Press Releases

Rep. Omar Compares The U.S. To Hamas And The Taliban In Tweet; Every House Democrat Should Condemn Immediately

Washington, DC, June 8, 2021

Rep. Ilhan Omar compared the United States and our ally Israel to radical Islamic terrorist organizations like the Taliban and Hamas in a tweet on Monday. This tweet is just the latest in a long line of controversial and anti-Semitic statements from the Minnesota Congresswoman. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and every House Democrat must condemn these remarks immediately. Omar’s History of Anti-Semitism and Controversy:

In February of 2019, Omar tweeted, "It's all about the Benjamins baby," in reference to American politicians' support for Israel.
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the entire Democratic leadership condemned Rep. Ilhan Omar for these comments.

In February of 2019, Omar said of her critics: "I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country."
- Then House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Eliot Engel said it was "deeply offensive to call into question the loyalty of fellow American citizens" and asked Omar to retract her statement.

The House passed two resolutions in 2019 denouncing hate speech and anti-Semitism following these comments by Omar that played into anti-Semitic tropes.

In April of 2019, during a speech at the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR), Omar said, "CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something…”
- It’s worth noting that CAIR was founded in 1994.

Ilhan Omar was voted 2019's antisemite of the year, according to stopantisemitism.org.

In May of 2021, Omar accused Israel of committing "war crimes" following days of conflict between Israel and Hamas that saw thousands of missiles fired indiscriminately at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.