After rejecting entry to Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and fellow congresswoman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) on Thursday due to their support for the anti-Israel BDS movement, Israel’s Interior Minister, Aryeh Deri suddenly approved on Friday a request by Tlaib to visit her elderly grandmother in the West Bank on humanitarian grounds.
Nonetheless, Tlaib canceled a planned visit to the West Bank due to what she called Israel’s “oppressive conditions.”
“Silencing me & treating me like a criminal is not what she wants for me. It would kill a piece of me. I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in—fighting against racism, oppression & injustice,” she tweeted.
Silencing me & treating me like a criminal is not what she wants for me. It would kill a piece of me. I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in–fighting against racism, oppression & injustice. https://t.co/z5t5j3qk4H
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) August 16, 2019
In a letter to Deri, Tlaib wrote that “This could be my last opportunity to see her,” referring to the freshman congresswoman’s grandmother, who is in her 90s. “I will respect any restrictions, and I will not promote any boycotts against Israel during my visit.”
Tlaib was expected to visit between Aug. 18-24.