(CNN) The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Tuesday that he does not want Rep. Ilhan Omar removed from her seat on the committee for making comments about pro-Israel groups that several lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called anti-Semitic.

Asked by CNN's Erin Burnett on "Erin Burnett OutFront" whether he was considering stripping the Minnesota Democrat of her spot on the committee, a move that has largely been pushed by Republicans, Rep. Eliot Engel replied, "No, I'm not close to it."

"I don't know that that would do anything except exacerbate the situation even more," the New York Democrat said, clarifying that House leadership decides committee membership. "I'm looking to get rid of anti-Semitism, not looking to punish anybody."

"It's very important that we keep our eye on the prize, and I think that whenever there is hatred being spewed, or again, racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, Islamophobia, I think we have to speak out," he added.

Engel's comments come following his demand that Omar apologize for comments she made at a bookstore last week in which she said pro-Israel lawmakers are under "the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country."

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