Representative Ilan Omar did what some people had assumed to be impossible. Together with some of her squad colleagues and some additional Members of Congress within the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, she used the moment when there was growing sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians to fan the flames of anti-Semitism. Omar attacked Israel and the United States for conducting atrocities which were equivalent to those committed by the Taliban, Afghanistan, and Hamas. In the midst of a series of attacks against Jews following the Israeli confrontation with Hamas in Gaza, Omar debased the discussion of U.S. Middle East policy, by attacking Secretary of State Tony Blinken during his testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
As her progressive colleagues rallied around her, her conduct once again created a huge ruckus within the Democratic Party; emboldened Republicans—despite their own anti-Semitic voices--to target her and implicitly all Democrats; and infuriated the Jewish community. This is precisely the type of rhetoric which plays directly into anti-Semitic voices which attacked Israel for defending itself because there were over 250 Palestinians killed during the ten-day Gaza war.
The problem was not the seriousness of the issues which were being raised but the absence of nuance and adequate context from those who were accusing Israel indiscriminate bombing in Gaza. Angry voices against Israel precipitated a serious rise in anti-Semitism world-wide. The attacks against Israel were followed by suggestions that being anti-Zionist is not being anti-Semitic. The spread of this denial was most manifested from those in Washington who had voiced support for the Palestinians and who failed to condemn anti-Semitism.
Representative Omar’s outbursts and the support from her squad members exposed in very ugly terms the hate and prejudice against Jews that is still rampant in the United States. Specifically, it is necessary to accept certain givens which they categorically deny.
1. Anyone who is anti-Zionist or is anti-Israel is an anti-Semite. Those who oppose Israeli Government policies are very different than those who explicitly or even implicitly challenge Israel’s right to exist within safe and secure borders.
2. The notion that Israel is a colonizing, imperialist, racist State is false. Israel is a democracy like the U.S. which conducts policies with which many might agree, and others will disagree. There is a legitimate debate about what ought to be the nature of the Jewish State of Israel as well as a Palestinian State, but Israel has existed as a nation in the Holy Land for thousands of years. Finally, there are Jews of more various shades and colors in Israel than in many countries of the world, including the United States.
3. Hatred of Jews and/or hatred of the State of Israel is not new. Relations between Blacks and Jews have a long history of cooperation. Inflating support for the Palestinians to justify hate and anti-Semitism is fallacious. It undermines a deep-seated working relationship between Blacks and Jews going back years. The bond between these groups fighting intolerance, hate, and prejudice is legion. Those who seek to link support for Black Lives Matter with support for the Palestinians are drawing an inaccurate conclusion.
The conduct of the Trump Administration in the Middle East over the past four years granted Israel basically a carte blanche. The Biden Administration has made clear its intention to support Israel, but on numerous levels U.S. foreign policy will seek to reset the clocks: supporting a two-state solution, negotiations with the Palestinians Authority, and support for humanitarian needs on the West Bank.
The response to the recent confrontation over Gaza demonstrated another dangerous fallacy on the part of the pro-Palestinian voices in Washington and around the country. As the level of anti-Semitic attacks increased, these Palestinian supporters could not detach themselves from their anti-Israel positions to condemn blatant demonstrations, violence, and assaults against American Jews. Politicians in both parties need to be called out for their denial and selective principles. Attacks against Jews are unacceptable.
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