Most of you know what I’m referring to, but for those unaware, I’m talking about Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar and the decision by the Israeli government to ban them entry to the country. This reverses a decision months prior to allow them in, despite their anti-Israel remarks. The timing is strange and unusual, yet because the situation doesn’t want to disappear, I figured I’d share my thoughts in as level-headed a manner as possible. Here goes:
Israel’s decision was wrong.
What’s interesting is the lengths at which many Jewish organizations, some vehemently pro-Zionist, have denounced this. The groups range from the obvious, like If Not Now and JVP, to some less-so, like The URJ and The USCJ. The outcry even reached AIPAC and J-Street, which is surprising. It seems like many Jews, mostly younger ones, were unhappy, feeling it to be reactionary. And given how everything has played out, it’s easy to see why.
I, personally, think that it’s tone-deaf. Ignoring my own thoughts, or Tlaib and Omar as individuals, that Israel was quick to acquiesce to Trump shows an element of weakness. This is a man who runs his mouth on anything and everything without acknowledging how it influences others, even when he appears to “have a valid point”. This is a man who instituted a transgender ban in The US military based on faulty science, after all. I don’t think his Tweet should’ve been taken at face-value.
It also bothers me because of the implications. If this were the reverse, and an Israeli politician were banned from entering The US, there’d be outcry from Jews all-over the country, possibly the world. People would be protesting, letters and angry Tweets would be written to congress, it’d get messy. And it’d probably be justified. So why’s the reverse okay?
I don’t think this is the kind of attention Israel needs. It already has to contend with a poorly-worded Nation State bill from last year, as well as a re-election due to Netanyahu, who barely won, being unable to wrangle a coalition government. The country has also faced criticism for its paranoid, racial profiling, as well as the Ethiopian Jewry riots of late. I’m willing to defend Israel for most of its issues, but this ban? I can’t. Which leads me to my next point…
How Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar have been handling this is disgraceful.
But outside of that, Tlaib and Omar have taken this rather poorly. When Israel reversed their ruling for Tlaib and allowed her to visit her grandmother, she refused. Even if she was “sticking to her guns”, I doubt her grandmother would’ve been happy. (Then again, what do I know?) And both women have shared cartoons from a Holocaust-denying group regarding the “censorship” of them. I expected better, but I was wrong. This is adult-equivalent of a child breaking your TV set because you won’t let them play video games. I’d advise a “time out” policy, but I wouldn’t want to infantilize fully-grown women.
There are other problems that’ve arisen from this, but I’ll stick with that for now.
The way conservatives have been handling this isn’t much better.
In my critique of Omar’s “Benjamins” Tweet, I mentioned the hypocrisy of the right. Given the feedback from a Twitter Mutual, I think this should be stressed even more: the American right shouldn’t be calling this out. They haven’t earned the outrage, especially not when people like Kevin McCarthy and Steve King are in their caucus. It’s not only hypocritical, it also adds unnecessary fuel to the fire. And it raises questions.
Let’s zoom-in on that last part: why is the right making such a stink about this? They largely support Donald Trump, a loose-cannon who says what he feels like without consequence. They also were fine with an Antisemitic preacher giving the opening speech at The Jerusalem Embassy’s dedication, as well as a “Christian Rabbi” giving a speech at a Michigan rally following the Pittsburgh shooting. They shouldn’t be opening their mouths; if anything, they’re equally as guilty of Jew-hatred.
I also find the whole “why do Jews vote Democrat?” question to be irritating. Ignoring how the question’s almost always rooted in Antisemitism/self-hatred, it ignores how toxic Republicans have become in recent decades. Yes, there are awful Democrats too. Yes, bigotry isn’t an exclusively-Republican issue. But considering how people like Steve King and Mitch McConnell are Republicans, not Democrats, that should ring alarm bells.
As for the claim that Democrats “hate Jews”? I don’t think that’s any truer now than 30 years ago. And even if it is, so what? You really think Republicans are better? The party only cares about Israel because of The Second Coming, they couldn’t give a damn otherwise. No American party really “loves” Jews anyway, they merely tolerate them. And Jewish voters are aware of this.
I don’t want to romanticize Tlaib and Omar’s behaviour. Unlike many of their defenders, I don’t think that’s helpful or healthy. But to use them as weapons against the Democratic party, or even Jews in general, is equally unhelpful and unhealthy. They’re two politicians out of hundreds, especially in a party that’s that diverse. Besides, Antisemitism’s been spiking due to a rise in fascism and white supremacy. Tlaib and Omar becoming martyrs for a bad cause is something we don’t need too.
So that’s my stance on this matter. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go dunk my head in ice water.
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