CNN reports:

The prominent pro-Israel group American Israel Public Affairs Committee suggested Thursday it opposed a move by Israel — and supported by President Donald Trump — to bar Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from entering the country.

AIPAC, which advocates for a staunch alliance between the US and Israel, has frequently sided with Trump administration policies that have supported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, making its opposition especially notable.

“We disagree with Reps. Omar and Tlaib’s support for the anti-Israel and anti-peace BDS movement, along with Rep. Tlaib’s calls for a one-state solution. We also believe every member of Congress should be able to visit and experience our democratic ally Israel firsthand,” AIPAC tweeted early Thursday afternoon. [Continue reading…]

The New York Times reports:

In lobbying a foreign government to bar members of the United States Congress, Mr. Trump crossed yet another line that other presidents generally respected. No matter how virulent their differences at home, presidents have traditionally not enlisted the help of overseas allies to take action against domestic political adversaries.

But Mr. Trump has demonstrated time and again over the last two and a half years that he sees little need to observe the norms that governed previous occupants of the White House, dismissing them either as antiquated or irrelevant if he recognized their existence at all. To Mr. Trump, politics is a contact sport with few limits and Ms. Omar and Ms. Tlaib have become two of his favorite targets.

In a statement, Ms. Omar called the actions by Mr. Trump and Mr. Netanyahu “an affront” that had limited the ability of members of Congress to learn from both Israelis and Palestinians.

“Sadly, this is not a surprise given the public positions of Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has consistently resisted peace efforts, restricted the freedom of movement of Palestinians, limited public knowledge of the brutal realities of the occupation and aligned himself with Islamophobes like Donald Trump,” she said.

“The irony of the ‘only democracy’ in the Middle East making such a decision,” she said, “is that it is both an insult to democratic values and a chilling response to a visit by government officials from an allied nation.” [Continue reading…]