Israel denies entry to two Democrats
JERUSALEM — Israel on Thursday barred two American Democratic congresswomen who had planned to visit the Israeli-occupied West Bank, hours after President Donald Trump had urged the country to block them.
Trump’s intervention was an extraordinary step to influence an allied nation and punish his political opponents at home. Israel’s decision to bar the two congresswomen, Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, was widely criticized, including by prominent Israel supporters.
The two lawmakers, both freshmen, are the first Muslim women elected to Congress. Both are outspoken adversaries of Trump and have been vocal in their support of the Palestinians and the boycott-Israel movement.
Trump has targeted them in speeches and Twitter postings that his critics have called racist and xenophobic.
It was reported last week that Trump was pressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to deny entrance to the two women, and Thursday morning he left little doubt. While Israeli officials were still deliberating the matter, he said in a Twitter post that “it would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib to visit.”
He added: “They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds. Minnesota and Michigan will have a hard time putting them back in office. They are a disgrace!”
Later Thursday, Israel’s Interior Ministry announced that Netanyahu had decided to deny entry to the two lawmakers, on grounds of their “boycott activities against Israel” and in accordance with the country’s anti-boycott law. Passed in 2017, the measure allows Israel to bar entry to people considered prominent advocates of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, a loose network that, among other goals, aims to pressure Israel into ending the occupation of the West Bank
Welcoming the decision, Trump said on Twitter: “Representatives Omar and Tlaib are the face of the Democrat Party, and they HATE Israel!”
In a statement, Omar called the actions by Trump and Netanyahu “an affront” that had limited the ability of Congress to learn from both Israelis and Palestinians.
“Sadly, this is not a surprise given the public positions of Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has consistently resisted peace efforts, restricted the freedom of movement of Palestinians, limited public knowledge of the brutal realities of the occupation and aligned himself with Islamophobes like Donald Trump,” she said.
Trump’s intervention also placed him at odds with the Democratic and Republican leadership in Congress and even some pro-Israel advocacy groups in the United States.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, said denying the representatives entry was “a sign of weakness, not strength.”
Just a few days earlier, the House minority leader, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, told reporters in Jerusalem while leading a delegation of 31 Republican lawmakers: “I think all should come.” Speaking at a news conference with McCarthy, Rep. Steny Hoyer, the House majority leader who was heading a delegation to Israel of 41 Democratic representatives, agreed.
Many Israelis and Jewish leaders have also expressed discomfort with the idea that American officials could be denied entry because of their beliefs or criticism of Israel. Just last month, the Israeli ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, said that Israel would not deny entry to any U.S. representatives.
David Harris, chief executive officer of the American Jewish Committee, a prominent pro-Israel organization, said it disagreed with Netanyahu’s decision.
“While we fully respect Israel’s sovereign right to control entry into the country, a right that every nation employs, and while we are under no illusions about the implacably hostile views of Reps. Omar and Tlaib on Israel-related issues, we nonetheless believe that the costs in the U.S. of barring the entry of two members of Congress may prove even higher than the alternative,” Harris said.
The women had been planning to visit the West Bank, as well as Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, according to Palestinian lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi. Most of the delegation was expected to depart Aug. 22, but Tlaib had been planning to stay to visit relatives in the West Bank.
No meetings had been planned with either Israeli or Palestinian officials, other than Ashrawi, who is also a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee.
The purpose of the visit, Ashrawi said, was to give the congresswomen a way “to engage with the Palestinian people directly and to see things on the ground.”
Tlaib, of Palestinian descent, and Omar, a Somali refugee, were hailed as symbols of diversity when they arrived in Washington, but they quickly became embroiled in controversy over their statements on Israel and on supporters of the Jewish state. Omar apologized after she said support for Israel was “all about the Benjamins, baby” — a reference to $100 bills.
Omar and Tlaib’s public support for the boycott movement had already drawn criticism from the White House. In remarks last month that were widely condemned as racist, Trump said that four congresswomen of color — Omar and Tlaib, as well as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts — should “go back” to the countries they came from.