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Pelosi, top Democrats, slam Omar’s anti-American, anti-Israel statements

Democratic leadership rakes one of their own over the coals for her comments equating the U.S. and Israel with terrorist groups.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

The leadership of the Democratic Party came down hard on Representative Ilhan Omar, rebuking the radical member of Congress Thursday for her comments earlier this week that equated the United States and Israel with terrorist groups.

Representative Ilhan Omar sparked a storm of controversy after tweeting on Monday: “We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.”

Those incendiary comments against her own country brought a statement Wednesday by a group of Jewish Democratic members of House demanding she explain herself, but Omar rejected that call as “Islamophomic.”

As criticism of her grew, Omar issued a clarification, saying her tweets had been focused on investigations by the International Criminal Court and were “not a moral comparison between Hamas and the Taliban and the U.S. and Israel.”

Republican Leader in the House, Kevin McCarthy, had called out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her silence on Omar’s comments.

“Rep. Omar’s anti-Semitic & anti-American comments are abhorrent,” McCarthy tweeted. “Speaker Pelosi’s continued failure to address the issues in her caucus sends a message to the world that Democrats are tolerant of anti-Semitism and sympathizing with terrorists. It’s time for the Speaker to act.”

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To deflect the mounting pressure on their party over Omar’s incendiary comments, the Democratic leadership stepped in and made a rare statement slamming one of their own members.

“Legitimate criticism of the policies of both the United States and Israel is protected by the values of free speech and democratic debate. And indeed, such criticism is essential to the strength and health of our democracies,” said the statement signed by Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Majority Whip James Clyburn, Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark, fellow “progressive” member Hakeem Jeffries who is the Democratic Caucus Chairman, and Vice Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar.

“But drawing false equivalencies between democracies like the U.S. and Israel and groups that engage in terrorism like Hamas and the Taliban foments prejudice and undermines progress toward a future of peace and security for all,” the statement said.

In a bid to end the controversy, the Democratic leaders said they “welcome the clarification by Congresswoman Omar that there is no moral equivalency between the U.S. and Israel and Hamas and the Taliban.”

However, hours after the Democratic leadership statement, Omar was back tweeting defiantly, calling on her party to stand up for “Muslims colleagues” [sic] after Republican Representative Mo Brooks made disparaging comments about Muslims in a CNN interview.

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“We serve in Congress with Islamophobes like @RepMoBrooks and Democratic colleagues wont condemn him instead give legitimacy to this dangerous rhetoric,” Omar tweeted. “When will our caucus forcefully stand up against hate towards their Muslims colleagues and constituents?”