Some Israelis Worry U.S. Bipartisan Political Support Is Eroding
Netanyahu's blocking of visits by congresswomen Tlaib and Omar renews fears in Israel of a Democratic backlash
By Felicia Schwartz
Aug. 16, 2019
TEL AVIV--Some diplomats and former Israeli military and intelligence officials said they fear Israel's decision to deny entry to two U.S. congresswomen who are critical of Israeli policy will undermine longstanding bipartisan support for the country in the U.S.
Israel on Friday said Rep. Rashida Tlaib could visit her grandmother on humanitarian grounds if she didn't promote an international boycott of Israel, following criticism from America lawmakers in both parties. She had appealed the earlier decision to bar her [1] and Rep. Ilhan Omar, pledging not to promote the boycott.
But Ms. Tlaib, facing criticism from some Palestinians, said later Friday that she wouldn't visit Israel [2] under "oppressive conditions meant to humiliate me." Israeli officials stood firm on their position, ensuring Ms. Tlaib wouldn't travel this weekend.
Both Ms. Tlaib, a Palestinian American of Detroit, and Ms. Omar, a Somali-American of Minneapolis, are liberal Democrats who support a boycott movement to pressure Israel to change its policy toward Palestinians. House Democrats overwhelmingly supported a resolution to condemn the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement last month.
Israel's strong ties with the U.S. and its leaders, both Democratic and Republican, have helped its standing on the world stage.
Israel is currently the top recipient of U.S. foreign aid, currently under a 10-year $38 billion military aid package agreed to under President Obama and later enshrined into law with bipartisan support. The U.S. also helps shield Israel from pro-Palestinian resolutions at the United Nations.
Now, the diplomats and former Israeli military and intelligence officials said they are concerned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's close alignment with President Trump threatens support among Democrats.
They fear it could create a backlash, with Israel policy becoming tied up in Democrats' strong resistance to Mr. Trump in 2020, as the president seeks to portray Democrats as insufficiently pro-Israel.
"The suspicion that changing the decision to allow them to visit stems from the U.S. president's request, for American political reasons, harms the special relationship with Republicans and Democrats," said Moshe Ya'alon, a former military chief of staff and Likud defense minister who is now a senior official in the centrist Blue and White Party.
In Israel, much of the criticism of Mr. Netanyahu's decision comes from his opponents ahead of national elections set for Sept. 17. He faces a tough re-election fight against a trio of former military chiefs of staff heading the Blue and White party.
Members of his own Likud party have generally backed Mr. Netanyahu. Gilad Erdan, a Likud lawmaker and strategic affairs minister, said on Twitter on Friday the ban was justified after a review of the congresswomen's itinerary showed their visit aimed to promote boycotting Israel.
Mr. Netanyahu defended his decision Thursday, saying he deeply respects the U.S. and its Congress and that while Israel is open to criticism, it doesn't allow boycott supporters to enter.
Mr. Netanyahu has touted Israel's relationship with the U.S. as at a peak under Mr. Trump, who has recognized Jerusalem as the country's capital and Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Mr. Netanyahu's government had originally said last month it would allow Ms. Tlaib and Ms. Omar to visit Israel and the West Bank, a routine trip for most U.S. Congress members. Israel changed course after Mr. Trump tweeted Thursday that allowing them entry would show "great weakness," accusing the lawmakers of hating Israel and Jews, which they deny.
"There is a broad consensus that Israel had just reasons to do this, but it wasn't smart," said Shalom Lipner, who worked for several prime ministers including Mr. Netanyahu and is now with the Atlantic Council.
"A lot of the doors we were able to open globally, economically, financially, diplomatically, that was because Israel was punching above its weight, particularly in Washington," he said. "If that cachet starts to diminish, that might affect Israel."
Mr. Trump has sought to elevate Ms. Tlaib and Ms. Omar as leading faces of the Democratic Party, suggesting that the party has renounced its support of Israel and supports the BDS movement.
On Friday, he accused Ms. Tlaib of grandstanding, and questioned Ms. Tlaib's account of the reason for wanting to visit Israel.
"Israel was very respectful & nice to Rep. Rashida Tlaib, allowing her permission to visit her 'grandmother,'" he said, putting the word in quotation marks. Mr. Trump added, "Could this possibly have been a setup?"
Many of the leading Democratic presidential contenders have sought to reaffirm the longstanding American alliance with Israel while questioning Mr. Netanyahu's policies.
In Congress, Democratic leaders have distanced themselves from Ms. Tlaib and Ms. Omar's statements supporting the boycott to protest Israel's policies toward Palestinians, while treading carefully because the two women are enormously popular with progressive activists.
A draft schedule showed Ms. Tlaib and Ms. Omar planned to tour holy sites and meet with Israeli and Palestinian NGOs, U.N. officials and civil society groups in Jerusalem and the West Bank cities of Hebron, Bethlehem and Ramallah.
When asked, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D., Md.) has said that Ms. Tlaib and Ms. Omar's views don't represent the Democratic caucus. Still, he encouraged the women to take their trip to Israel and pushed Israeli officials to allow them to visit.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic presidential candidate, criticized Israel's decision. She has said she supports Israel as a strong ally but has said the current situation between Israel and the Palestinians is untenable.
Such Democratic voices worry Israeli diplomats.
"The Congress in many ways is our security lifeline and we have to do everything we can to preserve it," said Michael Oren, a former ambassador to the U.S. during the Obama administration.
Others say the two countries have a resilient relationship that dates back to President Truman, the first world leader to recognize Israel as a state, minutes after its founding in 1948. From there, the relationship has grown and deepened, even as U.S. leaders from both parties have criticized Israel over the years.
More recently, Messrs. Netanyahu and Obama had tense relations over the Iran deal, which the Israeli leader came to Washington to lobby against. Still, Mr. Obama presided over the signing of the largest ever military aid package for Israel.
Mr. Netanyahu's supporters say Ms. Tlaib and Ms. Omar support a boycott movement that Israel must oppose. BDS urges sanctions on Israel to pressure it to end its occupation of the West Bank, grant equal rights to Palestinians citizens of Israel and to allow Palestinians and their descendants the right to return to homes they were displaced from after Israel's establishment in 1948. Israel says the movement aims to destroy Israel as a Jewish state.
After accepting Israel's terms of a trip, Ms. Tlaib faced criticism of her own.
Nour Odeh, a former spokeswoman for the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, wrote on Twitter that Ms. Tlaib fell into a trap and "accepted to demean herself and grovel." [3]
Later on Friday, Ms. Tlaib said she wouldn't visit Israel and urged a rethinking of U.S.-Israel ties.
"If you truly believe in democracy, then the close alignment of Netanyahu with Trump's hate agenda must prompt a re-evaluation of our unwavering support for the State of Israel," she said.
Daniel Shapiro, the U.S. ambassador to Israel during the Obama administration, said mainstream Democratic Party views of Israel haven't shifted much since Ms. Tlaib and Ms. Omar were elected in 2018. But over the long term, as the U.S. becomes more multicultural and candidates don't have the same historical memories or connections to Israel, attitudes could shift.
"There are new voices that are more critical, single-mindedly toward Israel and they're obviously making themselves heard," Mr. Shapiro said.
--Dov Lieber in Tel Aviv and Ken Thomas, Natalie Andrews and Andrew Restuccia in Washington contributed to this article.
Write to Felicia Schwartz at Felicia.Schwartz@wsj.com
[1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-weighs-blocking-omar-tlaib-from-west-bank-visit-11565859308
[3] https://twitter.com/nour_odeh/status/1162299440172077056