Tag Archives: Anti-Semitism

Speaker Pelosi Delivers Strong Speech in Support of Israel at AIPAC Conference, But is Her Party Going in Another Direction?

It’s not often that the Center for Security Policy praises Nancy Pelosi, but this is one of those times.  Speaker Pelosi’s speech at the 2019 America Israel Public Affairs Committee was a masterpiece expressing bipartisan American support for Israel and strongly condemning anti-Semitism.

Pelosi began her 16-minute speech by discussing her family’s long support for Israel and the Jewish people, beginning with her father, former Congressman Thomas D’Alesandro, who pressured President Roosevelt to support the founding of the State of Israel which she called “one of the great historic achievements of the 20th Century.”

Pelosi repeatedly reassured conference attendees that the U.S. Congress stands behind Israel and against anti-Semitism, saying “support for Israel is relentlessly bipartisan,” “support for Israel in this Congress is ironclad,” and “to be anti-Semitic is to be Anti-American.” Pelosi also condemned the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, noting that it does not recognize the right of Jewish people to national self-determination or a two-state solution.

Pelosi praised Israel as “an ally for peace and security in the region,” and said “if you care about American security, you must care about Israel’s security.”

This was a remarkable speech reflecting the bipartisan support of the vast majority of the U.S. Congress for the State of Israel and the Jewish people. Sadly, Speaker Pelosi’s words do not appear to represent where the Democratic party is going.

For example, Democratic presidential candidates, in response to demands by far-left groups like MoveOn.org, boycotted the AIPAC Conference. Vice President Pence condemned this boycott in his remarks to the conference:

“As I stand before you, eight Democrat candidates for president are actually boycotting this very conference. So let me be clear on this point, anyone who aspires to the highest office in the land should not be afraid to stand with the strongest supporters of Israel in America. It is wrong to boycott Israel, and it is wrong to boycott AIPAC.”

Pelosi seemed to take aim at Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib for their anti-Semitic and anti-Israel comments, including their support for the BDS movement and for promoting the anti-Semitic myth of “dual loyalty” to smear pro-Israel members of Congress.

Omar responded to Pelosi’s AIPAC speech by saying “a condemnation for people that want to exercise their First Amendment rights is beneath any leader, and I hope that we find a better use of language when we are trying to speak as members of Congress that are sworn to protect the Constitution.”  Omar also attacked Prime Minister Netanyahu’s remarks that “The reason the people of America support Israel is not because they want our money, it’s because they share our values” by saying this came from a man “facing indictments for bribery and other crimes in three separate public corruption affairs investigations.”

I am deeply worried that Pelosi’s laudable AIPAC speech represents the words of a fading generation of Democrats who soon will be replaced by lawmakers who reflect the anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel of the party’s far-left. Despite Pelosi’s strong support for Israel and stand against anti-Semitism, she has been unable to rein-in Congresswoman Omar and was forced to water down a recent House resolution responding to her anti-Semitic statements because of opposition from House progressives. The stunning decision of Democratic presidential candidates to boycott the AIPAC conference also was a very bad omen of the direction of the Democratic Party on Israel and anti-Semitism.

While Speaker Pelosi’s speech and a similar excellent speech by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer were efforts to respond to growing concerns about hostility to Israel and anti-Semitism in the Democratic Party, these efforts do not go far enough. If the Congressional Democratic leadership is serious about halting this dangerous trend, they must take much more aggressive action, such as censoring members of Congress by name who make anti-Semitic remarks. I also believe it is crucial that Speaker Pelosi immediately remove Congresswoman Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee since her extreme views are incompatible with this committee’s important work overseeing U.S. foreign policy. I note that Rep. Omar skipped an important House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing yesterday during testimony by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo which raised new questions about her suitability to be a member of this committee.

Vice President Pence Condemns Rep. Omar for Anti-Semitism at AIPAC Conference

Below is an important tweet just posted by the Center’s friend Adam Milstein. The Center for Security Policy applauds Vice President Pence for this clear denunciation of anti-Semitism in the U.S. Congress.

