Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted this week "there is no way in hell" she'll go to the Israeli president's upcoming speech to Congress.
Rep. Ilhan Omar tweets 'no way in hell' she'll attend Israel president's speech to Congress
The president of Israel is set to address a joint session on July 19.
July 13, 2023 at 9:19PM
The Minnesota Democrat tweeted in all caps on Wednesday night that "we should not be inviting the president of Israel — a government who under its current prime minister barred the first two Muslim women elected to Congress from visiting the country — to give a joint address to Congress."
Omar was referring to when she and fellow Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib were denied entry into Israel in 2019 for supporting a boycott movement.
Congressional leaders recently announced that Israeli President Isaac Herzog will give a speech on Wednesday to a joint session of Congress.
GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's office said in a late June news release that "the purpose of the visit by President Herzog mirrors Speaker McCarthy's recent bipartisan trip to Israel — to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the statehood of Israel and reaffirm the special relationship between our two nations."
Omar's words this week led to some familiar GOP criticism. Former Vice President Mike Pence, a Republican running for president, responded to Omar by tweeting that "Israel is one of our greatest and most important allies." Pence also added that her "attacks on the Jewish state are sickening."
On the strength of their narrow majority, House Republicans were able to prevent Omar from continuing to serve on the chamber's Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this year. Omar had apologized over past anti-Semitic comments, but her words and criticism of Israel were cited by the GOP during the drive to remove her from the panel.
Omar, one of the first two Muslim women in Congress, is a defender of Palestinian human rights and has been a consistent congressional critic of Israel's government. In a Twitter thread earlier this week about deciding not to attend Herzog's speech, Omar said that the visit "comes as the Israeli government is pushing through what legal experts describe as a judicial coup to centralize power and undermine checks on their power."
She also added that "it comes during the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank in history."
Steve Hunegs, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, said Omar's move is "profoundly disappointing."
"President Herzog is a breakwater for Israeli democracy," Hunegs said.
A statement from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Thursday said that President Joe Biden will welcome Herzog to the White House the day before the congressional speech.
"President Biden will reaffirm the ironclad commitment of the United States to Israel's security," Jean-Pierre said.
The Israeli presidency is essentially viewed as a ceremonial office, compared to the prime minister, who has more power in the country.
Omar made a point in June of not attending India Prime Minister Narendra Modi's joint Congressional speech. She tweeted that her opposition was over "his government's human rights record."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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