House Dems Condemn Omar Equating U.S., Israel To Taliban, Hamas

MINNEAPOLIS — A group of Democrats in the United States House of Representatives are calling on Rep. Ilhan Omar to "clarify her words placing the US and Israel in the same category as Hamas and the Taliban."

Omar's Democratic colleagues objected to her tweet Monday that said, "We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban."

Dean Phillips, a Minnesota Democrat whose suburban Minneapolis district borders Rep. Omar's, was among those who criticized her.

"Equating the United States and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban is as offensive as it is misguided," wrote representatives Brad Schneider, Jake Auchincloss, Ted Deutch, Lois Frankel, Josh Gottheimer, Elaine Luria, Kathy Manning, Jerrold Nadler, Dean Phillips, Kim Schrier, Brad Sherman and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

"The United States and Israel are imperfect and, like all democracies, at times deserving of critique, but false equivalencies give cover to terrorist groups."

Omar responded, saying it's "shameful for colleagues who call me when they need my support to now put out a statement asking for 'clarification' and not just call."

"The islamophobic tropes in this statement are offensive. The constant harassment & silencing from the signers of this letter is unbearable," she added.

Omar was first elected to Congress in 2018 after serving in the Minnesota House. She was the first Somali-American member of Congress and one of the first two Muslim-American women elected to Congress.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib defended Omar, saying the "obsession with policing her is sick."

Thursday's spat was not the first time Omar's comments on Israel have sparked criticism from members of her own party. In February of 2019, Omar apologized after tweeting that members of Congress support Israel because they are paid by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.