The U.S. State Department just made a change and is sure to make Rep. Ilhan Omar and the members of her “squad” unhappy.
The State Department just revised it’s definition of anti-Semitism in a clear signal to Rep. Omar as the change references Ilhan’s own political stunts by designing anti-Semitism if someone draws “Comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.”
The squad has been making headlines for making such comparisons so it will be interesting to see how they react to the news.
Fox News reported that the previous definition of anti-Semitism, issued in May, listed 10 examples. The revised definition now lists 11 examples, adding that anti-Semitism now includes “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.”
The leader of a U.S.-based pro-Israel organization praised the move last week.
“Kudos to @SecPompeo and Special Envoy Elan Carr,” philanthropist and co-founder of the Adam and Gila Milstein Foundation, Adam Milstein, wrote on Twitter. “It’s more clear now, the BDS Movement is disgustingly Antisemitic.”
BDS refers to the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, whose supporters call for the withdrawal of financial support for the Israeli government in protest of the treatment of Palestinian people.
The U.S. State Department’s revision follows last month’s overwhelming bipartisan 398-17 vote by the House of representatives to oppose an international effort to boycott Israel.
Rep. Omar, who cast one of the 17 dissenting votes, countered with a resolution of her own, supporting the right to boycott foreign governments “to advocate for human rights abroad,” and likening the action to boycotts of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
Her resolution did not mention Israel or the Palestinians. But she made her intention clear when she spoke with the press.
“We are introducing a resolution … to really speak about the American values that support and believe in our ability to exercise our First Amendment rights in regard to boycotting,” Omar told Al-Monitor.
“And it is an opportunity for us to explain why it is we support a nonviolent movement, which is the BDS movement.”
