Israel denies Omar and Tlaib entry
Trump urges Netanyahu to block the two Congress members from visiting
JERUSALEM » Israel on Thursday barred two American Democratic congresswomen who had planned to visit the Israelioccupied 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.
The president 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 American lawmakers, on grounds of their “boycott activities against Israel” and in accordance with the country’s anti-boycott law.
“No country in the world respects America and the American Congress more than the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said in a statement after the decision had been announced. “As a free and vibrant democracy, Israel is open to critics and criticism, with one exception: Israeli law prohibits the entry into Israel of those who call for, and work to impose, boycotts on Israel, as do other democracies that prevent the entry of people believed to be damaging to the country.”
Welcoming the decision, Trump said on Twitter: “Representatives Omar and Tlaib are the face of the Democrat Party, and they HATE Israel!”
His ambassador to Israel, David M. Friedman, said in a statement that the boycott movement was “no less than economic warfare” and that Israel had “every right to protect its borders” against activists who support it.
In lobbying a foreign government to bar members of the U. S. Congress, Trump crossed yet another line that other presidents generally respected. No matter how virulent their differences at home, presidents have traditionally not enlisted the help of overseas allies to take action against domestic political adversaries.
In a statement, Omar called the latest actions by Trump and Netanyahu “an affront” that had limited the ability of members 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.
“The irony of the ‘only democracy’ in the Middle East making such a decision,” she said, “is that it is both an insult to democratic values and a chilling response to a visit by government officials from an allied nation.”
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.”
“No democratic society should fear an open debate,” he tweeted. “Many strong supporters of Israel will be deeply disappointed in this decision, which the Israeli government should reverse.”
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 even though the group strongly opposes the views expressed by the two congresswomen.
“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 in a statement.