No, Ilhan Omar didn’t suggest ‘getting rid of Jews’ to end anti-Semitism

By: Tahil Ali
May 8 2024

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User on X (formerly Twitter) sharing a satirical post, mistakenly taken as real. (Source: X Modified by Logically Facts)

What is the claim?

An image is circulating on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), suggesting that Ilhan Omar, a Democratic representative from Minnesota, made an anti-Semitic remark advocating for the 'removal of Jews.'

The image appears to be a screenshot of a news report with a headline alleging that Omar made this comment. The image also includes a photo of Omar speaking at a podium, a banner reading "Omar: Get rid of Jews to end Anti-Semitism," and a CNN logo.

Several social media users shared the image, critiquing Omar for her alleged comments. Archives of these posts can be found here, here, and here.

Users on social media platform X share posts of Ilhan Omar, mistakenly believing them to be accurate. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

The screenshot originates from a satirical website called The Babylon Bee and has been misinterpreted as a genuine statement made by Omar.

What did we find?

We found that the shared screenshot is from a news report dated May 24, 2021, and appears to have originated from 'BabylonBee.com.' 

Screenshot of the Babylonbee article shared by a user on X (formerly Twitter). (Source X/ Modified by Logically Facts)

Upon conducting a a Google search, we discovered that the article seen in the posts was published by the U.S.-based satirical website, The Babylon Bee (archive here), on May 24, 2021.

The satirical story claims that Omar proposed a radical solution to the nation's anti-Semitism problem by 'eliminating all Jews.' It adds that leaders of Hamas, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, Iran, and the Democratic Party have already adopted this plan. The satirical article also suggests that Omar believes anti-Semitism can be eradicated once and for all by removing all Jews from places such as Israel and the U.S. to prevent anti-Semitic attacks.

The Babylon Bee reposted this story from their official X (formerly Twitter) account on May 2, 2024.

The Babylon Bee regularly publishes fictional articles on current events, politics, and public figures. Each article on the website features a dialog box that reads, "Fake news you can trust, delivered straight to your inbox!" The bio of The Babylon Bee's X account also reads 'Fake news you can trust.'

The website's 'About' page mentions that it is a satirical website created 'exactly 6,000 years ago.' "The Babylon Bee is the world's best satire site, totally inerrant in all its truth claims. We write satire about Christian stuff, political stuff, and everyday life," it states. The heading of this page reads, 'Your Trusted Source for Christian News Satire.'

The website’s free newsletter dialog box mentions that it does not publish real news. (Source: babylonbee.com / Modified by Logically Facts) 

What about the photo of Omar?

A Google reverse image search led us to a YouTube video (archive here) and a Facebook video (archive here) uploaded on Omar's official accounts. This screenshot was taken from a press conference related to lowering drug prices. In this conference, Omar discussed the healthcare reforms she introduced in the U.S. along with other senators and officials, including Bernie Sanders, aimed at reducing prescription drug prices. This video dates back to January 11, 2019, and we found no mention of anti-Semitism or Jewish people in the video.

We could not find any CNN broadcast of this specific press conference, suggesting that the logo and banner were added to a screenshot of this video.

Recently, Omar has been in the news for expressing her support for pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University. "I think it is really unfortunate that people don’t care about the fact that all Jewish kids should be kept safe," she said. "We should not have to tolerate anti-Semitism or bigotry for all Jewish students, whether they’re pro-genocide or anti-genocide," she added. Republicans have branded these comments as anti-Semitic.

Furthermore, Omar’s daughter, Isra Hasri, was among the 100 protestors arrested on Columbia University’s campus in New York City a few weeks ago.

The verdict

Ilhan Omar, a U.S. Democratic Representative from Minnesota, did not suggest "getting rid of Jews to end anti-Semitism." Social media users have shared a screenshot of a satirical article from May 2021, claiming that she made this remark. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.