After several days of infighting and a near-rebellion by rank-and-file Democrats, the House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan resolution condemning anti-Semitism, and other bigotry.
It only indirectly condemned Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s repeated ‘anti-Semitic’ comments and does not mention her by name. Omar said she was pleased it condemned “anti-Muslim bigotry”.
Democrats are trying to push past a dispute that has overwhelmed their agenda and exposed fault lines that could shadow them through next year’s elections.
For days, Democrats wrestled with whether or how to punish Omar, one of two Muslim women in Congress, for suggesting supporters of Israel have allegiance to a “foreign county”.
President Donald Trump, before leaving to tour tornado damage in Alabama on Friday, called the House vote “disgraceful.”
“The Democrats have become an anti-Israel party,” Trump said. “They’ve become an anti-Jewish party. And I thought that vote was a disgrace. And so does everybody else — if you get an honest answer. If you get an honest answer from politicians, they thought it was a disgrace.”
President Trump: “I thought yesterday’s vote by the House was disgraceful, because it’s become — the Democrats have become an anti-Israel party. They’ve become an anti-Jewish party. And I thought that vote was a disgrace and so does everybody else if you get an honest answer.” pic.twitter.com/TNmPRMwNJA
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 8, 2019
Republicans generally joined in the favorable vote, though nearly two-dozen opposed the measure, one calling it a “sham.”
Generational as well as ideological, the argument was fueled in part by young, liberal lawmakers — and voters — who have become a face of the newly empowered Democratic majority in the House. These lawmakers are critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, rejecting the conservative leader’s approach to Palestinians and other issues.
They split sharply from Democratic leaders who seemed caught off guard by the support for Omar and unprepared for the debate. But the leaders regrouped.
“It’s not about her. It’s about these forms of hatred,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said before the vote.
The resolution approved Thursday condemns anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry against minorities “as hateful expressions of intolerance.”
Omar, a Somali-American, and fellow Muslims Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Andrew Carson of Indiana issued a statement saying praising the “historic” vote as the first House resolution to condemn “anti-Muslim bigotry” in the nation’s history.
If a Jewish congressman made a series of anti-Muslim statements do you suppose they would pass a resolution opposing anti-Semitism?
— David Wolpe (@RabbiWolpe) March 8, 2019
Our nation is having a difficult conversation, but we believe this is great progress. pic.twitter.com/gSua9a8mki
— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) March 7, 2019
Some Democrats complained that Omar’s earlier comments on Israel had ignited so much discussion and dispute while years of President Donald Trump’s racially charged rhetoric had led to no similar congressional action.
The seven-page document details a history of recent attacks not only against Jews in the United States but also Muslims, as it condemns all such discrimination as contradictory to “the values and aspirations” of the people of the United States. The vote was delayed for a time on Thursday to include mention of Latinos to address concerns of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. It was inserted under a section on white supremacists who “weaponize hate for political gain” over a long list of “traditionally persecuted peoples.”
An earlier version focused more narrowly on anti-Semitism. The final resolution did not mention Omar by name.
Getting this debate right will be crucial for Democrats in 2020. U.S.-Israel policy is a prominent issue that is exposing the splits between the party’s core voters, its liberal flank and the more centrist Americans in Trump country the party hopes to reach.
It is shameful that House Democrats won’t take a stronger stand against Anti-Semitism in their conference. Anti-Semitism has fueled atrocities throughout history and it’s inconceivable they will not act to condemn it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 6, 2019
“What I fear is going on in the House now is an effort to target Congresswoman Omar as a way of stifling that debate. That’s wrong,” said presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent.
“Anti-Semitism is a hateful and dangerous ideology which must be vigorously opposed in the United States and around the world,” the senator said. “We must not, however, equate anti-Semitism with legitimate criticism of the right-wing, Netanyahu government in Israel.”
Other Democratic presidential contenders tried to walk a similar line.
California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris said “we need to speak out against hate.” But she said she also believes “there is a critical difference between criticism of policy or political leaders, and anti-Semitism.”
A statement from Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said, “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.” She said threats of violence, including those made against Omar, “are never acceptable.
Pelosi said she did not believe that Omar understood the “weight of her words” or that they would be perceived by some as anti-Semitic.
Asked whether the resolution was intended to “police” lawmakers’ words, Pelosi replied: “We are not policing the speech of our members. We are condemning anti-Semitism,” Islamophobia and white supremacy.
