Trump-Ally Netanyahu Is Mulling Whether Omar, Tlaib Can Enter Israel

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 25: U.S. President Donald Trump (L) bids farewell to Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu (R) after their meeting outside the West Wing of the White House March 25, 2019 in Washington, ... WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 25: U.S. President Donald Trump (L) bids farewell to Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu (R) after their meeting outside the West Wing of the White House March 25, 2019 in Washington, DC. Trump signed a proclamation to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over Golan Heights. Netanyahu is cutting short his visit to Washington due to a rocket attack in central Israel that had injured seven people. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — one of President Trump’s closest allies — will reportedly have to decide whether two of the President’s latest political enemies can enter Israel and the West Bank for a tour in coming weeks, Haaretz reported.

Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) are both supporters of the BDS movement — Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions — designed to put pressure on Israel over its treatment of Palestinians. According to Haaretz, Israel’s Foreign Ministry can recommend exceptions to diplomatic law to keep BDS supporters out of Israel, but because the two women are federal elected officials, the decision would be left to Netanyahu.

Omar confirmed the details of her and Tlaib’s upcoming trip to the Jewish Insider on Wednesday.

Omar has been accused of anti-Semitism by some on the left and right because of how she’s vocalized opposition to Israel and its discriminatory policies and treatment of Palestinians. Israel passed a law in 2017 that bans foreign supporters of BDS from entering Israel.

As a strong supporter of Trump, Netanyahu — who named a region of Golan Heights after Trump as thanks for his recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the area — will be faced with a political decision. Trump has spent the better part of the past week lobbing racist insults against Omar, Tlaib and two other congresswomen of color who have criticized him for months.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. If Bibi-the-Criminal bars US Congress members from entering Israeli, the House should immediately pass a resolution condemning this unprecedentedly inappropriate action by an alleged “ally”–and every single #resistance voice should be united in condemning Netanyahu personally.

    And, of course, it’ll blow up in Bibi’s face–just the way such bullshit blows up in Trump’s.

  2. It was OK to boycott South Africa to pressure them because of their mistreatment of blacks. But it’s not OK to boycott Israel because of their mistreament of Palestinians.

    Seems legit.

  3. I don’t claim to understand Israeli politics at more than a skin-deep level, but this seems like an astoundingly stupid play on Netanyahu’s part. I tend to think Omar (less sure about Tlaib) has been playing a bit far out over her skis politically, and this gives Israel skeptics more cover than they could possibly want.

    Forget about what’s right or wrong for a moment, it just looks stupid.

  4. You would think, if Yahoo had any brains, he would be mulling what could happen if Trump loses the 2020 election and he and his country have to deal with a Democratic administration.

    Nah! He’s just like Trump. Tomorrow he’ll be telling the Palestinians to go back where they came from - you know, Palestine.

  5. DO it Bibi…just DO IT. Show America what a racist POS you really are. DO IT. The American Jews can pull support for you just that fast. DO IT.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

135 more replies

Participants

Avatar for valgalky23 Avatar for cabchi Avatar for dr_coyote Avatar for old_curmudgeon Avatar for cervantes Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for arrendis Avatar for bonvivant Avatar for lastroth Avatar for newrobotoverlord Avatar for airportman Avatar for mrf Avatar for khaaannn Avatar for fiftygigs Avatar for civik Avatar for dommyluc Avatar for ljb860 Avatar for tiowally Avatar for redemptionsong Avatar for demosthenes59 Avatar for phlogiston Avatar for txlawyer Avatar for rucleare Avatar for Try_me

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: