U.S. Rep.Ilhan Omar has been accused of "blood libel" by the Anti-Defamation League for calling Jewish college students "pro-genocide" amid escalating protests against Israel's actions in Gaza, RadarOnline.com can confirm.
The Democratic congresswoman made the comment while speaking to a reporter as she attended a pro-Palestine protest at Columbia University on Friday.
"I think it is really unfortunate that people don't care about the fact that all Jewish kids should be kept safe and that we should not have to tolerate antisemitism or bigotry for all Jewish students, whether they are pro-genocide or anti-genocide," Omar said at the event, where organizers were demanding peace in Gaza.
Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the ADL, posted to X on Sunday with a scathing rebuke of Omar's remarks, calling them "gaslighting" and "slander."
"It is patently false and a blood libel to suggest that ANY Jewish students are 'pro-genocide,' Greenblatt wrote in the post, which featured a video of Omar walking with a group of protesters as she spoke to the reporter. "It is gaslighting to impute that Jewish people are somehow at fault for being harassed and menaced with signs and slogans literally calling for their own extermination," Greenblatt continued. "It is abhorrent that a sitting member of Congress would slander an entire group of young people in such a cold, calculated manner."
"This is how people get killed," he asserted. The ADL leader concluded the post by saying that Omar "must apologize," but wrote that he was not "holding [his] breath."
Instead of apologizing, Omar doubled down on her stance that those who do not oppose Israel's actions are "pro-genocide."
She responded on X to Greenblatt's post with a link to an article by The Intercept on anti-Palestinian bias in schools.
"This is the pro-genocide I was talking about," Omar wrote in her post, adding: "can you condemn this like I have condemned antisemitism and bigotry of all kind?"
She went on to reference quotes mentioned in the article: "Kill All Arabs," "They are all Hamas. All grotesquely evil," and "Level Gaza."'
Omar attended Friday's protest alongside her daughter, Isra Hirsi, a junior at Columbia's sister school, Barnard. Hirsi was suspended due to her involvement in the ongoing demonstrations, which involved setting up dozens of tents on school grounds.
"I had the honor of seeing the Columbia University anti-war encampment firsthand," the U.S. representative for Minnesota's 5th Congressional District wrote in a post on X that included a short video of the event.
She wrote that she was "in awe" of the students' "bravery and courage."
"Contrary to right-wing attacks, these students are joyfully protesting for peace and an end to the genocide taking place in Gaza," Omar continued.
Hirsi, 21, announced on April 18via X that she was "1 of 3 students suspended for standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide."
“I have never been reprimanded or received any disciplinary warnings," she wrote.
Dozens of students have been arrested amid ongoing negotiations with school administrators over the encampment, as they refuse to move despite threats of suspension.