House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) on Monday condemned fellow Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar (Minn.), calling her tweets a day earlier that suggested a pro-Israel lobbying group was buying off lawmakers “deeply disappointing and disturbing.”
Nadler, who is Jewish and, according to his office, represents one of the most Jewish congressional districts in the country, accused Omar of trafficking in “old anti-Semitic tropes about Jews and money.”
{mosads}”Her words are deeply hurtful and offensive, particularly as they build on a previous comment she made about Jews ‘hypnotizing’ the world in support of Israel — another old trope born of hate-filled texts like the Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” Nadler said in a statement.
“While of course our nation’s leaders are free to debate the relative influence of a particular organization on our country’s policy-making process, or the factors that make our system of governance imperfect, there is an expectation of leaders — particularly those with a demonstrated commitment to the cause of justice and equality — that they would be extremely careful not to tread into the waters of anti-Semitism or any other form of prejudice or hate,” he continued. “Rep. Omar failed that test of leadership with these comments.”
Nadler is the most prominent Democrat thus far to criticize Omar’s tweets.
Rep. Max Rose (D-N.Y.) previously called the comments “deeply hurtful to Jews” and “unacceptable.”
Omar, who has prompted allegations of anti-Semitism with past comments critical of Israel, attracted fresh backlash on Sunday after she responded on Twitter to a question about who she “thinks is paying American politicians to be pro-Israel.”
“AIPAC!” she replied, a reference to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group.
The freshman lawmaker also retweeted journalist Glenn Greenwald responding to a story about Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) promising “action” toward Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) over their alleged anti-Semitism. She captioned that retweet with a message, “It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” referring to money.
She later retweeted a user who raised concerns with her comments.
Republicans have seized on Omar’s tweets to levy allegations of anti-Semitism. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has called on Democratic leadership to discipline Omar and to speak out against “anti-Semitic tropes.”