Such an anti-semite that in a field of 20 primary candidates for her party she's backing... the only Jew running.

Bernie is most anti-Israel candidate running.

What Omar tweeted: Israel has hypnotized the world

What she could have tweeted which would be acceptable: Israel’s influence on the world stage is greater than most other countries.

Why it is anti-semitic: The conspiracy theory of the Jew as the hypnotic conspirator, the duplicitous manipulator, the sinister puppeteer is one with ancient roots and a bloody history. In the New Testament, it is a small band of Jews who get Rome — then the greatest power in the world — to do their bidding by killing Christ. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, speaks to the Jews about Jesus in the book of John: “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your own law.” But the Jews punt the decision back to Pilate: “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.” And so Pilate does the deed on their behalf. In the book of Matthew, the implications of this manipulation are spelled out: “His blood is on us and our children,” the Jews say — a line that has been so historically destructive that even Mel Gibson cut it from his “Passion of the Christ.”

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/201...

So... maybe the problem you've got here is "anti Israel" and "anti Jewish" aren't perfect synonyms.

Are you trying to take away Bernie's membership card to the Synagogue on the basis of not liking his politics?

Does Rep. Omar--a Muslim, not a Christian--even know about this mythology? If she is ignorant of it, does her statement still indicate she is an antisemite? If so, why?

First of all, this is not “mythology” because it isn’t myth. It is history. Genocide-filled Jewish history. Let’s get that straight.

Second, since when does ignorance of the law provide innocence?

Third, it takes a cursory search to reveal the noxious anti-semitism that is taught in many Muslim communities.

Exempli gratis:

https://www.nytimes.com/201...

Please read

The conspiracy theory of the Jew as the hypnotic conspirator, the duplicitous manipulator, the sinister puppeteer is one with ancient roots and a bloody history. In the New Testament, it is a small band of Jews who get Rome — then the greatest power in the world — to do their bidding by killing Christ.

That is mythology, not history. If she is not aware of that mythology, then she was not promoting it with her comment.

Second, since when does ignorance of the law provide innocence?

Mythology is not a law. If someone doesn't know they've tapped into a racist trope, or doesn't understand what is racist about it, are they responsible for the trope, or only for their ignorance? Does their ignorance of the trope make them racist?

Third, it takes a cursory search to reveal the noxious anti-semitism that is taught in many Muslim communities.

Does this mean that Rep. Omar is guilty of being an anti-semite by virtue of having grown up Muslim?

First came the hypnosis comment. I was alarmed, but she apologized.

Then came the Benjamins.

Then came allegiance to a foreign country

And then she started with the holocaust comparisons

And somewhere along the way I lost my $hit that a dog-whistling anti-Semite Islamist was elected to Congress.

I can respect that, though I've never seen any evidence she's an Islamist.

I think it's important to keep in mind that prejudice comes in many flavors, many of which are unconscious or semiconscious.

I invite you to read these articles and provide your thoughts

https://www.nytimes.com/201...

https://www.washingtonpost....

They both have paywalls. I prefer citations without them if you have some.

https://breakingnewsandreli...

Please see the above comment .

The BuzzFeed article is great. I agree with it wholeheartedly. In particular:

Her ignorance regarding the hatred of Jews is not in itself hatred of Jews — it’s implicit bias, a concept today’s progressives are keenly aware of.

When you don’t know the history of Jewish persecution or the tropes that have fueled it, they are particularly difficult to avoid.

Thanks for reading. 👍🏼

One more thing it got me thinking about. Those of us whose people have never been subject to pogroms really have no idea what it's like to have that hanging over your head.

Some Jews have holocaust nightmares. I think you’re prone them if your taught about the holocaust too young. I have them from time to time. So does my best friend.

That sucks. I am sorry it is that way.

Thank you, I'll check it out.

Yup. Religion poisons everything.

That's a relevant point. But she has crossed the line a number of times now.

It’s hilarious that the photo is of Ilihan holding hands with the nation’s most popular Jew whilst proclaiming she’s antisemitic.
Stupid.
So are all the Jews who support a peaceful resolution to the conflict & are opposed to Israel’s anti-Palestinian policies also antisemitic?
Stupid.
smh

"antisemitic" is a nebulous insult at best......

It’s a made-up term that doesn’t actually even make logical sense, especially when directed at Arabs.
But I think as one time it was powerful & caused people to pause when they heard it.
Now?
Not so much. It’s tossed around so lightly... like racist... that it has nearly no impact anymore.
I found this debate interesting (& a little frustrating, to be honest):
https://youtu.be/K1VTt_THL4A

Ha! I didn't even notice that. Good catch.

