Islamophobia in Action
By 
I am completely revolted by the treatment of Ilhan Omar by AIPAC and their hacks, by Democratic House leaders, and everyone who seeks to demonize the first Muslim woman in Congress.
First, Omar hasn’t done anything wrong. See here:
.@IlhanMN made NO reference to Jews having dual loyalty. She spoke about lobbies: AIPAC, the NRA, the fossil fuel industry. Read the transcript yourself (transcribed from the Busboys & Poets event by @IPS_DC), here https://t.co/9tfaBJgJOt https://t.co/Ldpb0yvsov
— Alexis Goldstein (@alexisgoldstein) March 5, 2019
That’s hardly going to stop AIPAC hacks from comparing her to Steve King, an utterly revolting, shameless, and embarrassing thing to say. And you have House Dems seeking to cave on her like they did on ACORN, a craven bow to the racism at the heart of America. Look at how Juan Vargas, the Democratic congressman from CA-51 puts it:
Coz one needs a second resolution?
You know very well this resolution was meant as a rebuke to @IlhanM because, you know as an historian, context matters.
He said the quite part out loud. pic.twitter.com/nnAKFRQyzh
— LB (@leftwardbound) March 5, 2019
“Questioning support for the US-Israel relationship is unacceptable.” !!!!!!!
We can’t legitimately question our national mania to support a white supremacist state engaging in policies of ghettoization and embracing a nationalism that increasingly has no space for Palestinians? Even mentioning this is unacceptable? What kind of policy is that? It’s complete garbage is what it is.
My own position on Israel is fairly simple. First, whether or not it has a “right to exist,” based on how it was created, it’s not going anywhere. Second, the only way the policies in the West Bank and Gaza should be acceptable to Israelis or their allies is if they are cool with placing Jews into ghettos in the United States. Of course, the latter would be a completely unacceptable case of anti-Semitism and ethnic cleansing. Anyone who advocated that would be a moral monster. But past crimes done to your people is not a blank check for present and future crimes against another people.
Morally based policies around basic human rights should be what all Democrats support, without exception. Ilhan Omar pointing out the hypocrisy at the heart of American policy toward the Middle East is not anti-Semitism. It’s real talk we need to have. We need more of her, not more craven bowing at the altar of AIPAC, which is no better than how the National Rifle Association acts. Moreover, younger Democratic voters get this and attacking Omar is just going to alienate a generation who is increasingly seeing through the propaganda surrounding our Middle Eastern policy, seeking justice and peace for everyone in and around Israel.