When Donald Trump suggested that Rep. Ilhan Omar resign and called her apology for a tweet that used an anti semitic trope “lame,” he was speaking from a position of authority, and not just that of his office: He has repeatedly used the same kind of anti semitic tropes himself.
The irony of Trump weighing in on the issue was not lost on Sen. Ron Latz, a St. Louis Park Democrat. Latz has been openly critical of how Omar has spoken on Jewish issues and her use of language well before this latest firestorm. Last year, he tried to organize an “intervention” in which Jewish leaders meet with her at his house, The Pioneer Press reported.
RELATED: Rep. Ilhan Omar apologizes after bipartisan backlash to Tweet called antisemitic
Still, while he’s critical of Omar, he doesn’t think the president has the moral high ground. Latz ran through what he sees as the president’s problematic past when it comes to anti-semitism, including his contradictory statements about David Duke, and his response to the violence during a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville in 2017. “He has dirty hands, so he's the wrong person to criticize what Representative Omar has said.”
Omar, who apologized “unequivocally” on Monday, referenced Trump’s problematic past in a retort on Twitter Wenesday.
Hi @realDonaldTrump-You have trafficked in hate your whole life—against Jews, Muslims, Indigenous, immigrants, black people and more. I learned from people impacted by my words. When will you? https://t.co/EqqTyjkiNE
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 13, 2019But Latz also noted that Omar’s original “All about the Benjamins” tweet, inferring that Republicans support Israeli policies because of money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, was, “just as unacceptable as when President Trump uses dog whistle language and anti semitic tropes.”
Latz sees anti-semitism on both sides of the political spectrum now, and it worries him.
“There is certainly a strain of antisemitism on the far left of the political spectrum just as there is on the far right and the end result is the same. It condemns a group of people based on their faith. And it puts our lives in danger."
And as Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota Executive Director Steve Hunegs noted in an interview, there is a more direct comparison to be made between Omar’s tweet and Trump’s past comments — Trump's references to antisemetic conspiracy theories involving billionnaire financier George Soros.
“Conspiracy theories about Jews, in a perverse way, unite the left and the right. You see the unfortunate statements of Representative Omar, noting that Jewish money and influence womehow control the Congress for the benefit of Israel,” Hunegs said. “On the right, you see attacks against people like George Soros, where they accused him of masterminding all sorts of schemes throughout the world."
Hunegs continued.
"There isn't much difference between those anti-semitic tropes. In fact there is a fair amount of commonality between the two of them. They may have some historical differences in origin, but nevertheless they come to the same result."
