Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., makes an objection to a Republican argument as the House Oversight and Reform Committee considers whether to hold A.G. William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 12, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
As Kira Davis wrote this morning, Israel has decided to bar Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib (MI) and Ilhan Omar (MN) from entering the country, asserting that the two freshman Congresswomen intended to “harm Israel” and “increase incitement against it” with their visit.
The decision outraged Democrats, and some Republicans even weighed in to express their disagreement, including Sen. Marco Rubio (FL), who tweeted this out in response:
I disagree 100% with Reps. Tlaib & Omar on #Israel & am the author of the #AntiBDS bill we passed in the Senate
But denying them entry into #Israel is a mistake.
Being blocked is what they really hoped for all along in order to bolster their attacks against the Jewish state.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 15, 2019
Someone else who weighed in on the Twitter machine was Squad leader Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) who never lets a crisis go to waste where she can invoke the “POC” card in some way, shape, or form:
MoC are frequently asked to visit Israel to “see things for ourselves.”
But Netanyahu choosing to ban the only 2 Muslim women in Congress from entering tells the US that only *some* Americans are welcome to Israel, not all.
Trump is exporting his bigotry &making matters worse. https://t.co/PFdMDxuIfJ
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 15, 2019
Firstly, there is no “Muslim ban” in Israel. In fact, Muslims make up about 18% of Israel’s population, as Red State‘s Brandon Morse points out here:
Nearly 18 percent of Israel's population is Muslim, and you’re trying to pass off the idea that it’s a bigoted wasteland because it won’t allow in two muslims who openly hate, denounce, and try to screw it over?
You’re either an imbecile or a huckster. Which one is it?
— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) August 15, 2019
The ban is on anyone who actively promotes and advocates on behalf of the anti-Semitic BDS movement, which both Omar and Tlaib enthusiastically do.
Secondly, it’s a safe bet to say that Israel’s decision had nothing to do with any urging by Trump and instead was based on its own safety and security interests, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained in a series of tweets explaining the decision earlier today:
— HeisenbergHattie (@HBergHattie) August 15, 2019
Another Twitter user linked to this tweet from Daily Wire‘s Harry Khachatrian about how Tlaib and Omar referred to Israel in their itinerary as “Palestine”, which is one of the issues the Prime Minister referenced in his tweets on the decision:
According to their own itinerary, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib chose to refer to Israel as “Palestine”.
Their trip there was little more than a self-indulgent ploy to delegitimize and malign the Jewish State from within its borders. pic.twitter.com/yjDEUeMayo— Harry Khachatrian (@Harry1T6) August 15, 2019
There’s also this very important question, which we will not receive an answer to from any of the Squad members currently voicing outrage:
Why didn’t Omar and Tlaib go last week when the other members of congress went?
We all know the answer to this.
They want to stir up a storm and have all the focus on them.
— RD (@real_defender) August 15, 2019
Israel had some very valid reasons for denying Omar and Tlaib entry into the country. Besides, any fauxtrage expressed by BDS-enabling Democratic members of Congress like AOC seems highly disingenuous at this point, anyway.
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— Based in North Carolina, Sister Toldjah is a former liberal and a 15+ year veteran of blogging with an emphasis on media bias, social issues, and the culture wars. Read her Red State archives here. Connect with her on Twitter. –
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