Your comment is blatant tokenism.

Hypnosis is not an official Israeli policy.

Omar libeled with Jewish state with An anti-Semitic stereotype.

Do you equate criticism of the Israeli government to anti-semitism?

Only when it isn’t policy. Hypnosis isn’t Israeli policy.

https://www.peoplesworld.or...

"Then, marching around the stage, Sanders went after Netanyahu and Trump.

“I believe absolutely in the right of the Israeli people to live in peace and security” in their own state. “And I also believe in the right of the Palestinian people to live in peace and security” in their own state, Sanders said. And after openly stating “it is not anti-Semitism to say the government of Netanyahu is racist,” Sanders lowered the boom on using aid to Israel as leverage.

“We spent $3.8 billion in military aid” to Israel in the last fiscal year, he declared. “And we have the right to say we will not accept racism or totalitarianism—and that we demand the Israeli government sit down and negotiate an agreement in the interests of all people in the area. $3.8 billion is a lot of money.”

It’s also the largest amount of U.S. military aid to any nation.

Sanders got a roar of approval.

Netanyahu and Trump have basically trashed the two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Trump also undertook moves that further alienate the Palestinians.

They include turning a blind eye to Netanyahu’s attempt to degrade Israeli Arab citizens, including Palestinians, into second-class status—or worse. Trump also moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to the western section of Jerusalem, while closing the East Jerusalem U.S. consulate that provided diplomatic relations with the Palestinians.

And Trump’s envoys openly support Bibi’s continued “settlements” of right-wing Israelis on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, areas scheduled to be part of the Palestinian nation-state, along with Gaza.

Sanders denounced all those Trump moves, too, and said he would undo them. He did not say when.

“What Trump has done is disgraceful,” said Sanders, while admitting the Palestinian Authority (PA), which runs the West Bank, and which won a 2007 election there, has problems with corruption. Hamas, branded a terrorist group by both the PA and the U.S., was elected in 2007 to run Gaza.

But to make sure he got his point across, Sanders said that as president, he would immediately convert some U.S. military aid dollars to Israel into humanitarian dollars for Gaza. “My solution is to say to Israel, ‘If you want military aid, you have to change your relationship with the people of Gaza.’”

At 141 square miles, Gaza now houses two million Palestinians, and it would also become part of the Palestinian nation-state. Now, Israel controls Gaza’s commerce, water, and electricity; the Israeli Air Force and Navy blockade Gaza; and jobs are hard to come by. Sanders estimated youth unemployment there at 60-70% and overall joblessness is 43%. Gaza is also semi-arid and has little in natural resources.

Trump came in for his share of Sanders’s criticism, too, and not just for backing Netanyahu and tweeting that Jews who vote Democratic are anti-Israel. “If there is any people who should fight against Trump’s divisiveness and racism and hatred, it is Jews,” Sanders said, without mentioning the past results of such hate upon Jews, up to and including the Holocaust. With the J Street crowd, he didn’t have to."

And, how, exactly, does hypnosis relate to the article?

Nope.
She spoke the truth.
The monolithic false propaganda machines spun her words into a spitball so obviously ridiculous it was ludicrous, yet the freakoutists flipped over bassackwards into false outrage & hysterics. It was nauseating to watch.
That a foreign government has even got a lobby in our congress at all is outrageous, but the fact that it’s one of the most powerful & most influential is so wrong & so sickening & no very unamerican & unacceptabe it’s mind blowing.
She is absolutely correct. It’s ALL about money... just like every other lobby.
So if Israelis or Jews or Zionists or their supporters want to be all offended because that lobbying group is spoken about the same as any other lobbying group, that’s on them.

Since when is it not okay to speak truth to power?
Since when is it not okay to speak in opposition of a foreign government?
Since when do Americans have to fall in line & agree with everything ANY government or leader does, be it our own or foreign?
Since when do Americans, & especially elected American politicians, have to put ANY foreign country &/or leader at or above The United States of America?
The second a person is not allowed to speak against any leader or government, is the moment we know we are being controlled.

Using the word so willynilly only serves to demean the word & lessen its impact & importance. Eventually no one will care. Just like the word racist. It no longer carries the same weight it used to. That’s a very sad, even dangerous mistake.

What Omar tweeted: Israel has hypnotized the world

What she could have tweeted which would be acceptable: Israel’s influence on the world stage is greater than most other countries.

