Let's Stop Pretending Ilhan Omar Isn't Anti-Semitic (Even If Kicking Her Off The Foreign Affairs Committee Will Probably Backfire)

On a party line vote, with one Republican voting present, the House of Representatives has voted to boot Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. 

When Kevin McCarthy his intentions to remove Omar (as well as California Democrats Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell) from their committee assignments, I made my thoughts known on the subject. Then as now I have mixed feelings about it. There is no question that Omar harbor anti-Semitic views. Yet it's hard to take Republicans seriously objecting to Omar's anti-Semitism when they are perfectly happy to give committee assignments to anti-Semites like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar who like to pal around with Holocaust deniers. And why single out Omar among Democrats when Rashida Tlaib is every bit as anti-Semitic? 

But most of my ambiguity centers around how stripping Greene and Gosar of their committee assignments augmented their standing rather than diminished it. I suspect the same will happen with Omar. She proclaimed, “My voice will get louder and stronger, and my leadership will be celebrated around the world, as it has been.” As much contempt as I have for her, she's probably right.

This is because the Democratic Party (along with left-wing Jewish organizations) now see fit to pretend that Omar isn't anti-Semitic. They rationalize their support for Omar claiming her removal was motivated by racism (i.e. Mark Pocan, Cori Bush and Shontel Brown among other Democratic representatives). They pretend that Omar hasn't questioned the loyalty of American Jews. They look the other way while Omar opposes sanctions against Russia, Venezuela, Iran and Turkey while supporting them against Israel. If someone is prepared to only support the use of sanctions against the world's only Jewish state this means this person harbors malice towards Jews. 

But because Omar has a D in front of her name, her anti-Semitism is acceptable to them and their allies just as the anti-Semitism of Greene and Gosar is acceptable to Republicans and their allies. As such I trust neither party when it comes to anti-Semitism. 

Since Republicans have embraced Trumpism, I cannot vote for them unless they are explicitly anti-Trump (i.e. Liz Cheney). In the wake of the pandemic, I supported Democrats in 2020 and 2022. While I am prepared another ballot for President Biden so long as Democrats at large insist on championing Omar and wantonly ignoring her anti-Semitism I cannot in good conscience continue to support them on a consistent basis. If a candidate wants me to be for them then that candidate has to be for me and my fellow Jews. As Rabbi Hillel said, "If I am not for myself then who is for me?"