Minnesota, Michigan and Anti-Semitism

 Nadene Goldfoot                                      

Minnesota used to be known for its Scandinavian population, but now it's known for its Democratic swing into anti-Semitism thanks to Ilhan Omar's attitude which is permeating around her.  

Ilhan Abdullahi Omar (born October 4, 1982) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party and also a member of the Squad as one of the original  4 members.   Before her election to Congress, Omar served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019, representing part of Minneapolis. Her congressional district includes all of Minneapolis and some of its first-ring suburbs.

Ilhan is Minnesota's first Black representative, not a native-born Black but is from Somalia, Africa and is also their 1st Muslim.

While she was in the Minnesota legislature, Omar was critical of the Israeli government and opposed a law intended to restrict the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement  After the election her position changed, first not for BDS, but as her campaign office told Muslim Girl that she supports the BDS movement despite "reservations on the effectiveness of the movement in accomplishing a lasting solution as her excuse."  She's now a US Representative. 

The USA is said to be Israel's friend and co-worker in so many tasks involving security.  Ilhan goes against the position, evidently and is doing her best to break up the friendship. 

Omar has voiced support for a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict which is Biden's position.   She criticized Israel's settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank, again a Biden position.  

Both go against Israel's position at the present.  After 73 years of waiting for a peace resolve from the Palestinians, Israel is far more realistic these days, dealing with many changes, such as the Abrahamic Accords, Iran and its base-Syria, and a growing population, plus their own native land of Judea and Samaria in case anyone ever reads the "Old Testament."    

In 2018, Omar came under criticism for statements she made about Israel before she was in the Minnesota legislature. In a 2012 tweet, she wrote, "Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel." The comment, particularly the notion that Israel had "hypnotized the world", was criticized as drawing on antisemitic tropes.

  Tlaib and Omar, half of squad with Judy Chu, US Rep of California

 Then-The New York Times columnist Bari Weiss wrote that Omar's statement tied into a millennia-old "conspiracy theory of the Jew as the hypnotic conspirator". When asked in an interview how she would respond to American Jews who found the remark offensive, Omar replied: "I don't know how my comments would be offensive to Jewish Americans. My comments precisely are addressing what was happening during the Gaza War and I'm clearly speaking about the way the Israeli regime was conducting itself in that war." After reading Weiss's commentary, Omar apologized for not "disavowing the anti-Semitic trope I unknowingly used" I can't buy the "unknowingly" bit.  Of course she knew what she was doing.  

In September 2019, Omar condemned Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to annex the eastern portion of the occupied West Bank known as the Jordan Valley.   Omar said Israelis should not vote for Netanyahu in the September 2019 Israeli legislative election.  

 She's wasting her breath.  Israelis aren't about to listen to a Somali-born Muslim American who is all for BDS on how to vote for their own PM.  Who does she think she is?  That statement was for her constituents  in Minnesota who swing against Israel and Jews who are being helped along with her "Hypnotic"  pressure.   

      Working on free college tuition...not passing yet

On March 7, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 407–23 to condemn "anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism and other forms of bigotry" in response to Omar's remarks concerning Israel. On February 2, 2023, the Republican-led House of Representatives passed a resolution, on a party-line vote, to remove Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee for what Speaker Kevin McCarthy called "repeated antisemitic and anti-American remarks." Many prominent House Democrats stood by Omar.

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). Netanyahu also cited Omar and Tlaib listing their destination as Palestine instead of Israel, claiming he thus viewed their visit as an attempt to "hurt Israel and increase its unrest". I have no doubt that he is correct.

Netanyahu also said that Omar and Tlaib did not plan on visiting or meeting with any Israeli officials from the government or the opposition, and additionally,

Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Miftah, and the problem of anti-Semitism within the movement for Palestinians' right to self-determination

 accused Miftah, the sponsor of Omar's trip, of having members who support terrorism against Israel. In 2016, Israel approved a visit by five U.S. Representatives to Israel that Miftah co-sponsored, but that was before Israel enacted its anti-BDS law). Less than two hours before the ban, President Trump tweeted that Israel allowing the visit would "show great weakness" when Omar and Tlaib "hate Israel & all Jewish people". Omar said that Netanyahu had caved to Trump's demand and that "Trump's Muslim ban is what Israel is implementing". 

