2020 Democratic presidential candidates Sanders, Warren, Harris defend Ilhan Omar
1 / 2Three leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination defended Rep. Ilhan Omar Wednesday as she faces heat — including from members of her own party — over comments she made about the influence of the pro-Israel lobby on American foreign policy.
The party’s progressive base, members like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and outside groups, had also been vocally defending Omar, arguing that she was being targeted because of her status as a black Muslim woman. Harris came out with a statement shortly afterward, saying she was worried that Omar was being put “at risk” by having the spotlight squarely on her.
We have a moral duty to combat hateful ideologies in our own country and around the world―and that includes both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. In a democracy, we can and should have an open, respectful debate about the Middle East that focuses on policy. Branding criticism of Israel as automatically anti-Semitic has a chilling effect on our public discourse and makes it harder to achieve a peaceful solution between Israelis and Palestinians. Threats of violence ― like those made against Rep.
“It’s almost as if every single time we say something, regardless of what it is we say, that it’s supposed to about foreign policy or engagement, that our advocacy about ending oppression, or the freeing of every human life and wanting dignity, we get to be labeled, and that’s the end of the discussion,” Omar said, adding that advocates end up defending themselves, and “nobody gets to have the broader debate of ‘what is happening with Palestine.
— Ilhan Omar March 3, 2019 Jeremy Slevin, Omar’s spokesman, said in a Friday statement that “she has consistently spoken out about the undue influence of lobbying groups for foreign interests of all kinds and her comments were about just that. To suggest otherwise is an inaccurate reading of her remarks.”
Providing ammunition for their argument, Rep. Jim Jordan tweeted Sunday that House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler was “jump[ing] to Tom $teyer’s conclusion—impeaching our President—before first document request.” The tweet’s use of the dollar sign to describe the influence of Steyer, a billionaire Democratic donor with Jewish roots, struck many critics, including Nadler, as anti-Semitic.
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