It was uttered to reporters gathered around Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar when she showed up at a Columbia University encampment last week to express support for pro-Palestinian protesters. Among them was the daughter of a student activist. — Demonstrations against Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Omar, one of the leading pro-Palestinian voices in Congress, rejected arguments that the protests were anti-Semitic, noting that many of the participants were Jewish. She said “all Jewish children” will be kept safe no matter what side of the debate they are on, or, as she puts it, “pro-genocide or anti-genocide.” She said she should.
However, Omar expressed the view that Jews who support Israel’s military operations are “pro-genocide,” and faced questions about the extent to which anti-Semitism was overshadowing the demonstrations. We have entered a storm that is becoming increasingly confusing for many on the left. It occurred on campuses from New York to Los Angeles.
Omar, a Democrat and one of two Muslim women in the House of Representatives, was elected with the support of President Biden and others.
“That expression is despicable,” said Rabbi David Wolpe, a visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School. He resigned from Harvard’s Committee on Anti-Semitism after the campus was engulfed by anti-Israel protests.
“I don’t know anyone who is pro-genocide,” Wolpe said, speaking on his cell phone as he walked by the Harvard encampment. “In the process of condemning anti-Semitism, we express anti-Semitism. This is an amazing paradox – a sad paradox.”
Omar’s comments were the latest example of how the Middle East war is proving to be an extremely difficult issue to address across political lines, but especially on the left, which has splintered from long-standing Democratic support. was. For Israel.
Some critics of Israel have cited opposition to Israeli government policies under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and what many Jewish leaders see as anti-Semitism unleashed over the past six months. They seem to be having a hard time telling the difference. He incited many protests. Jewish students said they felt threatened by the demonstrations on many campuses.
Omar showed no signs of retracting his statement, citing reports of threats against Muslims since the Hamas attack that sparked the war. She pointed to an article in The Intercept that reported students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst shouted “kill all Arabs.”in Post to Xshe said. “This is the pro-genocide I was talking about. Can you condemn this in the same way that I condemn anti-Semitism and bigotry of all kinds?”
The fact that there are Jews protesting against Israel in Colombia is not surprising. It reflects the ideological diversity of American Jews on this issue. Many Jews, like many protesters who gathered on campuses from Columbia University to the University of Southern California, criticize the Netanyahu regime’s attacks that have resulted in so many civilian casualties, but He continues to firmly support the existence of the nation.
Omar’s comments appear to have further polarized an already polarizing issue. “It is abhorrent that a sitting member of Congress would defame an entire group of young people in such a callous and calculating manner,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, executive director of the Anti-Defamation League. Social media. “This is how people get killed.”
And it appears to have put some of her allies on the left, including Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, in an uncomfortable position. Sanders was asked on CNN if she was “satisfied” with what she said, to which she replied: “I’m satisfied.” And I believe that the word genocide is being judged by the International Court of Justice. ”
In a speech at Columbia University, Ms. Omar emphasized the fact that “all Jewish children should be kept safe, and that there is no need to tolerate anti-Semitism or bigotry against all Jewish students.” It’s really unfortunate that people don’t care about that fact.” Whether they are pro-genocide or anti-genocide. ”
Director of Communications Jaclyn Rogers said Omar “unequivocally condemned anti-Semitism and bigotry against all Jewish students.”
“Attempts to misinterpret her words are aimed at distracting from the ongoing violence and carnage in Gaza and the massive anti-war protests taking place in our country and around the world,” Rogers said. he said.
In all of this, there was little sign of temperatures dropping. Wolpe criticized Omar for trying to bring up the presence of a small number of Jewish demonstrators to counter what she claimed was strong evidence of anti-Semitic sentiment at the demonstrations.
“This is a distinctive operation, but I wouldn’t be surprised to hear from Mr. Omar,” he said. “I think there are a lot of really decent students at Garrison. But there is definitely a core that is not.”
