Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri announced Friday that Israel had decided to let Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) enter Israel after all, allowing her "a humanitarian visit to her 90-year-old grandmother" in the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced Thursday that Israel was barring a planned delegation from Tlaib and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, because they support the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. Israel has passed a law allowing it to refuse entry to BDS proponents.
President Trump had encouraged Israel to block the visit by the two U.S. congresswoman, and U.S. Ambassador David Friedman issued a statement affirming that the Trump administration "supports and respects" Netanyahu's decision. Democrats had roundly criticized the move, as had pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, and even some Republicans called it a strategic miscalculation on Israel's part.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Will Biden's AI rules keep the genie in the bottle?Talking Points A new blow in the race for 'geopolitical superiority'
-
Israel and Hamas reach long awaited Gaza ceasefireThe Explainer After more than a year of violence that has left tens of thousands dead and pushed the Middle East toward broader regional war, negotiators say an end is in sight
-
Hang 10 at El Zonte, a surfer's paradise in El SalvadorThe Week Recommends Catch some waves and a great cup of coffee
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor dealSpeed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
-
Biden expected to block Japanese bid for US SteelSpeed Read The president is blocking the $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons mergerSpeed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battleSpeed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rallySpeed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
-
Enron mystery: 'sick joke' or serious revival?Speed Read 23 years after its bankruptcy filing, the Texas energy firm has announced its resurrection
-
US charges Indian tycoon with bribery, fraudSpeed Read Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by US prosecutors for his role in a $265 million scheme to secure solar energy deals
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strikeSpeed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
