In the wake of anti-Semitic statements for which she eventually apologized, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., signaled support for an Israeli-Palestinian two-state solution in a Sunday editorial.
The piece, published in the Washington Post, strikes a more moderate tone toward Middle East policy and Israel than that of comments and tweets the freshman congresswoman has made the past few months.
“I support a two-state solution, with internationally recognized borders, which allows for both Israelis and Palestinians to have their own sanctuaries and self-determination,” Omar writes. “This has been official bipartisan U.S. policy across two decades.”
“When I criticize certain Israeli government actions in Gaza or settlements in the West Bank, it is because I believe these actions not only threaten the possibility of peace in the region — they also threaten the United States’ own national security interests,” she writes.
In the piece, Omar quotes President Trump’s former defense secretary James Mattis saying, “The current situation between those two peoples is unsustainable.”
The congresswoman writes that the United States must also acknowledge the area as the “historical homeland of Palestinians.” Without a state, she says, “the Palestinian people live in a state of permanent refugeehood and displacement. This, too, is a refugee crisis, and they, too, deserve freedom and dignity.”
Omar recently drew controversy for tweeting that congressional support for Israel was “all about the Benjamins.” She also said that supporters of the U.S. ally have dual allegiances. The statements drew condemnation across the board, leading to a Democratic resolution that was seen as a veiled rebuke of her comments. That resolution was later watered down to condemn all forms of racism.
Sunday’s piece was Omar’s first op-ed since the comments. In it, she attempts to strike a mild, non-interventionist tone, arguing in favor of “an inclusive foreign policy” that focuses on “human rights, justice, and peace as the pillars of America’s engagement in the world.” She says that her vision for foreign policy is fewer troops abroad and less military engagement.
“This means reorienting our foreign affairs to focus on diplomacy and economic and cultural engagement,” Omar writes.
