[ad_1]
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came to the defense of fellow congressional freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar in response to the backlash Omar has received due to her comments about Israel.
According to USA Today, on Monday and Tuesday the outspoken New York Democrat posted a series of messages on social media as the House prepares to vote on a resolution condemning anti-Semitism.
Ocasio-Cortez’s defense of Omar comes as the Minnesota congresswoman is facing a new round of criticism after remarks that suggested supporters of Israel in America are pushing U.S. lawmakers to take “allegiance to a foreign country.”
It is the second time in as many months that Omar has been accused of anti-semitism. Last month, she apologized for a tweet that came as a response to a journalist tweeting that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, had threatened punishment for Omar and House colleague Rashida Tlaib, a Muslim-American and a Democrat from Michigan, for their stances on Israel. In response, Omar tweeted, “It’s all about the Benjamins baby.”
Things also became dramatic when Omar suggested in a tweet that there are members of Congress paid by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to support Israel.
READ MORE: Rep. Omar apologizes after critics call ‘Benjamins’ comment anti-Semitic
In the tweets this week, the New York Democrat called out lawmakers for unleashing an inconsistent standard in their condemnation of bigotry. Ocasio-Cortez contends that while Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, has been accused on both sides of the aisle of using anti-Semitic tropes in her critiques of U.S. policy in the Middle East – others have gone on unchecked for much more egregious offenses.
It’s not my position to tell people how to feel, or that their hurt is invalid.
But incidents like these do beg the question: where are the resolutions against homophobic statements? For anti-blackness? For xenophobia? For a member saying he’ll “send Obama home to Kenya?”
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 5, 2019
That last example is in reference to racially charged comments Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., made in 2012, in which he vowed to send then-President Barack Obama “home to Kenya.”
READ MORE: Billboard slams Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over Amazon not coming to NYC
If House leadership is creating a standard & committing to calling a resolution for every incident – whether it’s the Congressional Black Caucus, CHC, etc, then thats a clear way to address the issue & we can all understand.
But if they’re not, I think it’s valid to ask why not.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 5, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez’s tweets were sparked by comments from Democratic California Rep. Juan Vargas, who posted, “It is disturbing that Rep. Omar continues to perpetuate hurtful anti-Semitic stereotypes that misrepresent our Jewish community. Additionally, questioning support for the U.S.-Israel relationship is unacceptable.”
But Ocasio-Cortez responded:
I‘m curious if Rep. Vargas will further explain his stance here that it’s unacceptable to even *question* US foreign policy.
Plenty of Dem members have asserted that discussion + debate on this issue is fair and merited. Is this stance a departure from that? https://t.co/2tcelsxFCU
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 5, 2019
Democrats have begun to draft a resolution condemning Omar’s remarks and it was expected to be introduced on Wednesday.
[ad_2]
Source link