June 11, 2021- 7:00 p.m.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday she will take no further action against Rep. Ilhan Omar for comparing the US and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban – and insisted she has ‘the right to make that point’.
‘I think that she clarified her remarks and we accept that, and she has a point that she wanted to make and she has a right to make that point,’ Pelosi said at a press conference. ‘There’s some unease about how it was interpreted.’
‘She made her clarification’, Pelosi insisted before moving onto the next question.
After her appearance, she posed for a photo and bashed Republicans by saying: ‘Can you imagine those people though? How awful they are?’
The Democratic speaker responded after Omar said the US and Israel had committed ‘unspeakable atrocities’ like terrorist groups and sparked an intense battle within the party.
The party has been thrown into disarray at the start of President Joe Biden’s eight-day trip to Europe.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib blasted Pelosi and Democratic leadership for a statement they put out Thursday saying Rep. Omar was fomenting ‘prejudice’ by comparing the U.S. and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban.Â
‘Freedom of speech doesn’t exist for Muslim women in Congress. The benefit of the doubt doesn’t exist for Muslim women in Congress,’ Tlaib tweeted two hours later. ‘House Democratic leadership should be ashamed of its relentless, exclusive tone policing of Congresswomen of color.’
Omar on Thursday accused her critics within the Democratic Party of whipping up ‘Islamic hate against her’ after they complained she was comparing atrocities committed by American and Israeli troops with those of terrorist groups.
Beyond support from fellow Squad members Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Congressional Progressive Caucus also came out in defense of Omar, a Minnesota Democrat.
Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal called Omar a ‘deeply valued member’ of the Progressive Caucus in a statement sent out Thursday afternoon, several hours after Pelosi and the five top House Democrats sent out theirs.
‘We cannot ignore a right-wing media echo chamber that has deliberately and routinely attacked a Black, Muslim woman in Congress, distorting her views and intentions, and resulting in threats against Rep. Omar and her staff,’ Jayapal said. ‘We urge our colleagues not to abet or amplify such divisive and bad-faith tactics.’Â
‘Members of the Democratic caucus owe it to each other to pause, reflect, and engage directly with each other when misunderstandings arise, and stand together against cynical attempts to divide our caucus,’ she added.Â
Pelosi stepped in on Thursday afternoon in an effort to end the feuding.
She said legitimate criticism of the U.S. and Israel was protected by the values of democratic debate.
‘But drawing false equivalencies between democracies like the U.S. and Israel and groups that engage in terrorism like Hamas and the Taliban foments prejudice and undermines progress toward a future of peace and security for all,’ she said.
‘We welcome the clarification by Congresswoman Omar that there is no moral equivalency between the U.S. and Israel and Hamas and the Taliban.’Â Â
Omar has frequently been at odds with members of her own party on the Middle East.
The latest row stems from her pressing Secretary of State Anthony Blinken for an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into abuses committed by both Hamas and Israeli security forces. Â
The American-Somali congresswoman’s comments come shortly after a ceasefire was called between Israel and Hamas, operating in Gaza, following an 11-day deadly conflict.
More than 250 people were killed in the conflict and thousands others were injured.
Omar saw some backlash for her tweet, including questions of why she serves in Congress if she ‘hates America.’
‘If Ilhan Omar hates America so much to say that US committed atrocities equal to #Hamas and #Taliban why is she a member of US Congress?’ TV reporter Trish Regan tweeted. ‘She should resign!!’
Former CIA Operations Officer Bryan Dean Wright, tweeted: ‘Ilhan Omar claims — without evidence — that America is a war criminal, sharing the honor with Hamas, the Taliban, and her favorite of all villains — the Jewish State.’
Last month, Omar accused Israel of committing ‘war crimes’ in the conflict between the Jewish state and Hamas, which ws operating in Palestinian territory of Gaza.Â
Last month, Omar accused Israel of committing ‘war crimes’ in the conflict between the Jewish state and Hamas, which ws operating in Palestinian territory of Gaza.
‘We should all be grateful that a ceasefire will prevent more civilians and children from being killed,’ Omar tweeted in May. ‘But now what? We need accountability for every war crime committed.’
‘And we need to stop underwriting crimes against humanity while doing nothing to end the occupation,’ she added.
During the 11-day conflict last month, thousands of missiles were fired at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv – along with other areas in Israel – from Gaza.
‘We should all be grateful that a ceasefire will prevent more civilians and children from being killed,’ Omar tweeted in May. ‘But now what? We need accountability for every war crime committed.’
‘And we need to stop underwriting crimes against humanity while doing nothing to end the occupation,’ she added.
During the 11-day conflict last month, thousands of missiles were fired at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv – along with other areas in Israel – from Gaza.
Israel’s Iron Dome defense system went into action and the country retaliated with missiles of their own aimed at areas where they believed Hamas was operating – like a media building.
