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March 6, 2019

House Dems just can’t bring themselves to condemn antisemitism

By Thomas Lifson

If the Democratic Caucus that controls the House of Representatives could be said to have a soul, this would be a battle for it. The new version of the Democratic Party, the one that embraces identity politics – a coalition of aggrieved parties who unite under the doctrine of “intersectionality” – no longer considers Jewish Americans worthy of care, protection, or even consideration. Regarded now as Caucasian oppressors, Jews can be attacked for “dual loyalties” and as craven manipulators using money to buy support from non-Jews – classic attacks used for centuries to justify persecution and even extermination.

Yesterday, a planned vote on a resolution condemning antisemitism – with no mention, much less condemnation of Rep Ilhan Omar for her repeated invocation of antisemitic tropes – was mysteriously cancelled. But a good clue as to what happened can be inferred from the startling  change by Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), who only a few days ago was attacking Omar for her “vile antisemitic slur.”

“I welcome debate in Congress based on the merits of policy, but it’s unacceptable and deeply offensive to call into question the loyalty of fellow American citizens because of their political views, including support for the US-Israel relationship,” said Engel, whose district covers parts of the Bronx and Westchester.

“Her comments were outrageous and deeply hurtful,” added Engel, who is Jewish, “and I ask that she retract them, apologize, and commit to making her case on policy issues without resorting to attacks that have no place in the Foreign Affairs Committee or the House of Representatives.”

Yesterday, Engel considerably toned down his language and watered down the demand to one of condemning “all” hated of groups, specifically mentioning “Islamopohibia.” Joseph A. Wulfsohn writes on Foxnews.com:

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., said Tuesday he's not poised to punish Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., for her latest controversial remarks, which have spurred new allegations of anti-Semitism. (snip)

Amid bipartisan condemnation, there have been growing calls for Omar to be stripped of her role on the House Foreign Affairs panel, with critics pointing to Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa; he was stripped of his committee roles by House GOP leadership over remarks widely criticized as racist.

As of now, Engel is pumping the brakes regarding any punishment.

When asked on Tuesday night if he thought that Omar was an anti-Semite, Engel responded that he doesn’t “throw names around.”

“I think the remarks she’s made have been very troubling. I have spoken out very publicly and forcefully about it in saying she should apologize,” Engel told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “Look, you hope that people who get elected to office and they grow. I would hope the same thing would happen to her, but I’m not going to sit silent as long as there are people who are yelling out anti-Semitic tropes or anti-anything tropes, by the way. I’m opposed to Islamophobia. I’m opposed to hatred of any group.”

“I’m hoping that she’ll grow and she’ll change. I’m hoping. Some people change their beliefs, I’m hoping she’ll change hers,” Engel continued, downplaying accusations of anti-Semitism. “I think what she said was wrong and hurtful. I think she should understand that.”

He expanded on these whipped puppy-like views in an interview on CNN yesterday:

 

 

The words “exacerbate the situation” are the tell. Engel took a passive back-seat role:

“I’m hoping that she’ll grow and she’ll change. I’m hoping. Some people change their beliefs, I’m hoping she’ll change hers,” Engel continued, downplaying accusations of anti-Semitism. “I think what she said was wrong and hurtful. I think she should understand that.”

 “At what point do you say to her, Congresswoman Omar, ‘Look, you’re not on this committee anymore.’ You strip her of her seat." Burnett asked if Engel was close to that.

“No, I’m not close to it,” Engel firmly answered. “First of all, it’s not up to me, this is done by the leadership. I don’t know that that would do anything except exacerbate the situation even more. I’m looking to get rid of anti-Semitism, not looking to punish anybody.”

Based on this, I am reasonably certain that members of the Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Progressive Caucus laid down the law to Speaker Pelosi, who was threatened with retaliation (loss of her prized speakership) if she pressed ahead with a vote. These groups cater to Jew-haters, who are now a bigger part of the Democrats’ base than Jews. Those two groups were cited by New York Times reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg as defending against a condemnation of Jew-hatred:

 

This should be a clarifying moment for America's Jews, a majority of whom still support Democrat candidates. Their own political party just can’t agree to condemn antisemitism. Twitchy has collected reactions, such as this:

 

 

 

I expect some eyes to be opened, but some Jews are far more concerned with political correctness than their own survival. More importantly, the percentage of Jewish voters in the electorate has been declining for decades, and reasonably soon, Muslims, whose immigration numbers have skyrocketed since 9/11/01, will outnumber Jews. More importantly, the identity politics coalition now embraces Jew-hatred, for Muslims – a billion-strong, worldwide force – are victims, while the 12 million or so Jews remaining in a post-Holocaust world are oppressors in that twisted victimology doctrine. The Democrats are now captives of this coalition.

Rep. Ben Crenshaw sees what is going on:

 

 

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