# Anti-Semitism and the accusations agains Representative Ilhan Omar. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 5, 2019, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568 "2019-03-05T12:57:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/61 "2019-03-06T01:58:47Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > You do know there’s only one other Muslim congressperson right? Are you trying to say that because 2 of 3 Muslims in congress Criticizing Israel, that it must be because of antisemitism? There are three altogether, but there are quite a few state reps. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/62 "2019-03-06T02:01:49Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > If by “prevail” you mean “continue taking over the occupied territories as Jewish-controlled municipal and residential areas while squeezing out the millions of indigenous non-Jewish residents who are kept under Israeli domination on Israeli-controlled land while being denied the rights of Israeli citizens”, I can think of several reasons why a civilized person would object to that outcome. All Palestine has to do is stop the terrorism, which is against all laws, ethics and morality. However, they have made it a way of life, they appear unable to. Once they stop, they will get my sympathy. Until then they are the basest sort of criminals, targeting school kids in buses. It’s very simple- \*\*stop the terrorism. \*\* ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/63 "2019-03-06T02:06:29Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > All Palestine has to do is stop the terrorism, which is against all laws, ethics and morality. However, they have made it a way of life, they appear unable to. > > Once they stop, they will get my sympathy. Until then they are the basest sort of criminals, targeting school kids in buses. > > It’s very simple- \*\*stop the terrorism. \*\* Even more collective blame! Bravo to you for putting that responsibility and blame on every Palestinian man, woman, and child! ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/64 "2019-03-06T02:16:05Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Many times, Israel has offered to do this if Palestine would stop with terrorist attacks. Until and when Palestine stops with the state sanctioned terrorism, I feel Israel can do anything they want. It’s not “Palestine” attacking Israel – it’s a faction within “Palestine” that is attacking Israel. What Israel is doing is saying that **collective punishment** is acceptable because they’re God’s chosen ones and they’re victims of the holocaust. Ironically, the lesson of the post-WWII era (4th Geneva Convention, to be exact) is that the civilized world made a concerted effort to say that \*\*collective punishment \*\*was against the laws of humanity. Mind you, I don’t believe all Israelis endorse or embrace Netanyahu and Likudism. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/65 "2019-03-06T02:19:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > All Palestine has to do is stop the terrorism, which is against all laws, ethics and morality. However, they have made it a way of life, they appear unable to. > > Once they stop, they will get my sympathy. Until then they are the basest sort of criminals, targeting school kids in buses. > > It’s very simple- \*\*stop the terrorism. \*\* Oh God, what imbecilic rubbish! First of all, there is no Palestine because Israel won’t allow for a real Palestinian state to develop. But beyond that is this notion that all citizens of a territory (which it occupies illegally under international law, incidentally) can be punished collectively for the actions of a few rogues. I know this: you clearly know very little of the history over there – very little. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/66 "2019-03-06T02:21:00Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Even more collective blame! Bravo to you for putting that responsibility and blame on every Palestinian man, woman, and child! Who elected the Terrorist government? if it was just a few rogue terrorists, that’d be one thing- but it is the actual government, which is quite popular with the people. This is _institutionalized terrorism_, not just a few randos. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/67 "2019-03-06T02:22:39Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > It’s not “Palestine” attacking Israel – it’s a faction within “Palestine” that is attacking Israel. > > What Israel is doing is saying that **collective punishment** is acceptable because they’re God’s chosen ones and they’re victims of the holocaust. It’s a very popular faction, approved by the government. And bus bombings and random mortar and rocket attacks- are they not **collective punishment**? Israel build settlements- Palestine bombs schoolkids and random rocket attacks. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/68 "2019-03-06T02:29:57Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Who elected the Terrorist government? > > if it was just a few rogue terrorists, that’d be one thing- but it is the actual government, which is quite popular with the people. This is _institutionalized terrorism_, not just a few randos. And Israel elected Netanyahu, therefore, it’s okay to make sweeping generalizations about Jews, right? ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/69 "2019-03-06T02:32:16Z")
Here’s the bottom line. Nothing Omar said was an attack on Jews. Nothing she said was threatening to Jews, whether we’re talking about global Jewry or Jews in America. Her comments were completely in the context of the American-Israeli political nexus and nothing more. There’s not a single person here who seriously argue otherwise, and there’s not a single person reading this who believes that her comments in and of themselves are antisemitic. They simply believe that Omar is antisemitic because of her ethnicity. And this speaks to the degree to which Americans have been brainwashed into believing Israel = Jew, and Jew = Israel. Therefore, criticizing Israeli political influence = criticizing American Jewishness. Seriously, why do so many Americans give a toss about Israel? I mean I care about England and Germany, like a little, because of my ancestry, but I’m not going to defend English or German attempts to influence American politics. Why does Israel matter? Why is America so concerned with Israel’s “right to exist”? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/70 "2019-03-06T02:38:09Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > And Israel elected Netanyahu, therefore, it’s okay to make sweeping generalizations about Jews, right? Not about Jews, but yes about the Government of Israel. I dunno what Netanyahu has to do with the millions of Jews here in the USA, from what I see, he’s pretty unpopular here. Note my comments: _“All Palestine has to do…” “if Palestine would stop with terrorist attacks”_ and “\*Until and when Palestine stops with the state sanctioned terrorism, \*…”: I am blaming the \*\*state of Palestine, \*\*and the people who support it. I am sure numerous Palestin\*ians \* dont support the terrorism. But the government does. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/71 "2019-03-06T02:40:10Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > It’s a very popular faction, approved by the government. > > And bus bombings and random mortar and rocket attacks- are they not **collective punishment**? > > Israel build settlements- Palestine bombs schoolkids and random rocket attacks. LOL! I’ll respond when you come back with something better than a Sean Hannity level response because you clearly know nothing about the history over there. _“But they’ve been killing each other for thousands and thousands of years!!!”_ BWAHAHA!:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/72 "2019-03-06T02:42:49Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Omar has made valid criticism of Israel, but she is also an anti semite. She doesn’t think she is, she doesn’t want to be, but she is victim of and a perpetuater of systemic anti semitism that is pervasive in our society. But that it’s even a question if this is antisemitism is surprising to me, because it really super obviously is. > > 1. on its face claiming that Jews are controlling American politicians with their money and buying favor is blatantly anti semetic. I see no claims that it’s all about the Benjamins when discussing trade deals with China or Saudi Arabia or any other ally or trade partner that has a history of human rights abuses. Israel is not in the right in term of human rights at the moment, but that doesn’t make this a bizarre double standard and it doesn’t make it not playing into old terrible tropes. > > 2. I would posit that it’s equally anti semetic to say that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to America. Flip it around. If anyone claimed that Omar was displaying dual loyalty to ANY Islamic group let alone another nation, there would be actual protests in the streets. But she’s just claiming that American Jews aren’t really Americans unless they stop supporting Israel, then they are the good kind of Jew and its okay. > > Does she realize that this is what her words mean? I genuinely don’t think she does. I think we have already seen evidence that she had begun to realize that she has more baked in prejudice than she though she had in the aftermath of the All about the Benjamins comment, but then the right pounced and she made the dual loyalty comment and now she’s in a defensive posture and poare crying Islamophobia rather than takeing a breath and recognizing that a person can be right and Antisemitic at the same time. That these biases and prejudices are, just like all prejudices, largely systemic and I unexamined in by the holder of the prejudice. Holding these views doesn’t make her a bad person, how she responds now that she has been shown the error of her ways will tell us that. Which is fine because Americans have, like, a lot more baked-in prejudice for Israel and against Palestinians and Muslims period - even though most probably would fail a basic geography quiz. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/73 "2019-03-06T02:45:49Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > It’s also been pointed out that AIPAC **coordinates** PAC donations by drawing attention to politicians friendly to Likud, and by drawing attention to those who oppose Likud. Why are you leaving that out? > > It’s also been pointed out that the dual loyalty charge is now leveled primarily at conservative evangelical Christans, who say things like, “Anti-Israel policies are anti-Texas policies.” Why are you leaving that out? Uh, because those things are completely irrelevant to the topic. > [@](#): > > I don’t see that implication. Where do you see it? This has already been covered by others in the thread. Glenn Greenwald had a Twitter thread in which he said “GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy threatens punishment for @IlhanMN and @RashidaTlaib over their criticisms of Israel. It’s stunning how much time US political leaders spend defending a foreign nation even if it means attacking free speech rights of Americans”. Then added things such as, after mentioning that Keith Ellison was the first Muslim elected to Congress, “He was also viciously vilified as an anti-Semite - by the DNC’s largest billionaire donor. Perhaps there’s a pattern to be seen here?” So in a thread about the topic of Israel, and attacks vs defense of Israel, Greenwald chose to bring up the topic of Jews and their money. Then Omar responded to the first tweet with her “Benjamins” comments, obviously implying that she agreed with the notion that the Jews and their money are what drives support of Israel. And to note, many Democrats immediately saw the issue and criticized the tweet on those grounds, and she deleted it and issued an apology. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/74 "2019-03-06T02:46:09Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > It’s also fair to note how Netanyahu, and the Israel jingo lobby, have an effective tool to shout down any questioning of his government’s actions - the accusation of antisemitism. It shouldn’t, but does, need to be pointed out regularly that Jewry, Israel, and Likud are not synonyms. That’s how weaponized language is supposed to work. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/75 "2019-03-06T02:49:12Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > LOL! I’ll respond when you come back with something better than a Sean Hannity level response because you clearly know nothing about the history over there. > > _“But they’ve been killing each other for thousands and thousands of years!!!”_ BWAHAHA!:rolleyes: I didnt say that. > **[List of Palestinian suicide attacks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Palestinian_suicide_attacks)** > > Lists > This article contains a non-comprehensive list of Palestinian suicide attacks carried out by Palestinian individuals and militant groups, usually against Israeli civilian targets. The use of indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations is illegal under international law. > The first suicide attack was carried out in 1989. The high point was in 2002 during the Second Intifada. The Al-Aqsa Intifada saw a dramatic upswing in suicide bombings, with A, 40% of the total number originated in... > **[Hamas leader ‘not denying’ that West Bank terror attacks were ordered from Gaza](https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-leader-not-denying-that-west-bank-terror-attacks-were-ordered-from-gaza/)** > > Ismail Haniyeh also says Palestinian men in the West Bank do not need orders to carry out attacks against Israelis; adds that he is ready to meet Abbas \*Hamas leader ‘not denying’ that West Bank terror attacks were ordered from Gaza Ismail Haniyeh also says Palestinian men in the West Bank do not need orders to carry out attacks against Israelis; adds that he is ready to meet Abbas.Hamas Politburo chairman Ismail Haniyeh said on Sunday he does not deny that orders to carry out recent deadly terror attacks in the West Bank came from the Gaza Strip. …“I will also respond to the Zionists who are saying what is happening in the West Bank is based on directives and arrangements from Gaza,” Haniyeh said in the hour-long speech. “This is an accusation we do not deny… because it is a source of pride reigning over all of us.”\* > **[Hamas | Counter Extremism Project](https://www.counterextremism.com/threat/hamas)** > > Hamas is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization which has killed hundreds of Israeli citizens, as well as Americans, in suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks. Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip since it violently expelled the Palestinian... \*Hamas uses its provision of social services to build support amongst grassroots Palestinians, helping it to win the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections. However, the group’s engagement in politics and welfare has not tempered its commitment to terrorism. Hamas’s preferred methods include suicide bombings, rocket and mortar attacks, shootings, and kidnappings. Hamas as a whole or its armed faction have been labeled terrorist organizations by the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, the European Union, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan…Governance did not moderate Hamas. The group has been responsible for thousands of Qassam rockets fired at Israeli towns,…Hamas reaffirmed its refusal to recognize Israel, as well as its commitments to violence and the creation of a Palestinian state in the entirety of the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. … Hamas has thus far refused to disarm and its leaders have remained committed to the group’s strategy of so-called armed resistance. Despite the new political document and reconciliation agreement with Fatah, Hamas shows no signs of renouncing its dedication to violence or the creation of an Islamist state.Theme Four: Israel and “armed resistance” Hamas recognizes the fact that Israel exists, but does not recognize its legitimacy or right to exist. The introduction to the charter quotes Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna as saying “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.”\* Hamas upholds “armed resistance” as the only method to liberate Palestine. In Article 13 of the charter, Hamas renounces all peace plans or negotiations to resolve the issue of Palestine. Negotiations are a “contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement. Abusing any part of Palestine is abuse directed against [Islam]….”\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/76 "2019-03-06T02:50:32Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [Is it really that simple?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Israel_Public_Affairs_Committee#Criticism) I see on open secrets that pro-Israel PACs combined (including liberal ones) contributed about the same as the air traffic controllers. So yes, I still think your line of argument here is foolish. > [@](#): > > Do you assert that any concerns about Likud’s political operations in the US are racist, and so should be dismissed and denounced? It looks that way. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I assume it’s the same drivel that is trying to make me look like an AIPAC/Netanyahu fan. So I consider it to be silly as well, and don’t even know how to respond. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/77 "2019-03-06T02:52:23Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I didnt say that. > > [List of Palestinian suicide attacks - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Palestinian_suicide_attacks) > [https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-leader-not-denying-that-west-bank-terror-attacks-were-ordered-from-gaza/](https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-leader-not-denying-that-west-bank-terror-attacks-were-ordered-from-gaza/) > \*Hamas leader ‘not denying’ that West Bank terror attacks were ordered from Gaza > Ismail Haniyeh also says Palestinian men in the West Bank do not need orders to carry out attacks against Israelis; adds that he is ready to meet Abbas.Hamas Politburo chairman Ismail Haniyeh said on Sunday he does not deny that orders to carry out recent deadly terror attacks in the West Bank came from the Gaza Strip. > > …“I will also respond to the Zionists who are saying what is happening in the West Bank is based on directives and arrangements from Gaza,” Haniyeh said in the hour-long speech. “This is an accusation we do not deny… because it is a source of pride reigning over all of us.”\* > > [https://www.counterextremism.com/threat/hamas](https://www.counterextremism.com/threat/hamas) > \*Hamas uses its provision of social services to build support amongst grassroots Palestinians, helping it to win the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections. However, the group’s engagement in politics and welfare has not tempered its commitment to terrorism. Hamas’s preferred methods include suicide bombings, rocket and mortar attacks, shootings, and kidnappings. Hamas as a whole or its armed faction have been labeled terrorist organizations by the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, the European Union, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan…Governance did not moderate Hamas. The group has been responsible for thousands of Qassam rockets fired at Israeli towns,…Hamas reaffirmed its refusal to recognize Israel, as well as its commitments to violence and the creation of a Palestinian state in the entirety of the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. … > > Hamas has thus far refused to disarm and its leaders have remained committed to the group’s strategy of so-called armed resistance. Despite the new political document and reconciliation agreement with Fatah, Hamas shows no signs of renouncing its dedication to violence or the creation of an Islamist state.Theme Four: Israel and “armed resistance” > Hamas recognizes the fact that Israel exists, but does not recognize its legitimacy or right to exist. The introduction to the charter quotes Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna as saying “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.”\* Hamas upholds “armed resistance” as the only method to liberate Palestine. In Article 13 of the charter, Hamas renounces all peace plans or negotiations to resolve the issue of Palestine. Negotiations are a “contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement. Abusing any part of Palestine is abuse directed against [Islam]….”\*\* Hamas speaks for all Palestinian interests in the West Bank? ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/78 "2019-03-06T02:58:05Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Which is fine because Americans have, like, a lot more baked-in prejudice for Israel and against Palestinians and Muslims period - even though most probably would fail a basic geography quiz. Sure. That doesn’t mean she isn’t an antisemite, maybe only slightly, but still really. Both can be true. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/79 "2019-03-06T03:00:18Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Hamas speaks for all Palestinian interests in the West Bank? Hams is the defacto government of Gaza. And vies with Fatah for the West Bank. They openly fight with one another for control. wiki “Since June 2007, the Fatah-led governments have exercised authority in Ramallah, West Bank, and has been recognized as the official government of the Palestinian Authority; while since Hamas took control in the Gaza Strip, it has exercised de facto control there, ousting Fatah PNA representatives in June 2007.” Admittedly Fatah has recently publicly eschewed terrorism. But they wont condemn Hamas for it. > **[Terrorist Groups and Political Legitimacy](https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/terrorist-groups-and-political-legitimacy)** > > Terrorist groups can never change their stripes, or so politicians regularly remind their citizens. Yet history begs to differ. \*The victory of the radical terrorist group Hamas in January elections has cast leaders of the Fatah movement, ironically, as the doves of Palestinian politics. \* So, it more Hamas that’s the problem. Fatah has matured, somewhat. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568/80 "2019-03-06T03:02:03Z")
You know, this has become a hijack. go ahead and start a new thread about Hamas and Terrorism, and the wrongs of the Israeli government. Back to the Congresswoman. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-semitism-and-the-accusations-agains-representative-ilhan-omar/830568.md?page=5)