Pod Save America Hosts Call on Democrats to Cut All Israel Military Aid, No Longer Accept AIPAC Funding
Jews, Israelis Targeted in Austria Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents; Local Jewish Community Calls for Action
‘All of Our Strength’: Over 1,000 Pro-Israel Activists Gather in DC for Solidarity Conference
‘Devastated’: Wesley LePatner, Killed in Manhattan Mass Shooting, Was a Jewish Communal, Philanthropic Leader
Sen. Angus King Vows to No Longer Vote for Israel Military Aid Until Gaza Conditions Improve
Europe Won’t Pressure Israel to ‘Commit Suicide’ Amid Gaza Backlash, Palestinian State Push, Says Israeli FM
Israel’s National Soccer Coach Attacked in Athens Before Soccer Fans Chant ‘F–K Israel, Free Palestine’ at Match
New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals
US Pressures Lebanon to Issue Cabinet Decision to Disarm Hezbollah Before Talks Continue
UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Meets Conditions, Starmer Says
US Representative Ilhan Omar Faces Primary Challenge on Tuesday
Error: Contact form not found.
by Reuters and Algemeiner Staff
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) participates in a news conference, outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, April 10, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Jim Bourg / File.
US Representative Ilhan Omar, one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress and no stranger to criticism from across the aisle, faces a challenge from fellow Democrats hoping to unseat her in a primary election on Tuesday.
“Her progressive politics is a platform of platitudes,” said Antone Melton-Meaux, a Black lawyer who is one of four candidates challenging Omar in her Minneapolis-based district.
A refugee from Somalia, Omar, 37, quickly became a national figure when she was elected in 2018. Republicans rebuked her left-wing politics, and President Donald Trump has falsely accused her of supporting al Qaeda. Republicans and Democrats alike have chided her criticisms of Israel, and she increased her security after death threats.
Melton-Meaux, 47, said Omar is more focused on celebrity than serving her constituents. If elected, he said, “I will do the work.”
Omar’s campaign has said it is not worried about the election outcome. “We’re confident,” spokesman Jeremy Slevin said.
Both Melton-Meaux and Omar have raised over $4 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Police reforms are a top issue in Omar’s district, where George Floyd, a Black man, was killed in police custody in May, touching off nationwide protests.
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Connecticut and Vermont all hold primary elections for Congress on Tuesday. The outcome will help set the stage for Nov. 3 elections to the House of Representatives and Senate that will determine the balance of power in Washington.
In Georgia, meanwhile, a Republican who has made inflammatory comments about Muslims like Omar, Marjorie Taylor Greene, is running for an open House seat.
She faces John Cowan, a neurosurgeon, in a primary runoff. The winner will likely be elected in November in the conservative district.
In videos released in June by Politico, Greene suggested that Omar’s election in 2018 was part of “an Islamic invasion of our government.”
The videos included derogatory comments about Blacks and Jews, and Republican leaders denounced Greene after they surfaced.
