Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will soon have to decide whether to allow a visit to Israel by the Americans Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, two Muslim congressional representatives from the Democratic Party. The women recently announced their plans to visit Israel and the Palestinian-controlled territories in the next few weeks. No matter what Netanyahu decides, it will be a bad decision.
If Netanyahu lets them in, he will be emptying an amendment to the Entry to Israel Law of any real substance. The amended law was intended to prevent supporters of boycotts of Israel from entering the country, so allowing them in would be the statute's death knell. If, on the other hand, he denies the two representatives entry, he could find himself in hot water with the Democratic Party and at the center of an international incident, even if President Donald Trump tweets his support for such as decision.
Omar, Tlaib and two other congresswomen from their party — Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley — currently find themselves at the center of a huge public debate in the United States stemming from Trump personally attacking them on July 14. In a series of scathing tweets, Trump said that they should, to paraphrase, go back to where they came from, even though three of the four were born in the United States. Omar was born in Somalia and moved to the United States at a very young age. She is a vocal supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement who has asserted that American politicians support Israel because of money they receive from the AIPAC lobby.
Tlaib, born in Detroit to Palestinian parents, has extended family living on the West Bank. She also has opinions that could be considered anti-Israel. One example is her response to legislation proposed by Republican senators that would have punished anyone calling for a boycott of Israel. Tlaib tweeted about her colleagues, “They forgot what country they represent. This is the U.S. where boycotting is a right & part of our historical fight for freedom & equality.”
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