Tlaib Gets Israel’s OK To Visit Her Grandmother, Then Decides Against It
Rep. Rashida Tlaib questions Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing, July 18, 2019. Image by SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
(JTA) — After being barred from entering Israel on Thursday, Rep. Rashida Tlaib submitted a humanitarian request to visit her aging grandmother in the West Bank, and Israel’s interior minister approved it.
But Tlaib changed her mind Friday morning, saying that in the end she could not enter Israel “under these oppressive conditions.”
“Silencing me & treating me like a criminal is not what she wants for me,” the Michigan Democrat tweeted. “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,”
Tlaib and fellow Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., were barred from making a planned visit to Israel on Sunday because of their declared support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against the Jewish state. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to apply his country’s 2017 law, which bans foreigners who publicly support Israel boycotts, to the two congresswomen.
But Israel still allows humanitarian requests as exceptions to the law. In her request submitted Thursday, Tlaib had asked to visit the West Bank to see her grandmother, who is in her 90s, saying it could be her “last opportunity to see her.”
She promised not to promote the boycott movement against Israel while there.
“I will respect any restrictions and will not promote any boycotts against Israel during my visit,” she wrote.
The letter Rep. Rashida Tlaib sent to Israeli Interior Minister Ayreh Deri requesting a visit to her family in the West Bank, in which she promises to “respect any restrictions” and “not promote boycotts against Israel during my visit.” pic.twitter.com/2HUjAkYMaY
— Oren Liebermann (@OrenCNN) August 16, 2019
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri quickly approved Tlaib’s request on Friday.
Tlaib tweeted her change of heart just before 9 a.m. Eastern time Friday.
Deri was quick to respond.
From the Israeli interior minister: “I authorized this humanitarian trip, but it turns out that it was a provocation to embarrass Israel. Her hatred for Israel overcomes her love for her grandmother.” https://t.co/gNvQrrNRVN
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) August 16, 2019
Omar, who likened Israel’s decision to bar her to President Trump’s travel ban against specific predominantly Muslim countries, will still not be allowed to visit.
