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Thomas Friedman: Ilhan Omar Has Come To Be A 'Bridge Destroyer' Between Muslims and Jews
Townhall.com ^ | March 9, 2019 | Timothy Meads

Posted on 03/09/2019 10:51:30 AM PST by Kaslin

New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman had some choice words for Rep. Ilhan Omar after the recently elected congresswoman has displayed antisemitic rhetoric during her short tenure in Congress via her comments about Israel and big money in politics. Friedman said Rep. Omar had a "perfect" opportunity to be a bridge builder between Muslims and Jews but instead has opted to be a "bridge destroyer" because she has not offered "constructive" criticism. 

"Ilhan Omar represents, I believe, the largest Jewish community in the whole upper Midwest...She also represents a Somali immigrant community that have come to our city and enriched it...She was perfectly poised to be a bridge builder between Muslims and Jews, between Arabs and Israelis and rather than that she has come to be a bridge destroyer,” Friedman told the host.

“She was perfectly poised to be a bridge builder between Muslims and Jews, between Arabs and Israelis. ... She has come to be a bridge destroyer,” New York Times columnist Tom Friedman tells @smerconish about Rep. Ilhan Omar’s controversial Israel comments https://t.co/msphDlebuV pic.twitter.com/sqIzxmCEWI— CNN (@CNN) March 9, 2019

Friedman made it known he was not necessarily bashing Omar for criticism of Israel nor foreign policy, but the way in which she went about it. 

"Do you want to make a point? Or do you want to make a difference? Do you want to be constructive or destructive?...There are constructive ways to be critical of AIPAC or this administration right now...But when you come in and start throwing around these tropes about dual allegiance, about Israel and jews hypnotizing people, no one is going to believe you're innocent here because you are not being constructive. And when you come from this district that is such a strong Jewish and Muslim population, where you're set up to be a bridge builder and all you do is be a bridge destroyer then you are on my criticism list," Friedman said.

As noted by Matt yesterday, Democratic leadership has opted instead to believe that Rep. Omar is not antisemitic, but simply an idiot who does not understand what she is saying. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi recently dismissed Rep. Omar's remarks, saying, "The incident that happened with, I don't think our colleague is anti-Semitic, I think she has a different experience in the use of words, doesn't understand that some of them are fraught with meaning, that she, what, didn't realize."


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Israel; US: Michigan; US: Minnesota; US: New York; US: Vermont; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: antisemitism; berniesanders; cnn; dnctalkingpoint; dnctalkingpoints; israel; jerusalem; letshavejerusalem; mediawingofthednc; muslims; newyork; newyorkcity; newyorkslimes; newyorktimes; nonplayercharacter; nonplayercharacters; npc; npcs; ocasiocortez; partisanmediashills; presstitutes; smearmachine; thomasfriedman; vermont; waronterror
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1 posted on 03/09/2019 10:51:30 AM PST by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin
"Friedman made it known he was not necessarily bashing Omar for criticism of Israel nor foreign policy, but the way in which she went about it. "

Dhimmitute Dude

2 posted on 03/09/2019 10:52:42 AM PST by Paladin2
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To: Kaslin

There was a bridge between Muslims and Jews? It must have been the Brooklyn bridge some shyster sold them.


3 posted on 03/09/2019 10:56:59 AM PST by VTenigma (The Democrat party is the party of the mathematically challenged)
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To: Paladin2

[ Democratic leadership has opted instead to believe that Rep. Omar is not antisemitic, but simply an idiot who does not understand what she is saying. ]

Just like Jussie Smollett didn’t know what he was doing!!

It wuz an accident!! The whole preplanned fake crime wuz an accident!!


4 posted on 03/09/2019 10:57:54 AM PST by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: Kaslin

Omar is the muzzie spy and traitor in Congress. We are toast.


5 posted on 03/09/2019 10:58:52 AM PST by 353FMG
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To: Kaslin

Probably around 10-12,000 Jewish votes among the 268,000 votes cast for Omar. Most of Omar’s votes came from white non-Jews.


