'Everyone Stop Tweeting!' Rep. Schakowsky Tells House Democrats

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky said journalists and Republicans bear responsibility for death threats faced by her fellow congresswoman, Rep. Ilhan Omar. In a televised interview Thursday, Schakowsky, 74, the senior chief deputy majority whip, also explained Omar was "from a different culture" and confirmed she told fellow House Democrats to "stop tweeting" during a closed-door meeting the prior day.

The Evanston Democrat said Omar, the first-term Minneapolis congresswoman who has twice in the past month made comments regarding the pro-Israel lobby's influence over Congress that critics have condemned as containing anti-Semitic tropes, personally apologized to her "as a Jew."

In a Feb. 10 tweet, Omar quoted a lyric from Puff Daddy & The Family's 1997 track "It's All About the Benjamins" to explain why the Israel enjoys such broad support from the U.S. Congress. She was condemned by Democratic leadership and apologized, saying "anti-Semitism is real" and criticizing the role of all lobbyists in politics.

Then, speaking on Feb. 27 at a Washington, D.C. bookstore, Omar again questioned the power of the pro-Israel lobby, suggesting there was a "political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country."

Rep. Eliot Engel, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee where Omar has a seat, condemned the remarks, and House Appropriation Chair Nita Lowey, both New York Democrat, asked Omar to retract the comments, describing them as "hurtful."

Our democracy is built on debate, Congresswoman! I should not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support to a foreign country in order to serve my country in Congress or serve on committee. The people of the 5th elected me to serve their interest. I am sure we agree on that! https://t.co/gglAS4FVJW
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 3, 2019

"Everybody stop tweeting," Schakowsky said at a Wednesday meeting of House Democrats. Her comments were first reported by the Washington Post, citing an aide who was in the room.

Schakowsky confirmed the account Thursday, telling MSNBC she believed the press was exploiting "more sexy kinds of battles" but that there was no serious conflict among Democrats. She said she told members to stop tweeting "because I think that this is not a conversation that we ought to have on social media and in the public." Schakowsky went on to say anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are both major problems, noting anti-Semitic acts are up by more than 50 percent since last year.

Omar, she said, was facing tremendous threats and may need a personal security detail because "in part, the Republicans and the media have blown this up to be much more than it is." Schakowsky said she hoped the passage of a resolution broadly condemning bigotry would put the matter to bed and become a learning experience.

"Ilhan Omar is a refugee from Somalia. She comes from a different culture. She has things to learn," Schakowsky said. "I am not either trivializing anti-Semitism or the things that she said, or saying that it’s okay that she said them. But what I am saying is that I think this is a learning moment for her and a learning moment for the caucus on how to get along."

In response to Omar's comments but without naming her, the House approved a non-binding resolution Thursday condemning anti-Semitism and all bigotry and hate "targeting traditionally persecuted peoples," which include not only Jews but black, Latino and LBGTQ people, immigrants, native Americans, Asian-Americans, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and Pacific Islanders, according to the resolution. It passed 407-23 with one member voting present. All Democrats, including Omar, voted in favor of the resolution.

The bill also said it is a "foreign policy priority of the United States to monitor and combat anti-Semitism abroad," including "blaming Jews as Jews when things go wrong; calling for, aiding or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or extremist view of religion or making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing or stereotyped allegations about Jews."

It said Jewish people are subject to numerous dangerous anti-Semitic myths "including that Jews control the United States Government or seek global, political, and financial domination and that Jews are obsessed with money."

Accusations that Jews are "more loyal to Israel or to the Jewish community than to the United States constitutes anti-Semitism because it suggests that Jewish citizens cannot be patriotic Americans and trusted neighbors, when Jews have loyally served our Nation every day since its founding, whether in public or community life or military service," according to House Resolution 186, which also cites the Dreyfus affair, Japanese-American internment camps during World War II, questions about President John F. Kennedy's allegiance to the pope and post-9/11 attacks on American Muslims.

"As a Jewish American, I have a deep personal connection to the State of Israel, and I have consistently been a steadfast friend and supporter of the Jewish state in her quest for peace and security," Schakowsky said on her website, which said she "always working to strengthen the U.S.-Israel bond, and to advance the security of the only true democracy in the Middle East, our ally Israel."

Last month's remarks are not Omar's first controversial condemnations of Israel, which she tweeted in 2012 had "hypnotized the world," asking God to wake people up and "help them see the evil doings of Israel."