Ilhan Omar

Ilhan Omar was born in Mogadishu, Somalia.[1] In 1991, after the Somali civil war began, her family fled the country.[1] Omar then spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya before moving to the United States, where she became a citizen in 2000.[1]

An archived North Dakota State University profile identifies Mogadishu as Omar's hometown and records that she studied political science and international studies, graduating in 2011.[2] Omar said she became interested in politics at age 14, when she interpreted for her grandfather so he could participate in a local Democratic-Farmer-Labor caucus in the district she later represented.[2] She subsequently became involved with Women Organizing Women and community activism and decided in 2015 to run for the Minnesota House of Representatives.[2]

In November 2016, Omar was elected to Minnesota House District 60B, becoming the nation's first Somali-American legislator.[2] That milestone preceded her election to Congress by two years.

Omar was elected to the U.S. House from Minnesota's 5th Congressional District in November 2018, succeeding Keith Ellison after he won election as Minnesota's attorney general.[8] Her victory made her one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, alongside Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.[3] Omar was reelected in 2020 and again in 2024, carrying her service into the 119th Congress.[9][10]

During the early years of her congressional tenure, Omar served on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and, by 2021, was vice chair of its Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Global Human Rights.[10] Her committee work coincided with her continuing public engagement on Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and international human-rights institutions.

On February 2, 2023, the House voted 218–211, with one member voting present and four not voting, to remove Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee through H.Res.76.[6][7] The resolution cited several of her public statements as its rationale. During debate, opponents argued that the action bypassed normal Ethics Committee procedures and punished constitutionally protected speech. A separate House censure resolution concerning Omar was introduced but did not pass.[11]

In 2019, Omar introduced H.Res.496, affirming that participation in boycotts for civil and human rights is protected by the First Amendment, with Rashida Tlaib and John Lewis joining as original co-sponsors.[12] She later voted against H.Res.246.[13] Passed on July 23, 2019, H.Res.246 opposed the Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement targeting Israel and other efforts to delegitimize the Jewish state while affirming citizens' rights to protest or criticize U.S. and foreign government policies.[14]

In 2021, Omar was among lawmakers who objected to including $1 billion for Israel's Iron Dome missile-defense system in a broader budget bill. The funding was removed from that bill and subsequently approved separately by the House.[15] In 2022, she introduced resolutions calling for the United States to become a full member of the International Criminal Court.[16]

On July 15, 2026, Omar introduced H.Res.1435, expressing the sense of the House that the United States should ratify the Rome Statute and join the ICC; it was referred to the Foreign Affairs and Judiciary Committees.[17] On June 29, 2026, she introduced H.R.9526, the Protecting Europe from Islamophobia Act, which was referred to the Foreign Affairs Committee.[18]

Omar's 2016 election as the nation's first Somali-American state legislator and her 2018 election as one of the first two Muslim women in Congress were milestones in American political representation.[2][3] Her biography—from flight during Somalia's civil war and four years in a Kenyan refugee camp to naturalization and federal office—has also been central to her public profile.[1]

Her political significance is also tied to controversies over antisemitism and Israel. CAMERA characterized her 2012 reference to Israel “hypnotizing the world” and her 2019 comments about money and foreign allegiance as invoking antisemitic tropes; the ADL made the same assessment of the foreign-allegiance remarks.[4][5] In 2021, twelve Jewish Democratic lawmakers condemned her comparison involving the United States, Israel, Hamas, and the Taliban as “offensive” and “misguided.”[10] In 2023, she declined to attend Israeli President Isaac Herzog's address to Congress.[19]

The House's 2023 party-line vote to remove Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee became a major institutional response to these disputes. H.Res.76 cited her statements as grounds for removal, while opponents argued that the process punished protected speech without normal Ethics Committee review.[6][7]

Omar continued serving in the 119th Congress and sponsoring foreign-policy legislation, including 2026 measures concerning U.S. membership in the International Criminal Court and consultation on Islamophobia in Europe.[17][18]

Omar's comments concerning Israel, Jewish political influence, and American foreign policy have drawn condemnation from Jewish organizations and members of both major parties.[10][6]

The “Benjamins” Tweet and AIPAC Remarks (2019)

In February 2019, Omar tweeted, “It’s all about the Benjamins, baby!” in response to a report about AIPAC and political support for Israel.[5] CAMERA explained that “Benjamins” referred to Benjamin Franklin's image on the $100 bill and characterized the tweet as invoking an antisemitic trope about Jewish money and political influence.[5] H.Res.76 later described the exchange as suggesting that AIPAC and Jewish people were buying political support.[6]

Omar's subsequent apology read in part: “Anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of antisemitic tropes. My intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole ... This is why I unequivocally apologize.”[20]

On March 7, 2019, the House passed H.Res.183, which condemned antisemitic stereotypes, antisemitic acts and statements, anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry, and death threats received by Jewish and Muslim members of Congress. The vote was 407–23, with one member voting present and one not voting.[21][22] Separately, AJC reported that a February motion to recommit condemning antisemitism and other forms of bigotry following Omar's tweets passed 424–0.[23]