Washington Post Seems to Cover Up Anti-Semitic Joke at House Dem Meeting

Originally published by Newsmax:

The Washington Post published a story with an astounding account of a private meeting on March 5 of Democratic House members held in response to Rep. Ilhan Omar’s controversial anti-Semitic statements and tweets. At this chaotic meeting, Omar refused to apologize for her comments or to “publicly affirm Israel’s right to exist and protect itself.”

But the Post excised a key paragraph from the original version of this story on how a facilitator at the meeting made an anti-Semitic joke about Jews that drew criticism from one of the attendees.

At the meeting, Rep, Omar was asked to apologize for her anti-Semitic comments and to affirm Israel’s right to exist by Rep. Dean Phillips, a Jewish Democrat who represents a Minnesota district near Omar’s. Instead of responding to Phillips, Omar’s allies changed the subject to alleged mistreatment of Palestinians by the Israeli government. Some members also accused Phillips of racism because they were “offended that a wealthy white businessman representing an affluent suburban community was suggesting a black refugee such as Omar incited fear.”

Rep. Rashida Tlaib came to Rep. Omar’s defense and began to cry as she spoke about mistreatment of her Palestinian grandmother by Israelis.

The print version of the Post story said tensions at this meeting worsened after a facilitator from a group called “Bend the Arc” made an anti-Semitic joke:

“When the small group convened, tension emerged almost immediately. A Bend the Arc facilitator made a joke about Jews and money to try to clear the air. But Rep. Jahana Hayes (Conn.), one of the freshman allies invited to join the session, grew serious and asked why the facilitator could talk like that when someone like Hayes could not.”

However, later versions of this story posted online omitted the above paragraph.

For me, the Post excised the most important in point in this story — that at a meeting of House Democrats held in response to Rep. Omar’s anti-Semitic remarks, a meeting facilitator made a crude joke about Jews which one congresswoman objected to after Congressman Hayes was rebuffed for asking Omar to apologize and affirm Israel’s right to exist.

This is what this story would be about if such a meeting had been convened by Republicans. I am sure Democratic leaders were angry that The Washington Post printed the above paragraph in the original version of this story and pressured the Post’s editors to delete it. The Post’s editors need to explain their decision to remove this language.

It’s hard to see how hiding embarrassing information for the Democratic Party is consistent with The Washington Post’s self-righteous motto of “Democracy dies in darkness.” This is another example of why President Trump and conservatives condemn the mainstream media for producing fake news and being arms of the Democratic Party.

Roll Call Smears Jewish Groups That Called for Omar’s Removal From House Committee

Originally published by The Washington Free Beacon:

Roll Call is facing backlash after one of its reporters attempted to discredit a recent effort by a group of leading Jewish and pro-Israel organizations to see Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee following a series of anti-Semitic statements that drew widespread condemnation.

Roll Call writer Emily Kopp, a former intern for Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif), came under intense scrutiny on Wednesday for what observers widely described as lazy and factually inaccurate reporting on a recent call by Jewish groups to see Omar unseated from the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee.

Kopp, in a report headlined “Among the ‘Jewish groups’ Trump cites, one with neo-Nazi ties,” attempted to paint several of the groups included on the letter as “anti-Muslim hate groups,” a claim that was debunked hours after she published her report.

Kopp relied on research from the Southern Poverty Law Center, or SPLC, claiming that two of the groups—ACT for America and the Center for Security Policy—engage in hateful bigotry. Kopp also attempted to tie the Center for Security Policy to neo-Nazis, a spurious claim that has been debunked time and time again.

The letter, which was exclusively reported by the Washington Free Beacon earlier in the week, drew the attention of President Donald Trump, who endorsed the call for Omar to be removed by Democratic leadership from the Foreign Affairs Committee, which works on the U.S.-Israel alliance and funding for the Jewish state’s joint defense priorities.

Kopp did not cite the Free Beacon‘s original reporting on the letter.

