Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) was pressed by CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday about her recent controversial statements and she doubled down in response.
Omar was asked if she regretted comparing the United States and Israel to Hamas terrorists and she said she did not regret saying it, despite having walked back the comments after being criticized by others in her party.
“Do you regret these comments?” asked Tapper.
“I don’t,” she responded. “I think it’s really important to think back to the point that I was trying to make. Obviously, I was addressing Secretary of State Blinken.”
Representative Ilhan Omar says that she does not regret her comments comparing the United States and Israel to Hama… https://t.co/xVyHfjKvyi
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“The cases are put together in front of the [International Criminal Court]. ICC has been investigating, I know that, you know, some of my colleagues don’t lend legitimacy to the ICC, but I tend to think that people around the world who have experience with injustice, need to be able to have a place where they can go,” she continued.
“And as a country that helped found the ICC and supported it,” she added, “I think it is really important for us to continue to find ways in which people can find justice around the world.”
Omar was also pressed during the interview about comments she made about Jews that many called anti-Semitic, and she blamed Jewish Democrats for not being aligned to her political agenda.
“Do you understand why some of your fellow House Democrats especially the Jews find that language anti-Semitic?” asked Tapper after listing examples of Omar’s controversial speech.
Wow — Rep @IlhanMN tells @jaketapper that Jewish Democrats have not been “partners in justice” or sufficiently com… https://t.co/rx1AYTWajg
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“I have welcomed any time, you know, my colleagues have asked to have a conversation, to learn from them, for them to learn from me,” Omar responded.
“I think it’s really important for these members to realize that they haven’t been partners in justice, they haven’t been, you know, equally engaging in seeking justice around the world. And I think I will continue to do that. It is important for me as someone who knows what it feels like to experience injustice in ways that my colleagues don’t to be a voice in finding accountability,” she added.
Omar’s comments garnered renewed ire from groups opposing anti-Semitism.
“Shocking – Ilhan Omar refusing to take ANY accountability for her obscene antisemitism,” tweeted Stop Antisemitism.
“Instead she has the audacity to blame Jewish members of Congress. When will this vile bigot finally be censured and properly reprimanded by her party? Enough is enough!” they added.