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Missouri governor cancels trade trip to Israel for second time over COVID-19

It came after the Jewish state decided to close its borders because of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signs a bill on June 19, 2019. Credit: Office of Missouri Governor via Flickr/Wikimedia Commons.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signs a bill on June 19, 2019. Credit: Office of Missouri Governor via Flickr/Wikimedia Commons.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson again canceled a trade-mission trip to Israel because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Parson’s office said on Monday that the planned trip to Israel and Greece was postponed because of related travel restrictions, reported the AP. This came after Israel decided to close its borders because of the new Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus.

His original trip was scheduled for March 2020 but was canceled due to the pandemic.

Israel and Greece remain important trade partners for Missouri with $54 million in exports to Israel and more than $12 million to Greece in 2020.

“The story was one of saving the Jewish people and standing up to one of the world’s largest antisemites, who was trying to use political machinations to destroy us,” Rabbi Steven Burg, of Aish, told JNS.
“I won’t let this happen!!!” tweeted Knesset Member Limor Son Har-Melech.
“There has been an exodus and a trickle of folks over the last several election cycles who have seen the warning signs about what we’re now seeing in the Democratic Party,” the Republican Jewish Coalition CEO told JNS. “Now the floodgates are open.”
“I wouldn’t let Zohran Mamdani get away with the virulent antisemitic comments he’s made,” he said. “I would tell him to stop and if he didn’t, I would take action, which the governor has the power to do.”