U.S. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib during a Town Hall style meeting in Inkster, Michigan, U.S. August 15, 2019. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) announced on Twitter Aug. 16 that she will not be visiting her grandmother in the West Bank because of Israel’s “oppressive conditions.”
Tlaib had sent a letter to the Israeli Interior Ministry on Aug. 15 for her to visit her grandmother on humanitarian grounds, explaining that her grandmother “is in her 90s” and it “could be my last opportunity to see her.” She added that she “will not promote any boycotts against Israel” while she’s there. The ministry approved her request the next day.
The freshman congresswoman subsequently tweeted, “When I won, it gave the Palestinian people hope that someone will finally speak the truth about the inhumane conditions. I can’t allow the State of Israel to take away that light by humiliating me & use my love for my sity to bow down to their oppressive & racist policies.”
She followed up with another tweet that read, “Silencing me & treating me like a criminal is not what she wants for me. It would kill a piece of me. I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in–fighting against racism, oppression & injustice.”
Silencing me & treating me like a criminal is not what she wants for me. It would kill a piece of me. I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in–fighting against racism, oppression & injustice. https://t.co/z5t5j3qk4H
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) August 16, 2019
Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri tweeted in response, “I approved [Tlaib’s] request as a gesture of goodwill on a humanitarian basis, but it was just a provocative request, aimed at bashing the State of Israel. Apparently her hate for Israel overcomes her love for her grandmother.”
I approved her request as a gesture of goodwill on a humanitarian basis, but it was just a provocative request, aimed at bashing the State of Israel. Apparently her hate for Israel overcomes her love for her grandmother.@realDonaldTrump @RashidaTlaib
— אריה מכלוף דרעי (@ariyederi) August 16, 2019
Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action Agenda at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Rabbi Abraham Cooper told the Journal in a phone interview, “The main motivation is here is hate. The hatred of the Jewish state is more powerful than the love of her grandmother. What we’re looking at here is two clever people who use [the] U.S. Congress on the world stage as a backdrop for their extremist ideology.”
The Progressive Zionists of California (PZC) said in a statement to the Journal that Tlaib’s decision “saddened” them.
“This news cycle is disappointing in its predictability,” PZC said. “Every actor, from [Presidnet Donald] Trump, to Bibi [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu], and Tlaib, should have known what the narrative would look like, and failing to act in good faith, made the poorest choice available to them. While we empathize with Tlaib on what was likely a deeply emotional decision, we are disheartened this is the conversation being had at all.”
Former Israeli Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon tweeted that Tlaib’s announcement was “deeply unfortunate” and “a missed opportunity after our Interior Minister graciously agreed to let you in at your request. To paraphrase Golda Meir: Peace will come when you love your grandmother more than you hate Israel.”
Your new statement is deeply unfortunate, @RashidaTlaib.
It's a missed opportunity after our Interior Minister graciously agreed to let you in at your request.
To paraphrase Golda Meir: Peace will come when you love your grandmother more than you hate Israel.
Shabbat Shalom. pic.twitter.com/pMAjUgEyw2
— Danny Ayalon (@DannyAyalon) August 16, 2019
Progressive Zionist activist Hen Mazzig similarly tweeted, “I love my grandmother so much, that even if she lived in America and I had to agree to *NOT* call to boycott America and promote America’s destruction, while I’m visiting her, I would still find the power, deep inside me, to agree to it, just to see her.”
I love my grandmother so much, that even if she lived in America and I had to agree to *NOT* call to boycott America and promote America’s destruction, while I’m visiting her, I would still find the power, deep inside me, to agree to it, just to see her. 🙄
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) August 16, 2019
Journal columnist Ariel Sobel, on the other hand, tweeted, “Shaming Rashida Tlaib for having to make an unimaginable decision between seeing her granny and advocating for both of their rights are is wrong. She shouldn’t have to choose between free speech and seeing family.”
https://twitter.com/arielsobelle/status/1162447550349058048
On Aug. 15, Israel announced that Tlaib and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) would be barred from entering the country. Netanyahu argued that Tlaib and Omar’s itinerary showed that they were not going to meet with any Israeli government officials, called their trip a visit to “Palestine,” and was sponsored by a pro-boycott, divestment and sanctions organization that has “members who have expressed support for terrorism against Israel.” Omar stated on Twitter that she and Tlab were hoping “to witness firsthand what is happening on the ground in Palestine.”
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