Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) once again found herself embroiled in controversy after a mailer sent from her campaign blasted her main opponent, attorney Antone Melton-Meaux, over large donations he’s received – but chose to name only the Jewish donors.
“Can We Trust Antone Melton-Meaux’s Money?” reads the campaign mailer, first obtained by Vice News.
Melton-Meaux, a pro-Israel Democrat, is one of four candidates challenging Omar in the upcoming primary for Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.
The mailer charges of being “in the pocket of the GOP,” “in the pocket of Wall Street,” and “in the pocket of the medical industry,” and quotes wealthy Jewish Americans who have expressed support of Melton-Meaux.
Rabbi Avi Olitzky, a resident of the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park who has defended Omar in the past, told Vice News he was “beyond dismayed.”
“Most disappointing were the presence of tropes that we’d personally discussed as hurtful, as offensive, and that I received a commitment not only would it not happen again but education would take place to learn more as to why it’s a problem,” said Olitzky.
Jewish progressive activist and Omar supporter Evan Stern had a different take.
“The people who don’t want to see that are going back to this old attack on antisemitism, and it’s tired. The Jews in this district are tired. It’s bullshit,” Stern said.
Omar, who has openly expressed support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, has repeatedly come under fire for spreading anti-Semitic tropes, including a tweet in which she said “Israel has hypnotized the world” while doing “evil” – a remark she later apologized for.