I am pleased that the new Congress members have stuck up for Ilhan Omar and added Islam to Judaism in a resolution opposing unfair criticism. My initial defense of Congresswoman Omar could similarly be amended. So today when an old friend “M” emailed me out of the blue and asked for my Minnesota perspective on the subject I replied by sending him my colunm as well as an even more nuanced critique from Minnesotan and New York Times reporter, Tom Friedman.
Here’s M’s Query:
——– Original message ——–
From: M
Date: 3/7/19 6:42 AM (GMT-06:00)
To: Harry Welty
Subject: Ilhan
What’s your perspective on Ilhan Omar?
“Omar sparked a new firestorm one week ago for criticizing what she called “the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country,” again comparing organized political support for Israel to lobbying efforts for “the NRA, or fossil fuel industries or Big Pharma.””
Inquiringly,M
I sent this reply to my old friend:
On Thu, Mar 7, 2019 at 9:03 AM harrywelty
M _ _ _ _,
This is a column I sent in to our local tabloid immediately after the firestorm.
http://m.duluthreader.com/articles/2019/02/15/16051_you_have_my_sympathy_ilhan
Tom Friedman had a more nuanced critique at the Times.
https://nyti.ms/2XHiybp
Bloviatingly, H
