Ilhan Omar Image by CNN/YouTube

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Jewish House Democrats repudiated party colleague Ilhan Omar of Minnesota after she said AIPAC buys the pro-Israel support of lawmakers.

A letter being circulated Monday in the U.S. House of Representatives among Jewish Democrats urged the party leadership there to have the caucus call on every Democrat to speak out against anti-Semitism.

The letter addressed to Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland and three other leaders was initiated by Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Elaine Luria of Virginia.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“We must speak out when any Member — Democrat or Republican — uses harmful tropes or stereotypes, levels accusations of dual loyalty, or makes reckless statements like those of yesterday,” the letter says.

A day earlier, Omar tweeted “It’s all about the Benjamins,” or cash, when referring to a call by House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California to take action against Omar for a 7-year-old tweet that was perceived as anti-Semitic, and for which she has apologized. Asked to clarify whom she was referring to, she replied “AIPAC!” The American Israel Public Affairs Committee does not give money to lawmakers.

A number of Jewish Democrats already had posted statements condemning Omar, including Reps. Eliot Engel of New York, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Jerry Nadler, also of New York, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee; and Ted Deutch of Florida, the chairman of its Middle East subcommittee. Others included Lois Frankel of Florida, Max Rose of New York and Brad Schneider of Illinois.

Omar is a member of Engel’s Foreign Affairs Committee.

“I fully expect that when we disagree on the Foreign Affairs Committee, we will debate policy on the merits and never question members’ motives or resort to personal attacks,” Engel said in his statement.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount