Ilhan Omar insists she wasn’t equating US, Israel with terror groups after outcry

Ilhan Omar walks back remarks in which she grouped Hamas and the Taliban with the United States and Israel, but says the request for clarification from a dozen Jewish Democrats in Congress was Islamaphobic, exhorting her colleagues to call first next time.

“On Monday, I asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken about ongoing International Criminal Court investigations,” Omar says. “To be clear: the conversation was about accountability for specific incidents regarding those ICC cases, not a moral comparison between Hamas and the Taliban and the US and Israel. I was in no way equating terrorist organizations with democratic countries with well-established judicial systems.”

She adds, however: “It’s shameful for colleagues who call me when they need my support to now put out a statement asking for ‘clarification’ and not just call,” she said. “The Islamophobic tropes in this statement are offensive. The constant harassment & silencing from the signers of this letter is unbearable.”

Omar’s tweet Monday said, “We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity.… We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.”