In what is now being dubbed “the Roll Call smear campaign,” the publication is facing an avalanche of criticism for relying solely on the SPLC’s debunked research in its bid to criticize Trump and defend Omar under the guise of neutral journalism.

The letter demanding Omar’s removal from the Committee for her series of anti-Semitic smears was spearheaded by the Endowment for Middle East Truth, or EMET, a longtime pro-Israel advocacy group, and was signed by 12 organizations.

Sarah Stern, EMET’s founder, penned a lengthy response to the still brewing controversy and provided it to the Free Beacon:

The Roll Call Smear Campaign

Rather than go high, Roll Call decided to go low. When reporting about the letter we authored to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Chairman Eliot Engel discussing Representative Ilhan Omar’s highly anti-Semitic comments, tweets and associations with a group tied to known terrorists, they made vicious, ad hominem attacks at some of our esteemed colleagues who are among the 12 signatories of the letter.

We find it revealing that Roll Call never reported on the substance of our letter, which is that Rep. Omar exposed her real sentiments when she delivered a fundraising speech two weeks ago before Islamic Relief USA, a “charity” that has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United Arab Emirates and Israel. International banks Credit Suisse, UBS and HSBC have refused to do any banking with Islamic Relief because of fears of ties to terrorist financing.

Instead of focusing on the substance of Rep. Omar’s poor decision to speak before the group, whose leadership also has openly called for the murder of Jews, Roll Call’s first article on the subject is a smear against two of the 12 signatories of this letter.

We have known both the founders of the Center for Security Policy, Frank Gaffney, and ACT for America, Brigitte Gabrielle, for years.  They are led by distinguished individuals who have fought against hate in all its forms, including anti-Semitism. We personally know they are compassionate, loving individuals. That is why it was important to have them join our group letter.

It is ironic that rather than respond to a real and obvious hatred, the anti-Semitism and Judeophobia that Ilhan Omar so obviously has, the author of this article tried to manufacture some fictitious bias of two such incredibly wonderful human beings.

The Roll Call article is not good journalism. If it were, they would have reported on the substance of the letter, a poor attempt to smear good people as a substitute to discussing the substance at hand: Rep. Omar’s vile anti-Semitic attacks against the Jewish people and her decision to align herself with groups which openly have ties to terrorism.

That is where the debate is.

UPDATE 6:08 p.m.: Following publication of this article, EMET wrote a letter to Roll Call editor Ed Timms demanding a retraction and criticizing the outlet for publishing poor journalism. The letter also called Kopp’s former work on behalf of Democrats a clear conflict of interest.

“It is also a very apparent conflict of interest that the author of this article, Emily Kopp, had once worked for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is one of the people our letter had been addressed to,” wrote EMET founder Stern.

Full letter:

Dear Mr. Timms,

Rather than go high, Roll Call decided to go low. When reporting about the letter we authored to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Chairman Eliot Engel discussing Representative Ilhan Omar’s highly anti-Semitic comments, tweets and associations with a group tied to known terrorists, the author of this story, made vicious, ad hominem attacks at some of our esteemed colleagues who are among the 12 signatories of the letter.

We find it revealing that Roll Call never reported on the substance of our letter, which is that Rep. Omar exposed her real sentiments when she delivered a fundraising speech two weeks ago before Islamic Relief USA, a “charity” that has been designated a terrorist organization by the United Arab Emirates and Israel. International banks Credit Suisse, UBS and HSBC have refused to do any banking with Islamic Relief because of fears of ties to terrorist financing.

Instead of focusing on the substance of Rep. Omar’s poor decision to speak before the group, whose leadership also have openly called for the murder of Jews, Roll Call’s first article on the subject is a smear against two of the 12 signatories of this letter.

We have known both the founders of the Center for Security Policy, Frank Gaffney, and ACT for America, Brigitte Gabriel, a Lebanese American of Arab descent, for years. They are led by distinguished individuals who have fought against hate in all its forms, including anti-Semitism. We personally know they are compassionate, loving individuals. That is why it was important to have them join our group letter.

