.
Note that they are presenting themselves as oppressed women of color. There are not a lot of Muslim voters out there, but there are lots of women and people of color to fool.
They are hijacking the SJW groups machinery for their own purposes. The anti-Israel pro-Palestinian attitude so incongruously common among the SJW crowd makes it a perfect Trojan Horse for people like Linda Sarsour and Ilhan Omar.
They’ve seamlessly become a part of the SJW machinery. I don’t think there’s any trojan horse here. Their intentions seem to be perfectly aligned and out in the open.
They use their bogus victimhood as a cudgel or a shield depending on circumstance.
The likes of Maduro and the Ayatollah of Iran have cottoned on to this tactic.
They present themselves as “oppressed people of colour” vs. “white supremacists”.
It fools many on the Far Left and Far Right, who never need an excuse to fawn over murderous dictators and war criminals.
I guess I am naive, but I was surprised to find out that lots of far-right racists/conspiracy theorists/anti-Semites are actually fans of Maduro. There also seem to be plenty of fans of Sarsour and Omar in that crowd. Strange bedfellows indeed…
The number of Muslim voters is growing, and they get concentrated in some areas. I doubt that Omar’s district will ever elect a non-Muslim again.
Very sadly, you’re likely right.
I hope Omar gets soon-enough asked what the penalty for apostasy in Islam is, and if she agrees that anyone should be able to leave ones religion if one so chooses without penalty.
Yeah, I had a sort of similar thought. Sometimes I wonder if Sarsour is a Russian troll or something. The way she throws around the term “white supremacy” basically strips it of any real meaning. Just as, say, criticizing Israel (not calling for its destruction, etc.) is not necessarily anti-Semitic, criticizing nonwhite people’s bigotries is in no way racist.
But even from a simple view, what kind of serious person would say a line from a dumb rap song? I’d be so embarrassed to say/write that unless I was satirizing how stupid the line itself was.
There _must_ be better candidates, even those who insist on concealing themselves and promoting their own particular fantasy worlds.
I don’t get the impression that Sarsour is big on giving anyone outside her circle the benefit of the doubt. I also think it interesting that Omar “apologized” specifically to American Jews, and no others.
Interesting that Omar said that she did not want to offend her constituents or “American Jews”. Why did she not say “any Jews anywhere at any time”?
She happily takes money from CAIR, an organization which claims it is concerned about the “human rights of Christian and Muslim Palestinians”. Notice, again, that CAIR does not mention human rights for Israeli Jews.
How could they? They support Hamas (and were likely created by it, see 2nd reference below) and the Palestinian Authority, whose official stated policy is the murder of Israeli men, women, and children; financial support for perpetrators and families of these murderers; discrimination toward all Israeli Jews; and the destruction of the State of Israel.
CAIR knows its business when it comes to killing Jews, make no mistake:
” At least seven board members or staff at CAIR have been arrested, denied entry to the US, or were indicted on or pled guilty to or were convicted of terrorist charges: Siraj Wahhaj, Bassem Khafagi, Randall (“Ismail”) Royer, Ghassan Elashi, Rabih Haddad, Muthanna Al-Hanooti, and Nabil Sadoun.”
https://www.meforum.org/4899/is-cair-a-terror-group
http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/CAIR_is_HAMAS.pdf
The Democratic House leadership appropriately castigated Omar for her anti-Semitic statements. Republicans, meantime, have used it to make political hay. Included among them is the top Republican in the House of Representatives, minority leader Kevin McCarthy. But McCarthy himself sent out a tweet during the 2018 midterm campaign a few months ago claiming that three rich Jews — George Soros, Tom Steyer, and Michael Bloomberg — were trying “to BUY this election!”
Unlike the freshman backbencher from the Twin Cities, McCarthy received no upbraiding from his fellow Republicans for his repugnant tweet. He merely flushed it down the memory hole and went on about his foul business.
You know, if, every time we try to talk about the problems within our own party, half of us scream, “but the Republicans are worse! What about them,” we’re just continually lowering the bar for Democrats. Do we want the Democratic Party to be better than Republicans and thus slowly turn more people to its side, or do we want to just point out Republican malfeasance every time we have to talk about it with Democrats? Because the constant whataboutism doesn’t make us look good. And I say “us” as someone who has never voted for anyone but a Democrat in his entire life.
It’s just that I’ve seen you do this in many threads about a Democrat or someone on the Left doing something terrible. You devote one sentence to the Democrat/Left, and then five or ten times as many to Republicans/the Right. But it doesn’t help us to say, “yeah, but Republicans.” We should clean our own house (heh, I made a pun) and show that we’re better, and dispense with the talk of the other side until we’re actually talking about them.
Also, the word “backbencher” doesn’t mean nearly as much in this country as it does in, say, the UK, so you can’t use it to limit the damage done by her or reduce her influence. Omar and her ilk have been getting an awful lot of attention and praise, and far more than the vast majority of their senior colleagues. It doesn’t matter how long she’s been in Congress if she’s one of the few getting the media attention and fame among them.
Kevin McCarthy is the Republican leader in the House, making him the third most powerful Republican in this Republic. He has personally used Ilhan Omar’s faux pas to score political points and has personally promised to take action against her. Yet his own tweet less than three months ago could hardly have been a more blatant appeal to antisemitism had he encased the three names he called out in triple parentheses.
Omar is a powerless freshman congressperson who’s been the focus of attention only because she’s a Muslim woman. McCarthy’s antisemitism was permitted by-and-large to fly under the radar, and now he cops a kosherer-than-thou attitude. I’ll readily call out Democrats where they are wrong, as I have with Omar, but see it as no cause to abide such hypocrisy from the other side of the aisle.
At the risk of incurring your further disapprobation, Beej, I should also point out that the Donald just now went on the boob-tube to say that Ilhan Omar should resign, that her apology was “lame,” and her antisemitism “deep-seated in her heart.”
This, from the man who never apologizes, not even to the Good Lord Himself, and who has yet to criticize the white-supremacy of his boo, Steve King. This, from Mister “Pocahontas,” the man who mocks the Trail of Tears and Wounded Knee. I suppose it would’ve been cool with him if Omar had merely referred to Jews disparagingly as “Fagin” and “Shylock” (as though the illiterate dullard has any idea who Fagin and Shylock might be).
Wait a sec–I heard him say that her antisemitism was “deep-seeded” in her heart! That can’t be bad; it’s organic! And Vegan!
Must have something to do with all the agriculture course the Donald took at Wharton.
No sincere apology contains the word ‘but.’
Instead of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) we have the Mendacity Sisterhood (MS). Apparently the oppression of Muslim women,execution of gays and “apostates”, honor killings, vilification of anyone who dares to criticize Islam or sharia law, and suppression of free speech in the Muslim world have not yet registered on the pro Palestinian faction….women’s rights under Islam is an oxymoron. Linda Sarsour is a plant of the Palestinian Right of Return and her companions in the Women’s March are willing as well as useful idiots. Anti-Israel attacks are not anti Semitic? They must take us for morons. Anti Israel resolutions in the UN are in the hundreds; those against truly repressive regimes and tyrants are a few handfuls. The double standard is rife but routine.
I always suspected -and still do- Ms Sarsour (I’m strong now, I can write that without the adjectives ‘odious’ or ‘despicable’) was a Saudi Shill. There is nothing in her behaviour and statements that could give us reason to cause doubt about that. That being said, it ain’t proven (just like there is nothing in Mr Trump’s actions or statements that contradicts him being a Russian shill, but still, it ain’t proven).
BTW, I notice that the privileged and lily-white Ms Sarsour is diving deep into the victimhood trope there.
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I know very little of Ilhan Omar, but from what I’ve read in the last day makes me think she is naive and if she is a proponent of science, she is not regulating her own behavior based on critical thinking.
She is very nearly ‘pure emotion’. And she does not have to be. I think she needs to meditate and reflect upon what her words mean and how they are perceived by others.
Sarsour: “I’m gonna take care of me.” When has she not?
The House should formally censure Omar for her anti-semitic and homophobic comments.
I missed the homophobic bit, what happened?
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/17/politics/ilhan-omar-lindsey-graham-compromised-tweet-cnntv/index.html
I guess I’m clueless. I cannot find a homophobic comment in that story.
She elaborated by implying trump was blackmailing Graham for being a closeted homosexual.
Where? Is there an actual quote?
I don’t understand how that’s homophobic. Wouldn’t that just point to Graham’s “team” being the homophobic ones?
-Ryan
?And if you’re a Leftist who is anti-Israel, you criticize anti-Semitism not because it’s wrong, but because it plays to the Right”
Jerry–this is the kind of insolent, judgmental, irrational twaddle you frequently criticize others for. FTM, the kind of twaddle frequently put out by poisonous little adders like Omar & Sarsour
The full quote from Jerry is:
& his quote included an example THIS Did you access the link? What is your problem with that? Spell it out for me please.
Thanks for the incivility, which you could have expressed far more politely. You’re new here and apparently haven’t learned how to be civil, judging not just by this but by your insults to other commenters.
Sub
Dan “The Zionists” Arel is sobbing away on social media, complaining about people throwing the label “antisemite” around.
This is from the lunatic who throws “Nazi” and “white supremacist” at anybody to the right of Stalin.
His fellow NewRacist scumbag Ryan J Bell-End is also sobbing away, and even unfollowed the wife of Raif Badawi, because she called out Ilhan’s antisemitism.
And naturally, the usual detractors of free speech, such as Peter “Humanisticus” Ferguson, are now suddenly crying about how their free speech to criticise Israel and Jews is not as free as it should be. Spare me their tears – they have mocked free speech for the past 5 years. They only want free speech when they want to defend their antisemitism!
It must suck to be Dan Arel.
BTW, Tamika Mallory and Linda Sarsour have jumped to Ilhan’s defence, suggesting there is some sort of plot against her.
It occurred to me, she’s stayed so modest through this whole mess. How does she do it? It’s amazing. I mean, even the modest $5,000 sum – think of how high that could’ve been. I’m just left puzzled how she can keep a steady, rock solid modesty going for so long.