Pelosi gets pushed to drop Omar from committee

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., questions special envoy Elliott Abrams at a House Foreign Relations Committee hearing Feb. 13, 2019 (Screenshot C-Span)

A coalition of Jewish organizations has written to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., insisting that Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., be removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee because of her anti-Semitism.

The call was echoed Monday by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., in a network television interview.

The coalition, including the Endowment for Middle East Truth, ACT For America, Americans for Peace and Tolerance and the Center for Security Policy, asserted in a letter obtained by the Washington Free Beacon that Omar should be removed "immediately."

"Speaker Pelosi, you demonstrated wisdom and leadership in rebuking Rep. Omar on February 11 following her use of anti-Semitic stereotypes, and Chairman [Eliot] Engel [of the house Foreign Affairs Committee] your reaction to the classic anti-Semitic trope of the charge of 'dual loyalty' about American Jews, that Rep. Omar uttered … was highly appropriate, and we applaud you for both for that.

"We hope you will continue to demonstrate your commitment to the high moral standards of your office by removing Rep. Omar, a woman who has repeatedly exhibited strong biases against the state of Israel and the Jewish people, from this critically important and sensitive committee."

The committee plays a key role in supporting the U.S.-Israel military alliance, and the groups insist she's unqualified to be a member.

"In light of Rep. Ilhan Omar's recent anti-Semitic tweets, statements, and address before Islamic Relief USA on Saturday, February 23rd, we, the undersigned organizations, request that you immediately remove her as a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee," the groups wrote.

"Islamic Relief's ties to terrorist organizations are well-established," the letter explains. "The United Arab Emirates in 2014 designated Islamic Relief as a terrorist organization with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood."

The letter continued: "Rep. Omar's presence as a keynote speaker to raise funds for Islamic Relief USA, whose parent organization and chapters have documented ties to terrorist organizations, demonstrates that she has learned next to nothing over the last few weeks when she was reprimanded by your office and by other Democrats for posting ugly, anti-Semitic attacks on Jews and their organizations."

Sarah Stern, of the Endowment for Middle East Truth, told the Free Beacon Omar's anti-Semitism worries the American Jewish Committee.

"We need to ensure that anti-Semitism has no place within the venerable House Foreign Affairs Committee," the letter states. "We therefore respectfully request that Congresswoman Omar be removed, immediately, from the sensitive work of the House Foreign Affairs Committee."

WND reported last month that Laurie Cardoza-Moore, the president of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, launched an online petition insisting that Omar resign from Congress.

"Time is urgent! When news broke last week of her shameful anti-Semitic messaging, President Trump called for her to resign from her congressional seat. Even her own Democrat colleagues echoed Speaker Nancy Pelosi's tepid call for Omar to apologize," Cardozo-Moore explained.

"Ilhan Omar must learn that concerned Americans such as you and me stand firmly with our Jewish brethren. We must stand in solidarity to affirm that she will not be allowed to use the heart of American democracy and freedom to defame God’s chosen people and God’s chosen land," she said.

She cited Omar's links to the Council on American Islamic Relations, which "was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorist fundraising operation in the history of the U.S." Omar helped raise funds for Islamic Relief USA, an affiliate of Islamic Relief Worldwide.

Omar once wrote on Twitter: "Israel has hypnotized the world. May Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel."

WND reported that in a 2013 interview, Omar complained that Americans say "al-Qaida" as though it's something negative.

And recently, at a hearing of the House Foreign Relations Committee, she smeared a Jewish diplomat.

Omar attacked Elliott Abrams, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's special envoy on Venezuela.

"I don't understand why members of this committee should find any testimony that you give today to be truthful," she said, referencing controversial charges by the left wing in the 1980s that since have been refuted.

The freshman lawmaker refused to let Abrams respond, saying she was not asking a question.

And President Trump has called on her to resign or be barred from serving on congressional committees, saying, "Anti-Semitism has no place in the United States Congress."