Last night, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar blew an anti-Semitic dog whistle on Twitter. Responding to a Republican effort to censure her for alleged anti-Semitism, she instead handed them further ammunition. It began when journalist Glenn Greenwald characterized the anti-Semitism charge against Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib as really being "over their criticisms of Israel." Omar agreed, and added her own postscript.
As was quickly pointed out by both progressive and conservative commentators, this claim that American politicians are only pro-Israel thanks to piles of cash from behind-the-scenes actors reflects a classical anti-Semitic trope and also misunderstands how lobbies like AIPAC actually work. It's worth unpacking how wrongheaded Omar's claim was.
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