First, an Israel visit was off the table, then it was back on and now it’s off again as Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) has said she won’t be visiting her 90-year-old grandmother despite the country’s Interior Minister Aryeh Deri approving her request.
If you are confused, don’t worry, so are we. Let’s start from the beginning. President Trump’s been working overtime to paint Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), one-half of the fab four freshman congress members known as “the Squad,” and the first Muslim women ever elected to Congress, as anti-Semitic and against Israel for comments they’ve made about the country’s government and policies. The two women were scheduled to visit Israel and then President Tweeterump got on the Twitters and posted this:
And then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu banned both women from entering the country. Then Deri approved Tlaib’s request to see her grandmother, who lives in the West Bank, a day later.
“I would like to request admittance to Israel in order to visit my relatives, and specifically my grandmother who is in her 90s and lives in Beit Ur al-Fouqa,” Tlaib wrote in a letter to the Israeli minister. “This would be my last opportunity to see her. I will respect any restrictions and will not promote boycotts against Israel during my visit,” the Washington Post reports.
Then, shortly after the request had been approved, Tlaib released a statement saying that she won’t be visiting Israel “under these oppressive conditions,” the Post reports.
So Omar and Tlaib will not be visiting Israel, but this story is developing so please check back for updates.