Why did Israel decide not to allow Tlaib and Omar to come?

The most popular theory to explain why Israel did an about-face and decide not to allow Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar to visit is because President Trump tweeted that it would show "great weakness" on Israel's part:

It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep.Tlaib to visit. They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds. Minnesota and Michigan will have a hard time putting them back in office. They are a disgrace!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 15, 2019

I think that was definitely a factor. It may be disrespectful for Israel to not allow two members of Congress to visit, but it is even more disrespectful to go against the President. For better or for worse, Israel has to engage in realpolitik, and Trump has been using Israel as a wedge issue for Democrats quite successfully.

But things sometimes have multiple reasons. It was only reported a day or two ago that Tlaib and Omar would visit the Al Aqsa Mosque/Temple Mount, and that could easily ignite riots where people could be hurt or killed. To turn away someone because of their extreme views is one thing; to keep security is a whole different ballgame.

Also leaked today was the itinerary, which was to be partially sponsored by Miftah, Hanan Ashrawi's  NGO that has spread antisemitism both old and new: the blood libel, explicit support of terror and neo-Nazi literature.

Bibi Netanyahu gave his reasons for barring their entry, about 2 hours after Trump's tweet and while Trump probably was part of the equation, the itinerary was a factor:

No country in the world respects America and the American Congress more than the State of Israel.

As a free and vibrant democracy, Israel is open to critics and criticism with one exception: Israeli law prohibits the entry into Israel of those who call for and work to impose boycotts on Israel, as do other democracies that prohibit the entry of people who seek to harm the country.

In fact, in the past the US did this to an Israeli member of Knesset, as well as to other public figures from around the world.

Congresswomen Tlaib and Omar are leading activists in promoting the legislation of boycotts against Israel in the American Congress.

Only a few days ago, we received their itinerary for their visit in Israel, which revealed that they planned a visit whose sole objective is to strengthen the boycott against us and deny Israel’s legitimacy.

For instance: they listed the destination of their trip as Palestine and not Israel, and unlike all Democratic and Republican members of Congress who have visited Israel, they did not request to meet any Israeli officials, either from the government or the opposition.

A week ago, Israel warmly welcomed some 70 Democratic and Republican members of Congress, who expressed broad bipartisan support for Israel, which was also demonstrated a month ago in a resounding bipartisan vote against BDS in Congress.

However, the itinerary of the two Congresswomen reveals that the sole purpose of their visit is to harm Israel and increase incitement against it.

In addition, the organization that is funding their trip is Miftah, which is an avid supporter of BDS, and among whose members are those who have expressed support for terrorism against Israel. 

Therefore, the minister of interior has decided not to allow their visit, and I, as prime minister, support his decision.

Nonetheless, if Congresswoman Tlaib submits a humanitarian request to visit her relatives, the minister of interior has announced that he will consider her request on the condition that she pledges not to act to promote boycotts against Israel during her visit.

The reasons I gave last month to allow the pair to visit was contingent on Israel setting up an itinerary and pushing it ahead of time, letting them reject it. This itinerary which doesn't even mention Israel shows that the opportunity was lost. Israel looks bad either way, but this way it only looks bad for a day instead of four days of incitement. And the Miftah angle is big: Miftah has been so bad over the years, and my tweets about it have been so popular,  that there will probably be some media attention given to the organization tomorrow (if something similar happened on the Right it would be wall to wall coverage, of course.)

The itinerary is interesting for another reason. The pair weren't even planning to visit the PA president or prime minister. Terrorist supporters and BDS advocates consider the PA to be collaborators with Israel - and these two members of Congress are so extreme, they not only don't recognize Israel but also the Palestinian Authority. Even the AIPAC congressional group visited PA government officials.

That, by itself, shows how extreme and hateful Tlaib and Omar are.

Meanwhile, I love the irony that BDSers are now advocating that these two should visit Israel.

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