The question posed by Ilhan Omar has sparked outrage at the US Congress ICC News
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The Muslims in Congress have accused him of “extracting false equivalences” between the US, Israel, Hamas and the Taliban.
Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives sought to quell anger among lawmakers on Thursday over a question asked by Representative Ilhan Omar about questions from the U.S. International Criminal Court (ICC) about alleged war crimes in Israel and Afghanistan.
Omar, one of only three Muslim members of the U.S. House, asked at a hearing on June 7 that victims of war crimes committed by Israel and Hamas should go to court. The US opposes it action in the ICC.
The question was straightforward but rigorous, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded that U.S. and Israeli courts can provide appropriate judicial forums for such claims.
However, Oma’s question condemned some of his Democratic colleagues and the howl of “right-wing anti-Semitism” of the right-wing Republican in a new round of death threats sent to his office.
“Pairing the United States and Israel with Hamas and the Taliban is just as offensive as it is wrong,” a group of 11 Jewish Democrats said Omar asked Blinken his question two days ago.
@RepAuchincloss, @RepTedDeutch, @RepLoisFrankel, @RepJoshG, @RepElaineLuria, @RepKManning, @RepJerryNadler, @RepDeanPhillips, @RepKimSchrier, @BradSherman, @RepDWStweets
We urge Rep Omar to clarify his words by placing the US and Israel in the same category as Hamas and the Taliban pic.twitter.com/KfcnmpLRO6
– Representative Brad Schneider (@RepSchneider) June 10, 2021
Omar backed down, saying the statement by the Democratic group was “embarrassing.”
“The Islamophobic troops in their statement are offensive. The constant harassment and silence of the signatories of this letter is unbearable, ”Om tweeted.
Omar shared an example of the death threats his office receives every time he hits the target of the accusations his office received this week.
TW: Every time I talk about human rights I am overwhelmed with death threats. Here’s one we just got.
“Muslims are terrorists. And it’s a rag head. And I hope all the anti-American communist pieces that work for him get what comes for you. ” pic.twitter.com/Kid7qUgZDZ
– Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) June 10, 2021
Democratic House leaders jumped on the bandwagon, hoping to avoid conflict like the House consumed by Democrats in 2019. he voted to condemn anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim discrimination, after Omar suggested that they have double allegiance to pro-Israel Israelis.
“Legitimate criticism of both U.S. and Israeli policies is backed by the values of freedom of expression and democratic debate,” six Democratic House leaders, including spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi, said in a statement.
“But the creation of false equivalences between democracies like the US and Israel and groups involved in terrorism like Hamas and the Taliban promotes prejudice and undermines progress,” the group said.
Gesturing at their concerns, Omar offered instructions on his question to Blinken at the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“To be clear: it was about being responsible for specific facts about those conversations ICC cases, not a moral comparison between Hamas and the Taliban and the US and Israel, ”Omar said in a statement to his office.
“I did not in any way equate terrorist organizations with well-established judicial systems with democratic countries.”
But the war of words did not end there. Oma’s progressive allies including representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez jumped to his defense.
Quite sick and tired of constant slander, deliberately misrepresenting, and public targeting @BrothersMorning coming from our caucus.
They don’t put any concepts into skipping private conversations and jumping to feed the news cycles around them.
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 10, 2021
Meanwhile, Representative Mo Brooks, a Republican ally of former President Donald Trump, said a question to Oari on a radio interview with Alabari said that “the Islamic religion has had a growing impact on the Democratic Party.”
“Keep in mind that Muslims – more than most people – have a great deal of despair over Israel and the Jewish faith,” Brooks claimed.
Omar condemned Brooks ’comments and stated in a tweet that his fellow Democrats did not oppose him.
“When will our associates defend against hatred against colleagues and Muslim components?” he asked.
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