Washington Examiner: Jewish Democratic group: Voters ‘misled’ by Ilhan Omar’s anti-Israel comments
By Naomi Lim
The leader of a Jewish Democratic organization warned this week that some voters in Minnesota are feeling “misled” by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who has been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats for her hostility toward Israel, which some say is tantamount to anti-Semitism.
“Yes, absolutely the concern is trickling down to voters,” Halie Soifer, executive director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, told the Washington Examiner on Monday.
“One of our board members, she’s from Minnesota, she published an op-ed about it today,” Soifer said. “It describes her reaction to the latest situation and how some people are having the skepticism they felt during her campaign realized. They feel misled because of what she’s said about the BDS movement, like she said whatever she needed to in order to win.”
The author of the op-ed, Beth Kieffer Leonard, wrote in a Monday blog post that Omar said before the election that she opposes the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement against Israel. But Leonard said her stance changed once she was swept into power.
“It was only after she won her election in November that Omar’s campaign publicly stated, ‘Ilhan believes in and supports the BDS movement,'” Leonard wrote. “Many Minnesotans rightfully felt deceived by a candidate making judgment calls based on political expedience and not principle. Some believe she lied about her position on BDS in order to get elected.”
Omar first clashed with House Republicans over her views on Jewish influence in U.S. politics. But over the weekend, she feuded openly on Twitter with another House Democrat after raising questions about whether supporters of Israel have a “dual loyalty” to both the U.S. and Israel.
If Omar’s controversial comments are really “tricking down to voters,” it’s a likely worry for Democrats, who have benefited from the support of Jewish voters for several decades. On Monday, House Democrats seemed to be acting on that concern — they started writing a resolution to rebuke Omar.
Omar apologized after her first rhetorical run-in with Republicans, but later seemed to walk it back. Her latest feud on Twitter with Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., led Soifer to doubt the sincerity of Omar’s apology.
“She’s added insult to injury,” Soifer said. “I assume she will apologize again, but eventually she will lose credibility. If it continues happening, it’s going to be a problem.”
“Our democracy is built on debate, Congresswoman!” Omar wrote to Lowey over the weekend. “I should not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support to a foreign country in order to serve my country in Congress or serve on committee. The people of the 5th elected me to serve their interest. I am sure we agree on that!”
House Democrats are scheduled to vote Wednesday on the measure, but Soifer said it’s not clear the vote will matter, either.
“Let’s wait to see. Let’s see if it changes behavior and she really learns,” Soifer said.
[…]