Congress
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer said the two congresswomen planned to meet with BDS groups, including one with ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
“Israel has decided—we won’t enable the members of Congress to enter the country,” said Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely. “We won’t allow those who deny our right to exist in this world to enter Israel. In principle, this is a very justified decision.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) will most likely visit Muslim holy sites on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, said a two-state solution “is not the policy of the current government coalition, nor is it stated as policy in the agreements between the coalition partners. Furthermore, this is not the policy of the Trump administration, which has even removed it from the National Security Strategic Report.”
Republican, Democratic delegation leaders say reports that U.S. President Donald Trump is upset Israel won’t bar visit by boycott-supporting “Squad” is “fake news.”
A total of 41 House Democrats and 31 House Republicans are visiting Israel this summer to demonstrate their solidarity with the Jewish state.
However, experts are concerned about getting humanitarian aid to the Palestinians without getting it into the hands of the Palestinian Authority and its direct links to terrorists.
“This is classic anti-Semitism, and includes an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory and negative stereotypes that have been historically used to foment hatred towards Jews,” said Jewish Democratic Council of America executive director Halie Soifer.
U.S. president calls the bills “ill-conceived,” saying that holding up the sales will damage “important relationships” with “allies and partners.”
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) can enter the country, despite their pro-BDS views, “out of respect for the U.S. Congress, and the great alliance between Israel and America, we would not deny entry to any member of Congress into Israel.”
It comes amid backlash against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) saying that the United States is “running concentration camps on our southern border” in reference to migrant detention centers there.
The resolution, which currently has 336 co-sponsors, would allow state and local governments the right to punish state or local contractors from engaging in boycotts of Israel.
