Following days of intense debates and right-wing media rhetoric, Republicans have finally managed to oust Democrat Ilhan Omar from her committee post in Congress, on Thursday.
The vote in favor of the unusual move was championed by Republicans who now constitute a majority in the US House of Representatives.
Omar was removed from her post as a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, allegedly due to her strong position and previous comments on Israel.
Omar, along with a few other Democrats in Congress, has adopted a strong position against the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and has called on the US administration to hold Israel accountable for its actions.
Republicans, and even some Democrats, have protested such positions and comments as antisemitic.
AIPAC Attacks Ilhan Omar over Criticism of Israel’s Onslaught in Gaza
Omar, and other Democrats, however, said that the vote was “revenge after two Republicans were ousted from committees in 2020 when Democrats held a House majority,” the BBC reported. It also conveyed comments by Omar where she suggested she was being removed because she is a Muslim woman who immigrated to the US as a refugee.
“Is anyone surprised that I am somehow deemed unworthy to speak about American foreign policy?” Omar reportedly said shortly before the vote.
At the vote, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez bounced “on her feet with rage”, accusing the GOP leadership of having no greater motive than “targeting women of color in the United States”, the British Guardian reported.
“There is nothing consistent with the Republican party’s continued attack, except for the racism and incitement of violence against women of color in this body. This is about targeting women of color in the United States of America,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Another Congresswoman, Cori Bush, called the action to kick Omar off the important committee, offensive. “Republicans are waging a blatantly Islamophobic and racist attack against Congresswoman Omar. I have said it before, I will say it again: The white supremacy happening is unbelievable. This is despicable,” Bush said.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
