SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on March 11, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Targeted By AIPAC Ads Over Support for Palestinian Rights, Omar Vows 'No Level of Harassment Will Silence Me'
"The rights of Palestinians and all people yearning for freedom and self-determination will not be ignored."
May 20, 2021
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Wednesday vowed not to be deterred from fighting for Palestinian rights after the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC began running ads this week linking the Minnesota Democrat with Hamas, spots that Omar's office condemned as both inaccurate and dangerous.
"Given the number of threats of death and violence the congresswoman receives on a near-daily basis, it's not just irresponsible--it's incitement," Isi Baehr-Breen, Omar's deputy communications director, told The Nation.
On Monday, AIPAC began running a Facebook ad showing Omar's face next to a barrage of rockets. "When Israel targets Hamas," the ad reads, "Rep. Omar calls it an 'act of terrorism.'"
The ad appears to be referencing a tweet last week in which Omar--who has denounced Israel's killing of Palestinians and Hamas rocket attacks--described Israeli airstrikes on civilians in the occupied Gaza Strip as "an act of terrorism" and said that "Palestinians deserve protection."
"This is desperate and deeply offensive," Omar said of AIPAC's ad on Wednesday. "The rights of Palestinians and all people yearning for freedom and self-determination will not be ignored and no level of harassment will silence me or the millions of people demanding peace and justice."
The influential pro-Israel lobbying group has also launched ads in recent days targeting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the first Palestinian-American woman ever elected to Congress.
"Israel is under attack," reads a Facebook ad featuring Omar and the four other progressive lawmakers, all of whom have criticized the Israeli government's ongoing, devastating assault on Gaza, an air and artillery campaign that has killed more than 220 Palestinians, wounded many more, and displaced nearly 60,000 in just over a week.
The ads targeting progressive critics of Israel are so egregious that they're drawing rebukes from fervently pro-Israel top Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).
"I disagree with the statements made by the members, but attacking them in ads does not advance the goal of increasing support for Israel," said Hoyer, a regular speaker at AIPAC's annual conference.
Pelosi, for her part, called the ads attacking Omar "deeply cynical and inflammatory."
"As we always respect Israel's right to defend herself," said Pelosi, "there must be a serious effort on the part of both parties in the conflict to end the violence and respect the rights of both the Israeli and Palestinian people."
As The Nation's Aida Chavez reported Wednesday, "Omar's office is calling on Facebook to immediately remove the ads, which 'blatantly peddle both anti-Muslim hate speech and disinformation,' and on AIPAC to apologize."
Chavez noted that the lobbying organization's latest campaign is "consistent with AIPAC's broader rhetoric; in 2019, the pro-Israel group was forced to apologize and remove at least four Facebook ads saying that Omar, Tlaib, and Representative Betty McCollum, one of the few congressional critics of Israel's treatment of Palestinians, pose a threat 'maybe more sinister' than ISIS."
In a tweet on Wednesday, Tlaib wrote that "to launch such a blatantly Islamophobic attack on Ilhan Omar right now is reprehensible."
"I stand with her to oppose the violence Israel's apartheid government is perpetrating," Tlaib added. "You will not silence those who stand for human rights."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
aipacalexandria ocasio-cortezbernie sandersgazailhan omarisraelnancy pelosipalestinerashida tlaibsteny hoyerus congress
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Wednesday vowed not to be deterred from fighting for Palestinian rights after the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC began running ads this week linking the Minnesota Democrat with Hamas, spots that Omar's office condemned as both inaccurate and dangerous.
"Given the number of threats of death and violence the congresswoman receives on a near-daily basis, it's not just irresponsible--it's incitement," Isi Baehr-Breen, Omar's deputy communications director, told The Nation.
On Monday, AIPAC began running a Facebook ad showing Omar's face next to a barrage of rockets. "When Israel targets Hamas," the ad reads, "Rep. Omar calls it an 'act of terrorism.'"
The ad appears to be referencing a tweet last week in which Omar--who has denounced Israel's killing of Palestinians and Hamas rocket attacks--described Israeli airstrikes on civilians in the occupied Gaza Strip as "an act of terrorism" and said that "Palestinians deserve protection."
"This is desperate and deeply offensive," Omar said of AIPAC's ad on Wednesday. "The rights of Palestinians and all people yearning for freedom and self-determination will not be ignored and no level of harassment will silence me or the millions of people demanding peace and justice."
The influential pro-Israel lobbying group has also launched ads in recent days targeting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the first Palestinian-American woman ever elected to Congress.
