Israel, Ilhan Omar and anti-Semitism — What You Need To Know

Dear Reader,

Ilhan Omar is a big deal. She’s a new Congresswoman, and when she assumed office she pushed to get the House rules changed so she could wear her hijab — which means Jews can wear yarmulkes. She’s a Somali refugee and a Democrat who represents a district in Minnesota.

She supports BDS, a fact she revealed only after she was elected. And she’s been accused of making anti-Semitic remarks.

Whether you’ve been following the news about her already or just tuning in, we want to help you make sense of what’s happening.

Most recently, Omar tweeted about “allegiance” to Israel. She was condemned and defended with equal ferocity. Our reporter Ari Feldman, a Minnesotan himself, surveys key players to find out what we're talking about when we talk about Ilhan Omar: Israel, or anti-Semitism?

If you need a bit of a primer, we've created a timeline (<-- click it!) for you, by news writer Alyssa Fisher. It will help you understand what’s happened in the past week, and how we got here.

You might also be interested in how her Jewish constituents say that they've already tried to school her on anti-Semitism; you can read about it in this article by Aiden Pink, our politics reporter, who also hails from Minnesota. Is a primary challenge in the offing? Follow @aidenpink on Twitter for news on that.

Opinion Editor Batya Ungar-Sargon suggests that you read this criticism, this defense, and this lament to get a sense of the debate swirling around Omar. And you can go to our Opinion section for even more.

We hope you find these articles useful. Please let us know! We're always eager to hear from you.