Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who has long called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and has urged the administration of President Joe Biden to withhold U.S. military aid to Israel, didn’t mince words when she was harassed Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
The progressive lawmaker, who is one of the only Muslim women in Congress, was captured in footage shared on social media being surrounded by pro-Israel protesters as she tried to enter an elevator who told her to “go to Gaza, sweetheart.”
Omar responded bluntly with an explicit retort: “Fuck you.”
Israel’s military has relentlessly bombed the Gaza Strip for more than a year in retaliation for a Hamas attack Oct. 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people. The bombings and other military actions have killed at least 40,000 men, women and children, destroyed schools and hospitals, and led to serious concerns about famine.
Omar’s response came after nearly an entire minute of the group waiting alongside her at the elevator while asking “what are you doing,” “why do you stand with Hamas” and “would you just condemn Hamas, would you just say that it’s wrong to take hostages?”
“Just say that,” one of the protesters continued in the footage. “You can’t say that?”
Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press
She has been subjected to Islamophobia since taking office in 2019, including being targeted by then-President Donald Trump on Twitter.
The group of protesters who ambushed Omar on Wednesday were identified as members of Betar US, a movement of staunch Israel supporters, by Israeli newspaper Ynet.
The group also shared footage of members knocking on the door of Rep. Rashida Tlaib on Capitol Hill while laughing — one day before the United Nations released a report detailing how Israel’s actions in Gaza are “consistent with the characteristics of genocide.”