Right-wing Likudnik Israeli Prime Minister Bibi "Bomb Bomb" Netanyahu is facing a tough re-election fight in September, along with corruption charges, meaning that the outcome of the election may determine whether he goes to jail or not (shades of his close friend, fraudster Donald "Individual-1" Trump). Today, Netanyahu decided to deny two American Muslim Congresswomen, Dems Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, entry into Israel for a visit this Saturday. Josh Marshall has some thoughts on that subject:
"They are elected members of the United States Congress. They are part of the US government and their treatment bears directly on the respect accorded our system of government or interference with our democratic system. The idea that a government which has long benefited from US protection and aid would do such a thing is outrageous. Even more outrageous is that President Trump has encouraged this decision. This had only been reported through unnamed sources until now. But this morning he went on Twitter and said as much.The stated reason for the ban is their support for a boycott of Israel (which Tlaib supports, but it's less clear that Omar does). The political reason is that Netanyahu wants to appear "strong" to his right-wing coalition and boost support going into next month's elections. It's another example of Netanyahu aligning himself with an increasingly far-right Rethuglican Party and its vile leader.
This betrays an established and dangerous pattern with Donald Trump: his personal alliances always come before allegiance to country, law and constitution. This is not surprising and it is of a piece with his collusion and tacit alliance with Russia during the 2016 election." (our emphasis)
UPDATE: Israel has relented and is permitting Rep. Tlaib to enter the country after she promised not to promote boycotts against Israel during her visit. She said her purpose was to visit her 90- year- old grandmother.
UPDATE II: Now it's being reported that Rep. Tlaib is declining to go after all.
