Democratic Presidential Candidates defends Ilhan Omar

by TMO Staff

 Three Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren have defended the right of congresswoman Ilhan Omar to criticize pro-Israel groups and politicians, which have been called anti-Semitic.

Sanders, who is Jewish, said criticism of Omar is aimed at stopping a discussion about American’s foreign policy toward Israel. “What I fear is going on in the House now is an effort to target Congresswoman Omar as a way of stifling that debate,” the Vermont independent said in a statement. “That’s wrong.”

In her own statement, Harris expressed concern that the focus on Omar “may put her at risk.”

Warren also issued a statement saying” We have a moral duty to combat hateful ideologies in our own country and around the world — and that includes both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. In a democracy, we can and should have an open, respectful debate about the Middle East that focuses on policy. Branding criticism of Israel as automatically anti-Semitic has a chilling effect on our public discourse and makes it harder to achieve a peaceful solution between Israelis and Palestinians. Threats of violence — like those made against Rep. Omar — are never acceptable.”

Omar, in a tweet, had insinuated that the pro-Israel lobbying groups were exercising “political influence in this country.

The pro-Israel lobby plays a significant role in the electoral process through political donations. Data from Opensecrets.org a website that tracks money in politics reported that $14.9 million were contributed the prop Israeli groups in the 2018 election cycle.

The website ranks the Israeli lobby as the 50th-biggest spender in the last cycle

Donations by the pro-Israel lobby were more to Democrats than Republicans,

OpenSecrets.org data also reported Israel’s government spent $15.8 million on lobbying-related efforts in 2018, while the nonprofit Jewish Agency for Israel spent $8.3 million.