"Israel is under attack," reads a Facebook ad featuring Omar and the four other progressive lawmakers, all of whom have criticized the Israeli government's ongoing, devastating assault on Gaza, an air and artillery campaign that has killed more than 220 Palestinians, wounded many more, and displaced nearly 60,000 in just over a week.
The ads targeting progressive critics of Israel are so egregious that they're drawing rebukes from fervently pro-Israel top Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).
"I disagree with the statements made by the members, but attacking them in ads does not advance the goal of increasing support for Israel," said Hoyer, a regular speaker at AIPAC's annual conference.
Pelosi, for her part, called the ads attacking Omar "deeply cynical and inflammatory."
"As we always respect Israel's right to defend herself," said Pelosi, "there must be a serious effort on the part of both parties in the conflict to end the violence and respect the rights of both the Israeli and Palestinian people."
As The Nation's Aida Chavez reported Wednesday, "Omar's office is calling on Facebook to immediately remove the ads, which 'blatantly peddle both anti-Muslim hate speech and disinformation,' and on AIPAC to apologize."
Chavez noted that the lobbying organization's latest campaign is "consistent with AIPAC's broader rhetoric; in 2019, the pro-Israel group was forced to apologize and remove at least four Facebook ads saying that Omar, Tlaib, and Representative Betty McCollum, one of the few congressional critics of Israel's treatment of Palestinians, pose a threat 'maybe more sinister' than ISIS."
In a tweet on Wednesday, Tlaib wrote that "to launch such a blatantly Islamophobic attack on Ilhan Omar right now is reprehensible."
"I stand with her to oppose the violence Israel's apartheid government is perpetrating," Tlaib added. "You will not silence those who stand for human rights."
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Wednesday vowed not to be deterred from fighting for Palestinian rights after the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC began running ads this week linking the Minnesota Democrat with Hamas, spots that Omar's office condemned as both inaccurate and dangerous.
"Given the number of threats of death and violence the congresswoman receives on a near-daily basis, it's not just irresponsible--it's incitement," Isi Baehr-Breen, Omar's deputy communications director, told The Nation.
On Monday, AIPAC began running a Facebook ad showing Omar's face next to a barrage of rockets. "When Israel targets Hamas," the ad reads, "Rep. Omar calls it an 'act of terrorism.'"
The ad appears to be referencing a tweet last week in which Omar--who has denounced Israel's killing of Palestinians and Hamas rocket attacks--described Israeli airstrikes on civilians in the occupied Gaza Strip as "an act of terrorism" and said that "Palestinians deserve protection."
"This is desperate and deeply offensive," Omar said of AIPAC's ad on Wednesday. "The rights of Palestinians and all people yearning for freedom and self-determination will not be ignored and no level of harassment will silence me or the millions of people demanding peace and justice."
The influential pro-Israel lobbying group has also launched ads in recent days targeting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the first Palestinian-American woman ever elected to Congress.
"Israel is under attack," reads a Facebook ad featuring Omar and the four other progressive lawmakers, all of whom have criticized the Israeli government's ongoing, devastating assault on Gaza, an air and artillery campaign that has killed more than 220 Palestinians, wounded many more, and displaced nearly 60,000 in just over a week.
The ads targeting progressive critics of Israel are so egregious that they're drawing rebukes from fervently pro-Israel top Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).
"I disagree with the statements made by the members, but attacking them in ads does not advance the goal of increasing support for Israel," said Hoyer, a regular speaker at AIPAC's annual conference.
Pelosi, for her part, called the ads attacking Omar "deeply cynical and inflammatory."
"As we always respect Israel's right to defend herself," said Pelosi, "there must be a serious effort on the part of both parties in the conflict to end the violence and respect the rights of both the Israeli and Palestinian people."
As The Nation's Aida Chavez reported Wednesday, "Omar's office is calling on Facebook to immediately remove the ads, which 'blatantly peddle both anti-Muslim hate speech and disinformation,' and on AIPAC to apologize."
Chavez noted that the lobbying organization's latest campaign is "consistent with AIPAC's broader rhetoric; in 2019, the pro-Israel group was forced to apologize and remove at least four Facebook ads saying that Omar, Tlaib, and Representative Betty McCollum, one of the few congressional critics of Israel's treatment of Palestinians, pose a threat 'maybe more sinister' than ISIS."
In a tweet on Wednesday, Tlaib wrote that "to launch such a blatantly Islamophobic attack on Ilhan Omar right now is reprehensible."
"I stand with her to oppose the violence Israel's apartheid government is perpetrating," Tlaib added. "You will not silence those who stand for human rights."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.