The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy, or MIFTAH, is an advocacy group that promotes Palestinian statehood and spreads anti-Israel propaganda. Headquartered in the West Bank, Miftah accuses Israel of occupying Palestinian lands and of crimes including “massacres,” “apartheid,” and “summary executions” of Palestinian youth.  The group has published postings lifted from a neo-Nazi website and endorsing the anti-Semitic “blood libel.” Miftah is a supporter of the controversial Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) pressure campaign to delegitimize Israel.  It regularly publishes articles questioning Israel’s right to exist, and has also written sympathetically of terrorists and suicide bombers. Miftah received media attention in 2019 when it offered to sponsor a trip by Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) to “Israeli occupied territories,” prompting Israel to ban them from entering the country. Miftah , which had assets of $1,400,000 in 2018, receives funding from private donors as well as government sponsors.  Supportive governments include Norway, Germany, Ireland, and the European Union. 

I could believe Norway and Ireland who have such reputations already that have reached my ears, but Germany and the EU? Really?  Such as it is, the whole world is against Israel as is written,  even those residing in the USA.  Keep the government open is the challenge-confabulated by Ilan Omar and her squad.  

She responded to Netanyahu that she had intended to meet members of Israel's legislative Knesset and Israeli security officials. Who's going to believe that?  Come on....

Both Democratic and Republican legislators criticized the ban and requested that Israel rescind it. They are not in any position close to what Israel is facing.  I think that's chutzpa to expect that from Israel.  They know what they said. It only makes my blood boil, and I'm an American and Israeli Jew . 

 AIPAC released a statement saying that it disagreed with Israel's move and that Omar and Tlaib should have been allowed to "experience Israel firsthand", while the head of the American Jewish Committee put out a statement agreeing with AIPAC on the matter.   U.S. Representative Max Rose (who is Jewish) also criticized the move to ban Omar, adding that Omar and Tlaib did not speak for the Democratic Party.  

My opinion, such as it is, is that such people as Ilan have been brain-washed enough so that entering Israel means she has a one-track mind which is to cause as much damage as possible.  She's not of the mind to learn and expand her mind.  She's already set her sails as to who she intended to see, and that was the Palestinians.  The trip is to only bring on more surrus for Netanyahu.  Had she stated she wanted to see Israel, Netanyahu wouldn't have banned her.  I'm surprised that both AIPAC and others didn't pick up on this.  Are they only speaking to their constituents as well?  I'm beginning to wonder......

Ilan Omar and Tlaib are not the first Americans banned by 

Israel. People of powerful position who are against Israel are 

not welcome.  They have enough problems from the Imans 

who speak from other countries and instigate attacks. Norman Finkelstein was one of them.  His friend, 

Noam Chomsky, was the other.     

Update 3/2/2023:  CNN has reported about a 40 year old man 

threatening Jewish  Michigan government workers on social mediaintent on killing them.  

Am I surprised that Rashida Tlaib is the Rep 

of Michigan?  No, I'm not.  She's the other original Squad member,

with parents of Palestinian Muslim descent in Congress.  

 Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks at a campaign rally on October 16, 2022 in East Lansing, Michigan.  She is also the first Jew elected Attorney General of Michigan.  She's been threatened.  The  Anti-Semite is Jack Eugene

Carpenter.   Carpenter made threats against Jewish government officials in Michigan. One post read, in part: “I’m heading back to Michigan now threatening to carry out the punishment of death to anyone that is jewish in the Michigan govt if they don’t leave, or confess.” Carpenter continued his threats of violence in a second post, which read, in part: “I’ll be coming back to Michigan, still driving with expired plates. You may want to let everyone know, and Wayne County sheriff as well, any attempt to subdue me will be met with deadly force in self-defense.” 

Carpenter has been arrested.  The FBI announced that it arrested a former University of Michigan employee who threatened to kill all Jewish elected officials in Michigan.

Jack Eugene Carpenter III, a resident of Tipton, Michigan, in some other wildly delusional posts, Carpenter declared himself the “King of Israel” and said he was forming a new country on his property called “New Israel.” He also asserted that if he got arrested for what he was saying, he would “get the lawyer removed due to conflict of interest because they are Jewish.”

Carpenter is now being held without bail on charges of transmitting an interstate threat, which carries with it a prison sentence of up to 5 years.

The suspect had previously tweeted that he “was fired for refusing to take experimental medication,” an apparent reference to the Covid-19 vaccines. He had been employed as a systems administrator at the University of Michigan for 10 years.  That job was: : Under general supervision, responsible for installing, configuring, and maintaining operating system workstations and servers, including web servers, in support of business processing requirements.

