Ilhan Omar Dodges Question About Anti-Semitism; Did Not Mention Anything About Jewish People or Offensive Comments Regarding Israel

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WASHINGTON – Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar dodged a question about anti-Semitism Tuesday morning and did not mention anything about Jewish people or her offensive comments regarding Israel.

Omar was asked during a panel at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., about what she has “learned about anti-Semitism from engaging in these debates.”

“So a lot of the conversation, oftentimes it’s one that refuses to separate, I think, discussions around the country and its policies and one that is hatred for the people,” Omar said.

“I think I am at a breaking point where we’re starting to have a conversation about what it means to be of people that harbor hate and the kind of journey we could all be on in fighting against discrimination collectively while still having the freedom to debate foreign policy — not only think about how we engage our allies but also how we criticize and hold them accountable,” Omar continued.

Omar has come under fire for a tweet in 2012. “Israel has hypnotized the world,” she wrote. Omar said in January she was unaware of the anti-Semitic connotations associated with the word “hypnotized” in relation to Jewish people. She was also accused of anti-Semitic behavior by New York GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin after he received numerous voicemails on his office phone calling him offensive names.

Omar was asked about anti-Semitism but did not mention anything regarding the question.

The freshman Democratic congresswoman has also said she “almost chuckle[s]” when Israel is labeled as a “democracy,” during an interview with Yahoo News in late January.

Omar did not take questions from the press and members of the press were held inside the room until Omar had exited in her car.

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