Politics

Jewish Activists Protest At Pelosi’s Office Over Anti-Hate Resolution

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Mike Brest Reporter
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Jewish activists critical of the Democratic response to the anti-Semitism roiling the party organized a sit-in at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office Thursday.

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar was accused recently of espousing anti-Semitic views while trying to criticize Israel. In particular, she questioned if some members of Congress have a “dual loyalty” to the United States and Israel. (RELATED: Omar’s Experiences Are ‘More Personal’ Than Children Of Holocaust Survivors)

The House decided to vote on a resolution last week to condemn anti-Semitism in response to Omar’s comments.

After deliberation, the text of the resolution was expanded to condemn bigotry against “African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other people of color, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, the LGBTQ community, immigrants and others,” without specifically naming Omar(RELATED: Omar Facing More Accusations Of Anti-Semitism)

National Conference on Jewish Affairs (NCJA) spokesman Rabbi Aryeh Spero led the sit-in in Pelosi’s office.

“Omar should be censured,” Spero said, according to CBN News, adding that she should be “removed from the powerful and influential House Foreign Affairs Committee that Speaker Pelosi surprisingly granted to this first-year legislator.”

“Omar’s thinking, her conduct, and her blithe willingness to inject anti-Semitic tropes into the legislative process make her unfit to hold such a strategic position,” he continued.

The rabbi echoed the message some Republicans gave in response to Omar’s comments about Israel. Republican Reps. Lee Zeldin of New York, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Steve Scalice of Louisiana and Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania all called for her to be stripped of her seat on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, who is Jewish, said he was against her removal during an interview last week.

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