[ad_1]
The moderate Democrats who condemned Rep. Ilhan Omar over her comments apparently comparing the United States and Israel to Hamas say they are happy she issued a clarification Thursday but still “frustrated” about her longer record of making allegedly anti-Semitic remarks.
Reps. Jason Gottheimer, D-N.J., Elaine Luria, D-Va., and Brad Schneider, D-Ill., all signed onto the statement by a group of House Democrats saying comments from Omar, D-Minn., “equating the United States and Israel to Hamas… at best discredits one’s intended argument and at worst reflects deep-seated prejudice.” They expressed varying degrees of forgiveness for Omar Thursday and Friday after she met their demand to revisit her statement.
“There’s a long history of comments here that I have found unacceptable and deeply concerning and this just adds to the record. So am I satisfied? I’m just really frustrated by the continued series of comments targeted at the U.S.-Israel relationship,” Gottheimer told Fox News when asked if he was “satisfied” with Omar’s clarification.
Omar issued a tweet Monday about “unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.” But she partially walked back the statement Thursday, saying there is “not a moral comparison between Hamas and the Taliban and the U.S. and Israel. “
Specifically addressing Omar’s Thursday clarification, Luria said she’s “taking that as she now is saying that the words she used she recognizes that she could’ve used different words or a different comparison and I think we need to turn the page.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Reps. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass.; Brad Sherman, D-Calif.; Ted Deutch, D-Fla.; Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.; Lois Frankel, D-Fla.; Kathy Manning, D-N.C.; Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.; Dean Phillips, D-Minn.; and Kim Schrier, D-Wash., didn’t respond to requests for comment for this story.
The latest episode of Omar and other “Squad” Democrats clashing with party moderates follows years of tensions between the factions.
Just weeks ago, Democrats – including Wasserman Schultz and Omar – were going to the House floor giving radically different speeches on the fighting between Hamas and Israel. And as recently as 2019 the House passed a resolution condemning bigotry in response to comments from Omar suggesting that Israel supporters were pushing for U.S. politicians to declare “allegiance” to Israel. That was seen as a form of the longstanding “dual loyalties” trope that has been used against Jewish people for centuries.
Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich, Jason Donner and Michael Lundin contributed to this report.