ILHAN OMAR: ANTI SEMITISM IN PLAIN SIGHT

Jay H. Ell detailed in his last blog, JEWS, ISRAEL AND ANTI SEMITISM, the widespread prevalence, manifestations and possible causes of the dramatic modern day upsurge of anti semitism. He reported the warning by political scientist and commentator, Fareed Zakaria, in his celebrated weekly CNN program, GPS, as to the dangers of flirting with racial bias. His message had been directed specifically to the newly elected Muslims to Congress, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tiaib. At the time of the CNN host’s first warning, Ms Omar had already become the center of controversy with a blatantly anti semitic tweet.  

For the benefit of those that had believed that he was wildly exaggerating the problem of anti semitism the acclaimed CNN analyst repeated his cautioning a week later citing additional troubling events. 

The unfolding of the saga of Congresswoman Omar and the havoc she has wreaked in the Democratic Party, arising out of their denial that Ms Omar’s history and outpourings were not anti semitic, illustrated that Mr. Zakaria’s warnings were well founded. 

CONGRESSWOMAN OMAR’S TWEETS

Congresswoman Omar abjectly apologized for her first tweet only to once again send off another tendentious one a week later. This time, she stuck to her guns and went onto a defiant offensive. Her posture resulted in a whole host of Democrats backing her in one way or another by either, supporting her First Amendment Rights, denying that what she said was racist, claiming the Republicans were worse, stating that AIPAC, (The American Israeli Political Action Committee) were too powerful, attacking the Israeli Government or stating that Muslims were also being harassed - all of which diverted attention from the issue at hand - Ms. Omar’s anti - semitic remarks. Ms Omar’s previous racist tweets were dug up and published. Those supporting her, including Presidential wannabes, who were not addressing the issue that she occasioned - namely anti semitism, allowed critics to claim that the Democrats tolerated bigoted remarks.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi lamely offered that Ms Omar did not fully understand what the weight of her words meant and that she didn’t realize her remarks could be construed as anti semitic. This when in spite of the fact that she obviously did know what she was talking about by making statements such as, “Our nation is having a difficult conversation and I believe this is progress”.

The whole episode had been successfully transformed by Ms Omar and her backers as a left wing right wing issue and there was a frantic rush, particularly among Presidential candidates, not to be outflanked from the left by anyone - behavior more at home on a University campus than the most consequential political arena in the world.

Anti semitism gains respectability when it becomes acceptable as part of the legitimate policy discourse, especially when mouthed by elected government representatives. A fact that is polluting British politics and one which American society has always swept under the table.

AMERICAN DENIAL OF REALITY OF ANTISEMITISM IN THE PAST

America lives in a kind of isolationism. The Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans have separated them from reality since the beginning of time. This denial of what is going on in the rest of the world and therefore the significance of what is happening in plain sight in front of them has precedent. As Jews tried to flee anti semitism and death in Europe, America, to its retrospective shame, denied them safe haven. This policy was epitomized by the turning away of the 900 refugees in 1939 on the liner SS St. Louis, which lingered in the New York harbor, to be sent back to the tender mercies of the Nazis. Two hundred and fifty of those aboard were known to have been murdered by the Nazis. 

Charles Lindbergh, an American icon, who in a 1927 in an airplane, ironically named the Spirit of St. Louis and was the first to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, was the leader of the movement of not to go to war against Hitler.  Lindbergh was a charismatic leader of the “America First” Committee who addressed packed stadiums railed against America fighting the Nazis. He was labelled a Nazi by President Franklin Roosevelt. 

Like all anti semites Lindbergh claimed he had nothing against Jews. He was just against the Jews in America that were agitating, against American interests, for intervention in the war against the Nazis. Implicit and explicit in his argument was the dual loyalty of the jews.

Like in the 1930’s the tide of vicious antisemitism has emerged in Europe. Likewise it has evidenced in America. Like in the 1930’s both in Europe and America no one that attacks Jews admit to being anti semitic rather they look to characteristics that they attribute to Jews that they demonize. These attributes include that Jews have extraordinary powers in that they can control America or that they have loyalty to another nation.  Another is how they use their money power to dominate the world. Those were the underlying messages of Ms Omar’s tweets.

