Israel Hawks Are Spending Big To Unseat Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar
Right-leaning pro-Israel groups are targeting Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat and outspoken critic of the Israeli government who is one of the most high-profile progressive members of Congress.
Antone Melton-Meaux, 47, the Minneapolis attorney seeking to unseat Omar, 37, in the state’s Aug. 11 Democratic primaries, raised more than $1.5 million in May alone.
Much of that cash comes from political action committees opposed to more U.S. pressure on the Israeli government. Two such groups, Pro-Israel America and NORPAC, have bundled upwards of $450,000 for Melton-Meaux to date.
These Israel hawks’ investment in unseating Omar follows an expensive and ultimately unsuccessful intervention on behalf of House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel. Given Engel’s massive deficit in the in-person vote, the New York Democrat has all-but-officially lost to Jamaal Bowman, a progressive challenger who is more critical of Israel, in his June 23 primary.
Omar’s race provides this subset of pro-Israel activists and donors a fresh opportunity to demonstrate their strength after an embarrassing defeat.
“The stakes are high because Members of Congress are watching to see how much muscle these groups really have,” said Joel Rubin, a progressive foreign policy hand who ran Jewish outreach for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign and served as a senior official in the Obama administration’s State Department.
As of the end of May, Pro-Israel America, which was founded by two former staffers at the pro-Israel mega-lobbying group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, had raised over $303,000 for Melton-Meaux’s bid from hundreds of individual donors, according to official campaign finance disclosures.
NORPAC, a metropolitan New York City-area group, claims credit for raising Melton-Meaux an estimated $150,000 over the course of three virtual fundraisers in May and June.
Leaders of both organizations cited Omar’s...
