Americans for Peace Now condemns the House vote to remove Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from her seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee

Speaker McCarthy’s claim that he did so on the basis that Representative Omar is “antisemitic” is both inaccurate and offensive. Criticizing Israeli policies and actions is not antisemitic. Antisemitism is a real and dangerous threat, and misrepresenting Congresswoman Omar’s statements does not advance the fight against antisemitism. Instead, this transparent attempt to weaponize the accusation of antisemitism to score cheap political points damages efforts to isolate and eradicate antisemitic speech. Targeting Omar has wide-ranging repercussions that go beyond congressional committee assignments. Representative Omar has been the target of disturbing and hateful Islamophobic attacks and threats, which could be further fueled by today’s House action against her.

Hadar Susskind, President and CEO of Americans for Peace Now said: “in addition to fanning the flames of Islamophobia in the United States by conflating legitimate criticism of Israel with antisemitism and weaponizing accusations of antisemitism to stifle debate around both American and Israeli policies, this decision undermines the vitally important fight against antisemitism.”