# 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:** 19\ **Page:** 8
**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 14, 2023, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/143 "2023-02-14T00:11:36Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > That kind of wording plays into those tropes. I think it’s the sort of thing that we should all be doing our best to avoid. OK. Do you agree that we, and Omar, should all also be doing our best to avoid wording that plays into antisemitic tropes? And do you agree that people were right to call Omar on her original statements, and that she was right to apologize, not as a pro forma of apologizing for political reasons to people who were being unreasonable, but because those who called her on it were in fact being reasonable? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/144 "2023-02-14T00:21:16Z")
I felt very uneasy about Sarah Huckabee Sanders after I watched her response to the SOTU. It came within a hair of encouraging political violence, in my view. Here’s a Harvard Business Review article from 2010 that uses the word “uneasy” in the title of an article about women in positions of power. > **[Women and the Uneasy Embrace of Power](https://hbr.org/2010/08/women-and-the-uneasy-embrace-o)** > > Although women now attend college at a higher rate than men, and have for the most part closed the gap in achieving advanced and professional degrees, women are not occupying the real power positions in corporations, academia, or the professions in... Should I avoid criticizing Sarah Huckabee Sanders with the word “uneasy” based on her speech the other day, just in case @Banquet_Bear thinks I am a bigot who is opposed to women in positions of power? To be clear, if @thorny_locust was trying to imply that Ilhan Omar couldn’t be a loyal American because of her religion, that would be bigoted. But he didn’t do that, and saying that a specific set of actions that she took made him uneasy _in no way_ implies that. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/145 "2023-02-14T00:28:37Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > You’re saying that “uneasy” is a problematic phrase to use about a Muslim person, because a 2010 article in the American Psychological Association used that term in the title to describe how Muslim people themselves feel? Come on, man. …its more to do with Muslims being forced to identify more strongly with their religious values and less with the culture of their adopted home because of anti-muslim backlash. > [@Babale](#): > > Should I avoid criticizing Sarah Huckabee Sanders with the word “uneasy” based on her speech the other day, just in case @Banquet_Bear thinks I am a bigot who is opposed to women in positions of power? I think that if you hate someone for being muslim (and I don’t think that you, or anyone else in this thread do), then you should just come out and say it, and not use any code-words. And in a situation like this, where anti-muslim bigotry is closely aligned with much of the things that have been said about Omar, then you need to be careful about the things that you say. And when you say that “she us uneasy” and that “It’s a quick and logical jump from there to pogroms” then yeah, you are starting to cross that line. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Do you agree that we, and Omar, should all also be doing our best to avoid wording that plays into antisemitic tropes? Of course. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > And do you agree that people were right to call Omar on her original statements, and that she was right to apologize, not as a pro forma of apologizing for political reasons to people who were being unreasonable, but because those who called her on it were in fact being reasonable? I think that my position in this thread has been made quite clearly, that yes, she was right to apologise, and many people were being reasonable. But many other people were not. And I reserve the right to call those people out. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/146 "2023-02-14T00:31:11Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > . And when you say that “she us uneasy” Did anyone say that she was uneasy in America or as an American because of her faith? I didn’t see any posts like that. I only saw “uneasy” being used in the context of “these specific things she said make me uneasy”. If I missed something, kindly quote it? ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/147 "2023-02-14T00:42:14Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > If I missed something, kindly quote it? …the post, quoted in full for context, but untagging Johnny\_Bravo because they (rightly) no longer want to be part of the conversation: > [@](#): > > Yep. Like I said: it’s fucking exhausting. > > What the otherwise well-meaning people don’t understand is that every country on earth - except perhaps Israel - is never more than a demagogue or two away from state-sponsored violence and antisemitism. Ilhan Omar makes us _uneasy_ not because she’s a Muslim echoing old tropes, but because she’s an _elected official_ echoing old tropes. > > Shit like that isn’t how it starts. It’s how the _ **end** _ starts. It’s a quick and logical jump from there to pogroms. > > Every time we throw a fit about this kind of stuff, it’s because we’re desperately trying to beat back the tide of history and eke out another couple generations of relative safety before it all cycles back around. > > It always cycles back around. I think that this post is unfair because Ilhan Omar is one of the biggest fighters for progressive ideals in congress. She has spoken out time and time again in support of Jewish people and against antisemitism. She isn’t perfect, and has said in anti-Semitic language in the past. But shit like this _isn’t_ how it starts. We have over 300 anti-trans bills on the books right now and many of them are going to pass. States have banned abortions. States are banning books. The police are out of control. The industrial prison complext continues, unabated. Antisemitism is already rampant. It doesn’t start with Omar. Its already here. Omar is not the person anyone needs to be uneasy about. The facists are already at the door. ---
