Rep. Tlaid ‘Not Going’ To ‘Racist’ Israel

Rep. Rashida Tlaid (D-MI) has announced she will not travel to Israel after all, citing what she describes as "racist" and "oppressive" policies.

As ABC News reports, Ms. Tlaib is one of two U.S. congresspersons, the other being  Ilhan Omar, (D-MN) banned from traveling to Israel, in a decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The two had planned to travel to Israel Friday until the prime minister, possibly at the suggestion of U.S. President Donald Trump, made the announcement that the women were not welcome.

In enacting the ban, Mr. Netanyahu invoked a law which has been used "to deny entry to outspoken foreign supporters of a global movement to boycott the country."

ABC notes that both women are Muslim and supporters of the Palestinians.

Officials in Israel said they would only be able to visit if they were willing to pledge they would do so as "humanitarians" and not speak out against Israel.

The two women, along with others, were recently targets of attacks by the president via Twitter. Many criticized the president's attacks as racist.

[Source: ABC News]