Ilhan Omar, Israel, Antisemitism and Anti-Muslim Tropes

First off, I welcome Representative Ilhan Omar’s criticism of Israel. It might come as a surprise to many Americans, but many Jews (and Israelis) are critical of Israel. This is hardly new. In fact, one of the most biting critiques of the Jewish state comes from the Israeli left, and some of it comes from this generational sharp turn to the right. This turn came from the immigration of far-right American Jews, like Meir Kahane, that helped push politics towards radicalism.

It is they who are mostly behind the settler movement.

Some of this trend, if one is to be fair, is driven by terrorism and the innate human need to feel safe. That the Likud Party and it's far right, mostly religious parties have taken advantage of this to turn the country into something its founders would not recognize, is true. And that is only partially true. The Likud is the direct descendant of the Irgun. They were not the Palmach, which was left of center and dedicated to self-defense until 1948, but a far-right terrorist organization.

This is a fact, Menachem Begin was the most wanted man in Palestine by the British Occupation Authority, and when decades later when he became Prime Minister this was a problem. Begin had not been removed from this most wanted list, and should have been arrested on sight in the UK, or any of the Commonwealth. The fact that he was able to work for peace led to the quiet removal from it. He was also the head of state, which made things complicated if he…