**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 14, 2023, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/148 "2023-02-14T00:42:43Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > To be clear, if @thorny_locust was trying to imply that Ilhan Omar couldn’t be a loyal American because of her religion, that would be bigoted. But he didn’t do that, and saying that a specific set of actions that she took made him uneasy _in no way_ implies that. Just to clarify: a) I’m not the one who said Omar made them uneasy. That was @Johnny_Bravo. I don’t know whether @Banquet_Bear got confused about that, or just quoted in a fashion that made it look confusing. b) I’m not a “him”. (My pronouns are actually in my avatar, if you click; but I’m not expecting everybody to click on my avatar.) – it is, however, certainly true that I didn’t say, and don’t mean, that I think Omar’s religion means she can’t be a loyal American. I don’t think Johnny\_Bravo, or anyone else in this thread, has done so either. Of course Muslims can be loyal Americans. I think @Banquet_Bear has a point that it’s a good idea to be careful about one’s language, because, just as there are a lot of people who think Jews can’t be loyal Americans, there are also a lot of people who think Muslims can’t be loyal Americans. (In some cases those are the same people.) And yes, that’s a non-removable part of the context, even if the speaker doesn’t intend it; just as tropes about Jews and money are a non-removable part of the context. Whether the specific term ‘uneasy’, as it was used by Johnny\_Bravo, comes into that context I’m uncertain. I note that we don’t, as near as I can tell, have any Muslims posting in this thread; or very many on this board, for that matter. Could it be that they’d feel uneasy about it? > [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > I think that my position in this thread has been made quite clearly, that yes, she was right to apologise, and many people were being reasonable. > > But many other people were not. And I reserve the right to call those people out. OK. What I’ve been objecting to was the claim that it was entirely unreasonable of anybody to call Omar out. I don’t know for sure that we’d put all the same people in the ‘reasonable’ and ‘unreasonable’ categories; but we may be basically in agreement here. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/149 "2023-02-14T00:45:32Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > What I’ve been objecting to was the claim that it was entirely unreasonable of anybody to call Omar out. I don’t know for sure that we’d put all the same people in the ‘reasonable’ and ‘unreasonable’ categories; but we may be basically in agreement here. …the people I put in the “unreasonable camp” are the hypocrites who call out Omar but indulge in behaviour like [this](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/03/ilhan-omar-removal-republicans-antisemitism). I think that otherwise we are in agreement. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/150 "2023-02-14T00:57:27Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …the people I put in the “unreasonable camp” are the hypocrites who call out Omar but indulge in behaviour like [this](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/03/ilhan-omar-removal-republicans-antisemitism). I think that otherwise we are in agreement. As Jews, we’ve unfortunately come under attack from both the far-right and far-left. I can’t point blame at one end of the political spectrum and give the other side a pass. As a corollary to something TFG said, there are bad people on both sides. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/151 "2023-02-14T00:59:29Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > I can’t point blame at one end of the political spectrum and give the other side a pass. …I haven’t asked you to give _anyone_ a pass. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/152 "2023-02-14T01:01:21Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > b) I’m not a “him”. (My pronouns are actually in my avatar, if you click; but I’m not expecting everybody to click on my avatar.) Still reading, but I do apologize for that. My bad. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/153 "2023-02-14T01:04:18Z")
You pointed to an article in The Guardian which claims that people like Omar is not the issue, rather it is the Republicans. My counter is that it can be **both** the left and the right. Here’s the article so others can see the headline, not just the link: > **[Republicans have a serious antisemitism problem. It isn’t Ilhan Omar |...](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/03/ilhan-omar-removal-republicans-antisemitism?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other)** > > The GOP’s animus is based on what the outspoken, Black, African, female, Muslim congresswoman is and what she does ---
