Ted Cruz slams Ilhan Omar for 'opposition' to antisemitism resolution
The Twitter battle between the opposing politicians began when Cruz retweeted a video posted by ABC News of protesters tearing down a statue of Christopher Columbus.
By TAMAR URIEL-BEERISenator Ted Cruz: Boycotts and other attacks on the livelihood of Jews have been part of antisemitism for centuries.(photo credit: KAMIL KRACZYNSKI/ REUTERS)
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) slammed Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar in a Twitter battle between the Republican and the Democrat on Thursday, claiming that if she would like to discuss a genocide, she should discuss the Holocaust and her lack of support for the House resolution on antisemitism.The Twitter battle between the opposing politicians began when Cruz retweeted a video posted by ABC News of protesters – who were participating in the Black Lives Matter-motivated marches throughout the country which follow the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer – tearing down a statue of Christopher Columbus outside of the Minnesota State Capitol."American Taliban," Cruz wrote in response."This was organized and led by Indigenous people," Omar, whose home state is Minnesota, tweeted in response. "Columbus literally started a genocide against them. What a sick thing to say about those taking down monuments to their own oppression."Numerous US monuments have been torn down as part of the protests and demonstrations against police brutality and racial inequalities. The tearing down of the Columbus statue was led by Native American activist Mike Forcia, who told Reuters that "it was the right thing to do and it was the right time to do it.""No, he didn't commit genocide, 'literally' or otherwise," Cruz tweeted in response to Omar. "He did discover the New World, which led to colonizers, some of whom inadvertently brought disease."Is it your position that it's inherently immoral to come to America from a foreign land?" he continued. "I'm glad my Dad came from Cuba."He proceeded to criticize Omar for her alleged antisemitism, stating, "And if you want to talk 'literal genocide,' we can discuss the Nazis murdering 6 million Jews in the Holocaust. Why again did you oppose the House resolution against antisemitism?"Cruz was referring to a US House resolution passed on March 7, 2019 which condemns antisemitism "as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contradictory to the values and aspirations that define the people of the United States."The resolution additionally condemned "anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry against minorities as hateful expressions of intolerance."
However, according to the final vote results, Omar voted in favor of the resolution and did not oppose it, as Cruz stated. However, Omar has been scrutinized in the past for presenting antisemitic tropes in numerous social media posts.
