A group of 12 Jewish Democratic lawmakers, including Massachusetts Congressman Jake Auchincloss, slammed Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., over a tweet she wrote that seemed to equate the actions of the United States and Israel with Hamas and the Taliban, calling it "offensive" and demanding she "clarify" her words.
“Legitimate criticism of the policies of both the United States and Israel is protected by the values of free speech and democratic debate. And indeed, such criticism is essential to the strength and health of our democracies,” the Democratic leadership team said in its statement.
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“But drawing false equivalencies between democracies like the U.S. and Israel and groups that engage in terrorism like Hamas and the Taliban foments prejudice and undermines progress toward a future of peace and security for all, the statement adds.
In her clarification, Omar, a progressive Minnesota Democrat and one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress, explained that her original comments had focused on ongoing International Criminal Court probes “not a moral comparison between Hamas and the Taliban and the U.S. and Israel.