A radical left-wing member of the Fairfax County School Board with a history of controversial remarks is making headlines now for calling the Battle of Iwo Jima, a critical turning point against the Japanese in WWII, “unfortunate” and “evil” during a recent meeting.
The controversy started when member Abrar Omeish began discussing the Day of Remembrance, a day of observance to remember Americans of Japanese descent who were put into internment camps against their will by the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration during WWII. This day also happens to occur on the same day that the battle of Iwo Jima occurred.
“Just a few days ago was Japanese Day of Remembrance,” said Omeish. “Something for us to certainly reflect on… the days when, you know, Iwo Jima unfortunately happened and set a record for really what, I hate to say, human evil is capable of.”
This shocking remark paints a skewed narrative of the historical event. The battle, which lasted from Feb. 19 to March 26 of 1945, turned the tide in the war in the Pacific and cost the United States roughly 7,000 lives while trying to take the Imperial Japanese stronghold.
Her father is also a member of the Board of Directors of a Fairfax mosque where three of the 9/11 hijackers had prayed before carrying out the heinous attacks. “Controversial member of woke Virginia school board slams Battle of Iwo Jima as 'evil' https://t.co/yePViWF1m8
— 🇺🇸James Lee🇺🇸 (@leepd84) February 26, 2023
As of now, Omeish has given absolutely no context as to why should would attempt to paint the courage and sacrifice of our service members as “evil” since this victory helped turn the tide, save potentially millions of lives, and end the war sooner than if it hadn’t occurred. She hasn’t even acknowledged why anyone is upset with her remarks.
In a statement she issued after her remarks caught public attention, Omeish stated to the Washington Free Beacon that “There is no reason to warp what was said, and reading more into it merely reflects biases forced in by the listener.”
Omeish basically said that if you have a problem with what she said, you’re the problem.
Wow, real genius we’ve got here.
Here's video of the above quoted (mis?)statement from Ms. Omeish. pic.twitter.com/D05eJfuVAH
— Fairfax County Parents Association (@FFXParentsAssoc) February 24, 2023
This isn’t the first time that Omeish has garnered controversy for out of pocket statements made to instigate her constituents.
The Washington Free Beacon pointed out a past incident in which she upset Jewish parents in Fairfax County, one of them being parent Gary Aiken who spoke on “Fox and Friends First” last year when Omeish called Isreal an apartheid state.
“This caused huge outrage among over 250,000 Jewish Americans here in northern Virginia,” said Aiken, “and it sparked outrage across all political lines and there were calls for her to apologize. She offered no apology. She doubled down on it.”
It doesn’t stop there either. In 2021, Omeish gave a very politically charged speech to students at Justice High School, where she mocked capitalism.
“Our world is overwhelmed with need. We struggle with human greed, racism, extreme versions of individualism and capitalism, White supremacy, growing wealth gaps, disease, climate crisis, extreme poverty amid luxury and waste right next door. And the list goes on.”