Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D. MN) has once again been criticized for an anti-Semitic tweet, this time claiming that congressional support for Israel is "all about the Benjamins, baby" and then adding that "AIPAC" was paying American politicians to be pro-Israel.
It took less than 24 hours for Omar to issue an apology -- her second one since taking office in January -- in which she acknowledged “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.”
Even so, some of Omar's supporters continue to deny that the "Benjamins" tweet was anti-Semitic in the first place. The journalist Glenn Greenwald, for example, claimed that Omar's tweet was nothing more than criticism of Israel.
Claims about the influence of "Jewish money," however, have a long and sordid history in the U.S., making it impossible to consider Omar's tweet in a vacuum.
On March 25, 1931, nine African American teenagers were arrested on bogus rape charges in Paint Rock, Alabama. They were soon taken to Scottsboro, the county seat, and the subsequent prosecutions became known as the Scottsboro Case. In a series of rapid-fire trials, conducted over only two days, eight of the nine young men were found guilty and sentenced to death. The convictions were reversed the following year in Powell v. Alabama, due to ineffective assistance of counsel.
On retrial, the defendants were represented by Samuel Leibowitz and Joseph Brodsky of New York City. The prosecutor in the case, Wade Wright, made a series of anti-Semitic comments in his closing argument, including the following:
Don't you know these defense witnesses are bought and paid for? . . . . Now the question in this case is this -- Is justice in the case going to be bought and sold in Alabama with Jew Money from New York?
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the Democratic House leadership easily recognized the historic resonance of Omar's statement, even if Greenwald did not. As Pelosi put it,
Legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies is protected by the values of free speech and democratic debate that the United States and Israel share. But Congresswoman Omar’s use of anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about Israel’s supporters is deeply offensive.
When it comes to support for Israel, alas, or anything else connected to Jews, it seems that someone is always going to insist that "it's all about the Benjamins."
Added note: Omar was born in Somalia and did not immigrate to the U.S. until she was 15, after spending four years in a refugee camp in Kenya. It is understandable that she would be unaware of some classic anti-Semitic tropes, although a U.S. representative ought to make a point of educating herself. Greenwald has no excuse.
The teachable moment had a very short half life. She retweeted a tweet that included the very same trope only a few hours after her apology.
Posted by: Steve Diamond | February 11, 2019 at 10:57 PM
"It is understandable that she would be unaware of some classic anti-Semitic tropes ..."
Exactly! of course! Totally understandable! How could anyone believe - why would anyone believe -- that a Muslim woman raised in the Sudan was exposed to and would be very aware of "classic anti-Semitic tropes"?
In general, see, e.g., https://www DOT jpost DOT com/Opinion/Israel-should-not-work-with-Sudan-467647.
In particular, her record of statements to which some, shall we say, have objected.
No possible way of knowing. Sure.
How sheltered are some who pretend to know everything about everything.
Posted by: anon | February 12, 2019 at 12:05 AM
"Omar was born in Somalia and did not immigrate to the U.S. until she was 15, after spending four years in a refugee camp in Kenya. It is understandable that she would be unaware of some classic anti-Semitic tropes, although a U.S. representative ought to make a point of educating herself. "
Huh? Nonsense. She is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for goodness sake. She knows exactly what she is saying. Just like AOC (D-NY) knows exactly what she is doing getting cozy with that terrible anti-semite Jeremy Corbyn.
Posted by: anymouse | February 12, 2019 at 03:05 AM
Many of the new crop of Democrats in Congress bring in a fresh stench of Jew hate, no doubt, along with their totalitarian belief systems (socialism = government control of everyday life).
What's worse? The seventy-plus elders of the Democratic Party (and the vast majority of the press) can't bring themselves to lead anywhere on anything save hating Trump and bringing down his presidency. Because that is their single-minded focus, they have allowed these hateful and in many cases seemingly uneducated forces to join, and in many sense, now lead their party.
They sowed these seeds, and now are reaping their rewards.
Posted by: anon | February 12, 2019 at 01:04 PM