Donald Trump
Donald TrumpReuters

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized Democrats for not taking a tougher stance on anti-Semitism, following the controversial remarks about Israel by Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN), AFP reports.

"It is shameful that House Democrats won't take a stronger stand against Anti-Semitism in their conference," Trump wrote on Twitter.

"Anti-Semitism has fueled atrocities throughout history and it's inconceivable they will not act to condemn it!" he added.

The criticism comes as Democrats grapple with how to reprimand Omar for her repeated criticisms of Israel and the AIPAC pro-Israel lobby in Washington.

Omar recently came under fire after she suggested on Twitter that Republicans were attacking her at the behest of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.

Democratic leaders blasted Omar for her comments, as did US Jewish groups and Trump.

Omar subsequently issued a half-hearted apology before ultimately deleting the controversial tweets.

This week she caused another uproar when, at a public event, she appeared to refer to domestic support for Israel as “allegiance to a foreign country”, leading the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives to work on a new resolution condemning anti-Semitism.

While the Democratic-led US House had been expected to vote on the resolution as early as Wednesday, in a closed-door meeting of Democrats the debate appeared to morph into a discussion over broader efforts to address hateful rhetoric, with some lawmakers pushing to include resolution language that decries anti-Muslim bias, according to AFP.

Some Democrats also have expressed anger that Omar could be facing an implicit rebuke while racist statements by Trump and other Republicans go largely unchallenged.

Number two House Democrat Steny Hoyer said the language of the resolution was still being worked out, and that a vote date had yet to be set.

Hoyer also offered a defense of sorts of Omar, saying he did not believe she is anti-Semitic.

Earlier this week, Trump chastised Omar for her “terrible” comments on Israel and urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to remove Omar from the influential Foreign Affairs Committee.

“Representative Ilhan Omar is again under fire for her terrible comments concerning Israel,” Trump tweeted late Monday. “Jewish groups have just sent a petition to Speaker Pelosi asking her to remove Omar from Foreign Relations Committee. A dark day for Israel!”