House Overwhelmingly Passes Broad Measure Condemning Hate

The House on Thursday passed a measure broadly condemning hate, as Democrats seek to move past a controversy over alleged anti-Semitic comments from freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar.

The resolution condemns anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim bias in equal measure, a shift from a draft circulated Monday that rebuked only anti-Semitism. Neither mentions Omar, D-Minn., or her comments specifically.

Omar suggested last week that Israel’s supporters have an “allegiance to a foreign country,” remarks that angered some Democrats who saw them as hateful tropes and who pushed to condemn the freshman lawmaker. Her defenders argued that leadership was applying a double standard in singling out one of the two Muslim women in Congress.

The resolution posted Thursday indirectly repudiates Omar’s comments, saying that “accusations of dual loyalty generally have an insidious and pernicious history” and noting that such an accusation “constitutes anti-Semitism because it suggests that Jewish citizens cannot be patriotic Americans and trusted neighbors.”

But it also includes language condemning anti-Muslim bigotry “as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contrary to the values and aspirations of the United States,” and condemns incidents of mosque bombings and planned domestic terrorist attacks targeting Muslim communities.

Omar, a Somali American immigrant, has spoken about religiously motivated verbal attacks and threats she has been subjected to. Last week, a sign was posted in the West Virginia state Capitol falsely linking her to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

 (c) 2019, The Washington Post · Mike DeBonis, Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner

{Matzav.com}