Thursday March 28, 2019
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., left, joins Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as Democrats rally outside the Capitol ahead of passage of H.R. 1, in Washington, Friday, March 8, 2019AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Speaker Pelosi told the AIPAC audience on Tuesday morning, 'we must also be vigilant against bigoted or dangerous ideologies masquerading as policy, and that includes BDS'
Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar took a swipe at Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s condemnation of the BDS movement on Tuesday.
The speaker condemned the “anti-Semitic myth of dual loyalty” and told the AIPAC audience on Tuesday morning, "we must also be vigilant against bigoted or dangerous ideologies masquerading as policy, and that includes BDS," referring to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
“Israel and America are connected now and forever,” Pelosi said at the pro-Israel lobby’s annual event. “We will never allow anyone to make Israel a wedge issue.”
"A condemnation for people that want to exercise their First Amendment rights is beneath any leader, and I hope that we find a better use of language when we are trying to speak as members of Congress that are sworn to protect the Constitution," Minnesota's Omar told reporters in a Capitol hallway Tuesday - according to The Hill.
Omar, as well as Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, both publicly support the BDS movement.
Pelosi's mention of the “anti-Semitic myth of dual loyalty” was apparently also in reference to Omar. In early March, Democratic House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel called on Omar to apologize for her “vile anti-Semitic slur.” He was referring to comments Omar made at D.C. appearance alongside Tlaib in which she said, “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country.”
"I want to ask, 'Why is it OK for me to talk about the influence of the NRA, or fossil fuel industries or Big Pharma, and not talk about a powerful lobbying group that is influencing policy?’” she added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking after Pelosi, told the AIPAC conference, in a speech transmitted via satellite and marred with technical glitches: "Take it from this Benjamin, it's not about the Benjamins," referring to Rep. Ilhan Omar's controversial tweet slamming the pro-Israel lobby.
Speaking from the Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu argued U.S. support for Israel "is not because they want our money, it’s because they share our values," calling for continued bi-partisan support for Israel.