WASHINGTON — Although it’s early in the campaign cycle, Rep. Ilhan Omar is drawing challengers and, once again, the politically powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is trying to defeat her.
Pro-Israel donors and political action committees affiliated with AIPAC have spent heavily to bolster the campaigns of Democrats who launched primary challenges to Omar, D-5th District.
The first challenger they helped was Antone Melton-Meaux, who received millions of dollars from pro-Israel donors, but was handily defeated by Omar in the Democratic primary of 2020.
In 2022, AIPAC gave $350,000 to a group that supported former Minnesota council member Don Samuels, who nearly defeated Omar in the Democratic primary.
Samuels criticized AIPAC and pro-Israel donors for not coming to his aid in the same way they helped Melton-Meaux. He is considering a challenge to Omar again, said former campaign manager Joe Radinovich.
“Don came within 2,500 votes,” Radinovich said. “I think anyone in that position would give a second thought to taking that challenge again.”
However, according to Jewish Insider, AIPAC is now pushing Minneapolis City Councilmember LaTrisha Vetaw to challenge Omar.
Vetaw, who represents the city’s 4th Ward in north Minneapolis, and like Samuels, is considered a moderate, did not return several calls and emails requesting comment.
[image_credit]MinnPost photo by Craig Lassig[/image_credit][image_caption]Rep. Ilhan Omar[/image_caption]
Vetaw is serving her first term on the Minneapolis City Council. Before that, she had a an at-large seat on the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. She is actively running for re-election to her city council seat.
Tim Petersen, a retired National Guard recruiter who owns a consulting business, is also eyeing the race. And Omar is being challenged from the left by Minneapolis attorney Sara Gad.
AIPAC appears to be aggressively recruiting candidates to challenge Democrats who boycotted Israeli President Issac Herzog’s speech to a joint session of Congress last month, including Rep. Jamal Bowman, D-N.Y.,
Omar and Bowman also voted against a GOP-led resolution that rejected claims that Israel is a racist state, something Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, had claimed before walking back those remarks.
Omar and other members of Congress targeted by AIPAC have been critical of Israel’s record on human rights.
So has Rep. Betty McCollum, D-4th District, who has had numerous confrontations with AIPAC. She also failed to attend Herzog’s speech and voted “present” on the GOP-led resolution concerning Israel. But Bill Harper, political adviser to McCollum’s re-election campaign, said the congresswoman had not been targeted.
“I’m not aware of any AIPAC activity in the 4th Congressional District DFL circles at all,” Harper said.
Omar lost her seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee in January after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and other Republican, including Rep. Tom Emmer, R-6th District, accused her of making “antisemitic remarks.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus political action committee, said he and the caucus would support Omar’s re-election.
“At a time when Republicans are erasing Black history, attacking abortion rights, and undermining democracy, Ilhan Omar is a champion for the rights of Minnesotans,” Meeks said in a statement. “She has delivered over $40 million in funding to her district, including vital funds to rebuild Lake Street, investments in entrepreneurs and food availability in the Northside, and skills training for clean energy. Despite constant racist attacks from MAGA Republicans, Ilhan consistently shows up for her constituents and we are proud to endorse her re-election campaign.”
Omar has raised more than $1.15 million for her re-election next year.
But AIPAC’s is known for its ability to raise and spend a lot of political money. For instance, the United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with AIPAC, quietly contributed $350,000 to a separate group that boosted Samuels and raised about $36 million in the last campaign cycle and spent about $29 million.
That super PAC has raised another $9 million in the first six months of this year, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Definitely not an Omar fan, but this would get me to support her.
How much support is Omar getting from Golden Valley, St Louis Park, and Kenwood neighborhoods?
Are people finally waking up ?
We vote for Omar in SLP, and will continue to do so.
Israel needs to stay out of our national politics. We’re also supposed to be a democracy.
Omar is correct…. Israel is a racist state under Prime Minister Netanyahu’s dictatorship.
Samuels got close in 2022, but I don’t think anyone will have a chance of beating Omar with higher turnout in 2024. I would encourage Vetaw to try, but I wouldn’t be my money on her. On another note, if AIPAC didn’t have such tremendous resources, I feel like they would be a joke at this point. Do they even have anything to do with American-Israeli relations anymore? Because it certainly seems like their mission has morphed into throwing away money trying and failing to defeat popular progressive candidates.
Israel should not meddle in our elections. Their anti-Muslim bigotry is not more justified than anti-Semitism.
I find this offensive.
Israel is and has been moving in anti democracy/authoritarian views since Netanyahu became their leader.
We should all be protesting Israel’s behavior.
This. Out of curiosity, I wonder if AIPAC is doing anything about Marjorie “Space Laser” Green? As far as I can tell, no. Is this really about anti-Semitism? The problem is if anyone questions their motives, “anti-Semitism” is the automatic accusation. Israel is a COUNTRY, led by an authoritarian who is limiting democracy and creating conditions for potential ethnic cleansing (given the hard right tack Netanyahu is taking, the expansion of settlements on the West Bank, and the reduction of judicial oversight). Meanwhile, AIPAC is funding candidates who would remove voices from Congress that point out the problems with Israel as a country and Netanyahu as an authoritarian. But they don’t appear to be endorsing candidates who would remove others who have made WAY more direct anti-Semitic statements.
As long as politicians like Amy Klobuchar and Dean Phillips get a pass on their AIPAC love fest, nothing will change. No point in pointing fingers at characters like MTG when your own side is busy enabling apartheid.
I recall that an early claim that Omar was anti-semitic was because she called out how money is corruptive in politics. “It’s all about the Benjamins” was about groups like AIPAC buying influence in Congress. When AIPAC finds their candidate, whether LaTrisha Vetaw or someone else, journalists need to press them on just what AIPAC thinks they have bought.
And I noted at the time that the writers who criticized Omar for saying that seem never to have heard the word “Benjamin” used as slang for a $50 bill.
Benjamin Franklin is on the $100 bill. US Grant is on the $50.
I remember fondly these comments and fully agreed with her.
The worst was the attacks by the StarTribune against her for this and other ridiculous issues, often full or almost full front page, back page criticisms of her.
It is disappointing that Taylor used his media outlet for this negativity not based on reality but his prejudice.
Yes to all of you. According to AIPAC, itself, AIPAC is “a bipartisan, pro-Israel political action committee. It is the largest pro-Israel PAC in America and contributed more resources directly to candidates than any other PAC. 98% of AIPAC-backed candidates won their general election races in 2022.” According to Open Secrets, a political action committee is a “popular term for a political committee organized for the purpose of raising and spending money to elect and defeat candidates.” Open Secrets says that AIPAC contributed over $2.6 million to federal candidates in 2021-22 (about 61% to Republicans). And, while AIPAC was the subject of Omar’s point (and it was a valid point) and seems to be responsible for small amounts of money going to individual candidates, United Democracy Project is a super PAC that was formed by AIPAC. It spent over $26 million in the 2022 election on federal candidates. Although it claims to be non-partisan, it ONLY spent money on Democrats – either for or against them. Often, $millions at a time. And if they spent money on you, you won. If they spent money against you, you lost. It’s hard not to believe that some of those winning candidates might be grateful. https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/detail/2022?cmte=C00799031&tab=targeted_candidates
One way to avoid charges of racism is to not specify the group but to speak in terms of well known stereotypes. I think of this as bank shot racism. “Jewish financiers” is anti semitic, but that can be avoided just byt talking about financiers a lot. One of my favorite bank shot examples of racism was from a French politician who said something like, “I am not anti-semitic just because I don’t like the music of Mahler.”
The Israeli lobby can’t have it both ways… on one hand denying their influence, and then exercising their influence to challenge our duly elected representatives. It’s clear at this point that this is NOT about anti Semitism, it’s about Israeli government policies that people of conscience appose. So sure, you can say you’re “pro-Israeli” if you want, and vote accordingly… but every else get’s to do likewise if they appose some Israeli policies.
At any rate, AIPAC activity largely fell under the radar for decades, the blatantly unconstitutional anti-BDS legislation that has passed in 25 State (including MN) provokes widespread outrage whenever Americans find out about it. Efforts like this simply confirm an organized effort to influence US politics on behalf of the Israeli State. As US citizens members of AIPAC are perfectly within their rights to “lobby” as they see fit, but when this lobbying is seen the broad light of day it doesn’t attract a lot of support, and it looks like the kind of foreign interference in US policy Russia and China could only dream of.
