House Democrats planning to retaliate after Israel block of Tlaib and Omar

It sounds like something you would hear on an elementary playground but reports on Saturday indicate that House Democrats are interested in pursuing retaliation against Israel’s decision to block Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from entering the country.

Senior congressional Democrats are said to be considering legislative action against Israel’s ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer and David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel. Sources told McClatchy that close to 12 Democratic lawmakers are considering action against Dermer and Friedman for their roles in blocking the congresswomen from traveling to Israel.

Democrats are allegedly considering a statement of ‘no confidence’ for Dermer and launching an investigation into Friedman’s possible influence in the decision.

With Dermer, the issue is that there already was a severe lack of trust,” a source said. “But now there is a severe lack of confidence. It is completely unclear that he represents his government given he has made promises that he has not kept and wasn’t clear if he ever had any chance of keeping.”

Tlaib of Michigan and Omar of Minnesota, both ultra-liberal lawmakers often associated with “the squad” of progressive congresswomen, were banned from entering Israel just days before their scheduled trip. Both women have advocated strongly for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement against Israel, which is legally barred in the country.

Tlaib had requested special consideration to visit her grandmother, which was granted, but she declined to travel to visit her in the West Bank after Israel requested she not participate in protests while in the country. While she initially agreed to the terms, she later decided to turn it into political fodder and tweeted her refusal to be “silenced”. Prompting one Israeli official to say that her “hatred for Israel” overrode her “love for her grandmother.”

Silencing me & treating me like a criminal is not what she wants for me. It would kill a piece of me. I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in–fighting against racism, oppression & injustice. https://t.co/z5t5j3qk4H

— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) August 16, 2019

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel of New York and Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey of New York are both said to be taking part in the effort to act against the ambassadors.