The Israeli government on Thursday responded with disdain to pleading with leaders of the Democratic Party by refusing to allow the two Democratic deputies, Rachida Tlaib, of Palestinian origin (Michigan) and Somali origin Ilhan Omar (of Minnesota), This came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed the decision to prevent the two deputies from entering the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem through Israel.
"We made our decision, and we decided not to let them (Taleb and Omar) enter," Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hatovli said in response to a question on whether Israel was taking into account a request by Democratic leaders to allow the two Muslim congressmen to enter the US Congress. The visit is supposed to start on Sunday 18 August 2019.
It is not clear what has changed the Israeli position since last week, when Axios revealed (and published by Jerusalem) that a joint meeting was held between the Israeli security services and "all agreed that the visit should be allowed in order to avoid damaging US-Israeli relations."
The move came after an unusual intervention by US President Donald Trump, who last week asked Israel not to let them in, saying their entry would "show Israel´s weakness, especially as they hate Israel," and followed up with a new tweet on Thursday. He reiterated that if Israel allowed the two members of Congress, Taleb and Omar, to enter their territories, this would be a great weakness, accusing them of hating Israel and the Jewish people, and "their opinion or position on this cannot be changed." He pointed out that in the upcoming elections (November 2019), the states of Minnesota and Michigan (which represent them) will have a difficult time in their reinstatement, "which immediately triggered a new battle between Netanyahu and the Democrats, who secretly warned that" such a decision would be unprecedented and contrary to Israel´s claims of tolerance and openness, "a source said.
Several pro-Israel groups in the United States criticized Netanyahu´s decision last week that Israel would allow the two women MPs to enter, with the Israel Policy Forum, a New York-based Jewish organization and one of several fronts in the lobby: "Any current member of Congress should be welcomed to visit Israel as official representatives. For the closest ally of Israel and the most important source of international support: We strongly urge Prime Minister Netanyahu to reconsider.
"Refusal to enter the US Congress is a sign of weakness, not strength. It will only hurt the relationship between the United States. No democratic society should fear the open debate. Many strong supporters of Israel will be deeply disappointed in this decision, which the Israeli government must reverse." .
Even the Israeli lobby organization AIPAC criticized the Israeli government´s decision to deny entry to Tlaib and Omar. "We disagree with the support of MP Omar and MP Taleb for their support of the anti-peace BDS movement, as well as MP Taleb´s calls for a one-state solution. But we also believe that every member of Congress should be able to visit and experience our ally," she said. Democrat Israel directly. "
Many Democrats in the US Congress expressed outrage at Israel´s decision, and those who took part in last week´s AIPAC visit confirmed that the Israeli government had assured them it would allow Tlaib and Omar to enter.
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the president of the Democratic minority in the Senate, a prominent American Jewish political leader, and an automatic supporter of everything Israel is doing in a tweet on Thursday, said: "The refusal to enter the United States Congress is a sign of weakness, not strength. "This will only hurt the relationship between the United States and Israel and American support for Israel. No democratic society should fear the open debate. Many strong supporters of Israel will be deeply disappointed in this decision, which the Israeli government must reverse."
Last month, Israel´s ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, said the two deputies, Taleb and Omar, would be allowed to visit Israel "out of respect for the US Congress and the great alliance between Israel and America."
وبØسب المصدر الذي طلب من القدس عدم ذكر اسمه: "لكن نتنياهو غير رأيه وأبلغ زعماء الكونغرس يوم الأربعاء ( 1/ 8/ 2019) أن المسؤوليين الإسرائيليين قرروا عدم Ø§Ù„Ø³Ù…Ø§Ø Ù„Ù„Ù†Ø§Ø¦Ø¨ØªÙŠÙ† بالدخول، لأن إسرائيل سو٠تمنع الذين ينتقدون إسرائيل علنا من دخول البلاد". وقال مسؤولون إسرائيليون للمشرعين الأميركيين إنهم سيعلنون رسمياً قرار منع عمر وطليب يوم الأربعاء، ولكن بعد رد Ùعل خاص من القيادة الديمقراطية وبعض الجماعات الموالية لإسرائيل تم نقل الإعلان إلى يوم الخميس، ما ترك المشرعين ÙÙŠ البداية غير متأكدين بشأن ما إذا كان نتنياهو قد غير رأيه.
The two delegates, Republicans and Democrats, ended a visit to Israel financed and organized by the Israel Lobby of the American Israel Public Relations Committee (AIPAC) earlier this week, as the head of the Democratic majority boasted that the visit was the largest by lawmakers since the beginning of this. Visits adopted, organized and financed by AIPAC for more than thirty years.
Both Taleb and Omar denied that they were hostile toward Jews or Israelis, saying their criticism of the Israeli government was based on political differences and their support for Palestinian human rights.
With only three weeks to go before Israel´s September 17 elections, Netanyahu is in a bitter battle for survival and wants to appear strong in the divided right-wing support base.
Talib and Omar´s tour of occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank was planned by MIFTAH, whose board of directors is headed by Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
