It’s Time to Tell the Truth: Israeli Journalist Gideon Levy Supports Ilhan Omar’s Critique of Israel
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution Thursday condemning anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim discrimination, white supremacy and other forms of hate, following a week of debate among congressional Democrats. The controversy began after some lawmakers accused Democratic Congressmember Ilhan Omar of invoking anti-Semitic tropes while questioning U.S. foreign policy on Israel. The House leadership initially drafted a resolution condemning anti-Semitism in what was seen as a direct rebuke of Omar. But many progressive Democrats said Omar, one of the first two Muslim Congresswoman in U.S. history, was unfairly being singled out. The split within the Democratic Party forced the leadership to withdraw its initial resolution and then present a much broader one. Congressmember Ilhan Omar voted for and praised the new resolution in a joint statement with fellow Muslim lawmakers Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and André Carson of Indiana. We speak with Gideon Levy, Haaretz columnist and member of the newspaper’s editorial board. His latest piece is headlined “Keep It Up, Ilhan Omar.”
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman. On Thursday, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim discrimination, white supremacy, and other forms of hate. The resolution, as initially written, was seen as a direct rebuke of Democratic Congressmember Ilhan Omar for her comments about U.S. foreign policy with Israel. The vote capped a week of intense debate among congressional Democrats about anti-Semitism and U.S. policy on Israel.
We’re joined now by three guests. In Tel Aviv, Gideon Levy, longtime Israeli journalist, Haaretz columnist, member of the newspaper’s editorial board, his latest piece headlined “Keep It Up, Ilhan Omar.” He’s also the author of The Punishment of Gaza.
Phyllis Bennis is with us in Washington, fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, serves on the national board of Jewish Voice for Peace, her recent piece for In These Times headlined “Why False Accusations of Anti-Semitism Against Ilhan Omar Are So Harmful.”
And Remi Kanazi is with us here in New York, a Palestinian-American poet and activist, the author of a collection of poetry, Before the Next Bomb Drops: Rising Up from Brooklyn to Palestine.
https://www.democracynow.org/2019/3/8/its_time_to_tell_the_truth