America, 2019: Jewish Republican Accused Muslim Democrat of Antisemitism, She Accused Him of Islamophobia

The beef started on Tuesday when [Jewish Republican New York Rep. Lee Zeldin] announced he had been named ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and took a swipe at Democrats and [Muslim Democrat Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar] in the process.

“Just learned Freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar was also put on this committee w oversight of US foreign policy,” Zeldin tweeted. “Crazy to watch what House Dems are empowering/elevating.”

Omar retweeted a retweet of Zeldin’s original tweet (yes, you’re reading that correctly) suggesting it was an “Islamophobic dogwhistle,” and added her own spice to the mix.

“Don’t mind him, he is just waking up to the reality of having Muslim women as colleagues who know how to stand up to bullies!” Omar wrote. “It’s gonna be fun watching him lose his marbles.”

Zeldin then did apparently lose his marbles, suggesting in a follow-up retweet of Omar’s retweet of a retweet of Zeldin’s original tweet that Omar sympathized with “ISIS fighters” and “Palestinian terrorists.” (Read that sentence again if you have to.)

“Your anti-Semitic & anti-Israel hate is strong & wrong & those terrorists have US blood on their hands as well,” Zeldin wrote to Omar.

He then tweeted at her with the attached voicemail from a constituent who said that Jews have systematically “murdered” and “enslaved” black people and were improperly occupying Palestine.

“This new VM just came into my office. @IlhanMN, this is just another day in my world as an American Jew in Congress. Would love to know what part of this hate filled, anti-Semitic rant you disagree with? I disagree with all of it. Do you?” Zeldin asked Omar, who has received dozens of such phone calls denigrating her Muslim faith.