Abrar Omeish, a member of the Fairfax County School Board in Virginia, faces criticism after stating that the Battle of Iwo Jima, a significant US victory during World War II, “unfortunately happened” and set a record for “human evil.”
Omeish made the comments during a meeting of the school board, where she was discussing the US’s recent Japanese Day of Remembrance, which commemorates the 1942 internment of Japanese-Americans by the US.
She also referred to Holocaust Remembrance Day, which honors the memory of the 6 million Jews and other victims killed by the Nazis.
A video of her comments was posted on Twitter by the Fairfax County Parents Association, which referred to them as a “(mis?)statement.”
The Battle of Iwo Jima, which took place in 1945 between the Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan for control of airfields on the small island, resulted in the deaths of 7,000 US Marines, with 20,000 wounded.
The US victory on the island was immortalized in a photo that shows six Marines raising the Stars and Stripes on Mount Suribachi near the start of the carnage.
Critics on Twitter called for Omeish to be removed from her position.
The Fairfax County School District has a history of controversy, with officials allegedly delaying announcing the winners of National Merit awards to avoid hurting other students’ feelings.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin has condemned the situation, and state Attorney General Jason Miyares launched a civil-rights investigation of the district last month.
Omeish, who is the youngest woman elected to public office in Virginia, has previously sparked outrage by voting against a resolution for a moment of silence to honor the victims of the September 11 terror attacks. She has also faced scrutiny because her father, Dr. Esam Omeish, is a founding board member and former vice president of the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia. The center was formerly led by Anwar Al-Awlaki, who later became a high-profile radical and was killed by a US drone strike in Yemen in 2011. Two of the September 11 hijackers were revealed to have prayed at the mosque before committing their heinous deeds.
Omeish’s remarks were first reported by the Washington Free Beacon, which stated that she did not explain her comments about the Battle of Iwo Jima in her emailed response to their inquiry. As of this writing, Omeish has not responded to a request for comment from The Post.
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