(Jewish Group) Ilhan Omar and her Israel tweets, as seen by a Jewish constituent

[Behind the Aegis]

(THIS IS THE JEWISH GROUP! RESPECT!!)

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I can’t really concern myself with the behavior of those on the right, though it’s troubling that Omar would give them such a golden opportunity to get in some cheap shots. Keith Ellison gave the right even less to work with, and yet he's been dogged by accusations of anti-Semitism his entire political career.

My concern is with my own community, the progressive one. They don’t like to have this conversation, but the progressive community really does have an anti-Semitism problem. Usually this takes the form of dismissing Jewish concerns about anti-Semitism -- especially when those concerns are directed at a fellow progressive.


There's a popular talking point, one progressives never should have allowed to even get a foothold, but did. It's pernicious, and has made discussions of anti-Semitism fraught, frustrating, and hard to resolve in progressive communities. This talking point ties into the latest series of Omar tweets. It goes as follows:

Jews use charges of anti-Semitism to shut down criticism of Israel.

I hate to even have to respond to this, but since so many non-Jews instantly shut down the moment the subject's broached, I have to say it: Some of us are guilty of this very thing. There are a few unscrupulous Jews who claim "anti-Semitism" whenever Israel gets criticized, credibly or not.

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[JudyM]

1. This deserves greater exposure, it's important and well-articulated.