Tuesday April 9, 2019
By Tom Embury-Dennis
'My Lord, forgive my people for they do not know,' Democratic congresswoman tweets
Ilhan Omar asked God to forgive Donald Trump for attacking her just hours after the arrest of a Trump supporter who threatened to kill the Democratic congresswoman.
A man from New York was arrested on Friday after the FBI said he phoned up Ms Omar’s office and told a staff member: “Why are you working for her, she’s a f***ing terrorist. I’ll put a bullet in her f***ing skull.”
He later told bureau investigators he “loves the president and that he hates radical Muslims in our government,” according to a criminal complaint filed by prosecutors.
Shortly after his arrest, Mr Trump mocked Ms Omar at a Republican Jewish Coalition event in Las Vegas. Pretending to thank the congresswoman for supporting Israel, he said: “Special thanks to Representative Omar of Minnesota. Oh, I forgot. She doesn’t like Israel. I forgot. I’m so sorry.”
Ms Omar responded late on Saturday, tweeting in both English and Arabic, “My Lord, forgive my people for they do not know”; a phrase echoing Jesus’ last words in the Gospel of Luke: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
She faced widespread criticism for suggesting the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) was buying influence for pro-Israel policies. Republicans and Democrats alike said the tweets stoked antisemitic tropes about Jews and money.
The 37-year-old mother-of-three, who is the first Somali-American, the first African-born American, and one of the first two Muslim-American women to serve in the US congress, later apologised for the comments.
Mr Trump’s attack against Ms Omar was part of a wide-ranging speech, which saw him tout his decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv and his recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.