Members of the far-left “Squad” are reacting to the fallout between Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Israel, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) promising to cease trips to Israel “until all members of Congress are allowed.”
Israel barred Tlaib and Omar Thursday, citing their ongoing support of the BDS movement. Fellow “Squad” members Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) reacted to Israel’s initial position with force. Ocasio-Cortez proclaimed that Trump is “exporting his bigotry & making matters worse” and pledged to cease trips to Israel “until all members of Congress are allowed”:
Pressley called Israel’s decision “bigoted, short-sighted, and cruel” and demanded all lawmakers to stand in solidarity “calling this out”:
Omar – who is at the center of the controversy – released a statement Thursday and accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of aligning with “Islamophobes” like President Trump:
She admitted Friday that the goal of their trip centered around “witness[ing] firsthand what is happening on the ground in Palestine and hear[ing] from stakeholders”:
Tlaib wrote a letter to Israeli Interior Minister Ayreh Deri Thursday, expressing her desire to see her aging grandmother and promising to refrain from encouraging boycotts during her visit. Deri reversed his decision Friday morning, but Tlaib rejected the offer, despite begging for the opportunity to see her grandmother.
“Silencing me & treating me like a criminal is not what she wants for me. It would kill a piece of me,” she wrote Friday.
“I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in–fighting against racism, oppression & injustice,” she added:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who has experienced her own internal battles with the far-left flank, stood in solidarity with the “Squad,” calling the original decision “beneath the dignity of the great State of #Israel”:
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