Lobbying group Democratic Majority for Israel stated on Thursday that the move by Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to block U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota from entering the country was “both wrong and unwise.”
Tlaib and Omar have both been outspoken in their support of Palestine and the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement against Israel and Israeli businesses. Both congresswomen have also expressed values and opinions that were considered by many to be anti-Semitic. Tlaib is on record as having advocated for a one-state Palestinian solution that would mean the end of Israeli sovereignty.
The Thursday statement officially blocking the two Muslim lawmakers from entering is a reversal from an announcement in June that Omar and Tlaib would be permitted. Israeli law states that those who have publicly supported the BDS movement can be denied entry to the country.
The upcoming trip to Israel for the congresswomen had been planned by Miftah, a pro-Palestinian nonprofit group that describes its mission as seeking a “sovereign, independent, democratic, tolerant and inclusive Palestinian state, which grants Palestinians their basic rights, preserves their dignity, and enjoys international recognition and respect.”
President Trump weighed in on the trip on Thursday, saying over Twitter, “It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep.Tlaib to visit. 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!”
“While we disagree strongly with the anti-Israel, and in some instances antisemitic, views articulated by Congresswomen Tlaib and Omar, and while we were disturbed to learn that their planned itinerary was completely unbalanced, there is simply no excuse for any country, including Israel, to prevent travel by elected officials of the United States,” Ann Lewis and Mark Mellman of Democratic Majority for Israel said in a statement Thursday. “Unfortunately, the Government of Israel was both wrong and unwise to reverse their earlier decision to allow these elected Members of Congress to visit the country.”
INBOX: Democratic Majority for Israel’s statement on Omar/Tlaib pic.twitter.com/YtuzbFUnz8
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) August 15, 2019
