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This week, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) kept his promise to remove Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) from the House Intelligence Committee. Now he is moving to strip Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) of her seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, but there are some serious obstacles in his way.

While McCarthy was able to prevent Schiff and Swalwell from serving on the Intelligence Committee unilaterally, because it is a “select” committee over which he has more say, the full House must vote to remove Omar from Foreign Affairs. McCarthy may not have the votes to get it done.

Marc Rod at the Jewish Insider reports on the House Republicans who are against McCarthy’s proposed move and those who are still undecided. Rod also notes that on the other side of the aisle, some pro-Israel Jewish Democrats may support McCarthy in ousting Omar from the committee.

The few Republicans who are not on board with McCarthy on this have expressed qualms over the way members have been removed from committees in the recent past. They don’t want to perpetuate what they see as a cycle of retribution. But Speaker McCarthy met with the House GOP conference yesterday to present the case against Omar, based on her repeated antisemitic and anti-Israel remarks. Those facts carry weight in the GOP, which firmly and fully rejects antisemitism.

The RJC supports Speaker McCarthy’s efforts to remove Rep. Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee. A vote is expected very soon, so now is the time for RJC members to contact their representatives and ask them to vote Omar OUT. Click here or on the TAKE ACTION button below to use our easy advocacy tool to send a message to your congressman.

Tomorrow is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the day designated by the United Nations to remember and honor the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Some notable efforts in the fight against antisemitism made the news this week.

* The Republican National Committee will consider a resolution that would “formally condemn, denounce, censure and oppose all forms of bigotry, racism, ethnic prejudice, religious intolerance, antisemitism, antisemitic statements, and any antisemitic elements that seek to infiltrate the Republican Party.”

* Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) are set to introduce a bill today that would grant a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award that Congress can grant, to 60 World War II-era diplomats who helped save Jews fleeing Nazi Germany during the Holocaust.

* Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, has for decades worked tirelessly to gather the names of the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust and to commemorate them as individuals, down to the very last victim. The new Book of Names, being inaugurated at the United Nations Headquarters as part of the activities marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27, displays the names and identities of 4,800,000 men, women, and children—cruelly and intentionally murdered simply because they were Jewish.

Sarah Margon, best known for her work as a top official with the virulently anti-Israel Human Rights Watch, withdrew her name from consideration to serve as assistant secretary of state for human rights, democracy, and labor, after realizing that she could not overcome a key GOP Senator’s objections to her anti-Israel views and lack of candor.

At Margon’s 2021 nomination hearing, Idaho Senator James Risch, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations committee, questioned Margon about social media posts endorsing BDS and the abolition of Israel as a Jewish state. In response, Margon tried to portray herself as an opponent of BDS, but Senator Risch was not buying it.

“With all due respect, ma’am, I don’t believe it,” Risch said, adding, “Saying it over and over again just doesn’t square with your actions” and “doesn’t make it true,.”

Senator Risch stood his ground in the face of a barrage of harsh attacks from Margon’s supporters. BDS opponents owe him a debt of gratitude for his steadfast opposition that scuttled this nomination.

The RJC criticized the Margon nomination and lobbied against it. Shortly after Margon was nominated, RJC National Chairman Norm Coleman stated: “She is an anti-Israel activist whose work makes a mockery of the concept of ‘human rights.’ Her nomination will be resolutely opposed by Republicans and the Jewish community, who value the Jewish state and our strategic alliance with her.”

Scalise: The 118th Congress will be different

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) writes: “If the last two years have shown us anything, it is that Congress is broken and needs to change. The American people are deeply frustrated about how our government works. Republicans are taking critical steps to make our legislative process more transparent and make Congress work again.”

Will: Mike Gallagher chairs a vital House committee. Its only focus: China

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) believes that China’s recklessness might increase as its dynamism wanes. Hence his questions, recommendations, and complaints that the committee can explore: Why the seeming retreat from the long-standing goal of a 355-ship US Navy? Why is China purchasing US agricultural land? Why has Congress not funded improved air and missile defense systems on Guam, just 1,700 miles from Taiwan? Why is Saudi Arabia ahead of Taiwan in the line to receive Harpoon missiles?

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