 ILHAN OMAR - THE REAL DEAL

Ilhan Omar is by her own design the polarizing figure around which the anti - semitic debate in the Democratic Party is being defined. She indeed has a compelling tale to tell having come to America as a refugee at the age of fourteen, then 23 years later to become the first person elevated to Congress that was born in Africa and one of the first two Muslim women. She was elected to the Minnesota 5th District which has a strong concentration of the 800,000 Somali immigrants and is the most Democratic constituency in the State. Hillary Clinton won it by 26 points. 

Eyebrows were raised when this rookie Congresswoman was given a prestigious and much sort after position on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Of all the potential issues and countries Ms Omar could have brought to the table she immediately kicked off by attacking Israel and smearing its American supporters. Her stick doesn’t even bother to differentiate between the Jews of Israel and those in America. In her description of Israel she alludes to the superhuman powers Jews have to outmaneuver the world, “Israel has hypnotized the world. May Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil the Israel is doing” - shades of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

With regard to American foreign policy she confided, “It is all about the Benjamins baby”. The allusion being to the hundred dollar bill which had Benjamin Franklin on its front. This bribery, she argued gave AIPAC the power to control American foreign policy. David Duke former Grand Master of the Klu Klux Klan repeatedly came out in support of Omar. He tweeted “It took a Muslim Congresswoman to actually tell the truth that we all know”. 

It was irrelevant that AIPAC didn’t back candidates per se and that the other major PAC with Israeli interest was JSTREETPAC that had dished out $4 million backing candidates supportive of a two state solution and was highly critical of current Israeli politics. The leader of JSTREET while disagreeing with nearly everything that she said nevertheless “supported” her, presumably in the hope that she wasn’t really anti semitic.

Omar added to her resume attacks on President Obama calling him “a pretty face that got away with murder…because he was polished”. She claimed that he wasn’t much better than Trump with his drones and cages. 

With all the support she has received she feels empowered to take over the whole Democratic Party who have only themselves to blame for pandering. Ms. Omar is already claiming that she and three others are the Tea Party of the Democrats

 Next month Congresswoman Omar will be the keynote speaker in Los Angeles at the Council for Islamic - American Relations.  The organization has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United Arab Emirates and allegedly does not believe that Hamas and Hezbollah are terrorist organizations. The Minnesota legislator has addressed this body before but what she has to say now should come under scrutiny. 

THE ESCALATING IMPACT OF THE OMAR EPISODE IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Following the bohaai of the tweets the Democratic Party leadership announced that were going to put a motion on the House floor condemning anti semitism. The question was whether or not Ms. Omar’s outbursts would or would not be part of the text. As a result of Ms. Omar’s newly found defiance, The Black Caucus and the Progressive Committees of the Democratic House Legislature revolted and said they would not support the motion. The upshot was a Bill condemning discrimination against anybody and everybody. It is ironic because when the African American cause of Black Lives Matter was morphed into All Lives Matter they appropriately objected because the issue at hand was the disproportionate number of black lives lost in police action. In addition three Presidential candidates jumped on the bandwagon giving legitimacy to Ms Omar who suddenly has become the face of the Democratic Party to the glee of the Republicans. Ironically she has formed an unholy alliance with the right wing skinheads who have the same opinion on the Jews and their alleged influence. Whichever way this matter ends a can of worms has been opened. 

Four Congresswoman out of 235 Democratic Congress members, who won in Democratic constituencies which went to Hillary Clinton by between 26% and 55%, are now dictating the agenda. Unless the narrative changes every Democratic candidate in 2020 will be asked whether or not they agree with Ms Omar et al. The Black Caucus and The Progressive Caucus are, for the moment, committed to the narrative. The election which should rather be a referendum around Trump, unless the trajectory is changed, will also be about the “Socialist, anti semitic agenda” of the four.

 Democrat House Majority Whip, the number three Democrat in the House, defended Congresswoman Omar’s statements claiming that her experience is “more personal” than children of those who survived the holocaust. Needless to say there was outrage at this bizarre comparison.

