New Congressman Ilhan Omar is catching flak from establishment pro-Israel Democrats over remarks that pointed out that Israel’s lobbying prowess in Washington is formidable. The ironic part is, those saying Israel doesn’t have that much power are proving that it does by trying to crush her.
Ilhan Omar’s Tormentors Are Proving Her Point
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication, WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "The Stringer."
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Ms Omar is due , to borrow Tom Paine’s words, «the love and thanks of man and woman». No summer solider she !…
Henri
Obviously, Ted’s 10 minute grace period – for which I’m most grateful – doesn’t suffice for a sloppy writer like your humble interlocutor : solider → soldier….
Henri
The inscription on the glass of the door:
“Select Committee on Reprisals, Chastisement and Shaming”
This
torture chambersuite must be inthe “Not-So-Cryptic Neo-Fascism and
Exceptional Totalitarianism”
House Office Bldg?
I argue for a comma after «Chastisement» ; after all, we don’t want people thinking that chastisement and shaming are a single entity….
I also lack a reference to drawn and quartered. Or the fact that if Messrs Rosenberg and Mueller are interested in investigating countries which blatantly interfere in US elections, there’s one that lies much nearer to hand that Russia, but which, as the cartoon indicates,
no oneeveryone gets punished for mentioning….Henri
As the renowned linguist you obviously are, could you, or anyone else, answer the following question?
Can an Arab be accused of antisemitism?
«Can an Arab be accused of antisemitism?» The term «antisemitism» as synonymous with hatred of Jews is, as you point out, SomeoneElse, rather odd – semitic originally referred to peoples speaking a group of languages, including Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya, Hebrew, etc, which were given that name after the biblical Shem, If one follows the original concept, an antisemetic Arab would be a counterpart to a «self-hating Jew», a term beloved of Jewish reactionaries for anyone of Jewish background who dares to criticise the Israeli government’s policies. But as noted above, the term «antisemitism» has now become restricted to refer only to hatred of Jews, to the exclusion of Arabs, Ethiopians, Assyrians, etc, etc. Just as the term «Holocaust» now is used only to refer to the industrial-scale murder of Jews by the Nazis and their willing vassals in certain European countries, while the murder of Roma, Slavs, etc, is ignored. Draw your own conclusions with regard to the reasons for this linguistic development….
Henri
I will never allow Zionists to claim exclusive ownership of words such as holocaust, genocide, and semite and comply with their expectations that I am to abandon the historical meanings of these words to meanings they approve of.
Unlike Congress, they don’t own me.
I do not defer in reverence before unconscionably and demonstrably murderous people.
I don’t hear complaints about Israel meddling in US elections from either the D-mob or the R-mob.
Of course, for one of them to complain would be a distinct disadvantage to the complainer, finance-wise.
Zionists need to stop being self-hating Semites.
Next question: Can Jews be accused of genocide, or of ethnic cleansing, or of advocating holocaust?
A few hints, from some of the 613 Mitzvot (Commandments, still to be obeyed today), like:
. To keep the Canaanite slave forever (Lev. 25:46).
. To slay the inhabitants of a city that has become idolatrous and burn that city (Deut. 13:16-17)
. To destroy the seed of Amalek (Deut. 25:19) (CCA77)
. Not to keep alive any individual of the seven Canaanite nations (Deut. 20:16)
. To exterminate the seven Canaanite nations from the land of Israel (Deut. 20:17)
> Can Jews be accused of genocide, or of ethnic cleansing, or of advocating holocaust?
I thought this one sounded familiar. Dandy? Is that you?
Short answer: no.
Longer answer: every religion in the world started out assuming that their people were the good guys and everyone else can go to Hell.
Relevant answer: we were discussing Israel, not Judaism, not Yahweh, not mythological texts, and most assuredly not collective guilt based on any of those.
“Can Jews be accused of genocide, or of ethnic cleansing, or of advocating holocaust?”
Only to the extent that any other racist, nationalist, genocidal like-minded associations can.
