Name: Omar: 'I Don't' Regret Grouping U.S., Israel with Terror Groups, House Dem Critics 'Have Engaged in Islamophobic Tropes'
Uploaded: 2021-06-29T21:33:53+00:00
Duration: 9 min 59 s
Description: On Tuesday's broadcast of CNN's "The Lead," Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) stated she doesn't regret her comments grouping the United States and Israel with terrorist groups and that House Democrats who have criticized some of her comments as antisemitic "haven't been equally engaging in seeking justice around the world." And "have engaged in Islamophobic tropes."

Appearing Tuesday on CNN’s The Lead, far-left Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) accused her Democrat colleagues on Capitol Hill, including those of the Jewish faith, of failing to be “partners in justice” when asked by host Jake Tapper about her previous antisemitic remarks.

A transcript is as follows:

JAKE TAPPER: Democratic leaders said that equating the U.S. and Israel with Hamas and the Taliban “foments prejudice.” And as you know, a group of Jewish House Democrats wrote a letter to President Biden saying that accusing Israel of acts of terror, as you and other members of the Squad have done, is antisemitic. Do you regret these comments?

REP. ILHAN OMAR: I don’t. I think it’s really important to think back to the point that I was trying to make. Obviously, I was addressing Secretary of State Blinken. The cases are put together in front of the ICC. ICC has been investigating. I know that some of my colleagues don’t lend legitimacy to the ICC, but I tend to think that people around the world who have experienced injustice need to be able to have a place where they can go. And as a country that helped found the ICC and supported it. I think that it is really important for us to continue to find ways in which people can find justice around the world.

TAPPER: Do you understand why some of your fellow House Democrats, especially Jews, find that language antisemitic?

REP. OMAR: I have welcomed any time my colleagues have asked to have a conversation to learn from them, for them to learn from me. I think it’s really important for these members to realize that they haven’t been partners in justice. They haven’t been equally engaging in seeking justice around the world. And I think I will continue to do that. It is important for me as someone who knows what it feels like to experience injustice in ways that many of my colleagues don’t, to be a voice in finding accountability, asking for mechanisms for justice for those who are maligned, oppressed, and who have had injustice done to them.