6 posted on 03/09/2019 10:59:16 AM PST by jjotto (Next week, BOOM!, for sure!)
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To: Kaslin

Friedman was one of the big cheerleaders for Iraq invasion. No talk of building bridges then.


7 posted on 03/09/2019 10:59:23 AM PST by proust (Justice delayed is injustice.)
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To: Kaslin
Near term future: the congresswoman from Somalia will continue to make inflammatory, anti-Semitic statements because that's her core belief system and that's how she rolls. And hey, she's an Americas who has freedom of religion, right? The wretched democrat leadership will have to continue excusing and covering for this vile wench, hee hee.


8 posted on 03/09/2019 11:00:10 AM PST by Menehune56 ("Let them hate so long as they fear" (Oderint Dum Metuant), Lucius Accius (170 BC - 86 BC))
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To: Kaslin

Enriched the district?

Someone should drive through some of those “enriched” areas with a hidden cam and post the result online. It would make fascinating viewing.


9 posted on 03/09/2019 11:00:27 AM PST by mewzilla (Break out the mustard seeds.)
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To: VTenigma

How can there be a bridge when one side proclaims death to Jews and the destruction of Israel. How do you build such a bridge??


10 posted on 03/09/2019 11:03:04 AM PST by elpadre (AfganistaMr Obama said theoal was to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-hereQaeda" and its allies.)
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To: Paladin2

Friedman grew up in a Minneapolis suburb now represented by Omar.

Thomas Friedman’s mother was horrified by his antiAmerican and antiIsrael screeds.


11 posted on 03/09/2019 11:03:21 AM PST by jjotto (Next week, BOOM!, for sure!)
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To: proust
I've been saying for years that there is only one effective way to get conservative voters to insist on ending this idiocy where the U.S. government sells itself out to foreign interests:

Elect some Muslims to Congress ... because they will be under far more scrutiny than representatives elected by Jewish voters in New York, Irish trash in Massachusetts, etc.

12 posted on 03/09/2019 11:03:26 AM PST by Alberta's Child ("In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey.")
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To: 353FMG

I still believe the Demoncrats aka Democrats think they will use illegal aliens and now Muslims to destroy our Republic and they will then ride in on a great white stallion and save us. Sorry if some folks take offense of the racist white stallion but I’m old school and that is part of our history.


13 posted on 03/09/2019 11:07:05 AM PST by antidemoncrat
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To: elpadre
i prefer a wall...


14 posted on 03/09/2019 11:10:21 AM PST by Chode ( WeÂ’re America, Bitch!)
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To: Kaslin

Keep in mind that in the previous decade, Friedman wrote a book entitled “The World is Flat.”


15 posted on 03/09/2019 11:11:16 AM PST by Berosus (I wish I had as much faith in God as liberals have in government.)
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To: Paladin2
Friedman’s brethren voted for her.

The tribe has better do some deep cleaning ... pronto!
16 posted on 03/09/2019 11:12:43 AM PST by IWontSubmit (2)
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To: antidemoncrat

Democrats have NO desire or intention to save America. Pure nonsense.


17 posted on 03/09/2019 11:13:59 AM PST by 353FMG
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To: Kaslin

The KKK was DemocRats and hated Jews. And the Dems are now openly anti-Semitic. Yet liberals wanat you to believe the parties “flipped”.


18 posted on 03/09/2019 11:16:35 AM PST by Blood of Tyrants (Being woke means you can be nasty, hateful and use racist slurs yet feel morally superior.)
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To: Menehune56

Appropriate pic. America is eating popcorn while it is being destroyed.


19 posted on 03/09/2019 11:17:29 AM PST by 353FMG
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To: Kaslin

Thomas Friedman rants like a fool and embarrasses himself on a regular basis.

He’s a professional virtue-signaler, nothing more.


20 posted on 03/09/2019 11:18:35 AM PST by Steely Tom ([Seth Rich] == [the Democrat's John Dean])
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