House Democrats today rallied around a resolution to condemn President Donald Trump's racist tweets against four high-profile freshmen congresswomen.
But at least one of those congresswomen — Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota — is about to drop her own resolution that may not go over so well with Democratic leadership. Her resolution would defend the pro-Palestinian boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
"We are introducing a resolution … to really speak about the American values that support and believe in our ability to exercise our first amendment rights in regard to boycotting," Omar told Al-Monitor. "And it is an opportunity for us to explain why it is we support a nonviolent movement, which is the BDS movement."
The Minnesota Democrat noted she intends to introduce the bill early this week. At the same time, Democratic leadership plans to advance another nonbinding resolution condemning the BDS movement on Wednesday.
Omar and her colleague — Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — became the first and only lawmakers to support the BDS movement after winning their elections last year. Republicans have repeatedly seized upon their pro-BDS stance to paint the Democratic Party as anti-Israel — something that was not lost on Donald Trump during his multiple Twitter tirades targeting both congresswomen.
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House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., has so far resisted Republican calls to kick Omar off of the panel. But he has previously accused Omar of "invoking a vile, anti-Semitic slur" after she said, "I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country." Her remarks prompted the House to pass another nonbinding resolution condemning anti-Semitism and Islamophobia 407-23 in March.
On Wednesday, Engel's committee will vote on an anti-BDS resolution, introduced by Reps. Bradley Schneider, D-Ill., and Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y. The resolution was a priority for American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) activists during their annual lobbying day earlier this year. The committee also plans to vote on a military aid bill that codifies the $38 billion, 10-year memorandum of understanding with Israel into law — another AIPAC priority.
While both bills still have more than enough support to pass, Omar told Al-Monitor that she intends to vote no.
https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2019-07-17/ilhan-omar-seizes-spotlight-to-push-pro-bds-resolution