“It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep.Tlaib to visit,” Trump tweeted on Thursday morning. “They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds.”
Shortly after Trump’s tweet, Israeli officials publicly confirmed that they would bar Omar and Tlaib from visiting the country. They had planned to travel to Jerusalem and the West Bank, among other stops, this weekend.
“Israel has decided – we won’t enable the members of Congress to enter the country,” Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said in comments to public broadcaster Kan. “We won’t allow those who deny our right to exist in this world to enter Israel. In principle this is a very justified decision.”
The two congresswomen, Representatives Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, both freshmen, are the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. Both are outspoken adversaries of President Trump and have been vocal in their support of the Palestinians and the boycott-Israel movement.
But the Democrats and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders wasn’t so happy coming with a response on Twitter.
Another presidential candidate, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., weighed in before the decision was formally announced.
Both are U.S. citizens and are members of the so-called “Squad” of newly elected left-wing Democratic representatives, along with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.