(Jewish Insider) Several hundred supporters of Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar crowded into Busboys and Poets, a bookstore cafe in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night to hear the pair speak at a “Progressive town hall.” Some attendees stood waiting for over an hour outside in the February cold to enter the venue.
“We’re here, we’re here to stay and represent the voice of the people who have been silenced for many decades and generations,” Rep. Omar announced to raucous applause.
The night was billed as a conversation on a wide array of progressive issues but it was questions on anti-Semitism and Israel that ignited the fiercest passions, from Reps. Tlaib and Omar and those in the audience. “It is about the Benjamins,” shouted one audience member to laughter and acclaim, referencing Rep. Omar’s now-deleted tweet linking Congressional support for Israel to Jewish influence and lobbying. To this, Reps. Omar and Tlaib both smiled along furtively.
