As Twitchy told you yesterday, Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar is back in the news for anti-Semitism (again) after sharing a smile with Rashida Tlaib about her “All about the Benjamins” tweet and bemoaning the “political influence in this country that says it is okay for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country” (again).
Looks like they have to reset the "Days without…." counter https://t.co/euMo4A2s7x
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) March 1, 2019
NBC News political reporter Benjy Sarlin finds it all pretty depressing:
The sad part of this dynamic is it's a self-fulfilling cycle. Omar keeps invoking stereotypes about Jewish control which leads to backlash which leads to her believing she's being unfairly silenced which leads to the next incident. That's how both the last two episodes started.
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) March 1, 2019
Hmmm.
Isn't this kind of like saying "Trump keeps invoking stereotypes about immigrants which leads to backlash which leads to him believing he's being unfairly silenced which leads to the next incident"? https://t.co/qrKnobg0Fb
— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) March 1, 2019
OK, we understand what Sarlin is going for here: That it’s a seemingly endless cycle of Ilhan Omar’s anti-Semitism giving her an excuse to play the victim card, which gives her an excuse to double down.
I'm gonna defend @BenjySarlin because it's pretty clear he was making a point about the dynamics of anti-Semitic conspiracies, not offering a defense. He has NOT been making excuses for Omar at any point. See, for instance, this from a few weeks ago https://t.co/NCz8b2emN8 https://t.co/nrTE44NlQq
— Philip Klein (@philipaklein) March 1, 2019
Here’s the tweet Klein’s talking about:
The anti-semitic trope is upsetting on its own, but it's also so misleading to her own followers. Imagine thinking Kevin McCarthy and the broader GOP would be anywhere near Omar's position — and not using her tweets to split the left — if a few donors and AIPAC didn't exist.
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) February 11, 2019
And good on Sarlin for calling Omar out. The things is, it’s not getting any better. Omar continues to spew anti-Semitic garbage, but many on the Left — including those in the media — frame the “backlash” in such a way as to try to make Omar a sympathetic figure. And she most definitely is not worth anyone’s sympathy.
Criticism of the Israeli government is NOT Anti-Semitism
— Jake Gold (@BotsonBob) March 1, 2019
Of course it isn't! The problem is that she keeps stepping on rakes in discussing it, which then gets interpreted as further evidence of conspiracy to silence all Israel criticism. It's a toxic chain of cause and effect that she needs to find a way to break.
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) March 1, 2019
No, the problem is that she’s not “stepping on rakes”; it’s that she can’t help but let her true anti-Semitic colors show. She’s not interested in breaking this “toxic chain of cause and effect” because she’s not interested in not being a rabid anti-Semite.
Pretty sure it’s not backlash that keeps an anti-Semite saying anti-Semite things. https://t.co/fzlCgfdquQ
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) March 1, 2019
Could be the anti-Semitism.
— Alexander Occasional-Cortex (@NathanWurtzel) March 1, 2019
Like with any anti-semite
— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) March 1, 2019
Maybe she believes what she keeps saying and is in fact anti-semitic? Just a thought.
— Ken Adams (@Elohssa412) March 1, 2019
I’d stop being an anti-Semite if my critcs would just shut up and stop pointing out the anti-Semitical things I keep saying out loud.
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) March 1, 2019
She wouldn't be an anti-Semite if people would just stop pointing out her anti-Semitism
— CPAC, wouldn't wanna BPAC (@jtLOL) March 1, 2019
I choose to believe she's just a straight up antisemite. She doesn't have to say any of the sh*t she does if she wants to criticize Israel. She's showing who she really is. Not hard to figure out.
— live free or deb (@vivrelibre1776) March 1, 2019
Pretty sure she is a grown woman who knows exactly what she's doing and it's simply being reported on, but idk, BOTH SIDES I GUESS.
"Unfairly silenced?" She's on the cover of Rolling Stone for crying out loud https://t.co/Pq1HePZhI9
— David Rutz (@DavidRutz) March 1, 2019
She could say "I support Palestinians" without resorting to insults of Jewish people, easily. But she chooses to use negative stereotypes and anti-Semitic attacks. It's deliberate. Easily avoided, but deliberate.
— Some random thoughts (@someideasnstuff) March 1, 2019
Really not trying to pick on Benjy here, but I find it amazing that so many will not give up on trying to frame these statements as accidents and unintentional. No one does this when Steve King says racist things.
Maybe she keeps saying antisemitic things bc she believes them? https://t.co/TMTFCVxWc0
— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) March 1, 2019
Antisemite is antisemitic… And you are worried about the rage cycle?
Maybe get your priorities in order, dude. https://t.co/TgoxY5DXYl
— Pradheep J. Shanker, M.D., M.S. (@Neoavatara) March 1, 2019
I have a theory…. now… what if…. just follow me here…. what if @IlhanMN keeps on saying anti Semitic things because she is your typical antisemitic bigot https://t.co/mz62YEcSIQ
— Kebeh Nayyeh (@KNayyeh) March 1, 2019
I find it amazing how our fire fighting heroes will rush to point out a white antisemite, which is fantastic…. but boy, put a hijab on one and they turn into little bitches tiptoeing and running cover
— Kebeh Nayyeh (@KNayyeh) March 1, 2019
***
Update:
Put on your shocked faces … the “bumbling Ilhan Omar” narrative is catching:
This is so dispiriting. If you can't figure out how to criticize Israel without unleashing a torrent of epigenetic trauma in your own Jewish voters, you're making the problem you seek to solve worse. How does @IlhanMN still not understand this, after weeks of meetings with Jews? https://t.co/Sb9fGKeyCM
— Batya Ungar-Sargon (@bungarsargon) March 1, 2019
As @PeterBeinart recently wrote, anti-Semitism is wrong not bc it's wrong to dehumanize Jews but bc it's wrong to dehumanize anyone. @IlhanMN needs to learn that it's wrong to speak in anti-Semitic tropes not bc Jews get upset about it but bc they entrench racial hatred.
— Batya Ungar-Sargon (@bungarsargon) March 1, 2019
Ilhan Omar doesn’t need to learn that it’s wrong; she knows it’s wrong. And she keeps doing it because she is — wait for it — an anti-Semitic piece of sh*t.
Please stop framing Ilhan Omar's comments as though she's bumbling into traps. She's an antisemite. And anytime she's called out, she follows up with *more explicit* antisemitism.
If you don't want to be accused of excusing antisemitism for partisan reasons, then don't do so.
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) March 1, 2019
The benefit of the doubt was extended multiple times, and now all doubt has been removed. Please act accordingly.
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) March 1, 2019
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