Tell MSNBC to stop blaming Ilhan Omar’s antisemitic tropes on “right-wing hatemongers.”
Accusations of antisemitism have followed Rep. Ilhan Omar since she first arrived on the political scene.
The Minnesota Democrat supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, has labeled Israel an apartheid state and features antisemitic rhetoric in her public statements.
In 2012, she tweeted, “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”
In 2018, she claimed that U.S. support for Israel was “all about the Benjamins,” alluding to the image of Benjamin Franklin on $100 bills and song of that name. Omar has also insinuated that her Jewish Democratic colleagues on Capitol Hill have dual loyalties.
Despite these troubling statements, MSNBC published an article on its website blaming Omar’s antisemitism scandal on “right-wing hatemongers” who have “sought to other-ize her” for being Muslim.
“In 2018, she and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., became the first Muslim women elected to Congress, and both have predictably been portrayed as anti-American via racist tropes and conspiracy theories. Both lawmakers have also faced allegations of antisemitism for their criticism of the Israeli government,” claimed the MSNBC piece.
According to media watchdog HonestReporting, “It does not take a genius to identify the antisemitic trope that she was hinting at” when she made the “Benjamins” remark — “that Jews are a sinister force who influence others to do their nefarious bidding.”
“As former New York Times columnist Bari Weiss pointed out at the time, the comment brought to mind the long-standing myth that Jews guided Roman judge Pontius Pilate to execute Jesus Christ,” continued HonestReporting.
Why is MSNBC making excuses for Omar’s antisemitism, which draws on millennia-old anti-Jewish themes?
As HonestReporting points out, it is clear that MSNBC’s argument that Omar has “earned criticism solely because” she’s a “Muslim [woman]” and “largely from extreme right-wingers” is simply “utterly fallacious.”
The time has come to tell MSNBC to stop distorting reality when it comes to Israel and Ilhan Omar’s antisemitism!
Tell MSNBC to stop excusing Ilhan Omar’s antisemitism!
1. Send MSNBC’s parent company NBC a message via Facebook by clicking here.
2. Send MSNBC a message directly at: MSNBCTVinfo@nbcuni.com.