Nancy Pelosi refuses to say if Ilhan Omar should apologize for her anti-Semitism: “She may need to explain that she did not, it’s up to her to explain. But I do not believe that she understood the full weight of the words”
“Her words were not based on any anti-Semitic attitude” pic.twitter.com/qD8wbsI9cI
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) March 7, 2019
Some of the House’s leading Jewish Democrats wanted to bring a resolution on the floor simply condemning anti-Semitism.
But other Democrats wanted to broaden the resolution to include a rejection of all forms of racism and bigotry. Others questioned whether a resolution was necessary at all and viewed it as unfairly singling out Omar at a time when Trump and others have made disparaging racial comments.
There remained frustration that the party that touts its diversity conducted such a messy and public debate about how to declare its opposition to bigotry.
“This shouldn’t be so hard,” Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., said on the House floor.
Among the Republican dissenters, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, a member of the GOP leadership, called the resolution “a sham put forward by Democrats to avoid condemning one of their own and denouncing vile anti-Semitism.”
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), who is a Jewish member of Congress, explains why he did not vote for the Democrats' resolution condemning hate
This is a must watchpic.twitter.com/Kocwj1WPZm
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) March 8, 2019
(AP)
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12 Responses
And the Jews will continue to vote Democrat. Reminiscent of Germany in the early 30’s.
She’s a dangerous piece of drek to wat h out for!
Trump is a crass lowlife. He tolerates antisemitism when it helps him politicaly and uses it as a tool against his opponents when he is able to. It is disgusting and revolting to see this man play with antisemitism for his political advantage. He is a sick con man.
Trump took days to distance himself from Dukes endorsement. He said that there are many fine people participating in a neo nazi march. He refused to condemn the antisemitism directed against Julia Ioffe. He is the only leading Republican to stay silent on Steve King. He retweeted anti semetic memes. He ran ads of Hillary with cash and a star of David. He ran an ad fearuring Jewish leaders of commerce as anti American globalists. He made racist comments about little people in yarmulkas counting his money. He made racist comments about Jews and money to the RJC. He never apologized or recanted any of this! And now he has the gall to call out the Democrats for their response to Omar?
Don’t be conned by this con man. He couldnt care less about antisemitism. He is trying to play you and get you for his own political advantage. Dont be played by Trump. Dont be fooled by this sick charlatan.
AMEN
Seems eerily familiar, looking back some 85 years to a country in Western Europe. Those who fail to study history are doomed to repeat it… Hash-m yirachem!
Trump is 100% correct on this point. Wake up America.
without an arguments Democrats today are socialists. baby killers, moral lifestyles promoters and racist antisemytes.
It never fails: whenever Democrats are publicly exposed as anti-Semites and racists as they are, leftists lunatics who comment on this site have Trump Derangement Syndrome outbreak.
crazykanoiy stop lying. Trump has never once tolerated antisemitism. He’s not mechuyav to address incidents he’s never heard of and that have nothing to do with him, the minute someone demands it.
He never said there were fine people at the neo-nazi march. He commented on the riot that took place the next day, when there were hundreds of protesters and counter-protesters, and THERE WERE many fine people on both sides. Remember that the violence that day was 100% the fault of the leftist thugs of the black block (aka “antifa”); but Trump was gracious enough to acknowledge that not all the counter-protesters were responsible for the violence. The protesters at the rally, even those among them who were not at all fine people, were the victims of violence.
What else was there? Steve King has never said an antisemitic word. I have no problem with him. Trump didn’t retweet anything obviously antisemitic. One has to search with a magnifying glass to find something antisemitic about things he retweeted. The one with Clinton and the cash did not have a magen david, it had a sheriff’s badge. and that was not an ad, it was a retweet; nobody investigates everything they see with sheva chakiros before retweeting it.
Yes, he ran an ad featuring anti American globalists as exactly what they are. Do you deny that George Soros is a horrible person? How is it antisemitic to attack him? Just because he happens to have been born to a Jewish mother, should he be immune from being called out for the enemy that he is?
Oh, and it is NOT antisemitic to make friendly comments and jokes about Jews and money. It is a fact that Jews tend to be good with money, and there’s nothing wrong with remarking on it in a nice way.
the commentators are laughable here, condemning socialism. 80 percent of Boro Park, Kiryas Joel, and every other chareidi enclave live off socialism! what do you call food stamps, Section 8, scholl subsidies, social security-etc, etc, Half the American economy is socialist- what do you call subsidies to many industries? or all of the emergency funding? SOCIALISM !! And long may it live!
Criticism of the state of Israel is criticism of a political entity. Unfortunately many interpret it as criticism of a religion.
Amil Zola, “Criticism of the state of Israel is criticism of a political entity” is a convenient excuse for Jew-hates or self-hating Jews like yourself.