WASHINGTON – Israeli officials moved to block two American lawmakers – Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich — from visiting the country, Israeli media outlets reported on Thursday.
President Donald Trump, who has feuded with the two women over Israel and other issues, openly encouraged the move, accusing Omar and Tlaib of being anti-Semitic and saying Israel would be weak if the government allows them to visit.
"It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep.Tlaib to visit," Trump tweeted on Thursday morning. "They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds."
The two lawmakers — the first elected Muslim women to serve in Congress — have been critical of Israeli policies toward Palestinians. They had planned to visit Jerusalem and the West Bank, among other stops, this weekend.
Israel's Channel 12 news said Interior Minister Arye Deri had made a "final decision" to bar their entry, but that decision is subject to further review.
Another Israeli outlet, Haaretz, reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may deny the two women's planned stop in Israel but may allow Tlaib to travel to the West Bank because she has family there.
Tlaib was born in Detroit to Palestinian immigrant parents. Omar was born in Somalia, fleeing that country's civil war with her family when she was 8 years old.
Omar has sparked controversy in the U.S. because of her sharp criticism of the Trump administration's foreign policy and her remarks about the influence of the pro-Israeli lobby in the U.S., which many said played into anti-Semitic tropes.
Both Democratic lawmakers have also expressed support for a boycott movement targeting Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.
In March 2017, the Knesset, the Israeli legislature, passed a law requiring the interior minister to ban foreign nationals from entering Israel if they publicly expressed support for boycotting Israel.
Critics said if Israel bars Omar and Tlaib, it will be counterproductive and could damage Israel’s international image. The Israel Policy Forum, a group focused on building support in the U.S. for a two-state solution, said it was an “insult” to Congress and would create a “dangerous precedent.”
“Any sitting member of Congress should be welcome to visit Israel as official representatives of Israel’s closest ally and most critical source of international support,” the forum said in a statement Thursday.
The group said it disagrees with Omar and Tlaib on many issues but “the best way to demonstrate to them that they should reconsider their stances is for them to see Israel and the challenges it faces firsthand. Denying them entry can only serve to harden their current views, along with delivering an insult to the U.S. Congress, exacerbating partisan divides on Israel, and creating a dangerous precedent.”