I am also attaching a letter that Brigitte Gabriel ,just sent to me when she had found out that someone who had associated himself with her organization, of well over one million individuals, was, in fact, a white supremacist, and how she immediately demanded that this individual leave any association with her organization, at once.

The article relies on The Southern Poverty Law Center, an outfit which has had to pay a hefty price for its continuous smear campaigns, against individuals, including a $3.375 million judgement for the defamation of Majaad Nawaaz, a former Muslim extremist turned whistle-blower.

It is also a very apparent conflict of interest that the author of this article, Emily Kopp, had once worked for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is one of the people our letter had been addressed to.

It is ironic that rather than respond to a real and obvious hatred, the anti-Semitism and Judeophobia that Ilhan Omar so obviously has, the author of this article tried to manufacture some fictitious bias of two such incredibly wonderful human beings.

The Roll Call article is not good journalism. If it were, they would have reported on the substance of the letter. It is a poor attempt to smear good people as a substitute to discussing the substance at hand: Rep. Omar’s vile anti-Semitic attacks against the Jewish people and her decision to align herself with groups which openly have ties to terrorism.

And because of this, we demand that you immediately issue a retraction.

Roll Call Hit Piece Uses SPLC Disinformation to Smear Pro-Israel Conservative Groups

Originally published by PJ Media:

Roll Call is facing calls to retract after publishing a ridiculous hit piece smearing two conservative foreign policy groups based on disinformation gleaned from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a left-wing smear machine.

The article, written on Wednesday by Emily Kopp, former press intern for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, describes ACT for America and the Center for Security Policy as “anti-Muslim hate groups” that “peddle anti-Muslim conspiracy theories.” Kopp also accuses ACT for America of having ties to a neo-Nazi, based on an SPLC smear.

The groups were among twelve pro-Israel organizations that signed a letter addressed to Pelosi and Rep. Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, calling on them to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from the Foreign Affairs Committee after she espoused a series of anti-Semitic tropes. The Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET), a longtime pro-Israel advocacy group, spearheaded the effort. Most of the organizations that signed on are either Jewish groups or groups that have close ties to the Jewish community.

Wrote Kopp:

But the coalition behind the letter — described by conservative media to be “leading Jewish organizations” — includes groups that maintain no relationship to the American Jewish community and peddle anti-Muslim conspiracy theories.

One of the groups was once found to have ties to a longtime neo-Nazi.

ACT for America’s “ties to a longtime neo-Nazi” consist entirely of an incident involving a white nationalist in Batesville, Ark., who tried to host a “March Against Sharia” event in their name in June 2017.

A statement on their website at the time read: “Act for America canceled the event as soon as it became aware the organizer is associated with white supremacist groups.” And that is the totality of their ties to neo-Nazis.

Kopp also hit ACT for America’s Brigitte Gabriel for “falsely” claiming that one-fifth of Muslims believe in a violent ideology, and for comparing peaceful Muslims to peaceful Germans during the Nazi regime, calling them “irrelevant.”

But according to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, only 86 percent of Muslims in the United States said that suicide bombings and other forms of violence against civilians in the name of Islam “are rarely or never justified.” That means up to 14 percent believe they are either sometimes or frequently justified. And who knows how many American Muslims in the remaining 86 percent believe violence against civilians is sometimes justified, albeit “rarely.” The numbers go up exponentially in countries with larger Muslim populations.

Kopp points out that both ACT for America and the Center for Security Policy have been classified by the discredited SPLC as “anti-Muslim hate groups.” Possibly worse, both groups, she notes, also have ties to {{{the Trump administration.}}}

The Center for Security Policy is a nonpartisan think tank founded by Frank Gaffney Jr., which Kopp says “has advocated for U.S. wars in the Middle East stretching back to the September 11, 2001 attacks.” And again, she cites the SPLC:

But the center has a history of stoking conspiratorial fears about the Muslim Brotherhood and “creeping Sharia” in order to make their case, according to the SPLC, which classifies the think tank as a hate group.

Gaffney has been accused of Islamophobic and xenophobic comments, including the denigration of immigrants and refugees.

