A day after boycotting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic address to a joint meeting of the US Congress, a press release on a resolution moved by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has surprised observers with the inclusion of Jews in the list of minorities whose rights, she alleged, are being violated in India.
“Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) introduced a resolution today to condemn human rights violations and violations of international religious freedom in India, including those targeting Muslims, Christians, Jews, Sikhs, Dalits, Adivasis, and other religious and cultural minorities,” the press release, dated June 23, 2023, said.
Anti-Semitic Remarks by Ilhan Omar
The inclusion of ‘Jews’ in the press release is ironic considering that Omar, a former Somali refugee, has made several comments critical of Israel since 2012 that were condemned on all sides.
In February this year, Omar, a Democratic representative of Minnesota’s 5th congressional district in the House of Representatives, was voted out of the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee over anti-Semitic comments.
She had apologised in 2019 for suggesting Republican support of Israel was fuelled by donations from a pro-Israeli lobby group. Democrats, who were then in power in the House, initially mulled supporting a resolution to admonish her, but settled on text condemning anti-Semitism that didn’t mention her by name.
Five years earlier, before entering Congress, she said Israel had “hypnotised the world,” and urged people to open their eyes to the US ally’s “evil doings.” She has since said she was unaware at the time of the anti-Semitic tropes that invoke Israelis hypnotising people and connect Jews to money.
On April 11, 2019, the front page of the New York Post carried an image of the World Trade Center burning following the September 11 terrorist attacks and a quote from a speech Omar gave the previous month. The headline was, “REP. ILHAN OMAR: 9/11 WAS ‘SOME PEOPLE DID SOMETHING'”.
The Post was quoting a speech Omar had given at a recent Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) meeting. In the speech, she said, “CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us [Muslims in the US] were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.”
A frequent critic of Israel, Omar supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and has denounced its settlement policy and military campaigns in the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as what she describes as the influence of pro-Israel lobbies in American politics.
In August 2019, Omar and Representative Rashida Tlaib were banned from entering Israel, a reversal from the July 2019 statement by Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer that “any member of Congress” would be allowed in. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attributed the ban to Israeli law preventing the entry of people who call for a boycott of Israel (as Omar and Tlaib had done with their support for BDS).
India-Israel Bond
Israel has on several occasions hailed its strong relationship with India and lauded Jewish contribution to Indian culture and society.
The two countries, in fact, marked 30 years of diplomatic relations in January last year. A logo launched to mark the milestone features the Star of David and the Ashoka Chakra, the two symbols that adorn the two national flags.
In his speech during the logo’s launch on January 24, 2022, Israel’s Ambassador to India Naor Gilon highlighted ties going back thousands of years with no trace of anti-semitism in India, unlike in Europe and other parts of the world.
His Indian counterpart in Tel Aviv, Ambassador Sanjeev Singla, had narrated how Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar not only saved lives of several Jewish children by providing them shelter during World War II but also took care of them as long as they chose to be under his guardianship.
On June 9 this year, Israel President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded the Indian Jewish community which laid the foundation stone of a cultural centre in Nevatim. In fact, Nevatim, a Moshav (agricultural community) in the Negev region of Israel, has become synonymous with the Indian Cochini Jews.
Omar’s Anti-India Tirade
In October 2019, Omar received flak for challenging journalist Aarti Tikoo Singh’s defence of the Indian government’s actions in Kashmir. Singh testified at the US House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Human Rights in South Asia on October 22, 2019, describing India’s lockdown in Kashmir as a necessary measure to avoid civilian casualties and to take J&K on the path of prosperity.
Singh also defended the revocation of Article 370 sections of the Indian Constitution by the government, effectively ending Kashmir’s special status. Singh, a victim of terror herself, said Kashmiri Muslims were more terrorised by Pakistan-sponsored jihadists.
Omar, however, accused Singh of using her platform as a journalist to “whitewash India’s crimes in Kashmir”. In April 2022, Omar visited Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and met former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. India criticised the move, while the White House distanced itself from Omar’s visit, saying it was in her personal capacity.
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