# Resolved: Ilhan Omar has not expressed antisemitism **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 4, 2023, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323 "2023-02-04T22:38:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/23 "2023-02-05T12:58:20Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > This is 100% the old canard of Jewish dual loyalty. It is 100% antisemitic. There have been a number of red states that require contractors and government employees to sign loyalty oaths to Israeli to work for the state. That is what she is referring to. > **[A Texas Elementary School Speech Pathologist Refused to Sign a Pro-Israel...](https://theintercept.com/2018/12/17/israel-texas-anti-bds-law/)** > > Bahia Amawi, a speech pathologist in Texas, was denied a contract for refusing to sign a pro-Israel, anti-BDS loyalty pledge. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/24 "2023-02-05T13:08:23Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > There have been a number of red states that require contractors and government employees to sign loyalty oaths to Israeli to work for the state. I had no idea. This is utterly shocking to me, and insane. More germane to the discussion, how are we to criticize the political influences forcing Americans to have dual loyalty towards Israel without being accused of invoking the “dual loyalty” antisemitic trope? > **[Appeals court upholds Arkansas’ Israel boycott pledge law](https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-israel-boycotts-arkansas-government-and-politics-514cac508c401a86393705c7142aa1b0)** > > LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld Arkansas’ law requiring state contractors to pledge not to boycott Israel, finding the restriction is not an unconstitutional violation of free speech. ---
**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 5, 2023, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/25 "2023-02-05T13:26:31Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Israel has a documented, controversial history with regards to its interactions with certain people. S And America doesn’t? Look, don’t make me support Bibi Netanyahu - I loathe that jackass, and I’ve voted against him more times than you’ve had hot meals. I think his speech before Congress in 2015 was an insult and a blunder. But you’re still engaging in conspiracy theories. He said that they stood by Israel, not that they “supported Israel unconditionally, 100%, with no criticism”. It’s not the same thing. Joe Biden is a self-declared friend of Israel, and the Israeli government has agreed with him, and yet President Biden has criticized Israel on numerous occasions, as is his right (some might say obligation). You can support a country without supporting specific leaders or specific policies. That’s perfectly normal behavior. > [@madmonk28](#): > > There have been a number of red states that require contractors and government employees to sign loyalty oaths to Israeli to work for the state. That is what she is referring to. > > [https://theintercept.com/2018/12/17/israel-texas-anti-bds-law/](https://theintercept.com/2018/12/17/israel-texas-anti-bds-law/) I hate that shit, and I wish those wingnuts would stop. I despise this type of pointless political posturing and I don’t want assholes like that supporting my country. That said, this is Texas and Arkansas we’re talking about here - I doubt many Jewish people were involved with the legislation, if any. How does this have anything to do with canards about _Jewish_ dual loyalty? Have any _Jews_ demanded that Americans “pledge loyalty” to Israel? ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/26 "2023-02-05T13:38:30Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > But you’re still engaging in conspiracy theories…You can support a country without supporting specific leaders or specific policies. That’s perfectly normal behavior. You are absolutely correct! You can also not support a country because of its specific leaders and policies. My point, though, is that these are political issues, not religious or ethnic ones. And they do indeed exist, as political issues. So when a discussion relates to these political influences, it’s unfair for people to make the leap to presuming that this is a coded discussion about ethnic or religious groups. > [@Alessan](#): > > How does this have anything to do with canards about _Jewish_ dual loyalty? Have any _Jews_ demanded that Americans “pledge loyalty” to Israel? But that just it - Omar hasn’t made any reference to Jewish people. It’s the critics who are making that leap. If Omar talks about Israel, she’s talking about Israel. If she’s taking about political influences, she’s talking about politics. (For context, and as a reminder, the dual loyalty comment was “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is okay to push for the allegiance to a foreign country.”) The leap, however, is that she’s actually talking about Jewish people, and invoking stereotypes instead of referencing specific events, and is therefore antisemitic. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/27 "2023-02-05T18:07:03Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > These two are really the heart of it IMHO. Those two remarks, while mild compared to the outright hate speech thrown out these days by a certain class of cretins let back on Twitter, does reinforce beliefs and tropes that are anti-Semitic in nature. Unlike said cretins, she’s done her research and strives to do better, and I would (equally IMHO) believe her statements that she was doing it as part of a disgust about the actions of Israel’s government. Which I’m many minds about. > > But while a valid criticism, it has NOTHING to do with the actions being taken by our Republican reactionaries (a statement made by most posters in the thread, so not exactly unique to me!). She’s seen as a perfect target to direct the hatred of their base: female, of color, Muslim, progressive, and not at all deferring to old white people (especially males). > > So she’s held to a higher standard when she makes errors I’m in agreement with all of this. > [@Moriarty](#): > > Has one Donald Trump not boasted that he’s the best friend of Jewish people because he moved the Israeli embassy? There is absolutely some segment of the political landscape that believes that Jewish people are more loyal to Israel than to the U.S. Yes indeed. And that’s exactly the problem. What Ilhan Omar said fed into that problem, and encouraged it. I am willing to believe, pending any further clear evidence to the contrary, that she spoke unthinkingly and partly out of ignorance, and now regrets having done so. > [@madmonk28](#): > > There have been a number of red states that require contractors and government employees to sign loyalty oaths to Israeli to work for the state. Say _what_? That is absurd and, if not illegal, ought to be. – wait a minute. From the site linked: > she refused to sign an oath vowing that she “does not” and “will not” engage in a boycott of Israel or “otherwise tak[e] any action that is intended to inflict economic harm” on that foreign nation. That’s not a “loyalty oath to Israel”. That’s an agreement to not take a specific type of action against Israel. I think, looking at the language, that it’s supposed to apply not to her personally, but to her business – that she’d be agreeing, say, not to refuse to buy supplies used by her business from a supplier in Israel, based only on the grounds that the supplier is Israeli. I’m not in favor of that language, either; and, reading the rest of that article, it seems like a shitload of states are doing something that looks to me like it’s utterly unconstitutional. But I will note, not only that it’s not a “loyalty oath to Israel”, but also that this is being done by state, and attempted to be done by federal, legislators who are overwhelmingly not Jewish. They’re almost all at least nominally Christian; and so, presumably, were most people in Texas and elsewhere who signed that or similar oaths without blinking. Why is the issue not about Christians in some fashion pledging loyalty to Israel? > [@Moriarty](#): > > So when a discussion relates to these political influences, it’s unfair for people to make the leap to presuming that this is a coded discussion about ethnic or religious groups. Which would be true, in an ideal world in which such coded discussions didn’t happen. > [@Moriarty](#): > > If Omar talks about Israel, she’s talking about Israel. If she’s taking about political influences, she’s talking about politics. (For context, and as a reminder, the dual loyalty comment was “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is okay to push for the allegiance to a foreign country.”) > > The leap, however, is that she’s actually talking about Jewish people, and invoking stereotypes instead of referencing specific events, and is therefore antisemitic. As I said, I’m willing to believe that she used that language out of ignorance, and didn’t mean to be antisemitic. The proper response to that is, indeed, to apologize; and to be more clear in future. She could, for instance, specifically attack the type of regulation referred to in the Texas case; citing that case and those in other states. I don’t know whether she has done so. ---
**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 5, 2023, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/28 "2023-02-05T18:20:58Z")
I think if she had said “it’s all about the votes, baby” instead of “Benjamins”, it would have been far more accurate. Politicians pander to voting blocs, regardless of their sincerity in doing so, and part of that pandering is to immediately accuse others of being anti-name-the-bloc. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/29 "2023-02-05T19:56:09Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > She could, for instance, specifically attack the type of regulation referred to in the Texas case; citing that case and those in other states. I don’t know whether she has done so. So I tried to answer that. It doesn’t look like Omar has commented on these state level decisions, but has (as might be expected of somebody who works in the national Congress) commented on the national effort to accomplish the same thing by sponsoring a resolution in Congress > [@](#): > > Affirming that all Americans have the right to participate in boycotts in pursuit of civil and human rights at home and abroad, as protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. [https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/496/text](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/496/text) Now, what I wonder is whether her reference to America’s prior boycotts in support of Jewish people will be interpreted as a sly dig or something, as opposed to being consistent with her ideology of advocating for the maligned. > [@](#): > > Whereas Americans of conscience have a proud history of participating in boycotts to advocate for human rights abroad, including— > … > (2) boycotting Nazi Germany from March 1933 to October 1941 in response to the dehumanization of the Jewish people in the lead-up to the Holocaust And lest you think that Omar is peddling in some sort of conspiratorial thinking > [@](#): > > Last week, Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN), along with Representatives John Lewis (D-GA) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), introduced a [resolution](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/496) reaffirming the First Amendment right to participate in political boycotts as grounded in America’s history dating back to the days of Samuel Adams and the Boston Tea Party. > > Their recent legislative push stands in stark contrast to repeated attempts by other members of Congress to stamp out constitutionally protected boycotts of Israel. > > These attempts include the [Israel Anti-Boycott Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/720?s=2&r=2), which Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Rob Portman (R-OH), and Reps. Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Juan Vargas (D-CA) introduced in the previous Congress. The bill would have banned participating in political boycotts of countries friendly to the United States when the boycott is called for by an international organization, such as the United Nations. > > The bill would have carried a penalty of up to $1 million for engaging in the First Amendment right to boycott. And, believe it or not, that’s an improvement. Earlier versions of the bill had included jail time. The bill generated some key opposition and died in Congress last year, but rumor is, this bill might be reintroduced _again_ in this Congress. > > Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Cory Gardner (R-CO), and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also managed to push the [Combating BDS Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1/text) through the Senate as a part of a larger bill. That bill encourages states to create laws that [three federal courts](https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/third-federal-court-blocks-anti-bds-law-unconstitutional) have now blocked as unconstitutional. Those laws violate the First Amendment by penalizing businesses, such as our client [_The Arkansas Times_](https://www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech/freedom-press/why-should-my-newspaper-pledge-not-boycott-israel)_,_ and individuals who refuse to sign a pledge certifying that they do not and will not engage in a constitutionally-protected boycott of Israel. Penalties often come in the form of denying government contracts to those who dare to disagree with their government. > **[With the Right to Boycott Under Attack, Some Members of Congress Are Pushing...](https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/right-boycott-under-attack-some-members-congress-are-pushing-back)** > [@Chefguy](#): > > I think if she had said “it’s all about the votes, baby” instead of “Benjamins”, it would have been far more accurate. But then she doesn’t get to make the reference to Bibi Netanyahu. It was a tweet which used a rhetorical flourish. Even if she could have said something else, it doesn’t mean that what she did say was outrageous or bigoted. (I mean, if somebody had asked why Israel had an outsize influence on American policy, and she had something even remotely approaching “you know Jews control the purse strings”, I’d be all over it. But when you need a decoder ring to understand where the bigotry lies, and when the interpretation is buoyed by the characteristics of the speaker (she’s a middle eastern Muslim, ya’ know) it’s an unfair slander). ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/30 "2023-02-05T20:29:17Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > what I wonder is whether her reference to America’s prior boycotts in support of Jewish people will be interpreted as a sly dig or something, as opposed to being consistent with her ideology of advocating for the maligned. Certainly not by me. I just read the proposed bill at your link, and it seems to me that that’s included as part of an entirely reasonable list of boycotts important in US history. – do I gather correctlly that the bill hasn’t gone anywhere since 2019, even though the Democrats held the House majority for the following two years? > [@Moriarty](#): > > But then she doesn’t get to make the reference to Bibi Netanyahu. It was a tweet which used a rhetorical flourish. Even if she could have said something else, it doesn’t mean that what she did say was outrageous or bigoted. > > (I mean, if somebody had asked why Israel had an outsize influence on American policy, and she had something even remotely approaching “you know Jews control the purse strings”, I’d be all over it. Seems to me that she said something far more than “remotely” approaching “you know Israel controls the purse strings.” And there are significant numbers of people in this country to whom that amounts to the same thing. Again – maybe she was thinking of Netanyahu, and not of multiple centuries of slanders about Jews and money. But intentions are not the only thing that matters; effect also matters. Saying something that has an effect other than intended calls for, when one has been informed of what the effect is and why, apologizing and doing differently in the future. She seems to understand that just fine, and to have done so. I’m not sure why you’re being so insistent that the effect of that phrasing is nonexistent. Maybe you needed a decoder ring, but it’s utterly obvious to me. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/31 "2023-02-05T20:33:37Z")
