In her continuing attacks on Israel, Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar compared Israel to the Jim Crow-era South that segregated black people from white people.
In a series of tweets Thursday night, the Muslim Congresswoman engaged in an online discussion with liberal activist Max Berger. Berger disparaged Israel and excoriated the American Jewish Committee (AJC) for its criticism of Omar.
AJC tweeted, “In Israel, Muslims, Christians, and Jews have the same rights and freedoms. Israelis of all faiths participate fully in the country’s democratic institutions. @IlhanMN‘s implication that Israel isn’t a democracy isn’t only shameful — it’s just plain wrong.”
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 15: U.S. Rep Ilhan Omar (D-MN)speaks to media outside the US Captiol on Jan. 15, 2019 in Washington, DC. Members of the Freshman Class held a press conference on the government shutdown. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Berger first tweeted in response, “The American Jewish establishment claims Israel is a democracy for all its citizens. But the nation-state law classifies 1.6 million Palestinian Israelis as second class. And 4.7 million people live under Israeli military occupation or control without political or human rights,” adding that Israel is “not a real democracy.” (RELATED: Democratic Congresswoman Mocks Mike Pence’s Faith On Twitter, Gets Blasted)
The American Jewish establishment claims Israel is a democracy for all its citizens. But the nation state law classifies 1.6 million Palestinian Israelis as second class.
And 4.7 million people live under Israeli military occupation or control without political or human rights. https://t.co/hggWCw9Pcr
— No More Billionaires 2020???? (@maxberger) February 1, 2019
He also suggested Israel had much in common with the segregated American south, saying in a tweet, “Israel is like the south before 1963: millions of people under Israeli control are denied the right to vote, speak freely or assemble because of their ethnicity. It’s a democracy for Jews only. That’s not a real democracy.”
.@IlhanMN is right: Israel is not a real democracy.
Israel is like the south before 1963: millions of people under Israeli control are denied the right to vote, speak freely or assemble because of their ethnicity. It’s a democracy for Jews only. That’s not a real democracy.
— No More Billionaires 2020???? (@maxberger) February 1, 2019
Iranians raise anti-US and anti-Israel signs during a demonstration following the weekly Muslim Friday prayer in the capital Tehran on Sept. 28, 2018. (Photo by STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)
Omar agreed, saying “many of them” would agree but are in deep denial
Many of them truly know this, but don’t want to accept it. In the same way many Americans knew separate yet equal was immoral but remained silent until brave few were silent no more.
They can attack, spin my words and vilify me, but they will not succeed in silencing me! https://t.co/JSwhoSQuGF
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 1, 2019
Since being elected to the House, Omar has seemingly been in the spotlight more for her comments regarding Israel than for her comments regarding U.S. congressional issues.
She recently said, “I almost chuckle” when Israel is called a “democracy” in an interview with Yahoo! News’s Zainab Salbi. Though many of her past comments have been labeled by many as anti-Semitic, Omar persists in defending almost all them to some extent. (RELATED: Rep. Omar Defends Invoking Allah To Combat Evil Israel)