Is Omar’s Re-election a Wake-up Call for Jewish Voters?
Rep. Ilhan Omar's re-election in Minneapolis sparked outrage among critics who view her as a supporter of terrorism. Despite efforts to unseat her, Omar's victory raises concerns about rising extremism.
Rep. Ilhan Omar’s re-election has sparked anger and introspection among her critics. Despite efforts to unseat her in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District Democratic primary last week, Omar beat out Don Samuels, a former member of the Minneapolis City Council who had come just two points shy of unseating her in the midterms. This time, Omar had a 13-point lead over Samuels.
Omar has been a vocal critic of Israeli government policies, particularly regarding their treatment of Palestinians and has faced harsh criticism for her views and allegedly “antisemitic” statements. One such statement had her equate Israel, Hamas, and the Taliban, though she later clarified that it was within the context of “accountability for specific incidents regarding … ICC cases.” More recently, while condemning antisemitism on college campuses, Omar implied that Jewish students who support Israel amid its war against Hamas are “pro-genocide.”
For some, Omar’s victory raises questions about the future of Jewish political engagement. For others, it’s simply a reality in a country where anti-Israel activists are becoming ever louder and more influential.
It is disappointing to see a terrorist supporter remain in Congress
“It is disappointing to see a terrorist supporter remain in Congress,” said Ronn Torossian, a political activist in the United States and Israel and founder of New York City-based 5W public relations firm. “Decent Americans of all races and religions now see Ilhan Omar as their congressperson again, and one wonders if this will be a wake-up call for Jews in the district to move to a red state or Israel.”
Torossian has a long political history, including working for Israel’s Likud party, and was actively involved in efforts to unseat Omar.
“It’s now clear that those who stand with Israel are hated by the majority of their neighbors in this district. Will it get even worse in America for Jews? Will antisemitism continue to grow, and Hamas support continue to increase? It’s clear where Omar and this district stand,” Torossian told The Media Line.
Phillip Slepian, a Republican based in New Jersey, also expressed concern over the future of Jewish life in the United States after the Omar win. He told The Media Line that the Muslim vote is growing exponentially while the Jewish vote is shrinking.
“Voters who oppose ‘the Squad’ [a group of progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives] aren’t in demographic groups that are growing, but rather having fewer children than ever, and that doesn’t count their children that are being radicalized on our nation’s college campuses,” Slepian said. “I hate to be a Debbie Downer … but I don’t think the trend is your friend. I have long felt that every Jewish American should have an exit strategy.”
Others, like Jewish Democrat Michael Sinensky, encouraged the Jewish community to use the Omar win as a reminder of the importance of being strong and fighting antisemitism.
We need to motivate and inspire to become stronger
“We can’t give up,” he told The Media Line. “We need to motivate and inspire to become stronger. Many countries rolled over to Hitler and thought fighting back was unwinnable. Is that the proper strategy here? Never and never again.”
This holiday season, give to:
Truth and understanding
The Media Line's intrepid correspondents are in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Pakistan providing first-person reporting.
They all said they cover it.
We see it.
We report with just one agenda: the truth.
At the same time, he said extremism can be seen not only in candidates like Omar on the Democratic side but also among the Republicans. He described himself as a “Jewish American Democrat who is torn between a rock and a hard place in a two-party system that has me as a Jew having to make a horrific decision of supporting the Democrats whose party is placating—albeit a small group but growing within—Hamas supporters who wish to finish Hitler’s final solution. On [the] flip side, the Republican Party has a, albeit again, small extremist problem with white supremacists who also support Hitler’s vision.
“Instead of both sides completely walking away from their extremes that want my family dead, they placate for votes,” Sinensky continued.
Most experts believe Omar’s victory wasn’t about policy but, as she put it in the past, “all about the Benjamins.” Omar raised significantly more funds than her opponent. The powerful AIPAC lobby, which spent over $25 million to defeat Rep. Cori Bush in Missouri and Rep. Jamaal Bowman in New York, didn’t support Samuels nearly as much in his fight against Omar.
