Wednesday March 27, 2019
US congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were sworn into office in January [Reuters]
One of the first Muslim women to serve in Congress discovered a “hateful” anonymous note on Tuesday that accused the freshman rep of perpetrating a “jihad against the Jews.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) shared a photo of the post-it note stuck to her door and addressed to her colleague, Rep Ilhan Omar — who recently came under fire for making anti-Semitic remarks.
“Stop your disgusting Jew hatred,” the blue sticky note reads. “Your sign says ‘Justice for all’ that means Jews too.”
The note concludes with: “Your Jihad against the Jews will fail. Am Yisrael Chai!,” referring a Jewish song title that translates to “The nation of Israel lives.”
The Palestinian-American congresswoman blasted the note as hateful and “bullying.”
“Stop the fear mongering & blatant lies,” Tlaib tweeted. “Come here w/ the value that all beings deserve human rights, including Palestinians.”
“[Rep. Omar] & I fight for equality and justice for all. There’s nothing antisemitic about that.”
The post-it appears to be in response to comments Omar, a Somali-born Muslim woman, has made that were blasted as trading in anti-Semitic tropes.
House Democrats scrambled to condemn the Minnesota Democrat’s remarks and issued a resolution condemning all forms of hate. Meanwhile, Republicans called for her removal from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Tlaib and Omar made history in November 2018 when they became the first Muslim women to be elected to congress.