> [@Palooka](#): > > I think “Israel” just as often refers to the Jewish people. The “Israel” in the 2012 is clearly referring to the people. It wouldn’t make sense otherwise. Not always, but you have a point. If someone says “sub-Saharan Africa is nothing but corrupt, failed nations, full of violent, superstition people” you’d rightly consider that statement to be racist, since all those nations have black majorities and black government leaders. And, it isn’t really true. Sure, it’s okay to condemn Israel for it’s dealings with Palestine, but you can’t ignore Palestine’s constant terrorist actions vs Israel. Trust me, if Mexico started lobbing rockets over the boarder at American schools, we’d be less tolerant than Israel. Does that completely excuse Israel? No, bu_t it puts it in context._ > [@Moriarty](#): > > If I say that Russia is engaged in evil acts, and the world doesn’t care, and hopefully god will open everybody’s eyes, have I made a racist comment towards white people? Lots of white majority nations, just one Jewish state. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/32 "2023-02-05T20:43:42Z")
This thread has been informative to me. I was pretty sure that in the past I had heard criticisms of Israel - and its right to exist - denounced as antisemitism. I now believe the more proper term would be anti-Zionism. I wonder if I had misunderstood the denunciations, or whether the denouncers spoke imprecisely. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/33 "2023-02-05T20:46:24Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > But I will note, not only that it’s not a “loyalty oath to Israel”, but also that this is being done by state, and attempted to be done by federal, legislators who are overwhelmingly not Jewish. They’re almost all at least nominally Christian; and so, presumably, were most people in Texas and elsewhere who signed that or similar oaths without blinking. Why is the issue not about Christians in some fashion pledging loyalty to Israel? That’s precisely the point - the political influences aren’t Jewish, and Omar never referred to them as Jewish. So why do people get to presume that she really was talking about Jewish people, when people are pointing out that this isn’t a Jewish issue at all, but instead about the political pressure in America regarding loyalty towards Israel, which is precisely what she described? > [@DrDeth](#): > > Sure, it’s okay to condemn Israel for it’s dealings with Palestine, but you can’t ignore Palestine’s constant terrorist actions vs Israel. The issue isn’t whether Omar is correct. The issue is whether her opinions are antisemitic. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Lots of white majority nations, just one Jewish state. What does that mean in the context of criticism of Israel? Are you saying the criticism is presumptively antisemitic, because it’s the only place where the Jewish people are the majority ruling class? Is there a higher bar to pass before Israeli criticism is deemed valid, and not bigoted, than in one of those many white majority nations? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/34 "2023-02-05T21:00:33Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Are you saying the criticism is presumptively antisemitic, because it’s the only place where the Jewish people are the majority ruling class? Is there a higher bar to pass before Israeli criticism is deemed valid, and not bigoted, than in one of those many white majority nations? Yes. In many cases, like when Islamic terrorists and even governments state that “Israel must be destroyed” - they are doing so out of antisemitism. And Oman didn’t just criticize. Israel, she condemned it. Of course you can criticize Netanyahu, or any specific actions the government of Israel has taken. But once you condemn _the nation as a whole_, then yes, _that looks a lot like antisemitism._ ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/35 "2023-02-05T21:02:40Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > > [@Moriarty](#): > > > > Has one Donald Trump not boasted that he’s the best friend of Jewish people because he moved the Israeli embassy? There is absolutely some segment of the political landscape that believes that Jewish people are more loyal to Israel than to the U.S. > > Yes indeed. And that’s exactly the problem. What Ilhan Omar said fed into that problem, and encouraged it. How did she encourage it? She said it was a problem we need to talk about. If I point out the problems of racism, am I just feeding into the problem of racism and encouraging it? I mean, that’s something I do hear, but as a blanket attempt to quell dissent (“if you see racism, you’re the real racist”), not as a fair discussion of the complaint. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/36 "2023-02-05T21:09:48Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But once you condemn _the nation as a whole_, then yes, _that looks a lot like antisemitism._ In rebuttal, I’m just going to quote Omar yet again, with one of those statements that has led to her condemnation. > [@](#): > > Drawing attention to the apartheid Israeli regime is far from hating Jews. I’m frankly gobsmacked that this is controversial. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/37 "2023-02-05T21:11:41Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I was pretty sure that in the past I had heard criticisms of Israel - and its right to exist - denounced as antisemitism. I now believe the more proper term would be anti-Zionism. I wonder if I had misunderstood the denunciations, or whether the denouncers spoke imprecisely. Depends on how those criticisms were phrased, and in what context. Some criticisms of Israel are antisemitic. Others aren’t. But many of the people currently arguing that Israel has no right to exist are doing so for antisemitic reasons: they not only don’t want the state of Israel to be there, they don’t want any Jews to be there either. > [@Moriarty](#): > > That’s precisely the point - the political influences aren’t Jewish, and Oman never referred to them as Jewish. > > So why do people get to presume that she really was talking about Jewish people, when people are pointing out that this isn’t a Jewish issue at all, but instead about the political pressure in America regarding loyalty towards Israel, which is precisely what she described? What people are pointing out is that due to hundreds of years of historical and current context, continuing up to and including the modern USA, her particular phrasing sounded as if she were talking about Jewish people. You’re insisting on trying to consider the issue as if the only context of the statement were the overt topic of the discussion. It would be nice if that were so, but it ain’t so. It may have been the only context Omar was thinking of when she made the statement; but that doesn’t make it the only context that applies. > [@Moriarty](#): > > > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > > > > [@Moriarty](#): > > > > > > There is absolutely some segment of the political landscape that believes that Jewish people are more loyal to Israel than to the U.S. > > > > Yes indeed. And that’s exactly the problem. What Ilhan Omar said fed into that problem, and encouraged it. > > How did she encourage it? She said it was a problem we need to talk about. Which implies that it’s a problem that exists. The problem that some Christians are trying to prevent legal boycotts does exist, yes. But that’s an entirely different problem than “Jewish people [presumably those who are US citizens] are more loyal to Israel than to the U.S.” That is not a problem that exists. The problem that exists is that there are people in the USA who believe it. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/38 "2023-02-05T21:12:03Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But once you condemn _the nation as a whole_, then yes, _that looks a lot like antisemitism._ People condemn Russia all the time. And Iran. Etc., etc. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/39 "2023-02-05T21:17:00Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > In rebuttal, I’m just going to quote Omar yet again, with one of those statements that has led to her condemnation. > > > [@](#): > > > > Drawing attention to the apartheid Israeli regime is far from hating Jews. “I can’t be racist, some of my best friends are blacks.” says the racist. That was clearly a self-serving comment to deflect criticism. ---
**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 5, 2023, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/40 "2023-02-05T21:17:05Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I’m frankly gobsmacked that this is controversial. You don’t think calling Israel an apartheid regime is controversial? I’m not asking if you agree or disagree - only if you think it’s a controversial statement. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/41 "2023-02-05T21:19:40Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > You don’t think calling Israel an apartheid regime is controversial? That’s not what I said. I said that criticism of Israel (whether valid or not - if it’s not an apartheid regime, so be it. I’m not saying it is) is not the same as criticizing Jewish people. This is what I’m shocked is controversial. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/42 "2023-02-05T21:22:01Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > some Christians are trying to prevent legal boycotts does exist, yes. But that’s an entirely different problem than “Jewish people [presumably those who are US citizens] are more loyal to Israel than to the U.S.” That is not a problem that exists. Where did Omar say that this was a problem that exists? Where did she refer to Jewish people? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323.md?page=3)