The House Democratic resolution rebuking anti-Semitism, which started out as worthless, lost any last vestige of meaningfulness today.
The original resolution included historical references to Jews being accused of dual loyalty, including Alfred Dreyfuss, Leo Frank, and Islamophobic charges after 9/11. But not once did it condemn Rep. Ilhan Omar or the strain of Jew-hatred in the Democratic Party that began way before she was elected. For example, in 2003 former Congressman James Moran (D-Va.) made the false charge that the leaders of America’s Jewish community sent America into war in Iraq to benefit Israel, a charge that President Barack Obama repeated in 2015
The Democrats are now proposing masking anti-Semitism with a resolution that repudiates every other kind of hatred in America. They are making the resolution more vacuous to hide the cancer of anti-Semitism that has overtaken Democratic Party.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
The controversy surrounding Rep. Omar and the original Democratic resolution has nothing to do with the Palestinians or Israel. Ot’s about hatred of Jews. Accusing Jews of dual loyalty, or saying Jewish organizations purchase the loyalty of government, are anti-Semitic canards that have been around since the days of “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” Support of BDS is just as anti-Semitic, only more recent
But, mainstream media anchors cover up for Omar by calling her comments “anti-Israel.” The New York Times has joined in using the headline “Ilhan Omar’s Latest Remarks on Israel Draw Criticism.” The Times reaction is not surprising as during World War II the same newspaper buried stories about the Holocaust.
Democratic opponents of the anti-Semitism bill are fighting it with “whataboutism.” They keep coming up with false examples of Republican anti-Semitism. They are bringing up Jim Jordan’s use of a dollar sign as the first letter of Tom Steyer’s last name. But Steyer is a practicing Episcopalian, and the dollar sign was a reference to Steyer spending $40 million to impeach Trump.
Dems are also raising criticism of George Soros as an example of GOP anti-Semitism. But despite his Jewish birth, Soros has never shown himself to be a friend of the Jewish people or the state of Israel.
Democrats also bring up the tired accusation that Steve Bannon, a senior adviser to Trump at the beginning of his administration, is an anti-Semite. When that accusation was first made two years ago, I did extensive research, but could find no anti-Semitic incidents (or racist or white supremacist incidents for that matter.)
UPDATE: Vote on resolution condemning anti-Semitism may be pushed back. Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Progressive Caucus pressing for a delay. https://t.co/EyV8Xm1v0p
— Sheryl Gay Stolberg (@SherylNYT) March 5, 2019
Apparently, the internal forces fighting the anti-Semitism decree are also the two largest anti-Semitic groups within the Democratic Caucus.
It was just last year when it was discovered that anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan had a relationship with 21 members of the Congressional Black Caucus. CBC member James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said that he was “not bothered in the least bit” by the Jewish objections to Farrakahn. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) “went on the record twice to defend and praise Farrakhan.” He called Farrakhan an “outstanding human being” and said he regularly visits Farrakhan including at home. Davis has also said he wasn’t bothered by Farrakhan’s answer to “the Jewish question” — in other words, his anti-Semitism. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) called Jews “termites” before Farrakhan ever did, and Maxine Waters believes that AIPAC has too much power over Congress.
As though the Congressional Black Caucus weren’t clear enough in its double standard – black racism evil, Jewish racism fine – the group surrounded Omar as they exited the House chamber today to shield her from questions from the press.
As for the Progressive Caucus’s objection to declaring anti-Semitism bad, it’s hard to blame them when one considers that Omar is the group’s whip, and fellow anti-Semite Rashida Tlaib also has a leadership position. In 2017, one of the Progressive Caucus’ co-chairs, Rep. Mark Pocan (D- Wisc.), reserved official Capitol Hill space to host a forum supporting the anti-Semitic BDS movement.
With the watering down of the anti-Semitism resolution, the Democrats are abandoning any semblance of a moral backbone.
As to their excuse that there are other kinds of hatred in Congress, they are correct. There is anti-Muslim hatred and anti-Black racism in Congress. But any indication of that bigotry is immediately condemned, whether true or not.
Ask Rep. Steven King about his committee assignments, or remember that during the Bush and Obama administrations we weren’t allowed to link Islamist radicals with terrorism, even though their version of Islam was the motivating factor behind the terror. Heck, during the Obama administration, any criticism of the president’s policies were greeted with condemnations of racism from Democrats. But anti-Semitism in Congress, specifically in the Democratic Party, has been ignored.
Now we have the latest indignity suffered by the Jewish people at the hands of the Democratic Party — creating a worthless, “feel-good” resolution condemning all nastiness except anti-Semitism.
Nothing like telegraphing your true feelings, guys.
Cross posted at The Lid
