Congresswoman Ilhan Omar in 2016. Photo: Lorie Shaull via Wikicommons.

House Democratic leaders are reportedly set to introduce a resolution condemning antisemitic statements by Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, following a letter from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling on her to do so.

According to Politico, the Democratic caucus has been debating how to respond to Omar’s antisemitism since the weekend. The wording of the possible resolution is still being finalized. It is expected go to the floor on Wednesday.

Omar has been caught making antisemitic comments in the past. In 2012, she said Israel had “hypnotized the world.” In a tweet earlier this year, she claimed the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC was bribing Congress members to support Israel.

Most recently, over the weekend, she accused backers of Israel of dual loyalty, claiming they “push for allegiance to a foreign country.”

In response to Omar’s latest comment, New York Representative Nita Lowey, who is Jewish, tweeted, “Lawmakers must be able to debate w/o prejudice or bigotry. I am saddened that Rep. Omar continues to mischaracterize support for Israel. I urge her to retract this statement and engage in further dialogue with the Jewish community on why these comments are so hurtful.”

https://twitter.com/NitaLowey/status/1101903315670106112

Omar then doubled down on the dual loyalty accusation, saying, “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.”

https://twitter.com/IlhanMN/status/1102296763292139520

Jonathan Greenblatt — the national director and CEO of the ADL — sent a letter to Pelosi on Monday, stating, “In light of these additional anti-Semitic statements by Rep. Omar, we ask that you give the entire Congress an opportunity, through a House resolution, to voice its rejection of her latest slur and make clear that no matter what may divide the 435 members of the House of Representatives, they are united in condemning anti-Semitism.”

“Accusing Jews of having allegiance to a foreign government has long been a vile anti-Semitic slur that has been used to harass, marginalize, and persecute the Jewish people for centuries,” Greenblatt wrote.

“Sometimes referred to as the ‘dual loyalty’ charge, it alleges that Jews should be suspected of being disloyal neighbors or citizens because their true allegiance is to their co-religionists around the world or to a secret and immoral Jewish agenda,” he explained.

“This anti-Semitic allegation posits that non-Jews should not trust the motives or actions of their Jewish neighbors, who may be engaged in deceitful behavior to accomplish their own goals at the expense of others,” he noted.

“The entire Congress should commit itself to living up to the pledge that George Washington made to the Jewish community of Newport, RI, when he wrote that our country will be one ‘which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance,'” Greenblatt declared.