Minnesota Rep Ilhan Omar (D) apologized once again for her past criticisms of Israel during a struggle session with CNN’s Dana Bash and California Rep Adam Schiff (D) on Sunday.
Partial transcript:
Bash: So when you apologized for the “All about the Benjamins” comment, you said, “anti-Semitism is real, and I’m grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes.” What did you learn?
Omar: A lot. I certainly did not, or was not aware, that the word “hypnotized” was a trope. I wasn’t aware of the fact that there are tropes about Jews and money. That has been a very enlightening part of this journey. To insinuate that I knowingly said these things when people have read into my comments to make it sound as if I have something against the Jewish community is so wrong. If you remember when I first got elected to Congress, it was when the FBI report came out about the rise of anti-Semitism. As the Rep-elected, the first op-ed I wrote was on that report, which I talked about how it was important for us as a community to coalesce around the Jewish community and fight against anti-Semitism. I voted for every single resolution. No Republican can say that. Condemning anti-Semitism. My work is clear, and the collaboration and work that I do with my Jewish colleagues is very clear…
