Because of the big election news here in New York this year, you would not be blamed for missing out on the major news out of Baltimore this past Election Day, which could be quite embarrassing for the Jewish community. Without going into too much detail, it seems there were two candidates for the Baltimore City Council: one a Jewish candidate and one the incumbent, who was not Jewish. The source of the rift was that the Jewish candidate was apparently not sufficiently pro-Israel, a stance that tends not to matter in local politics. However, it seems that this divide caused a rift in the Jewish community, which made up about 20% of the electorate, and ended up swinging the election for the incumbent, who tapped into the pro-Israel side and got enough of the Jewish vote to keep him in office.

Obviously, these results produced outrage from those who think Israel already has too much influence on American elections and politics. Results like this really stoked the fear of and hatred toward the Jewish community, as many online raced to condemn Jews for their supposed greater allegiance to Israel over America.

Now, the reason you may not have heard of this story is because it didn’t happen. Well, it sort of didn’t happen. It didn’t happen in Baltimore, and it wasn’t the Jewish community, and Israel wasn’t the cause of the rift. This story actually took place in Minneapolis, where the Somali community split its vote because the Somali candidate, Omar Fateh, belonged to the Darood clan from Somalia, and his opponent tapped into the decades-long enemies of the Darood, the Hawiye, to advance his support among Somalis in Minneapolis. And in case you are wondering, noted America-hater Ilhan Omar belongs to the Darood clan and backed Fateh in the election.

As you can imagine, this produced outrage online — but not from who you would think. One Somali X account posted: “Very embarrassing that some Somalis voted for an cadaan over a Somali brother, qabyaalad is now poisoning western politics… Ew.” For translation: a “cadaan” is a Somali term for a white person, and “qabyaalad” refers to prioritizing or favoring one’s clan or lineage above broader communal, national, or ethical interests. The irony here is obvious. This person is upset that she could not poison Western politics in favor of her Somali interests, but was also not happy when a white person used Somali interests to do the same thing. And this X post was not the only one. You can go on X today and find a myriad of Somali users upset at their own community for allowing a cadaan to divide them. TikTok users panned their own Somali community for putting tribalism over their common interests.

This situation highlights an obvious question: Why have the critics who target American Jews had nothing to say here? For decades now, Jews have been accused of dual loyalty to America and Israel. Every few days #IsraelFirst is trending on X because people believe that the America First movement has been co-opted by Israel supporters. This criticism comes from every section of the political spectrum. Yet here we have a story where a mayoral election in a major American city was likely decided based on decades-old tribal warfare in Somalia. Where is the outrage? Where are the dual-loyalty claims?

And in case you bring up the monetary aspect of this argument, consider this: Somalis were given temporary protected status back in 1991 to enter the United States during the Somali Civil War. That status has never been rescinded; it has been “temporary” for the last 34 years. Somalis send an estimated $215–260 million to Somalia each year, according to Oxfam. This is on top of the funds the U.S. sends to Somalia — over a billion dollars in 2023. Compare this to Israel, where the U.S. sends about $3.8 billion annually, but U.S. citizens only send about $64 million annually over the last 30 years.

However, there is a difference between American citizens choosing to send funds to Israel and Somali refugees doing the same to Somalia. The refugees are here as guests who were invited to flee a war. Their choice to remove money from the United States and send it back to the very place they fled is akin to staying in someone’s home and taking belongings that were set aside for your use and giving them to your family. When American citizens send money to Israel, it is more like a homeowner choosing to send some of their possessions elsewhere.

But there is no outrage. There is no condemnation. Because at the end of the day, dual loyalty is only a problem for one people and one nation. Everywhere else is allowed it, and when it happens, nobody bats an eye.

Izzo Zwiren  is the former host of the Jewish Living Podcast. Follow him and his brothers on their health journey on their YouTube Channel, Brotherly Lovehandles. Izzo lives on Long Island with his wife and three adorable, hilarious children.