Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan flanked by (L to R) Minnesotan State Representative Ilhan Omar, Chargé d’Affaires Brent Hardt from U.S. Embassy Paris, Minnesota World’s Fair Bid Committee President Mark Ritchie, Expo Unit Director Jim Core arrives at the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) General Assembly in Paris to present the Minnesota bid in Paris, France on November 15, 2017. [State Department Photo/ Public Domain]
On November 8, 2016, a young, hijab-wearing mother-of-three named Ilhan Omar made history, becoming the first Somali Muslim woman to be elected to state office in America. She was hailed by the New York Times as, “one of the bright lights in the post-election darkness,” and the documentary film “TIME FOR ILHAN” intimately chronicles her hard-fought campaign for State Representative in Minnesota’s Senate District 60B, home to the nation’s largest Somali community.
But Omar has been plagued by controversy during her tenure in the Minnesota State Senate. Chief among the criticisms of Omar have been about her opinions on Israel and Jews. In 2012 Omar wrote “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.” This prompted a rebuke from Jewish Congressman Lee Zeldin. Newsweek reported:
Republican Representative Lee Zeldin slammed freshman congresswoman Ilhan Omar after she was appointed to the Foreign Relations subcommittee, calling the Democrat “anti-semitic” and “anti-Israel.”
Earlier this week, Zeldin tweeted that he had “just learned Freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar was also put on this committee w oversight of US foreign policy. Crazy to watch what House Dems are empowering/elevating.”
Read more here.
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