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This past Thursday, House Republicans voted to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The removal was passed with help from the recent Republican majority.

Though Republicans claimed they made the move in response to Omar’s past comments about Israel, I believe it was a retaliation guided by partisan conflict. The removal gives significant insight into the House’s blind eye to antisemitism and Palestinian rights.

The vote to remove Rep. Omar was founded on her past comments regarding the Israel-Palestinian conflict. For example, she stated in a June 2021 tweet, “We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.”

The comparison between these groups sparked major controversy. It must be noted that all groups Omar mentioned in her tweet have caused casualties of war and should be criticized for their roles in the death of civilians.

Rep. Omar has been under scrutiny for other comments, such as “It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” while discussing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the funding of American lawmakers for Israeli support. This was regarded as antisemitic for seemingly pushing stereotypical Jewish funding conspiracies. Omar later apologized for her comments and thanked those who corrected her.

But the validity of this reasoning is put into question, as I believe there’s obvious bias from the Republican party in Omar’s case. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia’s District 14 representative, has had very little retribution from Republicans despite promotion of extremely antisemitic conspiracy theories and demeaning rhetoric toward the historical oppression of Jewish people. She has compared wearing masks to the Holocaust and compared Biden to Hitler, both statements that belittle atrocities done onto Jewish people.

The major difference between Omar’s and Greene’s comments is that Omar’s are in the context of the Israeli regime, while Greene’s are based on an assortment of harmful antisemitic conspiracy theories. The difference in consequences demanded by House Republicans is extremely inconsistent.

Voting out a Black Muslim woman who has constantly been a target for Islamophobic, sexist and racist attacks from lawmakers and keeping a conservative white woman who has been given a slap on the wrist on multiple occasions, speaks volumes. Republicans are pushing an extremely worrisome and oppressive narrative. Omar, whose identity and beliefs break from the status quo, is seemingly being punished while Greene, who upholds the racist and oppressive positions often held by many members of Congress, remains in a comfortable position.

During her testimony, Omar highlighted her identity as being the real subject of this removal: “Well, I am Muslim. I am an immigrant and, interestingly, from Africa. Is anyone surprised that I’m being targeted? Is anyone surprised that I am somehow deemed unworthy to speak about American foreign policy?”

Consequences for racist language are based on the identity of the individual. The difference in judgment also points out Congress’ antagonism toward Palestinian rights and sovereignty.

Eva Morris | Design Director

As mentioned, Omar has a past of speaking openly against Israel’s government and its violence and oppression of Palestinians. Omar’s removal signals the U.S.’ blind allegiance to the Israeli government, which has been one of the U.S.’s biggest foreign aid recipients since World War II.

Much of it is being used for military funding, which historically has been used against Palestinians. In 2022 alone, more than 150 Palestinians were killed as a result of the conflict, 7 times the number of Israelis. Of those Palestinian casualties, 44 were kids. In 2021, more than 100,000 Palestinians were internally displaced as a result of the conflict. The U.S. is funding this conflict and helping those numbers increase.

Palestine’s self-determination movement as both a nation and identity has been put down as a product of the U.S. government’s intervention. Based on recent events like Omar’s removal, this negligence of Palestinians does not seem to be going anywhere soon.

These incidents of racism and antisemitism, as well as the battle against Palestinian rights show that our government has an intentional disregard, or outright hostility, towards these groups. As Syracuse University students, we must learn and understand the Palestinian self-determination movement. We must also condemn our government for these racially-directed attacks on freedom, retribute Rep. Greene for her antisemitic comments and protect the rights of Black women to hold positions of change.

Aidaruus J. Shirwa is a Senior Policy Studies and Economics major. He can be reached at aishirwa@syr.edu.

Published on February 5, 2023 at 11:05 pm