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Ilhan Omar accused of ‘blood libel’ for calling Jewish students pro-genocide: ‘This is how people get killed’
Anti-Defamation League chief has accused Democratic US Representative Ilhan Omar of spreading a "blood libel" for calling Jewish students “pro-genocide.”
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) chief on Saturday accused Democratic US Representative Ilhan Omar of spreading a "blood libel" after she claimed that all Jewish students who back Israel amid its war against Hamas are “pro-genocide.”
"Squad" Rep. Omar on Friday visited Columbia University and claimed that she met several Jewish students that are in the encampments amidst the ongoing Pro-Palestine protests.
Speaking to a local reporter, she said: "And I think it is really unfortunate that people don’t care about the fact that all Jewish kids should be kept safe and that we should not have to tolerate antisemitism or bigotry for all Jewish students whether they are pro-genocide or anti-genocide."
Also Read: How Columbia University triggered campus protests across US, several students arrested
Omar, who is the first female Muslim American elected to the House of Representatives, dubbed the Israel's war against Hamas a “genocide.”
Omar's remarks caught the attention of Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL, who blasted her by tweeting, “It is patently false and a blood libel to suggest that ANY Jewish students are ‘pro-genocide."
"It is gaslighting to impute that Jewish people are somehow at fault for being harassed and menaced with signs and slogans literally calling for their own extermination,” he continued.
Greenblatt further slammed her for slandering “entire group of young people in such a cold, calculated manner,” stressing that “this is how people get killed.”
Calling on Omar to issue an apology for her remarks, he said “I’m not holding my breath.”
Ilhan Omar fires back at ADL chief, defends self
Justifying her comments, Omar cited an article in the Intercept concerning the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights' inquiry into the University of Massachusetts Amherst on claims of “anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab harassment and discrimination by fellow students.”
“This is the pro-genocide I was talking about, can you condemn this like I have condemned antisemitism and bigotry of all kind? ‘Kill All Arabs’ ‘They are all Hamas. All grotesquely evil’ ‘Level Gaza,'” Omar, who has been a staunch critic of Israel, wrote on X.
Earlier, she faced widespread backlash for comparing the US and Israel to the Taliban and Hamas. She recently voted against a nearly $26 billion package that included humanitarian aid for the Palestinians and military support for Israel.
Earlier this month, Police arrested Omar's daughter, Isra Hirsi, for defying law enforcement directives while taking part in the Pro-Palestine protests. Following this, she was suspended by Bernard College.
However, Omar came out in support of her daughter and expressed her pride in her.
More than 200 people were taken into custody over the weekend as police arrived in the campuses to evict protest camps at certain schools.