Alexandria Occasio - Cortez has alleged that as a result of this controversy “AIPAC is coming after her, Congresswomen Omar and Tlaib", which allegation has no basis in any fact. She is raising money on the strength of this alleged action. Trump has screamed that the Democrats are anti Jewish and anti Israel which Chuck Schumer, Democratic Minority Leader in the Senate has labelled the “ultimate chutzpah”. As Billy Joel would sing “…..and so it goes and so it goes…….”.

What the Democrats don’t seem to understand is that the Republican hypocrisy on this issue is irrelevant. They claim to know better. Kevin McCarthy the Republican leader’s hypocrisy, having tweeted in 2018, “We don’t need Soros, Steyer and Bloomberg to BUY this election. Go out and vote Republican on November 6”, doesn’t help them with their current dilemma. 

Nor does the fact that Trump doesn’t really give a hoot about anti semitism or Israel. The reason for his support of Israel is that the biggest unconditional backers of Israel in America are not the Jews but the largest section of his base, the Evangelicals. They believe that without Israel the Messiah cannot return. As Trump has shown he would rather not condemn anti semitism than risk losing another big section of his base - the right wing fringe. This explains his refusal to condemn anti semitic hooliganism after the Charlottesville demonstrations. That Trump is a bigot is an accepted narrative. That the Democratic Party is ambivalent on prejudice has not been to date.

The Democratic Party as a result of their inane “political correctness” have now a way to go to distance themselves from this self inflicted wound. Their modus operandi, to date, is to pretend the problem doesn’t exist. It better change fast.

AT THE END OF THE DAY

Nobody can argue that Fareed Zakaria didn’t see this coming. Even so the denial that anti semitism is an issue in America continues. 

Ms. Omar should listen to those at home in Minnesota where her behavior has evoked bewilderment. There has always been a close relationship between the Jews and the Somalis in that constituency. Somali community activist Omar Jamal has been in touch with local Jewish leaders to reaffirm their solidarity in this “moment of crisis”. "Ms Omar’s comments were wrong, period", he added. This community relationship between Jews and Muslims has been evident throughout the country following the murderous attacks that each religious group has suffered - the most recent being the overwhelming Muslim support for the Jewish community in the Pittsburgh massacre. 

There are so many Muslim philosophers, academics and theologians involved in peaceful interpretations of the Koran that Congresswoman Omar and friends could refer to. Let Jay. H. Ell offer a few suggestions, Ed Husain, a former Islamist radical whose insightful book, The House of islam - A Global Perspective, is a must for anyone to begin to understand modern day Islam, Prince El Hassan bin Talal of the Jordanian Royal Family and Professor Akbar Ahmed of the American University, to name but a few.

Just imagine the outcry if a freshman Democratic Congressperson, a Jew, was elected to the House Foreign Affairs Council and her first order of business was to claim that there was a Wahabi - Salafist conspiracy to plant terrorists in America that was backed by the Benjamins of the internationally linked Council for Islamic - American Relations. (Furthermore she had a history of being anti Muslim). She then proceeded to attack President Obama as “getting away with murder” and that the only characteristic differentiating him from President Trump was “a pretty face”….. Jay H. Ell has no doubt that this would occasion censure and a rash of anti - semitism. 

AND THEN THERE WAS AIPAC

Finally, a word on AIPAC, the most influential Jewish lobby. A central reason for the antipathy towards that body is that it has been recognized as the apologist in chief for Bibi Netanyahu and by extension his intrusion into partisan American politics.

 The politics of Israel today are not the same as that were in 1951 when the organization was founded. There had been differences between the Political Parties for the first 60 years since Israel's founding but never a question of its basic tenets - equality of its citizenry and an equitable two state solution. 

The last decade, under Netanyahu has seen a steady erosion of values as the current Prime Minister has hit rock bottom in every respect. In a desperate effort to cling to power he has formed a coalition with terrorists. He does not argue about his corruption and venality he claims he is entitled to the booty which he believes comes to him by right.

AIPAC holds it's annual meeting at the end of March. It needs to join Israel's President Rivlin in condemning the flagrant violations perpetrated by the current Prime Minister and his disgusting campaign rhetoric which rapes every shred of decency that the State was founded on.