President Donald Trump condemned Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., for remarks largely deemed anti-Semitic and for her apology was in his view "inadequate." (AP/Carolyn Kaster)
Trump said that Omar “should be ashamed of herself” for the accusation she had made against AIPAC.
By David Jablinowitz, World Israel News
President Donald Trump said that Freshman Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar “should be ashamed of herself” for the accusation she had made against AIPAC. “And I don’t think her apology was adequate,” he added, speaking to reporters aboard the presidential Air Force One jet, according to The Washington Times.
The Minnesota congresswoman apologized for remarks she made on Sunday that conjured up the anti-Semitic trope of Jews buying power with money, insinuating that the pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) buys off U.S. politicians to support Israel.
Omar said on Monday that “anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes. My intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole.”
However, she still insisted that AIPAC held too much power.
However, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) defended comments made by Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, another Muslim congresswoman who has sharply criticized Israel and – like Omar – called for boycotting the Jewish State.
“Anti-Semitism is real. It should not be used disingenuously as a tool to silence legitimate criticism of a foreign nation’s discriminatory policies,” said the council, adding that it “applauds Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib for their courage in speaking the truth about Israel’s racial, religious and ethnic segregation.”
In its statement, CAIR charged that “agenda-driven groups – like AIPAC – have for decades enabled that segregation and the resulting denial of human rights for Christian and Muslim Palestinians.”
Upon her rise to the national stage with an election victory in November to the House of Representatives, Omar was condemned for her comment in 2012 that “Israel has hypnotized the world; may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”
She has since tried to explain those comments, but not everyone accepted it as an apology.
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