Top Democratic members of Congress are considering action against Israel’s ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, and the US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman for their roles in Israel’s decision to ban entry of Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar.
According to a report published on the McClatchy news service on Friday, a dozen Democrats began negotiations on how to express ” “Deep lack of confidence and trust” towards Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to the United States and ambassador sent from the United States to Israel, David Friedman.
Among those who participated in the negotiations were Eliot Engel, president of the Foreign Relations Commission of the House of Representatives, and Nita Lowey, president of the Electoral Commission of the House of Representatives, two prominent New York lawmakers.
“We are considering all our options,” McClatchy quotes a source from Congress. “The problem with Dermer is that there was already distrust. But now there is a serious distrust. It is totally incomprehensible that he represents his Government since he has made promises that he has not fulfilled, and it is not clear that he had the opportunity to fulfill them. ”
Last month, Dermer said that Omar and Tlaib would be allowed to enter Israel, although the 2017 law allows the country to ban those who support boycotting the Jewish state.
Tlaib and Omar, congresswomen from Michigan and Minnesota, are supporters of the boycott movement (BDS) and sanctions against Israel.
However, on Thursday, Israel announced that the couple would not be allowed to enter the country for a planned visit next week, citing their support for the BDS and indicating their destination on their itinerary as “Palestine.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said that Tlaib and Omar had no intention of meeting with Israeli officials, which was denied by the latter.
Despite the ban, Tlaib was allowed to visit his grandmother in Judea and Samaria for humanitarian reasons. He changed his mind about his family’s travel hours after his statement on Friday, citing his “humiliating” conditions.
The majority parliamentary leader of the House of Representatives, Steny Hoyer, who recently headed a delegation of democratic lawmakers in Israel, issued a statement Thursday condemning Israel’s decision and declaring that it contradicts the assurances it had received from Dermer.
“Dermer says privately that he expects this to disappear within a day; it’s a real lack of understanding about the consequences of this, ”a congressional source told McClatchy.
The news service reported that Democratic lawmakers discussed Saudi Arabia’s refusal to accept Henry Waxman, a Democratic Jewish congressman from California, in 1975, before resigning after pressure from the State Department.
They claimed that Friedman’s decision not to insist that Israel allow Omar and Tlaib to enter the country had broken this precedent.
On Thursday, Friedman issued a statement in support of the Israeli ban.
In addition to Democratic leaders such as Mayor Nancy Pelosi (California) and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (New York), the ban was also condemned by major Israeli groups such as AIPAC and Republican Senator Marco Rubio.
