Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib held a joint press conference Monday in response to being barred from visiting Israel and the Occupied Territories last week.
Omar and Tlaib, the first two Muslim-American women in Congress, both support the non-violent Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement.
They were ostensibly blocked from entering Israel for those views, but the real motivation on the part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have been the push from U.S. President Donald Trump who has leveled charges of anti-Semitism against Omar and Tlaib, to keep the pair out.
Tlaib, who is of Palestinian descent, teared up while describing the occupation’s toll on her family’s mental and emotional health.
“All I can do… as the granddaughter of a woman living in occupied territory,” said Tlaib, “is to elevate her voice by exposing the truth.”
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT