Top House Dem hits Rep. Ilhan Omar with blistering rebuke over latest 'vile anti-Semitic slur'

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has again found herself mired in controversy over new "vile anti-Semitic remarks." And once again, it is a fellow House Democrat delivering the criticism.

What did Omar say this time?

Earlier this week, Omar suggested that pro-Israel lawmakers and Americans who support Israel hold "allegiance to a foreign country."

"I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is okay to push for allegiance to a foreign country," Omar said, clearly referring to Israel.

Omar also levied a charge of bigotry against her "Jewish colleagues," accusing them of targeting her and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Minn.) for being Muslim.

"What I'm fearful of — because Rashida and I are Muslim — that a lot of our Jewish colleagues, a lot of our constituents, a lot of our allies, go to thinking that everything we say about Israel to be anti-Semitic because we are Muslim," Omar claimed.

Who criticized her?

In a blistering statement released late Friday, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) denounced Omar's "unacceptable and deeply offensive" comments, demanding she retract her comments and apologize.

"I welcome debate in Congress based on merits of policy, but it's unacceptable and deeply offensive to call into question the loyalty of fellow Americana citizens because of their political views, including support for the U.S.-Israel relationship," Engel said. "We all take the same oath. Worse, Representative Omar's comments leveled that charge by invoking a vile anti-Semitic slur."

"This episode is deeply disappointing following so closely on another instance of Ms. Omar seeming to invoke an anti-Semitic stereotype," he added. "Her comments were outrageous and deeply hurtful, and I ask that she retract them, apologize, and commit to making her case on policy issues without resorting to attacks that have no place in the Foreign Affairs Committee or the House of Representatives."

Engel's denunciation comes just weeks after Omar was forced to apologize for claiming lawmakers are paid by lobbyists to support Israel. Indeed, since winning election last November, numerous instances of anti-Semitism have surfaced, revealing a dark and troubling past.