Good news, everyone! When Ilhan Omar lashed out at Israel yesterday over their decision to bar her and Rashida Tlaib from entering due to their open BDS advocacy, she was only getting started. Turns out she had lots more BS to sow.
Let’s be clear: the goal of our trip was to witness firsthand what is happening on the ground in Palestine and hear from stakeholders —our job as Members of Congress.
But since we were unable to fulfill our role as legislators, I am sharing what we would have seen. (THREAD)
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
“In Palestine.” Right off the bat, it’s obvious she’s full of it.
HA! This is hysterical! No preconceived notions here! Just a wide open mind.
"But since we were unable to fulfill our role as legislators, I am sharing what we would have seen." https://t.co/lBFa3OZpFS
— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) August 16, 2019
She’s a real piece of work, isn’t she?
First, I planned to hold meetings with members of the Knesset (both Jewish and Arab) along with Israeli security officials.
The claims of @IsraeliPM otherwise are not true.
As a delegation, we were also were scheduling a meeting with @USAmbIsrael. https://t.co/tazkSiUYkM
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
Whose claims are untrue, Ilhan?
This is a lie, here is your full schedule published by your office, you didn’t plan a single meeting with members of the Knesset or Israeli security officials. https://t.co/TuP3HeCNrs pic.twitter.com/iHtIElwDPz
— The Reagan Battalion (@ReaganBattalion) August 16, 2019
Ilhan Omar is lying, again
Omar's itinerary for her trip was published yesterday and it included "no Israeli officials of any government agency or political party"https://t.co/doqEgrg1H0 https://t.co/ghXrUHteQi
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) August 16, 2019
Here is the itinerary, provided via @gilicohen10, which is referenced the news article above pic.twitter.com/gUbc2YHgEK
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) August 16, 2019
Talk about gaslighting. But don’t worry — she’s not finished lying yet.
Then, the delegation was going to receive a briefing on the Bedouin community in East Jerusalem. For decades, Bedouin homes have been bulldozed and communities have been uprooted in order to build settlements on Palestinian land.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
Though these settlements are illegal under international law and threaten peace, settlement growth has skyrocketed under Trump. https://t.co/2oCeHr4q2x
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
Then the UN was going to brief us about the effect of humanitarian aid cuts on Palestinians.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
Last year, the Trump Admin announced the U.S. will no longer contribute to the United Nations’ relief agency for Palestinian refugees, threatening the livelihood of millions and violating international law.https://t.co/lmoXo6ruZB
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
We planned a video conference with youth from Gaza.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is one of the worst in the world—with 97% of water unfit for human consumption and on the verge of collapse. Most of the people in Gaza are children.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
Israeli officials do not let Members of Congress visit Gaza.https://t.co/66ruDIh5fo
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
Maybe because they don’t want members of Congress to get blown up?
We then planned to visit Hebron. Once a bustling economic hub, settlement expansion has resulted in a two-tiered city, with Palestinians under military occupation forced to walk on the opposite side of the street from Israelis. https://t.co/UqTzOMb0Hs
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
77% of shops have closed bc of military occupation. Palestinians walk with garbage nets above their heads, put up to catch trash thrown by settlers. Violent attacks on Palestinians are routine.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
We were going to receive a tour of the city from @btsisrael, Israeli military veterans who aim to raise awareness about their experiences with the occupation. https://t.co/aEiRnMwWaT
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
We planned to visit the separation wall around historic Bethlehem. Only 13% of Bethlehem is now accessible to Palestinian use.
The wall, built in 2002 against international law, was said at the time to be “temporary.”
It still stands. https://t.co/EVftWuvtLe
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
This was not the first trip of its kind. Last year,@repmarkpocan, @rephankjohnson and others visited with an almost identical itinerary.
Other Members of Congress have done similar trips.https://t.co/ia2OFlqbg5
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
And, as has already been pointed out, those “similar trips” took place before the 2017 law barring BDS proponents was passed.
But my colleagues and I are not the only ones who are being denied the right to see for themselves the reality on the ground in the West Bank. @OmarSShakir is currently facing deportation for his work with Human Rights Watch. https://t.co/LewHoFiKIo
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
Yeah, Omar Shakir seems like a real stand-up guy.
In 2018, the Netanyahu government refused entry to Katherine Frank and my friend @VinceWarren who had arrived on a mostly-POC human rights mission. https://t.co/P8Exe1mRmN
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
About that:
"…who had arrived on a mostly-POC human rights mission…"
and yet only two were refused entry, one of them white?
But look who WAS allowed in: @TamikaDMallory, a @LouisFarrakhan fan. https://t.co/9KahOT0PoQ pic.twitter.com/qqsjbtUyF1
— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) August 16, 2019
"The group included Tamika Mallory, a well-known name in the U.S. as co-chair of the Women's March. She has been criticized for refusing to condemn the anti-Semitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan."https://t.co/uurhlILm9U
— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) August 16, 2019
Seems like the Netanyahu government made the right call.
And of course, this lack of respect for freedom of movement and freedom of expression is part of the day-to-day lives of Palestinians living in the occupied territories.https://t.co/ZdIgGQUTZg
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
Though we were unable to witness this firsthand, there are other ways for people to learn about the occupation.
Follow @alhaq_org, @btselem, @amnesty and other groups speaking out about human rights violations.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
Oh, is that what those groups are doing?
Follow @PeterBeinart, who has an excellent piece laying out the realities of the occupation and making the case for more reporting and visits by Members of Congress. https://t.co/W75ycDHK3w
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
“Follow Peter Beinart.” That alone should tell you that her intentions were never pure. But of course there’s more:
Follow @IfnotnowOrg, who gave a virtual tour of the occupied territories here. https://t.co/5pYFOgKYB0
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
Yes, by all means. Hear out the notorious anti-Semites and terrorist apologists at IfNotNow.
As many of my colleagues have stated in the last 24 hours, we give Israel more than $3 billion in aid every year. This is predicated on their being an important ally in the region, and the 'only democracy' in the Middle East.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
Denying visits to duly elected Members of Congress is not consistent with being either an ally or a democracy. We should be leveraging that aid to stop the settlements and ensure full rights for Palestinians.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
Ilhan Omar is apparently counting on her followers not to know or care that Rashida Tlaib was invited to visit Israel on the condition that she didn’t advocate for its destruction while there and chose instead to stay home and accuse Israel of anti-Muslim bigotry.
The occupation is real.
Barring members of Congress from seeing it does not make it go away.
We must end it—together. (END)— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019
The only thing Ilhan Omar wants to end is Israel itself.
Editor’s note: This post has been updated with additional text.
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