What a day it is in American politics when the vice president is forced to call out U.S. lawmakers at the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom summit. The conference, hosted by the State Department and now in its second year, was created to combat religious persecution and discrimination around the globe. This year, the organizers and speakers regret, anti-Semitism is apparent right up the block, where the likes of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) are espousing anti-Israel ideals.
Vice President Mike Pence spent the majority of his speech condemning oppressive regimes in China, North Korea, Burma, and Iran. Pence assured conference goers that President Trump is committed to protecting religious freedom, and that he has a proven track record of doing just that. For instance, he led a successful campaign to bring home Pastor Andrew Brunson, who was imprisoned in Turkey for spreading the gospel. Since its inception, the ministerial conference has already produced some inspiring results, providing more than $340 million in aid to faith and ethnic communities persecuted by ISIS in Iraq and throughout the region.
The vice president eventually noted how anti-Semitism is steadily growing in Europe, too, and even here in the States.
In Europe, where religious freedom was born as a principle and is enshrined in law, anti-Semitism is on the rise.
In France and Germany, things have gotten so bad that Jewish religious leaders have warned their followers not to wear kippahs in public for fear that they could be violently attacked, and attacks on Jews, even on Holocaust survivors, are growing at an alarming rate.
And regrettably, the world’s oldest hatred has found a voice in the halls of our United States Congress.
Anti-Semitism is not just wrong; it’s evil. And anti-Semitism must be confronted wherever and whenever it arises, and it must be universally condemned.
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That's why President Trump has singled out Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) these past few months, including at last night's rally. Omar once tweeted that Israel has "hypnotized the world." She has also accused Israel-supporting U.S. lawmakers of dual loyalty, and she has supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israeli goods and services. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) is a fan of the boycott campaign too.
Omar "hates Israel," Trump recently claimed. She "hates Jews, hates Jews. It's very simple."
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