It began as an effort to denounce anti-Semitism, after freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar used classic anti-Jewish tropes in her arguments against Israel — saying it was “all about the Benjamins” and that Jewish-American legislators had “dual loyalty.”
But following a backlash from young Democrats, Speaker Nancy Pelosi backed down Thursday, instead introducing a kitchen sink resolution that included denunciations of “all hate” that named nearly a dozen different groups.
It passed easily, 407-23 — and Omar’s name never came up in the seven-page document.
Pro-Israel lawmakers voted for the measure — but some weren’t happy about it.
“We are having this debate because of the language one of our colleagues, language that suggests Jews like me who serve in the United States in Congress and whose father earned a purple heart fighting the Nazis in the Battle of the Bulge, that we are not loyal Americans?” said Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.).
“Why are we unable to singularly condemn anti-Semitism? Why can’t we call it anti-Semitism and show we’ve learned the lessons of history?” he asked.
Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), who heads the Foreign Affairs Committee where Omar has a seat, questioned why a move to condemn Omar’s hateful remarks had devolved into little more than an obvious statement that hatred in all its forms is bad.
“This resolution is a fine resolution and I will support it, but I am very disappointed that we weren’t able to have a separate resolution to specifically condemn anti-Semitism and what our colleague said that really was a very hateful term,” said Engel.
Rattled by a festering controversy over anti-Semitism dividing her caucus, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi went out of her way to make excuses for Omar, a Somali Muslim from Minnesota who claimed lawmakers support Israel because they’re getting payoffs from Jewish lobbyists.
“I feel confident that her words were not based on any anti-Semitic attitude, but that she didn’t have a full appreciation of how they landed on other people where these words have a history and a cultural impact that might have been unknown to her,” said Pelosi.
Astoundingly, she added of the resolution:
“It’s not about her. It’s about these forms of hatred.”
Democrats kept arguing over specific language in the document, and a vote scheduled for 3:15 p.m. finally began about an hour later after additional ethnic and racial groups were added for protection for hate.
Republicans alternately mocked the resolution and railed that it had been revised to the point of being meaningless.
Georgia Republican Rep. Doug Collins said the lower chamber was “debating a resolution we should have learned in kindergarten. Be nice.”
New York Rep. Lee Zeldin complained of a double standard.
“Let’s all be honest with each other, we are here today, right now, because of anti-Semitic rhetoric from one member of this chamber said again and again and again we would not be on this floor otherwise to discuss this topic,” said Zeldin.
“If that member were a Republican that member’s name would be in this resolution and this resolution would be all about condemning anti-Semitism and it would be done so forcefully,” he said.
Omar’s defenders, led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said she was being unfairly singled out, and argued that labeling any criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic stifled debate about Middle East policy.
Ocasio-Coertez also said that the divide in the party over Omar’s comment was a reflection of the diversity of the Democratic caucus after the midterms, with more women and minorities coming aboard.
“When we elect the most diverse caucus that we have in pretty much ever, it means that we have more communities at the table, more conversations that need to be had,” she said.
Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign later sent out a fundraising email, saying that she, Omar and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib were being targeted for questioning the influence of money in the US political system.
The resolution details a history of attacks not only against Jews but also on Muslims, but condemns bigotry targeting Latinos, Asian-Americans, Pacific Islanders, Hindus, the LGBTQ community, and other marginalized groups.
It also highlights crimes committed by white supremacists and condemns all discrimination as an affront to “the values and aspirations” of the American people.
The resolution pointedly listed acts of violence by white supremacists, including the deadly white nationalist riots in Charlottesville in August 2017 in which a counter protester was killed.
It also mentioned the June 2015 murder of nine African-Americans in a South Carolina church by a neo-Nazi who wanted to spark a race war, and the October 2018 shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that left 11 people dead at the hands of a gunman who said that he wanted all Jews to die.
The move was intended to resolve a divide that opened after Omar said that Israel’s supporters were pushing lawmakers to take a pledge of “allegiance” to a foreign country.
She had been critical of the Jewish state in the past and apologized for some of those previous comments.
But Omar has not apologized for what many in Congress saw as a recent suggestion that Israel’s supporters in the US have split loyalties.
“It’s up to her to explain, but I do not believe that she understood the full weight of the words,” Pelosi said.