“Critics say the president’s promotion of fringe anti-Muslim groups with hawkish foreign policy views raises wider questions about the Republican push to unseat Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee,” writes Kopp.

Hmmm. Who are these critics, I wonder? Democrats on Capitol Hill perhaps? And the SPLC?

A number of prominent pro-Israel conservatives reacted to Roll Call’s smears on Twitter:

The Center for Security Policy is led by Fred Fleitz, a former National Security Council chief of staff, CIA analyst, and House Intelligence Committee staff member.

Fleitz was incensed that Roll Call would use the SPLC as a credible source.

“I was proud to sign this letter as President of the Center for Security Policy, an organization that is pro-Israel and has taken a strong stand against a dangerous surge in anti-Antisemitism on the Left,” he said in a statement to Roll Call. “I was very disappointed that Roll Call included as credible sources discredited far-left organizations to smear the signers of this letter such as the Southern Poverty Law Center and J Street.”

Fleitz told PJ Media that Roll Call’s hit piece was “outrageous, especially its claim that ACT for America has ties to neo-Nazis.”

Via The Washington Free Beacon, here is the response to the controversy from Sarah Stern, EMET’s founder:

Rather than go high, Roll Call decided to go low. When reporting about the letter we authored to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Chairman Eliot Engel discussing Representative Ilhan Omar’s highly anti-Semitic comments, tweets and associations with a group tied to known terrorists, they made vicious, ad hominem attacks at some of our esteemed colleagues who are among the 12 signatories of the letter.

We find it revealing that Roll Call never reported on the substance of our letter, which is that Rep. Omar exposed her real sentiments when she delivered a fundraising speech two weeks ago before Islamic Relief USA, a “charity” that has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United Arab Emirates and Israel. International banks Credit Suisse, UBS and HSBC have refused to do any banking with Islamic Relief because of fears of ties to terrorist financing.

Instead of focusing on the substance of Rep. Omar’s poor decision to speak before the group, whose leadership also has openly called for the murder of Jews, Roll Call’s first article on the subject is a smear against two of the 12 signatories of this letter.

We have known both the founders of the Center for Security Policy, Frank Gaffney, and ACT for America, Brigitte Gabrielle, for years.  They are led by distinguished individuals who have fought against hate in all its forms, including anti-Semitism. We personally know they are compassionate, loving individuals. That is why it was important to have them join our group letter.

It is ironic that rather than respond to a real and obvious hatred, the anti-Semitism and Judeophobia that Ilhan Omar so obviously has, the author of this article tried to manufacture some fictitious bias of two such incredibly wonderful human beings.

The Roll Call article is not good journalism. If it were, they would have reported on the substance of the letter, a poor attempt to smear good people as a substitute to discussing the substance at hand: Rep. Omar’s vile anti-Semitic attacks against the Jewish people and her decision to align herself with groups which openly have ties to terrorism.

That is where the debate is.

The EMET founder also wrote a letter to Roll Call editor Ed Timms decrying the shoddy journalism and demanding a retraction.

“It is also a very apparent conflict of interest that the author of this article, Emily Kopp, had once worked for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is one of the people our letter had been addressed to,” wrote Stern.

The Left’s Long-Simmering Anti-Semitism Problem

The last week or so has seen the Democrat party in the USA racked by controversy by the anti-semitic statements from two new members of Congress: Ilhan Abdullahi Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Harbi Tlaib of Michigan.

Perhaps even more shocking than the statements that these two women made has been the leadership of the Democrat party’s ineptitude in dealing with them.

Everything seemed lined up for the House Democrat Caucus to condemn their statements and demand an apology, but that effort fell apart at the 11th hour, apparently because the Democrat members of the House couldn’t agree on the matter of anti-Semitism.

While shocking to some, this came as no surprise to me.

Why?

Because of my years of experience working at the Center for Security Policy.

