Secretary of State Mike Pompeo faulted Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., for making “abhorrent” comments about Jewish influence in the United States, invoking the Minnesota Democrat as evidence that anti-Semitism is on the rise.
‘It’s a great concern to me,” Pompeo said, after referring to Omar by name. “This administration speaks the truth, and anti-Semitism is unacceptable in any form from anyone, but to see it come from one of America’s leaders is just abhorrent.”
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Omar, a naturalized citizen who came to the United States as a refugee from Somalia and rose to serve this year as a freshman lawmaker on the Foreign Affairs Committee, has suggested that some of her colleagues have an inappropriate “allegiance” to Israel. Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., faulted her for using a “vile anti-Semitic slur” and called for an apology. Omar’s allies rallied and succeeded in forcing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to modify a resolution condemning anti-Semitism to encompass Islamophobia and other forms of bigotry.
“To see this from a member of Congress like Congresswoman Omar is — I talked about this being dark,” Pompeo told the Christian Broadcasting Network during an interview from Jerusalem. “The rise of anti-Semitism in the United States and in Europe and in, frankly, all across the world is something that is deeply troubling, and to see someone, a duly elected congressman, behave in that way, to speak about anti-Semitism in that way, is of great concern.”
Omar denied charges of anti-Semitism throughout the controversy that unfolded in early March, without backing down from the suggestion that some members of Congress are loyal to Israel at the expense of the United States.
“I should not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support to a foreign country in order to serve my country in Congress or serve on committee,” she tweeted in response to Engel’s rebuke. “I am told everyday that I am anti-American if I am not pro-Israel. I find that to be problematic and I am not alone. I just happen to be willing to speak up on it and open myself to attacks.”
Pompeo’s criticism picks at a Democratic wound that has had little time to heal, as he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just days before the Israeli leader travels to the United States for the annual AIPAC conference and meetings with President Trump. The debate over whether to condemn anti-Semitism in a clear rebuke of Omar or pass a broader resolution divided Democrats for days.
“I feel let down by some colleagues who seem to have questioned those of us who feel the weight of history when we hear classic anti-Semitic language, history that has led to targeting Jews, expelling Jews from their countries, violence against Jews, and attempts to exterminate the Jewish people,” Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., said after the vote. “Anti-Semitism is worthy of being condemned, singularly. I hope this painful week is never repeated in this Congress.”
