Rep. Ilhan Omar said Wednesday that Congress must not approve arms sales to nations accused of human rights violations, one day after she and other far-left House lawmakers forced the removal of $1 billion meant for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system from a massive government funding bill.
“We sold $175 billion in weapons last year—more than anyone in the world—to some of the worst human right abusers in the world,” Omar tweeted Wednesday. “Here’s an idea: don’t sell arms to anyone who violates human rights.”
A spokesman for Omar claimed to The Post Wednesday evening that the tweet was not meant to accuse Israel of committing human rights violations.
Rather, he said, Omar was promoting a bill she introduced months earlier that would create a commission to help determine which nations should receive US aid and weaponry.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) announced Tuesday that he would bring a standalone bill to the House floor that would restore the Iron Dome funding, hours after it was removed from a continuing resolution that would keep the government operating through Dec. 3, avoiding a shutdown
Hoyer said on the House floor Tuesday evening that the measure would be brought up for a vote by the end of this week under suspension of the chamber’s rules — meaning debate will be limited and the bill would require two-thirds approval to pass.
“I was for that,” Hoyer said of appropriating funding for Iron Dome. “I’m still for it, we ought to do it.” Before he came to the floor, the majority leader reassured Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid that the removal of the provision represented only a “technical postponement,” according to Lapid, and that the funding would be restored soon.
Omar’s spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post about Hoyer’s maneuver.
Moderate Democrats expressed frustration with their progressive colleagues over the move to strip the funding, with some pointing out that Iron Dome is not an offensive weapon, but rather a defensive mechanism used to protect Israelis from rocket attacks by Islamist militants.
“[T]o target Iron Dome now means the issue isn’t a genuine concern over the system, but rather the desire to attack something – anything – related to the State of Israel,” Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich) tweeted Tuesday. “[I]t’s devoid of substance and irresponsible.”
Omar, the first Somali-American elected to Congress, has a history of persistent criticisms of Israel — some of which have… (Read more)
Tweets mentioned:
We sold $175 billion in weapons last year—more than anyone in the world—to some of the worst human right abusers in the world.
Here’s an idea: don’t sell arms to anyone who violates human rights.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 22, 2021
