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Join on Telegram Rabat – Omar Ilhan, a US Muslim congressman who recently faced a slew of scathing criticism for her alleged anti-Semitism, has said that modern day Israel is the legitimate and historical home of Palestinians.
In an op-ed published in the Washington Post on Sunday, March 17, the Somali-American congresswoman set out to clarify her positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Delving into the history of the displacement and suffering of both Palestinians and Jews, she argued that, like displaced Jewish refugees, Palestinians, too, should be granted the right to return to their homeland.
“The founding of Israel 70 years ago was built on the Jewish people’s connection to their historical homeland, as well as the urgency of establishing a nation in the wake of the horror of the Holocaust and the centuries of anti-Semitic oppression leading up to it. Many of the founders of Israel were themselves refugees who survived indescribable horrors,” she wrote.
The remarks distanced her from criticism lambasting her previous comments for lacking both historical insight into the Israel-Palestine conflict and sympathy for her Jewish constituents.
But, she added, “We must acknowledge that this is also the historical homeland of Palestinians.” Under current circumstances, Palestinians are without a state and are condemned to “a state of permanent refugeehood and displacement.”
The core of Omar’s message was that Palestinians, too, deserve to have a fatherland and benefit from all the advantages that come with full citizenship, from free movement to the right to equal and dignified treatment.
Two-state solution
Omar urged the US government to prioritize an “inclusive and balanced” crisis management approach whose purpose will be to take into account both parties’ inherent desire for justice, freedom, and security.
“I support a two-state solution, with internationally recognized borders, which allows for both Israelis and Palestinians to have their own sanctuaries and self-determination,” she wrote.
In February, Omar sparked uproar on both sides of the American political spectrum for suggesting that the Jewish lobby and money are the primary reasons behind sustained US support for Israel.
In that episode of bipartisan criticism, there was a particular focus on one of Omar’s old tweets that said Israel has been “hypnotizing” the world to its misdeeds in “occupied Palestinian territories.” Critics said “hypnotize” is among the most used of “anti-Semitic tropes” in recent history.
Omar appeared to want to set records straight.
“When I criticize certain Israeli government actions in Gaza or settlements in the West Bank, it is because I believe these actions not only threaten the possibility of peace in the region – they also threaten the United States’ own national security interests,” she asserted.