“AIPAC abandoned the Omar race, and it’s sad that so much of the American Jewish leadership is silent in the face of the dangers which our community faces,” Torossian said.
AIPAC’s social media activity and public statements strongly suggested the lobby group showed little interest in the race. However, this may be because AIPAC recognized it couldn’t influence the race’s outcome.
Minnesota native and Democratic voter Manilan Houle said the pro-Israel community had only so many resources and had to decide where it could have the greatest impact.
“AIPAC’s job is not to save the pro-Israel community from anti-Israel backers,” Houle told The Media Line. “Their role is to build a stronger, more pro-Israel Congress, and at that, they have been absolutely successful.”
Moreover, Houle said, one has to look at the candidates AIPAC does choose to help unseat. According to Houle, Bowman and Bush were not delivering for their constituents. Moreover, although he said Samuels’ “heart was in the right place,” he did not manage to mobilize a large and solid enough base of supporters to defeat Omar.
Open Secrets, an NGO that tracks money in US politics, reports that Omar raised $6.4 million in 2023-2024, compared to Samuels’ $1.2 million. She went into July with more than $1.8 million to spend in the final stretch of the race, compared to less than $350,000 in the case of Samuels.
Much of Omar’s funds came from her national fan base rather than her local district.
“It is not a surprise that Ilhan Omar won this election,” Houle said.
In addition, despite what is reported about her in Israeli and Jewish media outlets, Omar does enjoy support from diverse voters. Houle said he backed her for her first run for Congress, although he is no longer a fan.
Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and State Representative Emma Greenman endorsed her. She also has support from her Somali Muslim community, including State Representative Mohamud Noor.
According to the World Population Review, nearly 65,000 people of Somali descent live in Minnesota, about 1.12% of the population. Minnesota’s 5th District has the largest concentration of Somali Americans in the country, comprising about 2.9% of the population.
Moreover, she was the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party’s endorsed candidate or candidate of choice. Historically, a candidate who gets the party endorsement wins the primary. The DFL has been supporting Omar since 2016.
However, the race for Congress is still ongoing. Omar must now run against the Republican candidate in the November 5 general election. Strikingly, her opponent is another Muslim woman: Dalia Al-Aqidi.
After Omar’s victory, Al-Aqidi put out a statement, which her team sent to The Media Line, calling on the Jewish community and Samuels supporters to vote for her.
“To the Jewish community, I say that I feel your pain,” Al-Aqidi wrote. “I have fought against Middle East tyranny for my entire life. I was born in Baghdad, and I fled Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. I stood with the Jewish people before and after the horrific October 7 massacres in Israel. I was moved to visit Israel just two weeks after the terrorist invasion to meet with families who narrowly survived, with Israeli leaders, and to see the devastation firsthand and bear witness so that it could not be effectively denied.
“I wanted to share with Israelis and the Jewish community the solidarity of our district at a time when Ilhan Omar was pouring salt on open wounds,” she continued. “I know that Ilhan does not represent our values.”
Al-Aqidi objected to the Minneapolis City Council’s January resolution that portrayed Hamas as the victim and Israel as the aggressor. She attended a Senate hearing in June focused on rising antisemitism at the University of Minnesota. Additionally, she defended Israel against protesters and praised the United States as a “unique beacon of hope and freedom to other nations.”
There is still a path to unseat Ilhan Omar
“There is still a path to unseat Ilhan Omar,” Al-Aqidi stressed in her message. “The clearest path to victory during a presidential year is in the November general election, relying on the votes of all 5th District Republicans, with the addition of independents and the coalition of voters who supported Don Samuels.
“I humbly ask Don Samuels’ supporters to support my campaign,” Al-Aqidi said. She also called on those who rallied Republicans to vote for Samuels to “now call their disenchanted Democrat friends and convince them to join you in supporting my campaign.”
