Sadiq Khan welcomes “all about the Benjamins” congresswoman Ilhan Omar to London as heroine of “equality and inclusion”

From The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (Hat tip Cliff) and The Telegraph and Argus, local newspaper for Yorkshire city Bradford.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has welcomed Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to London as a heroine of “equality and inclusion” as she began a trip that saw her meet with fawning parliamentarians.

In a statement on Twitter, Mr Khan wrote: “From the lakes of Minnesota to the bright lights of London, we must stand firm in upholding progressive values of equality and inclusion in the face of those who seek to divide us”, adding that they had discussed “how we can keep building bridges, not walls.”

Rep. Omar has been described as a “virulent antisemite” for saying that “Israel has hypnotised the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”

On another occasion, Rep. Omar suggested that Jewish people buy political support. She tweeted: “It’s all about the Benjamins baby”, referencing a song about a $100 bill and AIPAC, a pro-Israeli lobbying group.

Rep. Omar also met with Conservative peer Baroness Sayeeda Warsi and Labour MPs Naz Shah, Zarah Sultana and Sarah Owen, who tweeted selfies, photographs of warm embraces, and words of praise for the controversial Congresswoman.

Ms Shah described her as an “inspiration” as she visited parliament for the first time.

The event was organised with Muddassar Ahmed, president of transatlantic leadership forum The Concordia Forum.

“I was so proud to host Ms Omar,” said Ms Shah. “She has faced racism and Islamophobia, including from former President Donald Trump. However, Ms Omar’s strength when faced with such challenges are an inspiration to us all. Despite her challenges, the hatred, the divisions and the constant scrutiny that ordinary people in politics do not face, we see her fight on.

“As a fellow Muslim woman in politics, I understand her pain and struggle, as do so many others here.  . . ”

As well as the comments about Jewish British citizens, which were such that the Labour party suspended her for a spell,  in 2017 she ‘liked’ and re-tweeted a tweet saying ““Those abused girls in Rotherham and elsewhere just need to shut their mouths. For the good of diversity.” apparently by accident.  It was from a spoof account; but for those minutes from clicking ‘like and re-tweet’ to deleting the selection she, or somebody close enough to her in her office to know her mind, she can only have been expressing her own opinion. 

Also pictured in Ms Shah’s photographs is the expelled Labour Party MP Claudia Webbe, who has previously defended Ken Livingstone after he compared a Jewish journalist to a concentration camp guard.

In 2018, when Ms Webbe was the Chair of the Labour Party’s Disciplinary Panel, she tweeted a claim that the “combined machinery of state, political and mainstream elite” are conspiring to smear Jeremy Corbyn with “false allegations.”

Ms Webbe represents her constituents as an independent having been expelled from the Labour party. The sentence (10-week imprisonment suspended sentence reduced to community service on appeal) she received on being convicted of threatening her love rival with an acid attack and generally harassing her was not high enough to trigger expulsion from the office of MP.  personally I think anybody in such important public office should not have any serious convictions at all, and no recent ones. But then I was brought up in an atmosphere of moral probity. I remember John Profumo. 

It has been an absolute honour to host my fellow Muslim sister @IlhanMN  with  @mmuddassarahmed at Parliament today. The sisterhood is international!

You can tell a woman by the company she keeps.