House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday that the House resolution denouncing anti-Semitism, prompted by Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s anti-Semitic remarks, will also condemn anti-Muslim bias.
Pelosi agreed to add the anti-Muslim bias language amid pressure from the Congressional Progressive Caucus and others who rushed to the defense of Omar, one of the first two Muslim women in Congress, according to The New York Times. Progressives equivocated the history of anti-Semitism with other forms of discrimination and argued that the resolution unfairly targeted Omar over her claim that supporters of Israel were loyal to a foreign country and therefore could not be fully loyal to the U.S.
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive Democrats’ defense of Omar and the equivocation of anti-Semitism with anti-Muslim bias garnered criticism in light of the recent surge in anti-Semitic hate crimes. FBI statistics showed that anti-Semitic hate crimes in the U.S. accounted for nearly 60 percent of reported hate crimes between 2016 and 2017, while anti-Muslim hate crimes accounted for only 18.6 percent.
According to FBI data, religious-based hate crimes targeting Jewish people and institutions accounted for 58.1% of incidents. Muslims accounted for 18.6%. https://t.co/9jVKyngwFW
— Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) March 6, 2019
Yep. Called it
Vote delayed "to include nod to Anti-Muslim bias"
This should upset every single American.
There is NO moral equivalency or even proportionality betwn horrific history of anti-Semitic tropes in the West and any 'new' anti-Muslim bigotry!
https://t.co/7DEC5OvshS— M. Zuhdi Jasser زهدي جاسر (@DrZuhdiJasser) March 6, 2019
Omar’s anti-Semitic comments also appeared somewhat ironic, given the fact that in her denouncement of loyalty to foreign countries she failed to mention her colleague and fellow Muslim Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s repeatedly expressed loyalty to Palestine.
“The sentiment is that it ought to be broad-based. What we’re against is hate, prejudice, bigotry, white supremacy, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told Politico.
“Yes, we’re strongly against anti-Semitism, but we’re strongly against prejudice directed at any group,” he added.
The resolution will now likely come to a vote on the House floor on Thursday rather than Wednesday, a Democratic aide told CNN.
