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Ilhan Omar’s critics have little to say about Jim Jordan’s anti-Semitic tweet

The double standard is opaque.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference last week. CREDIT: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference last week. CREDIT: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Fresh off his fiery display at the Michael Cohen hearing last week, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is under fire for tweeting an anti-Semitic trope at a fellow member of Congress who is Jewish.

Responding to Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), who announced Sunday that the House Judiciary Committee would seek documents from some 60 individuals in Trump’s orbit as part of its investigation, Jordan accused Nadler of agreeing with California billionaire Tom Steyer that President Donald Trump should be impeached. But Jordan spelled Steyer’s name with a dollar sign:

Nadler is Jewish, prompting many to quickly call out the tweet as anti-Semitic. Steyer also has some Jewish ancestry, although he identifies as Episcopalian. Nadler on Monday called out what he considered the anti-Semitic bias in the tweet.

Others who pointed out the anti-Semitic trope included author Amy Siskind and the co-founder of the progressive Jewish organization IfNotNow, Max Berger:

In addition to calling out the anti-Semitism, many also were quick to juxtapose Jordan’s tweet with recent statements made by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) that have also been characterized as anti-Semitic. Omar has challenged the notion of what it means to be “pro-Israel” and criticized those who turn a blind eye to Israel’s occupation in the West Bank and Gaza while accepting money and support from The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

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Indeed, Omar was called out yet again last week when she described such “political influence” as a “push for allegiance to a foreign country.” This, AIPAC and others suggested, invoked the anti-Semitic myth of “dual loyalty,” which implies that American Jews should not be trusted.

In a tweet thread Sunday, Omar rejected the accusations of anti-Semitism, noting, “My Americanness is questioned by the President and @GOP on a daily basis, yet my colleagues remain silent.”

There is a double standard, many pointed out, that the same people willing to gang up on Omar are silent about Jordan. Moreover, if Omar had tweeted something like “$teyer,” the response would have been much more significant.

The Jewish Worker, a progressive outlet, has been compiling examples of how the very people criticizing Omar since last month have their own history of racist and specifically anti-Semitic comments. This weekend, they added Jordan to their list:

As the Jewish Worker’s thread indicates, Jordan is hardly the only lawmaker who joined the chorus criticizing Omar, but who has also made his own anti-Semitic statements. Last October, then-House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R) had to delete a tweet similarly suggesting Steyer and other prominent Jewish donors were going to “BUY this election!” Last year, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) invited a Holocaust denier with a long history of racist and anti-Semitic statements as his guest to the State of the Union address.

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IfNotNow, which is committed to ending support for Israel’s occupation, offered ThinkProgress a follow-up statement about Jordan’s tweet. “We believe that it is anti-Semitic, and should be widely condemned — especially by anyone who has denounced Ilhan Omar in recent weeks,” the group said. “His tweet clearly implies that Jewish billionaires are controlling Democratic politicians.”

The organization pointed out that Jordan has not received the same “wall-to-wall coverage and condemnation” as Omar, which demonstrates “the racism and Islamophobia she faces.” Noting the double standard, they asked, “Will Trump and Pence call for Jordan’s resignation as well?”

Jordan has not yet deleted his tweet nor responded to any of the criticism about it.

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This article has been updated to more accurately reflect Tom Steyer’s racial and religious ancestry.