Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) on Tuesday apologized for the hurt her Sunday’s anti-Semitic tweet may have caused Jews wherever they may be. Here’s the thing, though: the Jew hating Somali congresswoman accused the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) of controlling US politics by bribing lawmakers with their “Benjamins” (a paraphrase on rapper Puff Daddy’s song). But she did not include AIPAC in her apologetic and confidential conference call with Jewish-American organizations.
Instead, the rabid anti-Semite representing everything that has gone terrifyingly wrong with my Democratic party (I happen to be a registered member) apologized to Jews who agree with her on the role of AIPAC in deciding US foreign policy: the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Democratic Council of America, HIAS, Americans for Peace Now, and Bend the Arc.
There’s the very essence of anti-Semitism, as determined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance “Working Definition of Anti-Semitism” – Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.
“Let me reiterate my sincere apology for any actual hurt my words have caused,” Omar said in that phone call to liberal Jews, according to JTA, adding immediately: “I know there are a lot of people who in the last weeks have expressed support in trying to say this isn’t anti-Semitic or this shouldn’t be looked at in that way.”
Some apology.
And she was speaking to people who are—hard to believe—much worse enemies of AIPAC, which has expelled most of them from its ranks, seeing as they are enemies of Israel.
Omar, who insisted it is up to the Jewish community to define who is an anti-Semite (we did and you are one) said the in-camera call was an opportunity “for you all to directly hear from me how I feel about my actions and for us to start the process of not only healing but building a relationship and getting to the process of politicking on our viewpoints on this.”
I got the quotes from the conference call from the JTA story (Ilhan Omar apologizes to Jewish groups for hurt caused by AIPAC tweet) which reported the story with nary a hint that they understood the problem in apologizing to the folks who hate the target of your venom more than even you do. They just reported it as facts: politician slurred one group of Jews, then apologized to a totally different group, case closed.
It really is time for Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leadership to expel this venomous viper from our party.