House passes resolution that condemns anti-Semitism and other forms of hate
WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives Thursday evening approved a resolution that condemns anti-Semitism and other forms of hate.
The resolution passed 407-23.
All Democrats voted yes. Twenty-three Republicans voted no and one voted present.
The resolution was prompted by comments Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) made last week that seemed to question the loyalty of Americans who support Israel.
The lower chamber had been scheduled to take up the resolution on Wednesday.
The delay was caused by a feud between pro-Israel Democrats and more progressive members of the party over whether the resolution should mention Omar by name and if it should be expanded to include other forms bigotry.
An agreement was reached not to name Omar and amend the resolution to include denunciations of racism, Islamophobia, homophobia, and other forms discrimination.
On Feb. 13 the House passed a resolution that condemned anti-Semitism after Omar made similar remarks. That resolution also did not contain any reference to the congresswoman.
President Donald Trump and GOP lawmakers have called for Omar to be removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Chairman Elliot Engel (D-N.Y) has said he does not want to strip Omar of her committee assignment. Engel is Jewish and is considered one of the most pro-Israel members of Congress. He strongly condemned Omar’s remarks and demanded an apology.
Omar has maintained that her comments were not anti-Semitic and that criticism of Israeli settlement policies should not be considered as such. She has yet to apologize for the latest remarks, although she did apologize for her previous comments.
Omar was born in Somalia. She and fellow Democrat Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) are the first two Muslim women to serve in Congress. Tlaib is of Palestinian descent and is also a harsh critic of Israel.
Bryan is an award-winning political journalist who has extensive experience covering Congress and Maryland state government.
His work includes coverage of the election of Donald Trump, the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and attorneys general William Barr and Jeff Sessions-as well as that of the Maryland General Assembly, Gov. Larry Hogan, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bryan has broken stories involving athletic and sexual assault scandals with the Baltimore Post-Examiner.
His original UMBC investigation gained international attention, was featured in People Magazine and he was interviewed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” and local radio stations. Bryan broke subsequent stories documenting UMBC’s omission of a sexual assault on their daily crime log and a federal investigation related to the university’s handling of an alleged sexual assault.