The Ilhan Omar episode, where on at least three occasions she said clearly antisemitic statements and managed to emerge with more prestige than she had before, shows once again that Muslims do not have repercussions when they spout hate that would be fatal to the careers of people who are considered white by the "progressive" crowd.
Last month, MEMRI released a video where a Detroit imam was recorded preaching that Jews have prostituted their women throughout history to gain power, as well as other hateful statements towards Jews.
The media ignored the story.
Last week, MEMRI released another video with an antisemitic imam, this time in Philadelphia.
He said, among other things:
The Jews are the vilest people in terms of their moral values, their nature, and their violation of agreements.
If a Muslim lives somewhere [in the West], he is viewed according to the way the nefarious Jewish media portrays him – as an oppressive and predatory lion.
Remember Sabra and Shatila. Remember the wars of the past. Remember how [former Israeli PM] Menachem Begin, that Polish crook, would stand next to a pregnant woman, and would make bets whether it is a boy or a girl. He would make bets, while the woman was still alive! Then he would slut her belly open, while she was still alive, to see whether it is a boy or a girl. Just like that. This happened. This happened.
The propaganda and the media are controlled by them. They make you see things in an altered and inflated way. They make you think that power lies in castles, fortresses, and weapons – that power lies with 15 million people who own and control the riches of the world.This is happening in mosques in major American cities, today! MEMRI can only find the hateful sermons that are proudly uploaded to social media - imagine what else is being taught to American Muslims that we have no idea about!
But the media will downplay or ignore these stories, because part of the "progressive" view of the world is that Muslims and others perceived as people of color are not held to the same standards as the responsible white people. It is a racist attitude that has become normalized in America.
The apologetics for Ilhan Omar were amazing to watch. She was infantilized as someone who is not fully mature enough to understand the subtle nuances of how her innocent words could be perceived by Jews - yet she is fully mature enough to represent thousands of people from Minnesota. The thought that her antisemitism might be a basic part of her worldview and her upbringing is not considered.
Muslims are expected to be Jew-hating bigots, and that is OK, according to the prevailing groupthink of the progressive crowd. See this tweet from a "roving journalist:"
Have received messages from journalists and others who are too intimidated to voice support for Omar because they fear it will damage their career prospects— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) March 8, 2019
If this is true, it shows that at least some journalists - who are overwhelmingly liberal - have no problem at all with Ilhan Omar's antisemitic statements, and they have a completely different standard for her than they would have for a white Republican man saying the exact same things.
The same applies to other people of color, as well. The horrendous attacks on Hasidic Jews in New York by people of color have been shown on TV because it is compelling video, but there is no outrage towards the perpetrators - because of their color.
If we want to ensure equal rights for all American citizens, that means we must expect equal responsibilities from all of them as well. This is not a difficult concept, but it is one that is very uncomfortable to those who want to elevate the people considered "intersectional" without regard to their actual actions or words.