The money is being used against Omar , who has knocked Israel’s actions in the Middle East….
Right-leaning pro-Israel groups are targeting Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat and outspoken critic of the Israeli government who is one of the most high-profile progressive members of Congress.
Antone Melton-Meaux, 47, the Minneapolis attorney seeking to unseat Omar, 37, in the state’s Aug. 11 Democratic primaries, raised more than $1.5 million in May alone.
Much of that cash comes from political action committees opposed to more U.S. pressure on the Israeli government. Two such groups, Pro-Israel America and NORPAC, have bundled upwards of $450,000 for Melton-Meaux to date….
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Omar elicited the ire of defenders of Israeli government policies essentially from the moment that she won her race to represent Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District in 2018. While she implied as a candidate that she did not support BDS, after her general election win, she announced that she was supportive of the policy even though she continues to question its effectiveness and does not agree with proponents’ dedication to a one-state solution. (Her campaign maintains that Omar has been consistent all along because she continues to harbor the same reservations about BDS’s effectiveness that she expressed as a candidate.)
Omar’s first two months in office were plagued by controversy over remarks perceived by many to be anti-Semitic. In Feb. 2019, Omar tweeted the rap lyrics “It’s all about the Benjamins, baby,” as a commentary on why House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was vowing “action” against Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) for their views about Israel.
Omar’s comment reflected a widely held view on the left that groups like Pro-Israel America and NORPAC hold so much sway in Congress because of their campaign cash (“Benjamins” is slang for hundred-dollar bills imprinted with the image of Benjamin Franklin). But the comments provoked accusations from Jewish leaders and many Democrats that Omar was employing anti-Semitic tropes about Jews using money to control politics. Omar “unequivocally” apologized even as she reaffirmed her criticism of the “problematic role” of many lobbying groups, from AIPAC to the National Rifle Association….
image… AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
No dog whistles in this headline, huh?
And the people who are part of the so called “right-leaning pro-Israel groups” are almost certainly heavily Democrat.
Yes….