Tagged Rep. Ilhan Omar

The top 10 Jewish stories of 2019

Police vehicles gather around the synagogue where a shooting took place in Poway, Calif., April 27, 2019. (Xinhua/ via Getty Images)

(JTA) — For many Jews around the world, there’s probably no love lost for 2019. As the year draws to a close, the Jewish community continues to grapple with the continued rise of global anti-Semitism — one major community in Europe is facing the possible election as prime minister… Read more »

Nadler criticizes Tlaib and Omar for sharing controversial cartoon

NEW YORK (JTA) — Rep. Jerry Nadler criticized fellow Democrats Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib for sharing a cartoon that shows President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu covering their mouths. Omar, D-Minn., and Tlaib, D-Mich., were criticized for sharing it last week because the cartoonist Carlos… Read more »

Ilhan Omar likens Israel banning her to Trump’s travel ban

(JTA) — Rep. Ilhan Omar likened Israel’s decision to deny entry to her and Rep. Rashida Tlaib to President Donald Trump’s Muslim ban. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., tweeted that the decision is “a sign of weakness.” In a statement Thursday, the Minnesota Democrat called Israel’s decision “an affront.” “Trump’s… Read more »

AIPAC and other Jewish groups join prominent lawmakers in criticizing Israel’s decision to ban Tlaib and Omar

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, said Reps. Rashida Tlaib, center, and Ilhan Omar, right, provided an itinerary that "revealed that they planned a visit whose sole objective is to strengthen the boycott against us and deny Israel’s legitimacy.” (Laura E. Adkins for JTA/Getty Images)

This is a developing story. (JTA) — Israel’s decision on Thursday to ban Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from entering the country has quickly prompted a wave of impassioned responses from across the Jewish community. Pro-Israel groups, including AIPAC, and prominent Democratic lawmakers are already objecting to the… Read more »

Israel confirms it is banning Tlaib and Omar from entering country

(JTA) — Israel’s deputy foreign minister confirmed that Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar will not be allowed to enter the country. “We won’t allow those who deny our right to exist in this world to enter Israel. In principle this is a very justified decision,” Tzipi Hotovely told… Read more »

John Lewis backs the right to boycott — even though he opposes BDS

Rep. John Lewis listens as speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi speaks about the Voting Rights Enhancement Act, H.R. 4, on Capitol Hill, Feb. 26, 2019. (Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., explained why he backed a resolution upholding the right to boycott “at home and abroad” — even though he also voted to condemn the boycott, divestment and sanction movement aimed at Israel Lewis was a cosponsor of a House… Read more »

Prominent pro-Israel donor pulls out of AIPAC conference after saying two Muslim lawmakers ‘clash’ with American values

Adam Milstein seen at The Jerusalem Post Conference in New York City, May 22, 2016. He said his views as expressed on Twitter had been "mischaracterized." (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Adam Milstein, a major pro-Israel funder, has withdrawn from speaking at the annual AIPAC policy conference following a series of tweets in which he accused two Muslim lawmakers of clashing with “American values.” The American Israel Public Affairs Committee distanced itself from Milstein. Milstein, the chairman… Read more »

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says AIPAC is coming after her. It’s not.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on stage during the 2019 Athena Film Festival at Barnard College in New York City, March 3, 2019. (Lars Niki/Getty Images for The Athena Film Festival)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — “It’s official,” says the fundraising appeal from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., the freshman lawmaker who has become the flagbearer for the Democratic Party’s restive progressive wing. “AIPAC is coming after Alexandria, Ilhan, and Rashida.” Not only is it not official, it’s not true. The release starts… Read more »

Democrats’ anti-Semitism resolution tied to Ilhan Omar will now also condemn Islamophobia and white supremacy

Nancy Pelosi at her weekly news conference at the Capitol, Feb. 28, 2019. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Democrats are revising a statement on anti-Semitism to include other forms of bias following complaints by caucus progressives that the original resolution unfairly singled out Rep. Ilhan Omar. Despite the impassioned objections of at least one Jewish Democrat, House Democrats are set to vote on the… Read more »

Democrats advancing resolution that condemns anti-Semitism without naming Omar

Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi at a weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol, Feb. 14, 2019. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — A resolution advanced by the Democratic leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives condemns anti-Semitism in the wake of controversial remarks by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who has said that domestic support for Israel amounts to “allegiance to a foreign country.” It does not name her,… Read more »

Ilhan Omar apologizes to Jewish groups for hurt caused by AIPAC tweet

(JTA) — In a brief confidential conference call with Jewish organizations, Rep. Ilhan Omar apologized for any hurt caused by her tweets suggesting that AIPAC pays politicians to support Israel. “Let me reiterate my sincere apology for any actual hurt my words have caused,” Omar, a freshman Democratic congresswoman… Read more »

An idiot’s guide to anti-Semitic tropes

(JTA) — Dear JTA, I am an elected official in a large democracy in the Western hemisphere. A lot of my colleagues have gotten into trouble recently for using anti-Semitic “tropes.” I know what anti-Semitism is, but am less sure how that differs from a “trope.” Any guidance so… Read more »

Trump calls on Ilhan Omar to resign from Congress for ‘anti-Semitism’

WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump called on Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., to resign from Congress for what he said was her anti-Semitism. “It’s terrible what she said and I think she should either resign from Congress, or she should certainly resign from the House Foreign Affairs Committee,” Trump… Read more »

Ilhan Omar said AIPAC pays lawmakers to be pro-Israel. Here’s how the lobbying group really operates.

Sen. Robert Menendez speaks at the AIPAC conference at the Washington Convention Center, March 6, 2018. (Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar started a firestorm by saying on Twitter that AIPAC pays lawmakers to support Israel. Both Democrats and Republicans have offered sharp rebukes, accusing the Minnesota Democrat of insinuating that Jews use money to get what they want. (On Monday afternoon, she said… Read more »