Why are we still sending $8 billion a year to Israel? Why do American politicians of both parties find it necessary to appear at AIPAC conventions to kiss wrap themselves in the Israeli flag?
Why do we allow people with dual citizenship to serve in our federal government?
Like some answers.
This is one of those rare times we agree, at least on foreign aid for Israel, which is a fairly wealthy country. That money is better spent elsewhere.
Though on banning folks with dual citizenship from government, I disagree.
There are many books written on the history of the state of Israel and United States foreign policy towards Israel since the 1967 Six Day War.
Start there.
“Why do we allow people with dual citizenship to serve in our federal government?”
The only requirement for holding elected office is US citizenship. A person may have dual citizenship due to ancestry (remember when a certain lunatic member of Congress from Minnesota learned she had a claim to Swiss citizenship?). A person who is a naturalized citizen may also still be a citizen of their former country, in that the country from which they emigrated does not recognize a renunciation of citizenship (I once had a student who said she had triple citizenship).
I understand the rules. The question is why would we allow such a thing…and why would anyone vote for someone with divided loyalties?
It’s nuts.
It’s not $8B, and we do not give it to Israel. Those benefitting are the companies manufacturing airplanes and other armaments that the money is used to purchase. We are essentially paying the arms manufacturing companies to produce products that Israel gets.
That makes it worse, in my mind.
Indeed. Steve is correct that it’s really a handout to arms manufacturers, and Thomas is correct that it should stop. But it won’t, because AIPAC and defense contractors spend enormous amounts of money buying favor in Congress. As they say, it’s about the benjamins…
follow the money. giving equal time to Palestine in AIPAC reporting is important. yes, there is violence and aggression — on both sides. Israel isn’t just “defending its rights” as a state. Palestine has rights, too. former President Carter has called it apartheid. I have to agree.
It is unfortunate that the supporters of authoritarians like Trump, Netanyahu, Erdogan, Putin, Xi and Un are incapable of envisioning a day when they are on the other side of the coin, living under the thumb of someone they oppose with all their fury. Of course in the case of Putin, Xi and Un that is not a likelihood. Of course the current leading GOP candidate for President can dream:
“Think of President Xi: central casting, brilliant guy. When I say he’s brilliant, everyone says, ‘Oh, that’s terrible.’ He runs 1.4 billion people with an iron fist: smart, brilliant, everything perfect. There is nobody in Hollywood like this guy,”
Hmmm, to our right wing friends: Care to be ruled by Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris with an “iron fist”?
At any rate I hope local Democrats are paying attention to this comment thread and article. While it’s not a scientific sample, I think it does reflect the fact that AIPAC attempts to influence our elections, dictate legislation, and replace elected officials with different candidates of their own choosing; are NOT well received by voters. To the extent they launch these attacks on people like Omar they simply fuel division within their own Party, which is ironic because these are typically the folks who complain about the divisive nature of progressives… I guess it’s OK to be divisive as long as you’re a radical “centrist” eh? Many of the same Democrats who want to silence any criticism of Biden out of a concern for “unity” can’t wait to heap criticism and vitriol upon Omar and AOC.
These campaigns don’t do a lot for Israel either, they tend to focus attention on legitimate criticisms of Israeli policy. The days of silencing criticism with fatuous accusations of anti Semitism may be over and campaigns like this bring these distinctions into sharper focus for a lot of people.
Regardless of other anti-semitic-or-not concerns about the purpose of AIPAC one can assume she will be about as successful as the guy who challenged Omar with their support in the last election.
Israel has less than 10 million people. If they want to be our 51st state, they would be able to vote in our elections,but only for their representatives, not for Minnesota’s. Their country routinely violates international law. They got nuclear weapons by stealing our secrets. They could be considered an ally if they had ever done anything to benefit the US, but the relationship is completely one sided.
I don’t think that we want to know how much money per per Israeli we have provided then directly, not to mention in wars because the Middle East is a permanent conflict zone churning out refugees.
Omar is a critic and they want her gone. This is just the latest attempt. They want politicians who are willing to pass laws that curb our free speech rights to call for boycotts based on human rights. Simply unacceptable