Carpenter had also previously been arrested on assault charges and for allegedly stealing a gun from an acquaintance.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Resource:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmi/pr/michigan-resident-uses-

twitter-threaten-kill-jewish-government-officials

https://www.google.com/search?q=minnesota%20anti%20semitic%20wanted%20to%20kill%20jewish%20government%20workers   my comment-should say Michigan

https://www.npr.org/2019/03/07/700901834/minnesota-

congresswoman-ignites-debate-on-israel-and-anti-semitism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar

Texas Leading Again, This Time Against Anti-Semitism

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                  

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) speaks during a press conference preceding a House Oversight and Reform subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on July 10, 2019 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images)

First, Texas led the way by putting an end to teaching "Critical Race Theory" to all levels of school children, seeing that such teaching could even cause anti-Semitism, and now is leading the way by adopting the bill to adopt the IHRA definition of what anti-Semitism amounts to.

It seems to be triggered by  Rashida Tlaib's highly anti-Semitic comments about Israel lately that were completely false, amounting to a great deal of anti-Semitic thinking which shocked other Senators who were far more knowlegable on the subject.   Jews in attendance must have been irate hearing about  her tweets.  "The eldest of 14 children, Rashida Harbi was born on July 24, 1976, to working-class Palestinian immigrants in Detroit."

                                                                    

              Here's a plot going on planning some ethnic cleansing-doing away with Jews.  This is Haj Amin al-Husseini, Sherif of Jerusalem, the Grand Mufti, appointed by the British during their 30 year holding the contract to administer Palestine.  He was the big-shot who wanted to be the king or ruler or what-have you.  Too bad for him that the Ottoman Empire lost the battle of WWI.  He and Hitler had a change of plans.  

She had her tweet ready and tweeted.   Tlaib’s tweet came in response to Israel launching airstrikes against Hamas targets in response to incendiary balloons fired from the Gaza Strip. This is what has been happening daily since the 11 day attack of Gaza against Israel; incendiary balloons causing fires in all of ISRAEL'S wheat fields, produce, etc.  She accused Israel in her tweet of ethnic cleansing.   If anyone could be accused of that, more likely it was the Palestinians against the Jews.  Every act of Israel has been that of defense, certainly not offense.  

"After racist and violent ‘death to Arabs’ marches earlier today in Jerusalem, children in Gaza are being woken by bombs in the middle of the night,” Tlaib tweeted, referencing a flag march earlier in the day. “Israel’s government doesn’t value Palestinian lives. It has managed a decades-long ethnic cleansing project, funded by the U.S.”  

Anti-Defamation League (ADL(CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted in response on June 16, “We can and should have policy debates. But pushing a narrative libelously accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing or not seeing Palestinians as human – or focusing only on Israeli airstrikes without recognizing those are responses to attacks by terrorists – is wrong and dangerous.”   and that Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) accusing Israel of “ethnic cleansing” is “dangerous.”

Texas passed the bill to define anti-Semitism.  The Working Definition of Antisemitism (also called the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism or IHRA definition) is a 38-word statement on what antisemitism is. The statement reads:

Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.

Accompanying the definition are eleven illustrative examples, of which seven relate to Israel.

Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic. Antisemitism frequently charges Jews with conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used to blame Jews for “why things go wrong.” It is expressed in speech, writing, visual forms and action, and employs sinister stereotypes and negative character traits.
 
Contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in the religious sphere could, taking into account the overall context, include, but are not limited to:

• Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion.(ISIS)
• Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.
• Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.
• Denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust).
• Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.
• Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.
• Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
• Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation. (This has gone on constantly in UN) 
• Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.
• Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
• Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.

Antisemitic acts are criminal when they are so defined by law (for example, denial of the Holocaust or distribution of antisemitic materials in some countries).
 
Criminal acts are antisemitic when the targets of attacks, whether they are people or property – such as buildings, schools, places of worship and cemeteries – are selected because they are, or are perceived to be, Jewish or linked to Jews.
 
Antisemitic discrimination is the denial to Jews of opportunities or services available to others and is illegal in many countries.

