Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday defended Rep. Ilhan Omar against the backlash to her comments slamming pro-Israel groups and politicians, which have been called anti-Semitic.
Last month, Omar faced criticism for tweets insinuating that the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee was effectively buying off US politicians. The Minnesota Democrat subsequently apologized after demands from Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland and other members of House Democratic leadership, who urged that anti-Semitism be called out « without exception. »
And last week at an event at a Washington bookstore, Omar implied that pro-Israel lawmakers are under a « political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country.
