JUST IN: Ilhan Omar's Most Controversial Statements Read Aloud On House Floor

at this time I would yield six minutes to Max Miller from the great state of Ohio the gentleman is recognized for six minutes thank you Mr Speaker and I thank the gentleman from Mississippi for yielding Mr Speaker the house committee on Foreign Affairs has broad jurisdiction over National Security and foreign policy peacekeeping and peace enforcement international law and the promotion of democracy and many other critical issues that require its members to be both objective and credible members of the committee on Foreign Affairs represent the United States abroad and are regarded as credible emissaries of American foreign policy their words have significant weight in guiding our relations with other countries and are relied upon by world leaders most importantly our allies such as Israel the forever home of the Jewish people but what happens when a committee member is no longer viewed as a credible Emissary of our foreign policy what if a member is barred from visiting one of our allies because of their Prejudice comments how can members who are unable to engage with our allies in a constructive manner be considered credible members of the committee well the gentlelady's discriminatory comments disqualified her from traveling to Israel in 2019 prime minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu would not allow representative Omar to enter saying we respect all political parties in the United States equally however we will also respect ourselves whoever comes to impose boycotts on us and to deny the legitimacy of the state of Israel we will not allow them entry yes the gentle lady disqualified herself from entry into one of the most important countries allied with the United States over the past 75 years Israel has been a steadfast Ally of the United States Israel has stood by us through the volatility in the Middle East and this Alliance has been critical to our own National Security how can someone not welcomed by one of our most important allies serve as an emissary of American foreign policy on the Foreign Affairs committee and given her biased comments against Israel and against the Jewish people how can she serve as an objective decision maker on the committee let's take a look at some of the general ladies comments in February of 2019 barely more than a month after becoming a member of this body representative Omar suggested that the Jewish people and the American Israel public affairs committee were buying political support writing on Twitter it's all about the Benjamin's baby clearly amplifying an anti-semitic stereotype about the Jewish people and money in response Congressional Democratic Leadership her own party immediately released a statement by saying anti-Semitism must be called out confronted and condemned whatever it is encountered without exception not long after representative Omar trivialized the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001 by describing that day of infamy as some people did something that's horrific some people did something yes Mr Speaker some people did do something some people committed evil acts of terrorism and killed nearly 3 000 Americans and in response some thousands of our fellow citizens myself included enlisted in our Armed Forces to defend the gentlelady's right to make her prejudiced remarks many went off to combat and even died to defend that right but they did not die fighting to have their bravery and love of country undermined by a member of the House Foreign Affairs committee Mr Speaker I have no words to describe just how utterly unacceptable these comments are but that's not all in 2021 the general lady referred to Israel which has the absolute right to defend itself against terrorism and attacks on its very existence as an apartheid state she even equated the United States and Israel countries that have stood as beacons of democracy to the Taliban and Hamas organizations that impose Terror on their regions in the world once again even her Democrat colleagues swiftly condemned her comment 12 Democrat members of this body released a state statement which noted equating the United States and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban is as offensive as it is misguided ignoring the differences between democracies governed by the rule of law and contemptible organizations that engage in terrorism at best discredits one intended argument and at worst reflects deep-seated Prejudice from her own party some have decried this effort as a political game Mr Speaker I assure you this is no political game this resolution is not about engaging in a tit-for-tat with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle this is about keeping someone with a long record of anti-Semitic and anti-israel bias off the Foreign Affairs committee which needs objective emissaries for our foreign policy even the Democrat former chairman of the house Foreign Affairs committee Elliot Engel said that Representatives Omar representative Omar's anti-semitic comments have no place in the Foreign Affairs committee or the House of Representatives that was in addition to the previously mentioned joint statement from 12 of the general ladies Democrat colleagues the facts are clear representative Omar has espoused anti-semitic and anti-israel rhetoric time and again she cannot be an objective contributor to the work of the committee and she has brought dishonor to the House of Representatives this body is committee which is viewed by Nations around the world as speaking for congress on matters of international importance and National Security should not have a seat for a member who would bring such dishonor to that committee I encourage all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this resolution to stay with one voice that the United States House of Representatives does not condone hate and to reaffirm we will always condemn anti-Semitism thank you Mr Speaker and I yield back gentleman

Channel: Forbes Breaking News

Views: 581,687

Keywords: Rep. Max Miller, Rep. Ilhan Omar, House

Id: CeQHpTCb4s4

Length: 6min 14sec (374 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 02 2023