**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 14, 2023, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/154 "2023-02-14T01:05:02Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …the people I put in the “unreasonable camp” are the hypocrites who call out Omar but indulge in behaviour like [this](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/03/ilhan-omar-removal-republicans-antisemitism). I think that otherwise we are in agreement. I think we’re in agreement on that, too. > [@Babale](#): > > Still reading, but I do apologize for that. My bad. No problem. It’s not really relevant to the thread; but I do sometimes speak up about what I tend to see as the ‘default male’, which may not have been what you were doing. I can’t keep track of everybody’s gender, either. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/155 "2023-02-14T01:38:22Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > You pointed to an article in The Guardian which claims that people like Omar is not the issue, rather it is the Republicans. …to be precise here: I pointed to that article to show examples of people that I considered “unreasonable”, not that Omar is “not the issue.” > [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > My counter is that it can be **both** the left and the right. I mean, if you want to treat the things that Omar has said and apologised for in this thread as equivilant to "[tweeted](https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1565515860466343938) that “Joe Biden is Hitler”, speculated that the wildfires in California were [caused](https://www.mediamatters.org/facebook/marjorie-taylor-greene-penned-conspiracy-theory-laser-beam-space-started-deadly-2018) by a beam from “space solar generators” linked to “Rothschild, Inc.”, then sure. Go ahead. ---
**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 14, 2023, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/156 "2023-02-14T01:49:04Z")
I think there are actual anti-Semites on the left as well as on the right; but I don’t think Omar is one, and I also don’t see the Democrats in Congress excusing or ignoring blatantly antiSemitic behavior among their own. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/157 "2023-02-14T15:20:13Z")
That’s my best understanding, too. Omar did something clueless, not something that demonstrates that she’s personally antisemitic. I’d be happy to condemn antisemitic beliefs among elected Democratic officials, and I’m almost certain they’re out there; I just don’t know any examples off the top of my head. Are there any examples that rise to the level of space lasers or Trump telling American Jews to show more loyalty to Israel or the like? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/158 "2023-02-14T15:25:51Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Are there any examples that rise to the level of space lasers or Trump telling American Jews to show more loyalty to Israel or the like? Of course not. But the other day when we were all pointing out to another poster why “uppity” is offensive, we didn’t say “well, you vote Democrat, so it doesn’t really matter if you use the term “uppity” since it doesn’t come close to the level of racism expressed by Republicans”. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/159 "2023-02-14T15:35:50Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Of course not. But the other day when we were all pointing out to another poster why “uppity” is offensive, we didn’t say “well, you vote Democrat, so it doesn’t really matter if you use the term “uppity” since it doesn’t come close to the level of racism expressed by Republicans”. Agreed with the second sentence, but a little confused by the first. Is it really an “of course not” situation? Honestly asking, not trying to make some roundabout point here: is there really no antisemitism among elected Democratic officials that comes close to what’s on the right? ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/160 "2023-02-14T15:43:00Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > States have banned abortions. States are banning books. The police are out of control. The industrial prison complext continues, unabated. Antisemitism is already rampant. > > It doesn’t start with Omar. Its already here. Omar is not the person anyone needs to be uneasy about. The facists are already at the door. And they’re kicking people like Omar off committees. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I think there are actual anti-Semites on the left as well as on the right; but I don’t think Omar is one, and I also don’t see the Democrats in Congress excusing or ignoring blatantly antiSemitic behavior among their own. On the contrary, Democrats call it out even when it’s a possibly inadvertent touching on a trope. My take? I agree 100% with these posts and will add that, on the list of things American Jews like myself should be worried about, Omar is barely a footnote. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323/161 "2023-02-14T15:56:13Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Is it really an “of course not” situation? Honestly asking, not trying to make some roundabout point here: is there really no antisemitism among elected Democratic officials that comes close to what’s on the right? I was specifically responding to the “Jewish Space Lasers” bit. That’s a new and exciting level of ignorance, antisemetism, and stupidity all bundled into one. But I guess if, a day before MTG made that comment, you’d asked me whether any elected officials on the right were stupid and antisemetic enough to make a comment like that, I’d have said “of course not” as well. The Trump bit on the other hand is a little more subtle, and I think a more common level of antisemetism, and I think you could find examples rising to that lower level on both the right and left. And if you leave off the “elected officials” qualifier, well, there are some real antisemetic whackjobs on the left, for sure. They just don’t tend to be elected to national office. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ilhan-omar-has-not-expressed-antisemitism/979323.md?page=7)