From 2006 until about 2011, my primary responsibility at the Center for Security Policy was leading our Divest Terror Initiative. That initiative was chiefly focused on getting states to stop investing their taxpayer-supported pension systems in foreign companies that were doing business in and with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

That initiative was very successful and resulted in some 26 states divesting their pension systems from Iran. The initiative was unfortunately derailed when President Obama struck the infamous deal with Iran over its nuclear program, substantially curtailing international sanctions against Iran, which were a key basis for the divestment movement.

Throughout the years I worked on the Divest Terror Initiative, I worked closely with outstanding organizations and talented individuals dedicated to the security of America’s ally, Israel.

This was a truly bipartisan effort, with state legislators from both parties sponsoring and supporting Iran divestment for a variety of reasons.

There was one aspect that I found troubling however.

During my work on the Initiative, I was exposed to a disturbing level of anti-semitism from young staffers across America who seemed to constantly throw out slurs in conversations about some of the allied organizations with which I worked.

I was exposed to labels such as “Hebes” and “The Tribe” to describe the good people who were leading on cutting off corporate life support for the ayatollahs.

In every instance—EVERY SINGLE ONE—the slurs came from Democrat staffers. And it was rampant. I never heard a single slur of this type from a Republican staffer.

I didn’t understand what to make of all this and kept it to myself for years, but now that the leadership of the House Democrat Caucus seems unwilling or unable to tackle this problem, sadly, the memories of all these slurs makes sense to me.

The Left has a serious bigotry problem and they need to confront it.

Center Joins Major Jewish Organizations in Demanding Rep. Ilhan Omar Be Removed From House Foreign Affairs Committee

Center for Security Policy President and CEO Fred Fleitz joined a group of major Jewish organizations in co-signing a March 4, 2019 letter to U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel that demands newly-elected Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) be removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee because of her recent anti-Semitic tweets and statements and her address before Islamic Relief USA, an organization whose parent organization and chapters have documented ties to terrorist organizations.  Click HERE to read the letter.

Sarah Stern, founder and president of the Endowment for Middle East Truth, a pro-Israel organization that spearheaded the letter, told the Washington Free Beacon that Omar’s “use of classic anti-Semitic tropes and stereotypes has touched a nerve” across the American Jewish community.

The letter followed a standing room-only panel sponsored by the Center for Security Policy at last week’s CPAC conference on “Why Anti-Zionism is a Form of Anti-Semitism and a Threat to National Security which featured Rep. Scott Perry and Rabbi Yechezkel Moskowitz which discussed growing anti-Semitism on the Left and how Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib have brought anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel into the U.S. Congress.  Click HERE to watch video of this important panel.

Tracking and combatting this surge in anti-Semitism and hostility toward Israel on the Left is a new priority of Center in 2019.  Some recent articles published by the Center on this topic include:

Congresswoman Omar Must be Removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee

Last Year, This Top Democrat Said Anti-Zionism Is Anti-Semitism. Now He’s Silent

Family Matters: How a US Member of Congress was Raised by the Red-Green Axis

From Lebanon to Gaza: The Continuous Threat Tunnel Warfare Poses to Israel

Red-Green Axis Chokes on Omar’s Anti-Semitism

Overlooked Facts About Israel and the Palestinians

Rep. Ilhan Omar Cribbed from Al Jazeera while Grilling Elliott Abrams

The Center for Security Policy regards the recent surge in anti-Semitism and hostility toward Israel on the Left and in Congress as a threat to religious liberty and a deliberate effort to undermine the State of Israel and American support for it.  The Center plans additional articles and panels on this issue in the near future.

CPAC 2019: Why Anti-Zionism is a Form of Anti-Semitism and a Threat to National Security

The Center for Security Policy sponsored a panel at CPAC to discuss the topic “Why Anti-Zionism is a Form of Anti-Semitism and a Threat to National Security.”

The panel included Center President Fred Fleitz, Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), Rabbi Yechezkel Moskowitz of the National Council of Young Israel, Dan Pollak of the Zionist Organization of America and James Simpson, an investigative journalist and author.

Watch the panel in HD on YouTube below:

The following is the original Facebook Livestream event: