Ilhan Omar ousted from House of Representatives committee on Israel

Republicans in the US House of Representatives have voted to oust Ilhan Omar from a high-profile House of Representatives committee because the Muslim MP mocked American politicians for unfairly supporting the Israeli regime in exchange for financial rewards.

The measure passed Thursday, removing the Somalia-born MP from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Those who voted to remove Omar from the committee cited a 2019 tweet of hers that read, "It's all about the Benjamins, baby." The tweet referenced Benjamin Franklin's image on $100 bills to indicate that those who supported the Israeli regime across the American political spectrum were motivated by money.

Omar's critics labeled the tweet "anti-Semitic," but she herself said those who conspired against her could not tolerate the presence of Muslims in Congress and also acted out of "xenophobia and racism." She has on many occasions slammed pro-Israel US politicians in the bicameral legislature, calling the occupying power an "apartheid" regime and denouncing its war crimes against the Palestinians.

Omar has also criticized the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) for its role in shaping US policy. Separately, she has said in the past that US forces and those of other nations should be subject to the same standards of accountability when their actions injure or kill civilians. Addressing Congress ahead of the vote, Omar said her attackers would not be able to silence her. "My leadership and my voice will not be diminished by not being on this committee ... my voice is growing louder and stronger," she said.

"I'm Muslim, I'm an immigrant and interestingly I'm from Africa," added the 40-year-old. "Is anyone surprised I'm being targeted? Is anyone surprised that I'm somehow deemed unworthy to speak on American foreign policy?” House Minority Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters ahead of the vote that the move against Omar was related to "political revenge" for Democrats expelling Republicans Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene in 2021 after highly controversial behaviors by the duo had removed committee duties.

Greene had told Congress in the past that "Muslims infiltrate Congress." Gosar had posted a video on social media showing him killing another member of the House of Representatives, Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Ocasio-Cortez himself, speaking in the debate over Omar's ouster from the House Committee, said that "[the vote] is about targeting women of color in the United States of America." Tlaib and Omar, the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, are outspoken critics of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians and vocal supporters of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. The two called "Israel" an "apartheid state" guilty of war crimes.

In May 2021, Omar condemned US President Joe Biden for siding with Israel's repressive occupation of Palestine and for committing atrocities against Palestinians. In April 2019, Omar angered then-US President Donald Trump for highlighting Israeli apartheid crimes against Palestinians. “She was very disrespectful to this country. She was frankly very disrespectful of Israel," Trump said in defense of the Israeli regime at the time. The congresswoman belongs to a minority of US lawmakers who are strongly opposed to an apartheid regime in occupied Palestine. She is openly opposed to the US selling guns abroad and strongly opposes gun laws in the country that allow the purchase of military combat weapons by anyone over the age of 18 with a small background check.