The Los Angeles Police Department will be a presence when Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar speaks Saturday evening at the Council of American-Islamic Relations of Greater Los Angeles’ fourth annual Valley Banquet in Woodland Hills.
“Officers will be working it (the banquet). We don’t disclose the numbers,” Officer Sal Ramirez of the LAPD’s Media Relations Section told City News Service.
At least some protesters are expected outside the event.
The freshman Democrat, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, drew scorn from many Jewish and Republican circles with a tweet in early February that said “It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” in reference to the support U.S. lawmakers have traditionally offered to Israel.
The remark was criticized by some — including Omar’s Democratic colleagues in the House of Representatives — as anti-Semitic.
Omar later apologized, saying “anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes.”
However, she has stood by her criticism of the Israeli government.
“Being opposed to [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and the occupation is not the same as being anti-Semitic. I am grateful to the many Jewish allies who have spoken out and said the same,” Omar wrote on Twitter.
Saturday’s event — “Advancing Justice: Empowering Valley Muslims” — is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Hilton. Jewish Voice for Peace will be awarded the “2019 Champion of Justice” accolade.
It’s one of two political events at Los Angeles Islamic centers Saturday. Earlier in the day, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, was scheduled to visit the Islamic Center of Southern California to discuss the recent mass shooting in New Zealand.
Sanders also planned a campaign rally for Saturday afternoon at Grand Park.