Conference of Jewish Affairs spokesman Rabbi Aryeh Spero has released the following statement: “Conference of Jewish Affairs agrees with the Israeli decision not to allow Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, vocal agitators for BDS, to enter Israel pretending they have no dangerous political mission, when in fact they do.
“Both congresswomen curiously and intentionally did not go with their fellow colleagues to visit Israel this week since they did not want to abide by the courtesies and limitations and offer the respect required of a congressional delegation. It became apparent to the Israeli government that both individuals were laying nefarious plans to agitate, propagandize, and harm Israel in the eyes of the world.
“Tlaib’s request to visit ‘Palestine’ was already an indication she does not acknowledge the statehood of Israel, the very government to which travel requests were made. Neither of the women are Israeli citizens, and thus Israel has no obligation to grant courtesies to these outsiders who wish to undermine the very existence of the State of Israel.”
Rabbi Spero continued, “Countries throughout the world do not allow into their territory outsiders they feel pose a grave danger to their country. The association of these two women with MIFTAH, a Hamas-linked group calling for the destruction of the State of Israel, was a warning signal to the Israeli government, as was the unconscionable identification of Israel with Nazism alluded to by both women.
“Israel’s well known humanitarian impulse would permit Tlaib to enter if visiting family members if she had so requested; however, what Tlaib and Omar were planning was a mass choreographed and videotaped script to besmirch Israel in the eyes of the world and to incite the Muslim population to violence. A country’s obligation is first to its safety and not to the propaganda efforts of those hoping and planning for its destruction.
“Tlaib and Omar are not human rights heroes, rather operatives intent on destroying a legitimate state and its people.”