The Washington Newsday
Thursday June 24, 2021
After the GOP moved to censure Ilhan Omar, House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer defended her.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is defending Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar, who has faced controversy for comments she made about Israel and the United States.
Republicans have pushed for Omar, a Muslim, to be censured over words she made in a tweet last week in which she referred to “unthinkable atrocities committed by the US, Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban” in response to a conversation she had with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
She tweeted, “I asked @SecBlinken where people are meant to go for justice.”
She then clarified that she didn’t want to draw a moral analogy between Hamas and the Taliban, or the US and Israel, in a follow-up statement.
However, critics have seized on the remark that the US and Israel are on the same level as terrorist groups like Hamas and the Taliban.
House Republican leaders, who are aiming to reclaim the majority in the next midterm elections, have already planned a reaction to Omar’s remarks, and other politicians have already filed legislation to openly condemn her.
“I’m hoping the Republicans don’t go along with it. “I will strongly advise my members not to do it,” Maryland Democrat Rep. Steny Hoyer told this website and other reporters on Tuesday.
Earlier this year, House Democratic leaders publicly chastised Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene for contentious remarks she made about Democratic lawmakers, including Omar. Greene was removed of her committee assignments due to a lack of support from the GOP leadership.
Kevin McCarthy, the House Minority Leader and a Republican from California, has pledged to retaliate.
During a Fox News appearance Tuesday, he stated, “I will promise you this: If we are fortunate enough to have the majority, Omar would not be serving on Foreign Affairs, nor would anyone who has an antisemitic, anti-American view.”
It’s the latest time Omar, a Somali refugee, has been accused of antisemitism, which she has categorically rejected.
Last Monday, Hoyer and other Democratic leaders signed a statement defending Omar.
“The values of free speech and democratic discussion protect legitimate criticism of the practices of both the United States and Israel. Indeed, such criticism is necessary for our democracies’ vitality and health. However, equating democracies such as the United States and Israel with terrorist organizations such as Hamas and. This is a condensed version of the information.