Rep. Rashida Tlaib was emotional after she backed out of a trip to see her elderly grandmother in the West Bank.
“I should be on a plane to see her,” the Michigan Democrat said through tears at a Shabbat service in Detroit on Friday, according to video shared by Jewish Voice for Peace.
Tlaib was originally set to travel to Israel this weekend with her Democratic colleague Rep. Ilhan Omar.
The Israeli government said earlier this week it was barring the two from entering the country over their support for a boycott of Israel and after President Trump told Israel it would be showing “great weakness” if it allowed the trip to move forward.
In a letter to Interior Minister Aryeh Deri on Thursday, Tlaib said it could be her “last opportunity” to see her grandmother.
“I will respect any restrictions and will not promote boycotts against Israel during my visit,” she wrote.
Israel said it would allow Tlaib to visit her grandmother, who is in her 90s, if she honored her promise not to promote the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement, which aims to end international support for Israel over its policies toward Palestinians, during her visit.
Tlaib said Friday she would no longer be making the trip because of the “oppressive conditions meant to humiliate me.” She said the restrictions “would break my grandmother’s heart.”
“Thank you for not politicizing what’s happened to me, because I’m still a granddaughter,” Tlaib said in Detroit. “More than anything, I’m a granddaughter. I’m also proud of my Palestinian roots.”
Trump mocked Tlaib for canceling the trip, saying her grandmother was the “real winner.”
“She doesn’t have to see her now!” Trump tweeted Friday night.
Rep. Tlaib wrote a letter to Israeli officials desperately wanting to visit her grandmother. Permission was quickly granted, whereupon Tlaib obnoxiously turned the approval down, a complete setup. The only real winner here is Tlaib’s grandmother. She doesn’t have to see her now!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2019
