BDS and two (Muslim) US Congresswomen

I.

Two Congresswomen, who are accused by Israel as supporters of BDS, have been barred from entering Israel. An Israeli law enables it to bar supporters of the boycott movement from entering the country. It is stupid but I see no real issue with a country deciding who it will not allow to enter. Israel, however, also controls the borders of both Gaza strip and the West Bank. Thus, it decides who Palestinians are allowed to meet. That, of course, is scandalous: Millions of Palestinians in a sort of open-air prison.

II.

Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar were not joining one of the hundreds of trips, which US politicians have been taken on for years, organised by AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby, and the Israeli government. They were planning to visit the West Bank. They wanted to visit this open-air prison. Had they been allowed to enter, they would have learned about the reality of life in the territories under Israeli control. They would have seen how deceitful the propaganda network is (they always are).

III.

For Netanyahu, this whole affair was bad news. And yet barring US Congresswomen was problematic. He therefore decided to permit entry to the two Congresswomen. And then Trump called, and… Netanyahu dutifully changed his mind.

IV.

The question Americans must ask themselves and their representatives is, why do no other US Representatives and Senators make the effort to truly inform themselves. Are the American legislators neglecting their duty? After all, $3.8 BILLION of American taxpayers’ money is given unconditionally to Israel per annum. Is seeing only one side of the picture, their notion of democracy?

V.

And talking of democracy: Israel’s Minister of Interior Aryeh Deri, was approached by Representative Rashida Tlaib, for permission to visit her 90-something year-old grandmother, who lives in the occupied West Bank. Deri approved the request, on condition of good behaviour, and then Tlaib decided not to travel. Deri’s reaction to Tlaib’s decision not to accept his offer, was: "Apparently her hate for Israel overcomes her love for her grandmother."

Tlaib explained “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—”

To understand where Minister Deri comes from, one needs to know that he is a convicted criminal. An Israeli court had found him guilty of corruption and bribery and had sentenced him for three years in prison. He must be dumbfounded by politicians, who put their political work and values before their own and their family’s business interests. Not something that he would do.

So why is corrupt Deri a senior member of Netanyahu’s cabinet? Simple: He came out of jail and the electorate of the Sephardi religious party, a senior partner in Netanyahu’s cabinet, promptly re-elected him. Corruption wins.