Dual-Loyalty Accusations (2019)

At a February 27, 2019 public forum, Omar said: “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is okay for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country.”[4] On March 2, she wrote to House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey: “I should not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support to a foreign country in order to serve my country in Congress or serve on committee.”[4] The ADL said these statements invoked the antisemitic “dual loyalty” charge historically leveled against Jewish Americans. Its letter also recorded Omar's position that she was expressing a good-faith disagreement about U.S. policy toward Israel and the Palestinian Authority.[4]

H.Res.76 cited the “Benjamins” tweet and Omar's statement about “allegiance to a foreign country.” It also recorded then-Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel's characterization of the comments as offensive and invoking “a vile anti-Semitic slur,” along with Democratic congressional leaders' declaration that “Anti-Semitism must be called out, confronted and condemned whenever it is encountered, without exception.”[6]

The September 11 Remarks (2019)

In March 2019, Omar used the phrase “some people [who] did something” while discussing the Islamist terrorists responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks.[5][6]

The 2012 “Hypnotizing the World” Tweet

A November 2012 tweet by Omar accused Israel of “hypnotizing the world.” CAMERA said this and other remarks insinuated that lawmakers were purchased by Jewish money and that Jewish Americans had dual loyalties. It further assessed the comments as meeting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism.[5]

Comparing the U.S. and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban (2021)

In June 2021, Omar placed the United States, Israel, Hamas, and the Taliban together in a discussion of alleged atrocities.[10] Twelve Jewish Democratic members of Congress condemned the comments as “offensive” and “misguided.” Omar's spokesman, Jeremy Slevin, responded that “the far right is ginning up hate against Rep. Omar,” and Omar subsequently issued what AJC characterized as a non-apology walk-back.[10]

Refusal to Attend the Israeli President's Address (2023)

In July 2023, Omar announced that she would not attend Israeli President Isaac Herzog's address to a joint session of Congress. She stated, “There is no way in hell I am attending the joint session address from a President whose country has banned me,” and cited Israel's treatment of Palestinians and its policies concerning a two-state solution.[19]

Armenian Genocide Vote

Omar voted “present” when the House overwhelmingly adopted a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide, described by AJC as the systematic murder of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turkey. AJC criticized Omar for not joining the congressional majority.[10]

In August 2019, Israel barred Omar and Rashida Tlaib from entering the country after they announced plans to visit.[24] AJC noted the legislators' active support for the BDS movement and stated that their proposed itinerary did not include meetings with Israeli officials, mainstream Knesset members, or Israeli experts.[24] AJC characterized the planned visit as a political and propaganda exercise.

AJC nevertheless said Israel “did not choose wisely” by reversing its original decision to permit entry. While affirming Israel's sovereign authority to control entry, the organization warned that barring two members of the U.S. Congress could impose greater political costs in the United States than allowing the visit.[24] The episode became another point of conflict over Omar's BDS advocacy and her criticism of Israeli policy.

Omar has supported the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. In 2019, she introduced H.Res.496, affirming a First Amendment right to participate in boycotts for civil and human rights.[12] She also voted against H.Res.246.[13] That resolution opposed BDS and other efforts to delegitimize Israel while affirming Americans' free-speech rights, including the right to criticize U.S. or foreign government policies.[14]

AJC reported that a separate procedural motion to add condemnation of BDS to a Yemen-related resolution was defeated 228–194, with five Democrats voting in favor.[23] AJC stressed that the result did not directly express members' substantive views on BDS because it was a procedural vote.[23]

Omar's BDS advocacy also formed part of the context surrounding Israel's 2019 decision to bar her and Tlaib from entering. AJC criticized their proposed itinerary but also questioned the strategic wisdom of excluding sitting members of Congress.[24]

In response to the 2019 dual-loyalty controversy, Omar argued that her statements reflected good-faith disagreements about U.S. policy toward Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and their relationship.[4] The ADL rejected that defense, arguing that accusations of allegiance to a foreign government invoke a longstanding antisemitic charge against Jews.[4]

Congressional resolutions also distinguished protected political criticism from antisemitic rhetoric. H.Res.246 affirmed citizens' right to protest or criticize U.S. and foreign government policies even as it opposed BDS.[14] H.Res.183 condemned stereotypes that Jews control government or finance and described accusations that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the United States as antisemitic.[21]

Institutional responses included the 407–23 passage of H.Res.183 in March 2019,[22] condemnation by twelve Jewish Democratic lawmakers after Omar's 2021 comparison involving the United States, Israel, Hamas, and the Taliban,[10] and the 218–211 vote removing her from the Foreign Affairs Committee in 2023.[7] Omar and her defenders maintained that criticism of Israeli policy was being punished, while the organizations and lawmakers criticizing her focused on the language and stereotypes used rather than the existence of policy criticism itself.