# "It's all about the Benjamins, baby" -- anti-Semitic? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 11, 2019, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356 "2019-02-11T20:16:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/41 "2019-02-12T16:25:04Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I don’t think AIPAC is powerful because of money. J Street gives a million times more in campaign contributions. I just have to break in here. There is no J Street in DC. While I realize there’s some usage of J Street to mean AIPAC and other Jewish lobbying firms, most lobbying firms are on K Street and Massachusetts Avenue. Spent a great deal of time there at one point in my life. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/42 "2019-02-12T16:28:36Z")
They left or were driven out because of the civil war, not because of the partitioning, which never actually happened. It was a nasty war, too, much like the recent one in Syria - albeit with fewer refugees than the Syrian war. Just like in Syria, there was no mater plan to drive people out before the war. If there were, I’d be against it. Anyway, two wrongs don’t make a right, do they? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/43 "2019-02-12T16:31:05Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > I just have to break in here. There is no J Street in DC. While I realize there’s some usage of J Street to mean AIPAC and other Jewish lobbying firms, most lobbying firms are on K Street and Massachusetts Avenue. Spent a great deal of time there at one point in my life. “J-Street” is a recently-established DC-based advocy group that posits itself as a left-wing alternative to AIPAC. Look it up. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/44 "2019-02-12T16:34:28Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I think it would have been better if she was specific from the start that she was criticizing AIPAC. Some people would still have gotten upset, of course, because there are some ardent AIPAC supporters, just as there are some ardent Palestinian/Hamas/whatever-other-group-you-care-to-name supporters. It’s impossible to discuss political, religious, social, or financial issues without offending _someone_. I’d imagine she probably will be a bit more specific in the future. I will say her tweets were “It’s all about the Benjamins, baby” followed by “AIPAC” when someone asked her to clarify. I’d imagine that second tweet would have specified the first. > [@Ravenman](#): > > Again, her apology looked quite sincere, as it related the words she said to the harm that she often suffers from other people’s words about her. Just because you want to think that her apology was insincere, I don’t think that’s the most plain reading of it. Had she written something different, like maybe “I’ve been misunderstood, you’re attacking me because of my beliefs, but I’m sorry if someone was offended” then yeah, I could see that as not being an actual apology. But that’s really not what she said. Do you not think that people apologize for hurting other people while not necessarily seeing much wrong with what they’ve said? It’s not insincere, per se. However, she did also make sure in her apology to critique pro-Israel lobbyists (all the while comparing AIPAC to the NRA, etc). ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/45 "2019-02-12T16:47:28Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > “J-Street” is a recently-established DC-based advocy group that posits itself as a left-wing alternative to AIPAC. Look it up. Well, yes. I’m aware and mentioned it there. But it’s clear from Ravenman’s statement that he meant generalized lobbying. If J Street - as you’ve defined it - were to give ‘a million times more’ than AIPAC it would be contributing $3.5 trillion dollars per year at this point. AIPAC gave $3.5 million in 2018. J Street gave $4.1 million. Look it up. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/46 "2019-02-12T17:04:35Z")
> [@senoy](#): > > It feeds on the ‘rich Jews controlling government’ trope. I would liken it to a politician saying that black people support Democrats ‘because of welfare.’ It feeds on stereotypes whose original intent was to denigrate people of a particular race. > > As such, I would indeed vote that Yes, it is anti-Semitic. Nonsense. Condemnation of Israel is nowhere near the same thing as being antisemitic. Israel is a thuggish government that needs thrashing. It wouldn’t matter if it was comprised of WASPs. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/47 "2019-02-12T17:05:09Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > But that’s still just being anti-Israel. Believing Israel doesn’t deserve to exist is still just about the country, not about the people. So if I say Ireland doesn’t deserve to exist, I’m not anti-Irish? If I say Mexico doesn’t deserve to exist, I’m not anti-Mexican? Seriously, that’s an incredibly fucked up notion. And what is the “country”, if not the people? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/48 "2019-02-12T17:17:56Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > It is very strange to argue that her comments were not anti-Semitic when she said in her own words that she wasn’t aware of how hurtful her comments were in the context of anti-Semitic tropes. 😕 Odd. I’d have derived the exact opposite conclusion. If she didn’t know that her words could be interpreted as hateful, that implies she didn’t intend them as hateful. And it’s already been explained that she was effectively forced to apologize. That does _not_ mean she’s sacrificing her ideals — one’s got to pick one’s fights. Another oddity. One poster seems to insist that Ms. Omar was anti-Semitic even though, despite the hoopla, not one single comment by Ms. Omar has been presented which is anti-Semitic by that poster’s own criterion! So the burden is on Ms. Omar’s defenders to find every utterance or tweet that might be anti-Semitic and present them for approval/disapproval? Got it, I guess. ---
**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:** [February 12, 2019, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/49 "2019-02-12T17:20:04Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Well, yes. I’m aware and mentioned it there. But it’s clear from Ravenman’s statement that he meant generalized lobbying. If J Street - as you’ve defined it - were to give ‘a million times more’ than AIPAC it would be contributing $3.5 trillion dollars per year at this point. AIPAC gave $3.5 million in 2018. J Street gave $4.1 million. > > Look it up. No, you’re wrong on both counts. First, I mean J Street, as in the advocacy organization. Second, AIPAC did not contribute $3.5 million to campaigns; they had lobbying expenses of $3.5 million. AIPAC gave basically nothing in campaign contributions. J Street was the opposite: they gave something like $4 million in campaign contributions, and had pretty small lobbying expenses. Is that clear now? ---
**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:** [February 12, 2019, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/50 "2019-02-12T17:25:17Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Another oddity. One poster seems to insist that Ms. Omar was anti-Semitic even though, despite the hoopla, not one single comment by Ms. Omar has been presented which is anti-Semitic by that poster’s own criterion! So the burden is on Ms. Omar’s defenders to find every utterance or tweet that might be anti-Semitic and present them for approval/disapproval? Got it, I guess. I can’t speak for the other poster any any criteria they put forth, but I think it’s perfectly clear that her comments as seen through a larger societal context were broadly viewed as hurtful. If one denies the broader context of the remarks, and one just looks at the words, I can see how someone will come to a conclusion that she did nothing wrong. I think it is a mistake to ignore the broader context and just focus on the words, in a similar way to how some politicians seem to be saying to themselves right now, “Hey, I just dressed up like my favorite pop singer, what’s wrong with that?” ETA: Also since you mentioned it, I really take no opinion on whether she intended her tweets to be offensive. She says she didn’t, so I’ll just take her word on that. ---
**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:** [February 12, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/51 "2019-02-12T17:32:31Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Do you not think that people apologize for hurting other people while not necessarily seeing much wrong with what they’ve said? It’s not insincere, per se. She literally said that she has been informed by her friends of the harm of her tweets. At this point, you’re arguing that she didn’t say things that she actually said. And if she apologized without feeling remorse, that’s the literal definition of insincere. I’m puzzled as to why you keep arguing with the plain meaning of her words. > [@](#): > > However, she did also make sure in her apology to \*\*critique pro-Israel lobbyists \*\*(all the while comparing AIPAC to the NRA, etc). WTF? This is not what she said. She criticized “the problematic role of lobbyists,” and used AIPAC, the NRA, and the oil industry as examples. This isn’t a critique of “pro-Israel lobbyists,” it’s a criticism of lobbyists, period. Again, you’re projecting just oh so much onto her comments. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/52 "2019-02-12T17:40:49Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > WTF? This is not what she said. She criticized “the problematic role of lobbyists,” and used AIPAC, the NRA, and the oil industry as examples. This isn’t a critique of “pro-Israel lobbyists,” it’s a criticism of lobbyists, period. Criticizing AIPAC is literally criticizing pro-Israel lobbyists. Why exactly do you think she included that in her apology? She added the NRA and oil industry to indicate that she’s equally critical of lobbyists in the gun and fossil fuel area, and to reiterate her comments and concerns in this sphere have always been about the lobbyists. > [@](#): > > And if she apologized without feeling remorse Do you not feel remorse that you made someone feel bad? Regardless of whether you think they completely misinterpreted what you said. Doesn’t criticizing AIPAC in the apology do exactly what she was criticized for in the first place - indicate that pro-Israel laws are created because of pro-Israeli lobbyist money? One may say following up “I unequivocally apologize” with “At the same time,” indicates that one is apologizing for the hurt other felt as opposed to the content and/or intent of the words. And I will reiterate, even if she now personally thinks her words were anti-Semitic (which I’m not convinced), that does not mean I have to. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/53 "2019-02-12T18:19:56Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Do you not feel remorse that you made someone feel bad? Usually, but not always. If, for example, someone were to attack me and I hurt them while defending myself I would not in any way feel remorse that I made them feel bad. Likewise, the same could apply in verbal disputes. If you intend to hurt someone and an apology gets you out of unpleasant consequences then yes, someone might apologize without feeling remorse or guilt ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/54 "2019-02-12T18:40:08Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Nonsense. Condemnation of Israel is nowhere near the same thing as being antisemitic. Israel is a thuggish government that needs thrashing. It wouldn’t matter if it was comprised of WASPs. Gotcha. So if I were to say “The various governments of post-colonial Africa were failures because they were unintelligent and unable to grasp the intricacies of non-tribal civilization.” I’m not being racist, I’m just condemning governments. Makes sense. OR perhaps a different point of view is that it’s entirely possible to not use racism or anti-Semitism as part of a criticism of a government, but criticisms that rely upon racist tropes or reductive reasoning that feeds upon stereotype when criticizing a government can be and is racist/anti-Semitic. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/55 "2019-02-12T20:07:34Z")
> [@senoy](#): > > Gotcha. So if I were to say “The various governments of post-colonial Africa were failures because they were unintelligent and unable to grasp the intricacies of non-tribal civilization.” I’m not being racist, I’m just condemning governments. Makes sense. But that statement is not equivalent to what Omar stated. That version explicitly states a racist stereotype. To match that she would have had to say, “the Israeli lobbyists due to their greedy and power hungry nature has led them to have an undue influence on US politics.” A better comparison would be something like. “The various governments of post-colonial Africa were failures because they had poor leadership.” Its possible that the speaker believes they had poor leadership because they were black, and a very sensitive person could take offense to this statement, but its also possible that the speaker is just stating a fact independent of the racial element. Similarly, it could be that Omar thinks the Israelis are spending too much money to influence politics because she thinks they are money grubbing schemers. but it also could be because she simply thinks that as an organization their lobbying efforts are overly influential. ---
**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:** [February 12, 2019, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/56 "2019-02-12T20:12:23Z")
I think some of Omar’s tweets can be reasonably criticized as anti-semitic, and she has (appropriately) apologized for them. I expect she’ll learn to criticize certain Israeli policies while being sure to avoid any anti-semitic tropes and stereotypes, with time. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/57 "2019-02-12T20:38:34Z")
My take is that it’s legitimate for Omar (or others) to question the roles of AIPAC and other lobbyist groups in influencing American policy. It crosses over the line to accuse supporters of Israel of being bought, which plays into the “Jewish money controls the world” stereotype. Omar’s controversial tweet came in response to another poisonous anti-Semitic trope, which she evidently endorsed. _'On Sunday, Omar responded to a tweet by journalist Glenn Greenwald that reads, “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.” Omar replied, “It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” followed by a musical notes emoji."_ See, Jews who back Israel aren’t really Americans, they’re pledging loyalty to a foreign country. :dubious: In [invoking Allah to help people realize that Israel has “hypnotized the world”](http://twitter.com/ilhanmn/status/269488770066313216?lang=en), Omar has encouraged religious bigotry. [Not good](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/11/opinion/ilhan-omar-antisemitism.html). ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/58 "2019-02-12T21:08:31Z")
That gets a little complicated, however, when one realizes that Glenn Greenwald is Jewish (non-religious though). ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/59 "2019-02-12T21:57:38Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > That gets a little complicated, however, when one realizes that Glenn Greenwald is Jewish (non-religious though). Not really. Racists have been pointing at Bill Cosby’s ‘black people are responsible for black problems’ stance as evidence of white innocence for years (although less so in light of recent events.) Piggy backing on a race’s self-loathers criticizing their own race does not complicate things. It’s normal. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356/60 "2019-02-12T23:11:05Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Israel is a thuggish government that needs thrashing. Israel \*is \*a thuggish government, or Israel \*has \*a thuggish government? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-about-the-benjamins-baby-anti-semitic/829356.md?page=4)