Why it is anti-semitic: The conspiracy theory of the Jew as the hypnotic conspirator, the duplicitous manipulator, the sinister puppeteer is one with ancient roots and a bloody history. In the New Testament, it is a small band of Jews who get Rome — then the greatest power in the world — to do their bidding by killing Christ. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, speaks to the Jews about Jesus in the book of John: “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your own law.” But the Jews punt the decision back to Pilate: “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.” And so Pilate does the deed on their behalf. In the book of Matthew, the implications of this manipulation are spelled out: “His blood is on us and our children,” the Jews say — a line that has been so historically destructive that even Mel Gibson cut it from his “Passion of the Christ.”

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/201...

--/--

What Omar tweeted: It’s all about the Benjamin’s baby

What she could have tweeted which would be acceptable: Money in our politics is too powerful. Israel is an example of this.

Why it is anti-semitic: Consciously or not, Omar invoked a poisonous anti-Semitic narrative about Jews using their money to manipulate global affairs. This came just weeks after she’d had to apologize for a 2012 tweet in which she said that Israel had “hypnotized” the world, phrasing that also recalled old canards about occult Jewish power. Her words were a gift to Republicans, who seek to divide the Democrats over Israel, even as their president traffics in anti-Semitic imagery and stereotypes.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/201...

--/--

What Omar said: it’s not okay to push allegiance to a foreign country

What Omar could have said which would be acceptable: Americans who want to be in alliance with Israel should ensure they always pledge allegiance to America first

Why it’s anti-semitic: If you’re not Jewish, these words might not sound anti-Semitic to you. That’s the thing about a dog whistle: Only two packs hear it — the marginalized group and their marginalizers. When Omar said “political influence,” both anti-Semites and advocates against them heard “Jews.” When she said “allegiance to a foreign country,” we heard her reference Jews harboring secret allegiance to Israel over the USA, the very same talking point used to mobilize the Holocaust, pogroms, and the Farhud.

Source: https://www.buzzfeednews.co...

.

Every culture & country & religion uses its money to manipulate affairs!
So we aren’t supposed to call out Israel for it when they do it for fear of getting called antisemitic?
No way.
If the shoe fits, wear it.

I’ve got a good friend... intelligent as hell, highly educated, talented like you would believe, strong, hospitable, sharing, kind, etc. She lives like a pig. No kidding. There’s no other way to put it. I love her dearly, but her “bohemian” lifestyle leaves a hell of a lot to be desired. She knows it. She doesn’t care. She has “more important things to do”. She’s Jewish. So if I tell her that she needs to clean her bathroom because it’s far too gross for her toddler who’s on all fours, am I antisemitic or do I give a shit about the health & wellbeing of an 18 month old crawling around, picking everything up & putting it & his hands/fingers in his mouth?

Gimme a break.
You can’t hide behind this shield!
Israel is doing ALL the stuff they’re stereotyped for doing.
How is that ANYone else’s fault?
If they don’t want to get called out on their acts, they should stop engaging in them.
That doesn’t mean they have to “allow themselves to be slaughtered,” as the right so looooves to blather. It means they have to either stand up & own their actions or change their actions. End of story.

YOU gave the list.
It even seems like you agree with her position, just not how she worded it.
Interesting.

I will begin by noting that you are only addressing the “benjamins” comment and not the “hypnosis” comment, with which I have a larger issue.

I agree with much of what you wrote and the problem is that Omar is not articulate, and she appears to be dog whistling to her base exactly as trump does to his.

Is “the Benjamins” a highly articulate opinion about money in global affairs? Or is it a Muslim dog whistling to other Muslims a generic Jew - money canard? The answer is subjective I suppose.

I welcome your thoughts on the notion hypnosis is an Israeli policy worthy of criticism.

Like I said in my last post, if they are doing what you say they are, then what’s the problem with calling them out & using direct language that they understand? If they have to recognise why she would say it, own it, maybe it’s okay? If they deny their actions, continue the behavior that spurs the remarks, then they (Israel) maybe doesn’t actually mind that reputation.
Americans are ensuring our reputation & stereotype will be as or far more horrible throughout history with all the lying, raping, & countless deceptive, shitty things we’ve done. No way to deny it. It’s aaaaaall recorded. Does it matter? Nope. Not a smidge. Someone’s gettin’ rich. Fvck morals!

Yes, I get it, persecution. Only a few million Jews, persecution is easy & hard to stop. But if the Jews don’t want to be persecuted, why does Israel engage in the very activities that bring it on? I don’t get it!

My girlfriend, the one I described earlier, absolutely despises Jewish stereotyping. She freaks out all pissed off if anyone suggests she looks Jewish. “There’s no such thing as a ‘Jewish look’. No one looks Jewish! That’s very antisemitic! That’s a very dangerous thing to say!” is pretty much yelled at the top of her lungs the second any such notion brushes the wax in her ears. Yet, one look at her, her eyes, nose, mouth, everything about her facial features is so unmistakably Jewish. It is absurd to suggest otherwise or to deny it. So if someone is automatically antisemitic to say anything “stereotypical” about Jews at all, then they truly are fitting the very stereotypes they so despise.

What about the rabbis who denounce Zionism?
Are they also antisemitic?

The whole thing is cyclical & very frustrating.
She & I have gone around & around. I get the fears. But what would really ease the fears of persecution would be to reduce the actions that people have used throughout history to justify persecution. Not just screaming a soon-to-be meaningless epithet at anyone who calls them out.

It’s their book, not mine. All three of the trilogy use the Torah as their first introduction to their god. I’d never heard that hypnotist reference before now, or at least I don’t recall hearing it, but that’s no surprise. I’ve read a lot of Holocaust books, written papers, but I certainly don’t know everything & don’t claim to. So if what you’re saying is true, maybe there’s a point to be made. So why are she & Bernie holding hands? Do you think he hates Jews? I do not think that... at all.

So do I have you right then? Do you agree with Ilihan, just not with her wording?

Whether or not I agree with her is dependent on whether Omar is more “money in politics is bad” or more “Jews control the world with money”. It’s unclear. But her hypnosis comment tips the scales for me.

The relationship between Jews and Israel is very strange.

All jews are not Israelis. Nor do we vote in Israeli elections. Yet Jews are often treated as proxies for Israelis, whether that is verbal or physical assault.

I am American, but I can claim Israeli citizenship because I am Jewish.

Israel self-identifies as a Jewish state.

My point is, the relationship between Jews and Israel is complicated, but that is no excuse for holding random Jews accountable for the actions of someone else, or a politician they have no vote over. This happens too often.

I don’t think random Jews are being held responsible for the actions of others. Where’d that come from?
She talked about Israel. Now, Israel being a Jewish state, the actions are theirs. She clearly isn’t holding all Jews responsible. She’s holding the ones running Israel responsible.

I tooootally get the relationship between Jews & Israel is complicated. Believe me! I get it! I’ve never witnessed so much contradiction in my life I think! It’s like everyone from there needs a therapist. Here’s a stereotype for ya: No wonder so many Jews are therapists & psychoanalysts! 😂

My friend is Israeli.
...& a little neurotic maybe.😉

Some Muslims, too many, hold random Jews “responsible” for “Israel”

It is dangerous for a Jew to wear a kippah in Europe because of the risk a Muslim will attack you. Kippah signifies a Jew.
There have been many Muslim-on-Jew murders in Europe in recent years.

Sure, you can find instances of Israelis killing Palestinians in the Middle East.
But Jews don’t go around Europe hunting down random Muslims like Muslims do to random Jews.
The anti semitism contained within these murders is abhorrently anti Semitic.

I invite you to read these to completion

https://www.nytimes.com/201...

https://www.washingtonpost....

Plus, LOADS of people wear kippah/yarmulke in Europe. LOADS & LOADS & LOADS.
I think you’re getting some kind of strange reports or making strange assumptions.
The synagogues are busy & active. There are many very active, openly Jewish communities in Europe. A few haters aren’t causing them to hide or to leave out of fear.
Seeing Orthodox payots & wigs are common.
...& don’t assume for a second that they’re friendly or kind. They’re rude, inconsiderate, don’t give a shit about local customs of politeness & picking up after oneself, etc. People tolerate their arrogance because of the consequences the non-Jewish people will receive. They know it, too.

I don’t appreciate ANYbody insisting they have a right to live in a culture or community whilst simultaneously insisting that they don’t have to integrate or even so much as respect the locals & their traditions & culture. I don’t care if the person/group is muslin, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Wikkan, or what have you. Being respectful & kind & friendly will get you miles further than being the opposite. Actually integrating will see you welcomed & the locals pleased to have you. I know from experience abroad myself & I see it at home in the states as well. When Americans go abroad, locals usually roll their eyes & shake their heads out of exasperation at the lack of respect for their cultures. It’s embarrassing. But no one gets a pass on shitty behavior just because they’re Jewish or Muslim or American or British or German or Argentinian or whatever.

It’s important to stand up against assholism wherever we see it.
It doesn’t matter who’s being the asshole.

I won’t give WaPo/Bezos a cent of my money & there’s a paywall.
But I’ll read the NYT, though I must say, I haven’t heard much about random Muslim-Jewish killings... having lived almost fifteen years in Europe & traveling all over it. But I’ll read it.

Okay, so what’s your point? What does this have to do with Ilihan?

A shooting at a Berlin synagogue by a radical right extremist & a shooting in Halle by a radical right extremist (who also went after Muslims in a kebab shop & random people on the street) aren’t anything to do with Ilihan. They are 100% AFD/Trump-inspired.
Twelve Jews since 2003 have been murdered in France. I know... one is too many, but come on, twelve over 16 years isn’t exactly a ‘UGE threat.

The real problem is that people (especially the leaders) in Europe are generally forgetting that with the influx of people whose cultures are generally in conflict with Israel & Jews (as well as Western culture generally), it’s INCREDIBLY important to mandate integration & tolerance programs/courses. This is the fault of The State(s). Algerians, particularly & especially, are extremely dangerous. I don’t care how incorrect it is to say that. Every one of the Sylvester assaults & rapes was instigated & carried out predominantly by Algerians with a few young men & teens (who were sent alone, without any accompanying family) from other Muslim majority countries. They go after any/everyone. Their culture is extremely criminal in nature.
Again, what has this to do with Ilihan?
If she’s antisemitic, why’s she hangin’ out with Bernie?
She might very well be anti-Israel. But that does not necessarily equate to being antisemitic.

Ilhan represents her district, which is predominantly Muslim percentage wise.

Her comments, certainly hypnosis, dog whistle to the certain Muslims doing the harassing.

Trump didn’t march in Charlottesville, either.

The people doing the whistling, trump and Omar, don’t do the harassing themselves; they’re the whistlers.

Being anti Israel is not necessarily anti Semitic, that is right. But when you invoke hypnosis, which is an anti Semitic trope but not an Israeli policy, the issue arises.

That should be easy to understand.

Well, she’s holding hands with the most prominent Jew in America.
Methinks that sends a might clear message as well.

I've made my feelings about Omar's vote clear but this is just whataboutism.

Since you brought up Israel, you would do well to remember that Israel has consistently refused recognize the Armenian Genocide, and the ADL itself has campaigned against Armenian Genocide recognition. Turkey was traditionally friendly with Israel, and recently Israel has began to forge close military and diplomatic links with Azerbaijan - which also virulently denies the genocide and in which there were anti-Armenian pogroms as recently as the 1980s and 1990s.

Uh-huh. A guy in Colorado was just arrested because he planned to slaughter a bunch of Jews on behalf of white supremacism, but this is the story that gets attention here?

Gimme a break.

GJ doesnt care about actual anti-semites who are ACTUALLY trying to harm jews. But of Omar says something or sings some lyrics, we'll see at least 10 posts on it.

You don’t know how I feel about Nzis. You have a warped perception of what I care about and fear based on what I post.

We all only know you based on what you post, though.

Yes. I have a perception based on at least a year's worth of posts. I like you GJ, but i can see and acknowledge that you spend more time and energy on people like Omar and AOC (and corbyn) than you do on people who are actively trying to harm and terrorize Jews.

I'll admit, saying you "dont care" is a bit hyperbolic of me. So i apologize about that, but i stand behind my point being made.

This Islamization of the left, as has already happened in Europe, has caused an exodus of Jews there. I am of the left, and don’t want my political home to be statistically invaded by people who overwhelmingly think being gay is immoral, or think Jews deserve verbal, mental or physical abuse ‘because Israel’. I don’t want what happened to Europe’s left to happen to America’s left. But as I write this, I realize who stupid I sound thinking I can alter the world in this way.

Yes, in America, nzis are slightly more of a threat to Jews than Muslims. Yet the Muslim population in America is teeny tiny percentage wise. Would the threat to Jews still be predominantly from nzis and not Muslims if americas percent Muslim was the same as Europe? I doubt it.

Which congressional district does he represent?

I worry more about me or my kids being killed than I do about some barely influential newbie in Congress, thanks.

Well then you just remember that some people did something, and rest easy that she is there with your interests at heart. /s