On Friday, Rep. Rashida Tlaib said she would not visit Israel after she had to ask permission to enter her own country under humanitarian grounds.
What We Know:
- Tlaib planned to visit her grandmother who is in her 90’s and lives in Beit Ur al-Fouqa.
- According to CNN, “The request from Tlaib of Michigan came a day after the country barred her and Omar, a freshman Democrat from entering because of their support of a boycott against Israel.”
- President Donald Trump decided it was a good idea to bar Omar and Tlaib’s entry into Israel.
- Tlaib wrote a personal letter to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to see if she would be granted to see her grandmother. By Friday, Tlaib received a statement by Minister Aryeh Deri that she can visit her grandmother but only on humanitarian grounds.
- Tlaib responded to Deri’s approval that she will not visit the country. Deri accused Tlaib of requesting to visit her family as a provocation in order to besmirch Israel.
- “Tlaib’s family members urged her not to make the trip under Israel’s restrictions, and only come if it’s an official visit as an American congresswoman”, according to CNN.
Israel’s decision to deny entry to Tlaib and Omar didn’t go as Donald Trump nor Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu planned. The pair would be permitted to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories as welcomed guest instead of unwanted guest.
