Omar Outsmarts The Benjamins
Left Hook Archives 2019 3-8
Yesterday the US House of Representatives passed an anti-hate resolution on a 407-23 vote. The bill was tabled under pressure from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and AIPAC (American Israeli Public Affairs Committee) in a veiled attempt to punish Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) for her recent comments regarding the power of the Israeli Lobby.
A few weeks back Omar had tweeted that Zionism’s disproportionately-sized megaphone on Capitol Hill was “all about the Benjamins”, a reference to the amount of money spent by AIPAC to keep Congress licking the boots of Benjamin Netanyahu and his murderous clique. More dangerously to the Establishment, she was pointing out the ownership of the Federal Reserve by a handful of Zionist families.
The Twitter's Hasbara storm troopers jumped all over Ilhan and, to the dismay of many, she apologized, further emboldening the ADL/AIPAC dogs of war, who quickly made political hay in their usual way with a series of media tirades about some alleged phantom outbreak of anti-Semitism.
But last week at a Town Hall meeting Omar changed course, having heard the dismay of supporters who wondered why she so quickly apologized for simply telling the truth. At that Washington DC gathering, she stated, “I want to talk about…political influence in this country that says it's ok for people to pledge allegiance to a foreign country. I want to ask why it is ok for me to talk about the influence of the NRA, or fossil fuel industries, or big pharma, and not to talk about powerful lobbying that is influencing policy.”
Fuming at the temerity of this female head-covered Somali refugee to double down on her criticism of the Zionist Fed overlords, the ADL leaned on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to bring their bill condemning anti-Semitism to the floor for a vote.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the Benjamin’s bank.
At a Democratic caucus on Wednesday, members of both the Black Caucus and Progressive Caucus in the House rallied behind Omar. In response to the absurd suggestion that the bill should name Omar, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) stated, “What would be the appropriate level of punishment – a public flogging? We are all responsible for what we say…but there is a double standard we have to be aware of. The criticism of Ms. Omar has been intense.”
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) weighed in saying, “We need to have equity in our outrage. Islamophobia needs to be included in this. We need to denounce all forms of hate. There is not a hierarchy of hurt.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) added, “Her strength inspires me and so many. She is being targeted just like many civil rights icons before us who spoke out about oppressive policies. As she uplifts my Sity (grandmother) and other Palestinians in the name of justice and peace, she shows real courage.”
Progressive Caucus co-chair Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) said, “This is a member of Congress who is being subjected to deeply unfair scrutiny around everything she says, at a different level than others.”
The uprising delayed the vote, originally scheduled for Wednesday, until yesterday. And Wednesday night Democratic presidential hopefuls in the Senate began to weigh in.
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT) argued, “We must not equate anti-Semitism with legitimate criticism of the right-wing Netanyahu government in Israel. Rather, we must develop an even-handed Middle East policy which brings Israelis and Palestinians together for a lasting peace. What I fear is going on in the House now is an effort to target Congresswoman Omar as a way of stifling that debate. That’s wrong.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said, “Branding criticism of Israel as automatically anti-Semitic has a chilling effect on our public discourse and makes it harder to achieve a peaceful solution between Israelis and Palestinians. Threats of violence like those made against Rep. Omar are never acceptable.”
Twenty-three Republicans voted against the resolution because they had wanted it to focus only on anti-Semitism, rather than on all hatred. One of the dissenters was Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) who lamented that, “Today’s resolution vote was a sham put forward by Democrats to avoid condemning one of their own and denouncing vile anti-Semitism.”
Following the delay of the vote IfNotNow, an organization of young progressive Jews opposed to the Israeli occupation of Palestine who stood behind Omar stated, “This is a victory. Grassroots pressure from Jews, Muslims and our allies challenged the outrageous double standard being applied to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and forced Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House Leadership to delay the vote on their outrageous anti-Semitism resolution.”
And a victory it was, however small. The ADL/AIPAC stranglehold over Congress was weakened yesterday. They crawled out of their lair into the public eye to pounce on Ilhan Omar. And she made the Benjamin’s pay.
Post image via Creative Commons: Leopaltik 1242 [CC BY-SA 4.0]
Dean Henderson is the author of seven books, including, Big Oil & Their Bankers in the Persian Gulf, Illuminati Agenda 21, Nephilim Crown 5G Apocalypse and Royal Bloodline Wetiko & The Great Remembering. Subscribe free to his Left Hook column at deanhenderson.substack.com