Israel banned anti-Semitic Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) on Thursday from entering the country, stating that the two far-left members of Congress planned to harm Israel, increase incitement against it, and planned to meet with organizations that have expressed support for terrorism against it.
“Netanyahu issued a statement saying that no country in the world respects the US Congress more than Israel, but that Israeli law prohibits entry to those calling for a boycott of the country,” The Jerusalem Post reported. “He said that other countries as well — including the U.S. — bar entry to those who are perceived to want to harm them.”
Omar and Tlaib are both supporters of the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which is a campaign designed to destroy the nation of Israel.
The Office of the Prime Minister of Israel revealed that Omar and Tlaib had also planned on meeting with organizations during their visit that have expressed support for terrorism against the nation:
However, the itinerary of the two Congresswomen reveals that the sole purpose of their visit is to harm Israel and increase incitement against it,” the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel tweeted. “In addition, the organization that is funding their trip is Miftah, which is an avid supporter of BDS, and among whose members are those who have expressed support for terrorism against Israel.
Omar and Tlaib had described their trip as a “Delegation to Palestine,” even though Palestine does not exist legally, and they did not request to meet any Israeli officials:
A closer examination of Miftah, which Israel’s PM noted was funding Omar and Tlaib’s trip, reveals that the non-governmental organization (NGO) is extremely anti-Semitic, has ties to terrorist sympathizers, and has falsely accused Jews of using “the blood of Christians in the Jewish Passover.” Miftah has also reportedly praised suicide bombers and deems terrorists as being national heroes.
One of the most stunning findings on the group is that they have, on their website, promoted content from a neo-Nazi organization which promotes anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that Jews control the media. The author of the article is “the Research Staff of National Vanguard Books,” which the Southern Poverty Law Center notes is a neo-Nazi organization:
A closer look at the travel itinerary for Omar and Tlaib shows that they also planned on meeting with additional extremist organizations, including the Defense for Children International — Palestine (DCI-P), which has ties to terrorism.
NGO Monitor reports the following about the activities of the DCI-P:
DCI-P leads the campaign exploiting children to promote demonization of Israel, and is linked to the PFLP terror group. Many of its allegations are false and part of attempts to smear Israel with allegations of ‘war crimes’ and promote BDS.
Several past and current DCI-P board members and employees have apparent ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist organization designated as such by the US, EU, Canada, and Israel….[DCI-P] supports BDS (boycotts, divestments and sanctions) campaigns against Israel and is an active participant in lobbying the UN, EU, foreign governments, and other international bodies to promote this agenda.
Seth Mandel, the Executive Editor of the Washington Examiner Magazine, weighed in on the revelations, tweeting: “One reason you won’t see coverage of the org funding Tlaib and Omar’s trip is that it’ll undermine the narrative that this is about ‘criticism of Israeli policy.’ And it’ll show the true face of BDS — blood libels, Nazi screeds, celebration of terrorists.”
“In no other situation would the equivalent *not* be treated as a major scandal,” Mandel added. “But ask yourself how many journalists and commentators and diplomats you’ve seen today even mention it. Count ’em. That’s how many intellectually honest ppl in the industry. It’s not a lot, is it?”