Rep. Ted Deutch Calls Out Fellow Democrats for Leniency on Rep. Omar’s ‘Anti-Semitic Lies’

Democratic Florida Rep. Ted Deutch criticized Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar on Thursday for spreading “classic anti-Semitic lies” and said his fellow House Democrats aren’t doing enough to hold her accountable.

Deutch criticized Democrats for changing a House resolution condemning anti-Semitism to include other forms of hate.

“Why are we unable to singularly condemn anti-Semitism? Why can’t we call out anti-Semitism and show that we’ve learned the lessons of history? It feels like we’re only able to call the use anti-Semitic language by a colleague of ours, any colleague of ours, if we’re addressing all forms of hatred. And it feels like we can’t call it anti-Semitism, unless everybody agrees it’s anti-Semitism,” Deutch said in a passionate speech on the House floor.

Referring to Omar, the congressman added, “When a colleague invokes classic anti-Semitic lies, three times, then this body must condemn that anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is worthy of being taken seriously on its own. It’s worthy of being singularly called out.”

“Jews control the world? Jews only care about money? Jews have dual loyalty and can’t be patriotic members of the country in which they live? Words matter. For generations, they have had dangerous consequences, for me, for my family, and for my people. This shouldn’t be so hard,” Deutch said.

Democrats have been divided in whether to criticize Omar for alleging supporters of Israel have “allegiance to a foreign country,” and for attributing support for Israel to money from pro-Israel donors.

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