“Anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of antisemitic tropes,” she said. “My intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole. We have to always be willing to step back and think through criticism, just as I expect people to hear me when others attack me for my identity. This is why I unequivocally apologize.”

The congresswoman released the statement after she posted a tweet that suggested US politicians are paid by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to support Israel.

Referencing US founding father Benjamin Franklin, whose face adorns the $100 bill, Omar posted that it was “all about the Benjamins baby” in reference to the lobbying group’s allegedly boundless influence on lawmakers. 

Within hours of the tweet, the then-Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the entirety of the Democrat leadership condemned the tweet in what was labeled an “extraordinary rebuke” by media outlets reporting on the troubling incident.

It is, therefore, puzzling that MSNBC’s Ja’han Jones characterized the episode as a storm that was whipped up by “right-wing hatemongers” in a recent article, ‘Omar isn’t afraid of McCarthy — but his purge vows are ominous,’ which appeared on the ReidOut Blog by MSNBC anchor Joy Reid: 

Omar, in particular, has been a target of right-wing hatemongers, who have sought to other-ize her for years. In 2018, she and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., became the first Muslim women elected to Congress, and both have predictably been portrayed as anti-American via racist tropes and conspiracy theories. Both lawmakers have also faced allegations of antisemitism for their criticism of the Israeli government.

The  condemnation of Omar from her Democrat colleagues — as well as her own apology — was evidence that very little about the case was connected to right-wingers spreading “racist tropes and conspiracy theories.” Rather, it was proof that her criticism of Israel had gone too far for even ardent critics of the Jewish state.

She was also criticized by those from across the political spectrum on several occasions for clearly anti-Jewish comments, including a 2012 tweet about the 2014 Gaza War in which she wrote: “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel. #Gaza #Palestine #Israel.”

It does not take a genius to identify the antisemitic trope that she was hinting at: that Jews are a sinister force who influence others to do their nefarious bidding.

As former New York Times columnist Bari Weiss pointed out at the time, the comment brought to mind the long-standing myth that Jews guided Roman judge Pontius Pilate to execute Jesus Christ.