WASHINGTON (Halbeeg News)-Minnesota Congress member Ilhan Omar has reaffirmed the challenging role of lobby groups in US politics.
Omar was speaking after she faced criticism from pro-Israel groups in the states after she condemned Tel Aviv human rights violations meted against Palestinians.
The Congresswoman alongside her Michigan representative Rashida Tlalib who has Palestinian roots has questioned Washington continuous support to Israel without accountability on human right issues.
On Sunday, Omar retweeted a post by journalist Glenn Greenwald that read, in part: “It’s stunning how much time US political leaders spend defending a foreign nation even if it means attacking free speech rights of Americans,” adding the line: “It’s all about the Benjamins baby.”
An editor from The Forward newspaper then tweeted, “Would love to know who @IlhanMN thinks is paying American politicians to be pro-Israel … Bad form, Congresswoman. That’s the second anti-Semitic trope you’ve tweeted,” to which Omar then tweeted in response,” AIPAC!”
Omar’s apologized on Monday via her official tweeter posting, “Anti-Semitism is real, and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes.”
Omar went on to offer an “unequivocal apology” and added, “At the same time, I reaffirm the problematic role of lobbyists in our politics, whether it be AIPAC, the N.R.A. or the fossil fuel industry.”
President Donald Trump has since called on Rep. Ilhan Omar to resign from Congress over her tweets that were condemned by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle as anti-Semitic.
Rep. Dan Kildee defended fellow Democratic Rep. Omar’s controversial weekend tweets saying that they were not anti-Semitic.
“I wouldn’t take it as anti-Semitism,” Kildee told CNN when asked what he thought of the criticism that Omar insinuated that Jewish money was controlling lawmakers.
Kildee, who represents a Michigan district, said that he believes Omar was trying to bring light to the fact that there are people who make campaign contributions specifically based on Israel policy.
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