USA TODAY International Edition
Israel blocks Omar, Tlaib
Critical Democrats not allowed to visit country
WASHINGTON – Israeli officials said Thursday they would bar two U. S. congresswomen, Reps. Ilhan Omar, DMinn., and Rashida Tlaib, D- Mich., from visiting the country – shortly after President Donald Trump encouraged Israel to take that extraordinary step.
Trump has feuded with the two women over Israel and other issues. Thursday, he ramped up that domestic political spat.
“It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib to visit,” Trump tweeted Thursday morning. “They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds.”
Omar and Tlaib – the first elected Muslim women to serve in Congress – had planned to travel to Jerusalem and the West Bank, among other stops, this weekend.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is engaged in a bruising reelection fight, announced the decision less than two hours after Trump’s provocative tweet.
“Congressmen Tlaib and Omar are leading activists in promoting boycott legislation against Israel in the US Congress,” Netanyahu wrote in a tweet Thursday. “Only a few days ago, we received their visitation plan, and it became clear that they were planning a campaign whose sole purpose was to strengthen the boycott and negate Israel’s legitimacy.”
Omar blasted Netanyahu’s move as anti- Muslim.
“It is an affront that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, under pressure from President Trump, would deny entry to representatives of the U. S. government,” she said in a statement. “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.”
Tlaib posted a photograph of her Palestinian grandmother on Twitter and said Israel’s move to block her visit “is a sign of weakness b/ c the truth of what is happening to Palestinians is frightening.”
Israel’s decision – a reversal from its previous position on the visit – sparked a fierce backlash from Democrats in Congress who said it would hurt U. S.- Israeli relations.
“The Israeli government should seek to engage these members of Congress in a dialogue regarding Israel’s security and the future of both Israelis and Palestinians,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D- Md.
The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Eliot Engel, D- N. Y., a staunch supporter of Israel, said the decision would fuel anti- Israel sentiment.
“If Israel’s government hopes to win the support of American lawmakers across the political spectrum, then this visit could have been an opportunity to share views and make a case for why American support for Israel is so important,” he said. “Instead, refusing entry to members of Congress looks like Israel closing itself off to criticism and dialogue. This decision will only strengthen the anti- Israel movements and arguments many of us find so troubling.”
Last month, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, said the two congresswomen would be allowed to visit Israel “out of respect for the U. S. Congress and the great alliance between Israel and America.”
Omar and Tlaib have been sharply critical of Trump on a broad range of issues. Omar sparked controversy over her remarks about the influence of the pro- Israeli lobby in the United States, which many said played into anti- Semitic tropes.
The two Democrats have expressed support for a boycott movement targeting Israel over its treatment of Palestinians. They said their views are based on policy disagreements, not any antiJewish sentiment.
Netanyahu said his government’s decision was not about silencing critics of Israel. “There is no country in the world that respects the US and the US Congress more than the State of Israel,” the prime minister tweeted. “As a vibrant and free democracy, Israel is open to any critic and criticism, with one exception: Israel’s law prohibits the entry of people who call and operate to boycott Israel.”
Netanyahu’s decision drew a rebuke from the powerful pro- Israel lobby AIPAC. “We disagree with Reps. Omar and Tlaib’s support for the anti- Israel and anti- peace ( boycott) movement, along with Rep. Tlaib’s calls for a onestate solution,” it said. “We also believe every member of Congress should be able to visit and experience our democratic ally Israel firsthand.”