Neighborhood Buzz
A Blog for Democrats and Independents
Editor _ Jerry Meyer
The Villages Democrats -- Sumter Democrats
Trump –
Master of Diversion
One thing
you can say about Donald Trump, he can turn the conversation on a dime.
There are
reports the economy may be weakening, and we are still trying to cope with news
of mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, followed by police shootings in
several cities
With these
stories in the headlines, Trump attacks two Muslim Congresswomen for their
plans to visit Israel.
Taking to
“Twitter,” Trump said “It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Reps.
Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota to visit, writing, “They hate Israel and all Jewish people.”
Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyhau quickly announced that entry would be denied,
saying that the two women are leading activists in promoting the legislation of
boycotts against Israel in the American Congress.
The
Guardian, in an editorial, calls Tlaib and Omar Israel’s fiercest critics in
Congress. They go on to say that Trump
and Netanyahu are so afraid of letting them travel through the country and
ground their critique in first-hand witness accounts of life in the occupied
territories is just as troubling as it is unsurprising.
Trump’s game
of feigning concern for Jews in order to undercut women of color in Congress is
all too transparent, writes the Guardian, adding that this time his racism has
been handed a new amplifier in Prime Minister Netanyahu. The editorial goes on to say that banning
the women is the latest episode in Israel’s serial move to ban left wing
dissidents.
Congressman
Omar called Netanyahu’s decision an affront and both an insult to democratic
values and a chilling response to a visit by government officials from an
allied nation.
The decision
has also been denounced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the office of Rep. Steny
Hoyer and Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer.
The American
Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the most influential pro-Israel
organization in the U.S. also disagreed with the move.
On Friday,
August 16th, Israel’s interior ministry said Talib would be allowed
to enter the country as a private citizen to visit her aging grandmother in
Palestine, which had been part of the original trip. Tlaib’s parents are Palestine immigrants to
this country and the family has relatives in the West Bank.
Tlaib has
decided not to make the visit, because of restrictions that came with the
permission to visit. She said the
requirements were meant to humiliate her.
Conversation
on what is taking place continues on talk shows – and Trump again has diverted
our attention.
Don’t look
for any action on gun legislation in the near future.
No comments:
Post a Comment