Politics

Linda Sarsour Defends Rep. Omar’s Israel Comments

(Photo by John Moore/Getty Images,)

William Davis Contributor
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Activist and Women’s March co-chair Linda Sarsour is standing with Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, even after Omar used an apparently anti-Semitic trope to criticize Israel on Sunday Night.

In a Monday Facebook post, Sarsour decried what she and Omar believe is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC’s) “influence” on American politics. (RELATED: Linda Sarsour Is Too Radical For The Women’s March)

“AIPAC connects donors to campaigns and elected officials,” Sarsour said. “Trying to argue that critiquing the role of AIPAC which let’s be clear is not a Jewish organization, many of its leaders and members are Christian Zionists — is anti-Semitic is ludicrous.”

Sarsour and Omar have both come under fire for anti-Semitic statements made in the past, and both support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS), a movement aimed at boycotting Israeli goods and products.

A social media firestorm ensued on Sunday night, after Omar responded to a tweet from prominent Israel critic Glenn Greenwald, claiming that U.S. support for Israel is “All about the Benjamins baby.”

After being widely condemned on both sides of the aisle and meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday, Omar said that she was “listening and learning,” but still stood by her critiques of AIPAC.

Before she was a candidate for office, Omar previously accused Israel of having “hypnotized the world,” a statement she has stood by since becoming a member of Congress.

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