US House anti-hate resolution won't mention Ilhan Omar

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday the House will vote on a resolution condemning anti-semitism, Islamophobia and other forms of hate but said the measure won't name Ilhan Omar, the freshman Democrat whose comments about Israel sparked the uproar.

Pelosi defended Omar and says she does not believe the new Congresswoman understood the "weight of her words" or that they would be perceived by some as anti-Semitic.

"It's not about her. It's about these forms of hatred," Pelosi told reporters.

The House resolution was in part intended to resolve a divide that opened after Omar said that Israel's supporters were pushing lawmakers to take a pledge of "allegiance" to a foreign country.

A Muslim-American, she has been critical of the Jewish state in the past and apologised for those previous comments.

Her lack of apology for these recent comments however has sparked a demand from some quarters to put a resolution on the floor condemning anti-Semitism.

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Democrats were divided on the issue with some wanting to broaden it to reject all forms of bigotry. Others questioned whether a resolution was necessary, and viewed such a move as unfairly singling out Omar at a time when President Donald Trump and others have made disparaging racial comments.

In the party's weekly closed meeting on Wednesday, Democrats protested the way Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leaders tried to rush out a resolution this week responding to Omar's latest remark about Israel. 

The draft of the resolution condemning bigotry has angered Omar's fellow freshmen and their progressive supporters. Pelosi had already said the measure would be broadened to decry anti-Muslim bias. 

Omar has had to face increased Islamophobia since she entered headlines. Omar denounced on Twitter a poster displayed at a Republican stall in the West Virginia legislature.

It showed an image of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre buildings as well as a picture of the American-Muslim congresswoman with the words "Never forget - you said. I am the proof - you have forgotten".

Last month Omar, a one-time refugee from Somalia, triggered uproar with comments about AIPAC that some felt echoed an anti-Semitic trope that Jewish influence in politics is money-related.

Stunned Democratic leaders demanded - and received - and apology from Omar.

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