In 2016, the working definition and its list of examples was adopted by a plenary meeting of the 31 countries in the IHRA.  In 2020, Independent Jewish Voices (Canada) published a definition of antisemitism which states that: "antisemitism is not an exceptional form of bigotry. People who hate, discriminate and/or attack Jews, will also hate, discriminate and/or attack other protected groups—including racialized people, Muslims, LGBTQ2+, women, Indigenous peoples." 

Following its adoption by the IHRA, the working definition has been adopted for internal use by a number of government and political institutions: as at June 2021, the definition has been adopted or recognized by 36 countries, as well as the European Parliament and other national and international bodies.

Objections to the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism motivated the creation of the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism, released in March 2021. This document, signed by some 200 international scholars, is intended to be used instead of the IHRA definition, or as a supplement to guide interpretation of the IHRA definition for groups that have already adopted it.

In the same month, a group of scholars and leaders affiliated with the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California called the "Nexus Task Force" published a definition undertaking to understand antisemitism "at its nexus with Israel and Zionism" and asserting that most criticism of Zionism and of Israel is not antisemitic. This definition was endorsed by "more than 100 prominent Jewish leaders in a September letter to President Joe Biden".  Nexus actually means a connection.  (connection, link the nexus between teachers and students also : a causal link the nexus between poverty and crime. 2 : a connected group or series a nexus of theories a nexus of relationships.) 

The accepted take on this is that it's okay to criticize Israel as one would criticize any other country, but when it comes to more than that-it is plain old anti-Semitism.  

Let's face it.  Israel is the only Jewish country in the world, created out of dire necessity.  Another fact to face:  Anti-Semitism started in the 300s.  It's never ended.  Even in the good old USA, it has prevailed.  Anti-Semitism balances between feelings, acts, bad and even violent causing deaths throughout the ages.  It's getting worse today, mirror imaging the acts done to Israel.  There wasn't needed an Israel to copy before 1948.  We did have the Holocaust where Nazis tried to exterminate every single one of us ending in 1945.  There's always been reasons, imagined, where Jews have been the scapegoat of the world, and now the scapegoat is Israel and we in the diaspora are also goats.  You cannot leave out Israel in any judgement of whether something is an anti-Semitic act or not.  Jews and Israel are in a relationship whether they like it or not.  We always have been.

International human rights lawyer, Arsen Ostrovksy, similarly tweeted that Tlaib was promulgating “more lies.” “The chants were vile and also condemned. Meantime, no mention by you what led to strikes on Gaza, [which] was Hamas firing dozens of incendiary devices on southern Israel, scorching countless amount on land. Stop shilling for Hamas and inciting racial hatred!”

These are the committees Tlaib serves on:  These are the Oversight and Reform subcommittees Congresswoman Tlaib also serves on:

House Committee on Financial Services : The Committee oversees all components of the nation's housing and financial services sectors including banking, insurance, real estate, public and assisted housing, and securities.

• Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy
• Subcommittee on the Environment- Vice Chair

In addition, Rep. Tlaib has joined the following caucuses:

• Auto Caucus
• Black Maternal Healthcare Caucus
• Congressional Progressive Caucus
• Democratic Women's Caucus
• Free Syria Caucus
• Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Legislative Caucus
• Historically Black Colleges & Universities Caucus
• House Manufacturing Caucus
• LGBT Equality Caucus
• Medicare for All Caucus
• Pro-Choice Caucus
• Small Brewers Caucus

Update: 6/18/21 7:30am  Tlaib, born and raised in Detroit, is the first Palestinian-American elected to Congress. She supports the one-state solution and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel. Due to their support of the BDS movement, Israel barred Tlaib and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from entering the country in 2019 shortly after their elections.  American Jewish leaders say tweets by the two Democrats stoke anti-Semitic tensions and create an environment that normalizes Jews-hatred. 

(https://unitedwithisrael.org/us-congresswoman-tlaib-blasted-for-dangerous-anti-semitic-accusation/?utm_source=pushengage&utm_medium=pushnotification&utm_campaign=pushengage)

Resource;

https://jewishjournal.com/news/337805/adl-ceo-tlaib-tweet-accusing-israel-of-ethnic-cleansing-is-dangerous/

JBS News, TV, out of New York

https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definitions-charters/working-definition-antisemitism

https://tlaib.house.gov/about/committees-and-caucuses

https://freesyria.org/syria-caucus/??I find no mention of what it's being freed from;  USA?  Russians?  Iran?  Syrians?  This is supposed to be a learning about Syria group.