Staff Reports
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries recently held a press conference in response to the Republican’s effort to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from her position on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. During the press conference, Jeffries made a statement that has caused a stir in the media. He admitted that the GOP accusations of anti-Semitism against Rep. Omar were accurate.
BREAKING: Hakeem Jeffries admits Rep. Omar has used antisemitic tropes pic.twitter.com/2wwp4tY2ng
— Clayton Keirns (@CKeirns) February 2, 2023
Jeffries’ admission was important because it effectively meant that he was confirming the GOP’s allegations about Rep. Omar, which were included in their resolution to remove her from the committee. The resolution stated that on February 10th, 2019, Omar had suggested that Jewish people and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) were buying political support, saying “It’s all about the Benjamins, baby,” which led to condemnation from both Republicans and Democrats alike. On February 11th, 2019, Congressional Democratic Leadership issued a joint statement in response to Omar, saying “Anti-Semitism must be called out, confronted and condemned whenever it is encountered, without exception.”
On February 27th, 2019, Omar doubled down on her stance at a forum in Washington D.C., saying “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.” Then-Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs Eliot Engel condemned Omar’s comments by stating “It’s unacceptable and deeply offensive to call into question the loyalty of fellow American citizens because of their political views, including support for the U.S.-Israel relationship. We all take the same oath. Worse, Representative Omar’s comments leveled that charge by invoking a vile anti-Semitic slur.”
Finally, on June 7th, 2021, Omar equated the United States and Israel with Hamas and the Taliban by stating “We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban,” establishing a false equivalency between Israel—which has the right and responsibility to protect itself and its citizens from all forms of terrorism—and Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization actively engaged in committing war crimes, including using civilians as human shields, which is banned under customary international humanitarian law.
The admission by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has caused a stir in the media due to its implications for Rep. Ilhan Omar. Jeffries effectively confirmed the GOP’s accusations against Omar which were included in their resolution to remove her from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. This admission has caused many to question whether or not Omar will be removed from her position on the committee. It remains to be seen what will happen next in this ongoing saga.
The preceding article is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Trending Politics
