By STEVE KARNOWSKI
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib sharply criticized Israel on Monday for denying them entry to the country and called on fellow members of Congress to visit while they cannot.
Omar, of Minnesota, suggested President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were suppressing the lawmakers’ ability to carry out their oversight role.
“I would encourage my colleagues to visit, meet with the people we were going to meet with, see the things we were going to see, hear the stories we were going to hear,” Omar said at a news conference. “We cannot let Trump and Netanyahu succeed in hiding the cruel reality of the occupation from us.”
At Trump’s urging, Israel denied entry to the first two Muslim women elected to Congress over their support for a Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions global movement. Tlaib and Omar, who had planned to visit Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank on a tour organized by a Palestinian group, are outspoken critics of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.
Tlaib, a U.S.-born Palestinian-American from Michigan, had also planned to visit her aging grandmother in the West Bank. Israeli officials later relented and said she could visit her grandmother after all.
BBC Video: The Big Questions: Is anti-Zionism anti-Semitic
As an Israeli American, I agree with Ilhan Omar much more than the US politicians weaponising antisemitism
Debunking the myth that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitic
Bernie Sanders Hires First-Ever Muslim Presidential Campaign Manager
The Muslim Times’ Collection to Show, Islam or the Holy Quran are Not Anti-Semitic
CNN Documentary: Ultra-orthodox Jews and Israel’s Struggle with Secularism
Why Did Muhammad Fly to Jerusalem?
How can we build the Third Temple together?
True Fasting: A Message of Compassion and Love from the Old Testament
Categories: Anti-Semitism, Israel, Judaism, The Muslim Times