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On spur of the moment, Biden singles out antisemitic lawmaker for praise

The American president noticed Ilhan Omar in the audience and, on the spot, thanked her for her activism.

By World Israel News Staff

U.S. President Joe Biden was winding up for a speech at a Minnesota clean energy facility when he spotted a lawmaker in the crowd whom he wanted to recognize, The Associated Press reported Sunday.

“I want to thank you for being here,” Biden said, gesturing toward Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar. “You never stop working to level the playing field for everybody.”

Pro-Israel American Jews, however, might wonder if they would be included among “everybody.”

In a poll organized by StopAntisemitism.org at the end of 2019, Omar was named ‘Antisemite of the Year’ by thousands of voters who believed she had spread the most hate and bigotry that year against the Jewish people.

As the votes poured in, Omar, who in 2020 endorsed Biden during his run for Democratic presidential candidate, found herself neck and neck with neo-Nazi and white supremacist Richard Spencer and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

According to the NGO that works to hold anti-Semites accountable, six actions propelled the Minnesota lawmaker to the top: claiming the American Jews possess dual loyalty; alleging that Jews buy political influence with money; accusing Israel of having hypnotized the world (for which she later apologized, following condemnation by both Democrats and Republicans); supporting BDS; submitting a resolution that equates boycotting the Jewish state to boycotting Nazis; and gaining endorsement by neo-Nazi David Duke for her antisemitic statements.

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Former President Donald Trump, recognized as the most pro-Israel U.S. leader ever, received a torrent of condemnation after hosting a dinner meeting with Jew-hating Nick Fuentes and Kanye West last November at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. In contrast, the Biden administration has reversed U.S. Mideast policy, upgraded Washington’s relationship with the Palestinian Authority and increased funding to UNRWA  which runs schools and training camps for would-be terrorists, and the PA, despite its pay-for-slay program among other methods of incitement.

In February, Omar was ousted from the Foreign Affairs Committee, largely due to her antisemitic comments over the years.