I don’t think Zionists are any better or worse than the authors of the US Constitution with their affinity for slaves and theft of indigenous lands.
But I think they are both plenty bad.
Don’t look now, Glenn – but you fell for his trap.
Unless you’re actually stating that all Jews are racist, nationalist, genocidal like-minded individuals.
Perhaps you are. You do have a history of using a single brush to tar large numbers of separate, distinct, and unique individuals.
@ CRAZY_ass_H_ole
Never painted with a broad brush.
Funny how bigots always insist they’re not bigots, even as they’re posting negative stereotypes of large groups of people.
Bigotry is a lifestyle choice, but it can be cured. The first step is to admit you have a problem.
Oh, Look! Jen Sorensen has given us a field guide, and I just spotted a Bigotus Blurtus in the wild!
‘course I just can’t help myself, I always have to feed the little darlings until they choke.
[…] Ted Rall, March 11, 2019 New Congressman Ilhan Omar is catching flak from establishment pro-Israel Democrats over remarks that pointed out that Israel’s lobbying prowess in Washington is formidable. The ironic part is, those saying Israel doesn’t have that much power are proving that it does by trying to crush her. […]
Oh, my goodness! She said something bad about American politicians and suchlike. I think – the flak has outweighed her actual words to the point where it’s impossible so say what it is she said. Can anyone post whatever it is she said that’s supposed to be so bad?
Did she point out that The Traditional Homeland was stolen from people whose literal homeland it had been for hundreds of years? Did she say that it was stolen at gunpoint? That the IDF is no better than the Wehrmacht, that Israel’s collective opinion of Palestinians is no different than the Nazi’s opinion of Jews, that Israel murders innocent children and calls it ‘defense’?
Did she say any of those things?
Don’t be a lazy slanderous speculator.
Listen to her words here:
https://www.democracynow.org/2019/3/8/ilhan_omar_in_her_own_words
Don’t be an exuberantly garrulous kumquat! Thanks for the link – but I’m still wondering what it was she said that was soooooo baaad.
Omar never said anything bad at all.
Neither did Chelsea, aka Bradley, Manning.
That won’t prevent the “distinctly native American criminal class known as Congress” from prosecuting its detractors in the name of the law.
Hat tip to Mark Twain.
Oh, so we’re in agreement then? Might I observe that you have a funny way of expressing agreement?
Yes, you might.
I just object to the use of Omar’s name in the same breath with slanders, as her detractors are wont to do.
I’ve often wondered whether the common narrative is actually correct. Is Israel playing the US? Or is it that the US is playing Israel? Without US support, Israel would have vanished long ago – and they know it.
They’re scared spitless, in the middle of hostile territory, and the US just keeps making it more hostile. BUT we’ve got a guaranteed base of operations in the Muddle East. Any of our other “allies” could turn against us at any moment – but not Israel. Nope, they’re stuck with us.
Winning!
If anything, even a cursory examination of Ilhan Omar’s comments shows self-reflection, steadfastness, and a genuine respect: while articulating the concerns of their own communities back to them she is evidently also speaking with an ear to how she will sound to outside groups.
In contrast, when commenting on Ilhan Omar – and thus on the constituents who voted her in – apparently it is the unremarkable, default approach to finely comb through her speech in a blatant effort to merely spot any combination of words that can be spun to brush her as an Anti-Semite (rebranded version) without even considering the basics of two-way communication including listening or adopting someone else’s point of view.
This sheer unwillingness/inability to recognize the very existence of the groups of people who Ilhan Omar is giving a voice to is arguably even worse than the spinning, misrepresenting, or simply putting words in her mouth (a.k.a. making shit up): Her “Democratic” attackers are blatantly disrespecting essentially everyone who had to deal with Islamophobia, i.e. ultimately everyone who sort-of looks like their ancestors might hail from “Muslim countries”, as well as everyone who is even somewhat concerned about prejudice and exclusion.
Good to see the “moderate” “Democrats” are busy building a broad coalition and inspiring voter turnout in 2020?
@andreas5
It is a pleasure to read such a thoughtful and well reasoned post as this.