BREAKING News: House Dems plan to introduce resolution condemning anti-Semitic comments amid Omar controversy

Despite only being in Congress since January, Omar has been the center of controversy over numerous remarks she’s made that have been labelled  anti-Semitic.

“I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country,” Omar said in reference to Israel. "I want to ask why is it OK for me to talk about the influence of the NRA, of fossil fuel industries, or big pharma, and not talk about a powerful lobbying movement that is influencing policy."

Amid widespread criticism from a number of Omar’s congressional colleagues, the freshman lawmaker chose to double down on her stance.

“I have not mischaracterized our relationship with Israel, I have questioned it and that has been clear from my end,” she tweeted. “I am told every day that I am anti-American if I am not pro-Israel. I find that to be problematic and I am not alone. I just happen to be willing to speak up on it and open myself to attacks.”

I am told everyday that I am anti-American if I am not pro-Israel. I find that to be problematic and I am not alone. I just happen to be willing to speak up on it and open myself to attacks.

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 3, 2019

Ilhan Omar has really upset Democrats with her latest anti-Semitic slur, accusing those who support Israel of having an “allegiance to a foreign country.”

We told you last night that at least two Jewish Democrats have hit back at Omar over the weekend.

Now it’s culminated in the House introducing a resolution to condemn Omar on Wednesday:

POLITICO – House Democratic leaders will put a resolution on the floor Wednesday in response to controversial remarks about Israel from Rep. Ilhan Omar.

The resolution, which is still being finalized, comes after a backlash from Jewish lawmakers who accused Omar of anti-Semitism for referring to pro-Israel advocates’ “allegiance to a foreign country.”

Here’s more on what led up to this:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and top Democrats are confronting a new controversy involving freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar, who has defied her colleagues’ calls to apologize for recent comments viewed as anti-Semitic.

Public scrutiny over the Minnesota Democrat intensified over the weekend as two of the House’s most senior Democrats condemned Omar’s remarks accusing pro-Israel advocates of “allegiance to a foreign country.” And the problem threatens to get worse for Democratic leaders, with Omar refusing other lawmakers’ pleas to retract her statements.

House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey on Sunday called out Omar’s use of “offensive, painful stereotypes” — leading to an awkward Twitter clash as Omar dug in on her comments and was cheered by some on the left.

“Our democracy is built on debate, Congresswoman!” Omar wrote, later adding, “I have not mischaracterized our relationship with Israel, I have questioned it and that has been clear from my end.”

Members of the Democratic caucus spent the weekend privately debating how to handle the freshman’s latest controversy involving accusations of anti-Semitism. Just three weeks earlier, Pelosi and her top lieutenants issued a rare public rebuke of Omar’s previous remarks that suggested pro-Israel groups were using their financial heft to shape U.S.-Middle East policy.

The backlash continued on Monday, as the Anti-Defamation League wrote a letter to Pelosi calling for a House resolution to specifically reject what the organization calls Omar’s “latest slur.”

“We urge you and your colleagues to send the unambiguous message that the United States Congress is no place for hate,” the group’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, wrote in a letter.

Nearly a dozen pro-Israel groups also urged Pelosi to oust Omar from her coveted spot on the House Foreign Relations Committee.

The chairman of that committee, Rep. Eliot Engel, who is Jewish, called out Omar for a “vile anti-Semitic slur” over the weekend, but did not call for her to be removed from the committee.

Note that Politico reports that Democrats spent all weekend trying to figure out how to address this. And now we see what they’ve come up with.

Democrats forced Omar to apologize earlier this year for similar anti-Semitic remarks. But she just keeps spewing them and has now forced them to take much stronger action.