• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Monday, December 11, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

Israel Bars Muslim US Congresswomen From Visiting Occupied Palestinian Territories

Bryan Bowman by Bryan Bowman
08/15/19
in Featured, World
US Rep. Ilhan Omar.

US Rep. Ilhan Omar. Photo: AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Israel will bar a visit by two Muslim U.S. congresswomen who have expressed support of a boycott of the country over its occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were planning to visit Israel and the occupied West Bank this weekend. Tlaib is of Palestinian descent and has family living in the West Bank.

Right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations on the visit on Wednesday before announcing Thursday the representatives would be barred due to “suspected provocations and promotion of BDS,” a common acronym referring to the campaign to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.

In 2017, Israel passed a law banning entry to foreigners who support boycotting the country.

On Thursday morning, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham denied reports that President Donald Trump had urged Netanyahu to ban the congresswomen from the country.

But just over an hour later, Trump said in a tweet that “It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib to visit.”

The president also claimed that the representatives “hate Israel & all Jewish people,” a baseless smear he has repeated multiple times in the past.

Banning Congresswomen Omar and Tlaib from entering Israel and Palestine is a sign of enormous disrespect to these elected leaders, to the United States Congress, and to the principles of democracy. The Israeli government should reverse this decision and allow them in. https://t.co/mvdcmnFBKU

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) August 15, 2019

Last month, Trump baselessly accused Omar and Tlaib, as well as Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley, of being antisemitic in defense of racist comments he made about them in which he said they should all “go back to where they came from.”

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian official, said in a statement that the decision to ban the congresswomen was “outrageous.”

“The Israeli decision to ban Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from visiting Palestine is an outrageous act of hostility against the American people and their representatives,” he said.

“This is a dangerous precedent that defies all diplomatic norms and an assault on the Palestinian people’s right to engage with the rest of the world.”

Democratic Senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren quickly condemned the decision.

“Israel doesn’t advance its case as a tolerant democracy or unwavering U.S. ally by barring elected members of Congress from visiting because of their political views,” she tweeted, calling the move “shameful” and “unprecedented.”

Prominent Arab Israeli parliament member Ayman Odeh said: “A state that has nothing to hide would not think of preventing the arrival of two members of Congress.”

Prior to the decision, an Israeli official said that if Tlaib were to make a “humanitarian request” to visit her family, the request “will be considered favorably.”


More on the Subject 

Trump Doubles Down on ‘Racist’ Attacks on Progressive Congresswomen

ShareTweet
Bryan Bowman

Bryan Bowman

Email Bryan at bryan.bowman@theglobepost.com or follow him on Twitter @TGPBryanBowman

Related Posts

Ambulances at Rafah Crossing Point
Middle East

Israel Army Says ‘Coordinated’ With Jordan to Drop Medical Aid Into Gaza

by Staff Writer
November 6, 2023
Afghan refugees
Opinion

The Blessed and Cursed Randomness of Our Lives

by Stephen J. Lyons
October 25, 2023
A woman reacts as people gather at the site of the Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza on October 18, 2023 in the aftermath of an overnight blast there
Middle East

US Says Israel ‘Not Responsible’ for Hospital Strike

by Staff Writer
October 19, 2023
Fire and smoke rise above buildings in Gaza City during an Israeli airstrike
World

Israel, Gaza Reel as Death Toll Soars Above 1,100 in War With Hamas

by Staff Writer
October 9, 2023
Pro-Trump protester in front of Capitol Hill.
Opinion

The Ominous (and Irresponsible) Chatter of a Civil War 

by Stephen J. Lyons
September 4, 2023
Activists stage a protest to denounce discrimination against women on public transport in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv
Featured

Israeli Women Protest Gender Segregation on Public Transport

by Staff Writer
September 19, 2023
Next Post
UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn

UK Opposition Seeks to Oust PM to Avoid No-Deal Brexit

League leader Matteo Salvini

Six EU Countries Ready to Take in Migrants Stranded Off Italy

Recommended

Policemen stand next to demonstrators, among them a protester (background, C) holding the flag of Iraq, at Mynttorget Square in Stockholm, Sweden

Denmark’s Parliament Adopts Law Banning Koran Burnings

December 8, 2023
A giant crawler machine used to dredge the seabed for diamonds

Norway to Allow Deep-Sea Mining

December 5, 2023
Dutch politician Geert Wilders

Xenophobia in the Netherlands? Unpacking the PVV’s Surprising Success

November 28, 2023
Ukraine war

NATO Chief Says ‘No Alternative’ to Helping Ukraine Stop Putin

November 27, 2023
Migrants stranded at the Finland border

Russia Warns of a ‘Crisis’ at Arctic Border With Finland

November 22, 2023
People march against climate change in Bordeaux, southwestern France, on October 13, 2018.

Earth to Warm Up to 2.9C Even With Current Climate Pledges: UN

November 20, 2023

Opinion

Dutch politician Geert Wilders

Xenophobia in the Netherlands? Unpacking the PVV’s Surprising Success

November 28, 2023
Afghan refugees

The Blessed and Cursed Randomness of Our Lives

October 25, 2023
Joe Biden

The ‘Polycrisis’ Challenge: Biden’s Vision for Global Problem-Solving

September 26, 2023
Pro-Trump protester in front of Capitol Hill.

The Ominous (and Irresponsible) Chatter of a Civil War 

September 4, 2023
A bamboo-based design raises family homes safely above water levels to cope with raising water levels in Bangladesh.

The West Owes Climate Refugees Reparations Now

August 14, 2023
President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Boxing Day Comes to South Florida

July 5, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post