Hussein Yusuf Kamal Ibish- Omar Is Hurting the Palestinian Cause

[DemocratSinceBirth]

Freshman Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar has wasted no time making a name for herself by generating a controversy about the motivations of pro-Israel organizations, individuals and politicians in Washington.

But here’s one group that will not benefit from the brouhaha resulting from Omar’s repeated use of familiar anti-Semitic themes, most recently questioning the loyalty of American Zionists: the Palestinians themselves. It’s a painful reminder that being anti-Israel is different from being pro-Palestinian.

Freshman Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar has wasted no time making a name for herself by generating a controversy about the motivations of pro-Israel organizations, individuals and politicians in Washington.

But here’s one group that will not benefit from the brouhaha resulting from Omar’s repeated use of familiar anti-Semitic themes, most recently questioning the loyalty of American Zionists: the Palestinians themselves. It’s a painful reminder that being anti-Israel is different from being pro-Palestinian.

...

Worse, enmeshing Democrats in a divisive, embarrassing internal struggle is a huge gift to Trump because it deflects attention from the impact of his destructive policies. Voters appalled by Trump’s trafficking in anti-Semitism now have reason to wonder whether the alternative might be just as bad.

The Trump era ought to stimulate the rise of a Jewish-Muslim coalition against intolerance, nativism and resurgent white supremacy as exemplified by recent Islamophobic attacks on Omar. A coalition of American Jews and Muslims should also be united in favor of Israeli-Palestinian peace.

As someone who has spent more than 20 years in Washington working on Arab and Muslim-American problems and championing the Palestinian cause, I implore Omar to learn more about the issues at stake. In the meantime, I have one thing to say to her: Please, just stop it!


...

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-03-07/ilhan-omar-s-anti-semitic-oratory-hurts-the-palestinian-cause

Hussein Yusuf Kamal Ibish (Arabic: حسين يوسف كمال أيبش (/aɪbɪʃ/) (1963 -) is a Senior Resident Scholar at The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. He was a Fellow at the former American Task Force on Palestine. He has a Ph.D. in Comparative literature from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is active in advocacy for Arab causes in the United States. He is a weekly columnist for NOW Lebanon. He describes himself as an agnostic from the Muslim-American community.

As someone who supports Israel, a two state solution, and has empathy for both Israelis and Palestinians it seems to me Mr. Ibish makes some really good points.

[Me.]

1. She Is Making A Name For Herself

though not sure she's going to like it.

[manor321]

2. Absurd article that is just piling on

It seems like everyone in the world is piling on this young lady. Let her get a bit more time in the job first.

Also, this article is out of date:

Worse, enmeshing Democrats in a divisive, embarrassing internal struggle is a huge gift to Trump

LOL. No. The vote has been held and all Dems voted for it. 23 Republicans voted against it.

Will this same author criticize the Republicans who voted against it? Of course not.

I'm convinced the media is going to hound this poor woman until she quits. Mark my words.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

4. Mr. Ibish certainly has standing on this issue

Hussein Yusuf Kamal Ibish (Arabic: حسين يوسف كمال أيبش (/aɪbɪʃ/) (1963 -) is a Senior Resident Scholar at The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.He was a Fellow at the former American Task Force on Palestine.[2] He has a Ph.D. in Comparative literature from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is active in advocacy for Arab causes in the United States. He is a weekly columnist for NOW Lebanon. He describes himself as an agnostic from the Muslim-American community.

Will this same author criticize the Republicans who voted against it? Of course not.

What makes you think Hussein Ibish is sympathetic to Republicans. Anybody familiar with his work would know he most definitely isn't. And if somebody is unfamiliar with his work suggesting he's sympathetic to Republicans isn't really fair to him.

[octoberlib]

3. Chris Hayes said the same thing.

Link to tweet

The point is that the notion of some taboo on criticizing Israel ends up both feeding into anti-semitic myths about Jewish control while also being self-defeating for people all faiths and backgrounds who are critical of the Israeli government.



He did a great thread on this.

[ornotna]

5. Wise words

"enmeshing Democrats in a divisive, embarrassing internal struggle is a huge gift to Trump"

When do we start heeding these words?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. And it is coming from a man of the left and a zealous advocate of the Palestinian cause

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

[ornotna]

7. That's fine

When do we start heeding the words?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

8. Both sides have compelling narratives.

Prior to the advent of Trump I used to think folks could sit down and settle their disputes by giving in a little and getting a little in return. Now I can't think of finding common ground with a Trumplican, who is a fellow citizen, so how can I think of an Israeli finding common ground with a Palestinian.

Trump has really made me question a lot of my assumptions about human nature.

[ornotna]

10. Are you saying

You no longer believe in the "two state solution "

[DemocratSinceBirth]

11. I believe in a two state solution with all my heart and all my mind.

What I am saying is the advent of Trump has made me question whether it is possible for opponents or adversaries to find common ground. I could probably agree to a divorce from the Trumplicans but that would entail the dissolution of our nation. Thanks to Trump I have a much darker view of human nature and man's ability to have empathy for those different from him

[DavidDvorkin]

9. Well said.