Anti-Israel lawmaker loudly booed by her own community

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has made demonizing Israel a central component of her platform since emerging on the scene in 2012, when she tweeted that the Jewish state “hypnotized the world” with its “evil doings.”

Understandably, the Jewish community has opposed Omar, who has promoted a variety of antisemitic tropes, accusing the U.S.’ leading pro-Israel advocacy group of paying elected officials to support the Jewish state, promoting the anti-Israel BDS movement, and spreading the dual loyalty canard about American Jews.

While the Jewish community has justifiably opposed Omar, it appears that many members of her own Somali-American community aren’t fans of the radical politician either.

Over the weekend, Omar appeared at an annual Somali Independence Day event in Minnesota, which is home to around 50,000 people of Somali descent.

Loud boos could be heard emanating from the crowd as she took the stage with her third husband, Tim Mynett, in tow.

According to Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Michael Rubin, Somalis are “frustrated … that Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, the first Somali-American and one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, had not used her seat to advance U.S.-Somali ties.”

Omar’s convicted felon friend

“Instead, Omar has made the Palestinian issue a cornerstone of her congressional activism, apparently at the urging both of Basim Sabri — her second largest donor and a Palestinian-American real estate tycoon from Minneapolis who donated maximum amounts to Omar’s congressional campaign — as well as his daughter Karmel, a fundraiser for causes in the Gaza Strip,” added Rubin. “No group or charity can operate in Gaza, however, without cooperating with Hamas, which has ruled the Palestinian territory with an iron fist since 2006.”

Rubin notes that Sabri is a “polarizing figure” and a “convicted felon” whom Somalis see as a “slum lord” who “exploits the Somali community.”

“Politicians need donors, but to ally and embrace Sabri, a man Somali-Americans believe exploits them, rubs Omar’s constituents the wrong way,” Rubin added.

While the precise causes for the animosity expressed the Somali community in Minneapolis may not be crystal clear, a significant swath of the community feels betrayed by Omar, who has prioritized a number of so-called progressive causes at the expense of issues that directly affect her constituents.

Among the causes that may not resonate with many Minneapolis voters, despite Sabri’s affection for it, is Omar’s obsession with delegitimizing the Jewish state, a popular theme among the American left.

Omar has accused Israel of war crimes, promoted a movement that seeks the Jewish state’s destruction (BDS), and “fanned the flames of anti-Semitism among her constituents,” according to the American Jewish Committee.

Scandals persist

In addition to the antisemitism scandal that has plagued Omar since she arrived on the national stage, she has also been dogged by unsavory allegations with regard to her personal life.

Specifically, Omar was accused of immigration fraud connected to her ex-husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, whom her detractors claim is actually her brother. An investigation by an independent Minnesota-based media outlet claimed there was proof the marriage was a sham and was entered into for the purposes of committing immigration fraud.

More recently, Omar was accused of having an extra-marital affair with Tim Mynett, details of which emerged during his divorce proceedings.

During an interview on local television around that time, Omar was asked whether she was separated from her second husband or dating anyone. “No, I am not,” she claimed.

She eventually married Mynett, who appeared on stage with her at the Somali concert in Minnesota this weekend, the event at which she was booed by members of the Somali-American community.

Since 2019, Omar has overseen $2.8 million in payments to Mynett’s political consulting company, according to a Fox News report.

“Omar’s campaign paid $1.6 million to E Street Group LLC, which Mynett owns, from 2019 to July 22, 2020, Fox News reported, citing Federal Election Commission data. Omar married Mynett in October 2020.

“Another $1.1 million was sent to the firm in the third quarter and $27,000 in the following weeks. The $1.1 million figure represented nearly 70 percent of the $1.6 million that her campaign spent in those three months, the report said. The expenses were for a range of campaign services, including cable advertising, ‘digital consulting,’ video production and editing,” reported the New York Post based on Fox’s investigation.