Kamala Harris defends Ilhan Omar after backlash to Israel comments

In this file photo taken on February 5, 2019 Representative for Minnesota Ilhan Omar is seen in the audience ahead of US President Donald Trump's State of the Union address. In this file photo taken on February 5, 2019 Representative for Minnesota Ilhan Omar is seen in the audience ahead of US President Donald Trump's State of the Union address. Photo: Mandel Ngan, AFP/Getty Images Photo: Mandel Ngan, AFP/Getty Images Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Kamala Harris defends Ilhan Omar after backlash to Israel comments 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

Shortly after House Democrats announced they would indefinitely postpone a vote on a resolution condemning anti-Semitism on Wednesday, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., put out a statement in support of Rep. Ilhan Omar, whose controversial comments on Israel were believed to have spurred the drafting of the resolution.

Last week, Omar, D-Minn., sparked a backlash for the third time in recent months when she said supporters of Israel are attempting to get American lawmakers to have "allegiance to a foreign country."

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Omar was blasted by congressional Republicans and some Democrats, as well as President Trump. Trump called on her to resign from Congress or, if not that, resign from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other party leaders drafted a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, and Pelosi had said she intended to broaden the measure so that it also condemned anti-Muslim bias, but on Wednesday, news broke that a vote on the measure would be postponed amid dissent within the party ranks.

In a Wednesday statement, Harris expressed concern over the criticism of Omar, who has reportedly received death threats.

"We all have a responsibility to speak out against anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, racism, and all forms of hatred and bigotry, especially as we see a spike in hate crimes in America. But like some of my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus, I am concerned that the spotlight being put on Congresswoman Omar may put her at risk," said Harris in a statement released Wednesday afternoon.

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"We should be having a sound, respectful discussion about policy. You can both support Israel and be loyal to our country," the statement continued. "I also believe there is a difference between criticism of policy or political leaders, and anti-Semitism."

Harris ended her statement with a call for a two-state solution and a commitment to human rights and democracy in the region.

Other 2020 contenders, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also expressed misgivings about the criticism of Omar, warning against equating "anti-Semitism with legitimate criticism of the right-wing, Netanyahu government in Israel."

"What I fear is going on in the House now is an effort to target Congresswoman Omar as a way of stifling that debate," he continued, in a statement to The Hill. "That's wrong."

A group of Democrats confronted Pelosi early in the day Wednesday to ask why the resolution was being pushed when other bigoted comments by Republicans had gone unremarked upon, the New York Times reported.

Pelosi said Wednesday that she did not believe Omar's most recent comments were "intentionally anti-Semitic." She has called Omar's past comments on the influence of lobbying money on Israel policy "deeply offensive."