Democratic congressman calls out his party for response to Rep. Omar's anti-Semitism

Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) chastised the Democratic Party on Thursday for its weak response to anti-Semitic comments by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).

What began as an effort to pass a resolution specifically condemning anti-Semitism quickly morphed into a broader resolution condemning numerous types of hate, such as white supremacy and anti-Muslim statements.

"Why are we unable to singularly condemn anti-Semitism?" Deutch said on the House floor. "Why can't we call it anti-Semitism and show we've learned the lessons of history? It feels like we're only able to call the use of anti-Semitic language by a colleague of ours, any colleague of ours, if we're addressing all forms of hatred."

What's the issue here?

Of course, the problem with this resolution isn't that members of Congress don't believe white supremacy and anti-Muslim rhetoric are wrong.

The controversy stems from the fact that the resolution originated in response to specific comments from a specific congresswoman about a specific group of people, and the broadening of the resolution obscured what it was actually supposed to be about.

Last week, Omar made a comment implying that support of Israel was equivalent to dual loyalty, a known anti-Semitic trope.

"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," Omar said. It wasn't the first time she has said something that Jewish people have called anti-Semitic.

Deutch, who is Jewish, expressed frustration at his party's inability to pass a resolution focused specifically and exclusively on anti-Semitism.

"Jews control the world? Jews only care about money? Jews have dual loyalty and can't be patriotic members of the country in which they live?" Deutch said, citing common anti-Semitic stereotypes. "Words matter. For generations, they have had dangerous consequences, for me, for my family and for my people. This shouldn't be so hard."

Watch more below:

3.9.19 Rep. Deutch House Floor Speech on Anti-Semitismyoutu.be