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Does Omar Understand Impact of Spikol
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Continued from Page 14
BY BETH KIEFFER LEONARD
MINNESOTANS ARE NO
strangers to political trailblaz-
ing, however, we are also known
for honesty and kindness.

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar is cer-
tainly a trailblazer, yet her recent
anti-Semitic tweets and state-
ments are deeply offensive. They
have caused consternation among
Minnesota voters, including
myself, not just for their insen-
sitivity, but because they further
call into question whether she is
listening to her constituents.

When the then-Minnesota
state representative began her bid
for Congress, many in the Jewish
community were concerned. As
far back as 2012, she had char-
acterized Israel as an “apartheid
state” and tweeted that “Israel has
hypnotized the world.” The Jewish
Democratic Council of America
(JDCA), an organization with
which I am affiliated, condemned
Omar’s statements in August, stat-
ing “JDCA will not support her
candidacy — and certainly will
not endorse her — because her
views are not aligned with our
positions and values.”
As Omar’s campaign pro-
gressed, and as the public criticism
of her views on Israel intensi-
fied, Omar tweeted “I support
a two-state solution. The Jewish
people have a right to safety and
Palestinians have a right to their
homes.” She did not retract or
explain any of her previous state-
ments, but this seemed to be a step
in the right direction.

Later in the election, during a
forum held at a local synagogue,
Omar was asked about Israel
and about whether she sup-
ports the boycott, divestment
and sanctions (BDS) move-
ment. Omar responded that
BDS “stops the dialogue” and
is “counteractive” to achieving
a two-state solution, implying
that she opposed BDS.

It was only after she won
her election in November that
16 MARCH 7, 2019
Omar’s campaign publicly
stated, “Ilhan believes in and
supports the BDS movement.”
Many Minnesotans right-
fully felt deceived by a can-
didate making judgment calls
based on political expedience
and not principle. Some believe
she lied about her position on
BDS in order to get elected.

In January, Omar finally
apologized for her 2012 tweet,
only to follow it with another
set of anti-Semitic tweets in
February resurrecting the cen-
turies-old anti-Semitic canard
that Jewish money controls
American foreign policy.

The apology she then issued,
after pressure from Democratic
House leadership and dozens
of individual House Democrats,
seemed insincere. The first half
was an apology and the second
half equated pro-Israel lobby-
ing with the NRA and fossil
fuel industry. The first tweet she
posted after her apology was a
retweet of someone defending
her original allegation regard-
ing the so-called influence of
Jewish money in politics.

Just last week, at a public
speaking event, Omar accused
the pro-Israel community of
allegiance to a foreign coun-
try, evoking yet another classic
anti-Semitic trope — that of
dual loyalty to both the United
States and Israel. She also
claimed that Jewish lawmak-
ers were targeting her because
she was Muslim and critical of
Israel when, in fact, as JDCA
pointed out, her anti-Semitic
comments would have been
condemned if made by any
member of Congress, regard-
less of party or background.

To be clear, criticism of
Israeli government policy is not
inherently anti-Semitic. JDCA
itself, for example, has crit-
icized Israel’s nation-state law
and Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s alliance with an
extremist Israeli political party
because both were out of step
with our Democratic values.

When criticism of Israel invokes
anti-Semitic references or gener-
alizes negative stereotypes about
the Jewish people as a whole
however, it crosses the line.

Those who know the history
of Minnesota know that it was
rife with anti-Semitism not so
long ago. We were once strang-
ers ourselves, which is why the
Jewish community has wel-
comed and provided support for
so many refugee groups, includ-
ing our large Somali population.

Yet somehow, that seems to
make Omar’s words hurt more.

She does not seem to understand
the pain her words have caused
in the Jewish community and
among her Jewish constituents.

Omar has only just begun her
career, and she has already lost
credibility with Minnesotans,
her colleagues in Congress,
and other political leaders. Her
apologies ring hollow because
she continues to use anti-Se-
mitic rhetoric. If this conduct
continues, allowing her to con-
tinue to “learn on the job” will
become untenable.

For this reason, we support
efforts by Democratic leaders to
pass a resolution responding to
Omar’s remarks and condemn-
ing anti-Semitism, ensuring she
receives the message that her
words have consequences.

We must exhaust every possi-
bility in pursuit of understanding.

Now, however, it is incumbent on
Omar to immediately stop with
the hurtful language targeting the
Jewish community. We would not
allow such stereotypes to be used
against any religious minority,
and must continue to stand up
against hatred and bigotry in all
forms, including anti-Semitism. l
Beth Kieffer Leonard is the
treasurer and a founding member
of the Board of Directors of the
Jewish Democratic Council of
America (JDCA).

JEWISH EXPONENT
voices, such as women, LGBTQ
writers and Jews of color. We
will continue to offer coverage of
every stream of Judaism without
prejudice, and we will do our
level best to provide balanced
reporting and analysis that rep-
resents all political viewpoints.

In all my years as an editor, the
past couple of years have, in many
ways, been the most challenging.

The news media has encountered
extraordinary change as digital
media has evolved, and for the first
time in my memory, the notion
that a free press is essential to the
functioning of a healthy democ-
racy has actually come under
attack. People in every commu-
nity are divided, but the divisions
in the Jewish community make
the business of Jewish journal-
ism especially tough, as I learned
from many colleagues at the most
recent American Jewish Press
Association conference. Coming
in as an editor in this climate, I
know that no matter how carefully
I tread, there will be people who
disagree with the decisions I make
or imagine that I’m motivated by a
particular agenda. But I can assure
you: I have no agenda to pursue
other than presenting a robust
and interesting portrait of Jewish
Philadelphia today. l
the other Jewish papers, my
instructions to writers and edi-
tors has been twofold: If some-
thing of interest happens in the
local Jewish community, peo-
ple should know that they’ll
read about it in our paper;
and if something of note hap-
pens in the Jewish community
nationally or internationally,
readers should expect to learn
from us how it’s impacting the
local community.

Readers don’t pick up our
weekly publications to find out
what’s happening in the news:
They turn on TV news for that,
or go online. But they do turn
to weekly papers for stories
that aren’t told elsewhere, for
analysis, for articles that strad-
dle the line between news and
human interest. They read us
for strong voices and stories
that bring out the best, most
compelling elements of a nar-
rative. We hope to do all that.

I have instructed our very
able writers to feel free to get
creative and write about what
interests them; writers do their
best work when they’re passion-
ate. I’ve also put a call out for
opinion submissions, including lspikol@jewishexponent.com;
those from oft-underrepresented 215-832-0747
Bronstein Continued from Page 14
immigrant communities soon
turned to anger as the causes
of the fire were discovered.

Abhorrent working conditions
were exposed, and the public
demand for changes was fer-
vent, as the causes were pre-
ventable. Renewed energy was
poured into the labor movement
to improve women- and immi-
grant-rights in the workplace.

We remember those who lost
their lives and their dreams in the
flames. May their memories be
for a blessing and may we find the
fortitude still today to advocate
for laws that protect workers,
women and immigrants. l
locked by managers to prevent
stealing and people from leav-
ing the building. The single
fire escape quickly collapsed
from the fire and the firefight-
ers’ ladders were too short to
reach the eighth, ninth and
10th floors. Many of the young
female workers jumped into
safety nets but were killed as
the nets ripped upon contact.

The fire spread rapidly and,
in the end, 146 workers —
overwhelmingly young girls —
were killed.

This catastrophe touched
the entire New York City area Marcia Bronstein is the regional
and the nation. The grief in director of AJC.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM