Jewish NYC councilman booted from committee after calling Rep. Ilhan Omar an anti-Semite and saying 'Palestine does not exist'

A Jewish Democratic New York City councilman has been kicked off the city's immigration committee after calling far-left Muslim Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) an anti-Semite and stating that "Palestine does not exist."

What are the details?

Councilman Kalman Yeger (D) came under fire for calling Rep. Omar an anti-Semite on Twitter after she boasted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "chose to focus on" her during his speech to AIPAC last month.

Netanyahu did not mention Omar by name in his remarks, but did refer to the freshman congresswoman's suggestion that the relationship between Israel and the U.S. was "all about the Benjamins." Omar was roundly condemned for her comment, and has been accused of anti-Semitism several times by politicians on both sides of the aisle.

However, other politicians have come to Omar's defense, with the congresswoman herself apologizing for not being aware of the "painful history of anti-Semitic tropes."

Facing attacks for his criticism of Omar, Yeger reiterated his views, tweeting, "Palestine does not exist. There, I said it again. Also, Congresswoman Omar is an anti-Semite. Said that too."

The New York City Council's leadership team was appalled by Yeger's statements, and Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D) said Yeger's words would result in him being removed from his position on the Immigration Committee.

Johnson issued a statement saying, "I found Council Member Yeger's comments completely unacceptable. As I said before, they were dehumanizing to Palestinians and divisive, and have no place in New York City," The Daily Caller reported.

According to the New York Times, Yeger refused to apologize for saying there was no Palestinian state, telling reporters during a news conference, "There is no state by that name. There is no place by that name. That's a fact. I didn't make it up; I didn't invent it."

Nonetheless, Yeger was gracious about being booted from his committee assignment, tweeting out, "I respect the Speaker's right to run the Council as he sees fit. It's unfortunate that political correctness take precedence over objective fact. Of course, there are Palestinians. However, the fact remains there is no Palestinian state."

Anything else?

The New York Daily News editorial board blasted the city council's decision to remove Yeger from the committee, calling it "nuts" and pointing out that "Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who said far worse things, correctly kept her committee assignment" on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.