Free Republic

Representative Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) slammed the Israel-U.A.E. agreement announced on Thursday, which commits the two countries to establishing full diplomatic relations and commits Israel in particular to suspending its annexation of territory in the West Bank. The agreement makes the U.A.E. the third Arab Middle Eastern nation to establish formal ties with Israel, joining Egypt and Jordan. In exchange for diplomatic relations, Israel agreed to suspend efforts to expand its territory in the West Bank. Tlaib, who is of Palestinian descent, is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which seeks to pressure Israel into giving concessions...

To the extent that I care at all about Israel blocking entry to two U.S. congresswomen who partner with anti-Semites who seek its destruction, I agree with critics who argue that Bibi Netanyahu should not appear to bow to Donald Trump’s tweeted demands and that blocking Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from visiting Israel handed them a short-term propaganda victory. But that’s not the most important part of the story. The most important element of the story is the fact that two American congresswomen shunned a bipartisan congressional delegation to Israel to go on an independent trip to Israel sponsored...

The Israeli government announced Thursday it would not allow Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota to enter their borders for a planned trip into Palestinian territory, citing the two lawmakers’ support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Under Israeli law, anyone who supports the boycott of Israel may be banned from the country. The trip was sponsored by the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue & Democracy, better known as Miftah. Miftah’s own website describes Wafa Idrees, a female suicide bomber, as one of a few young women who chose to...