Ilhan Omar says ‘no way in hell’ she’s attending Israeli president’s address to Congress next week
Fox News
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said on Twitter that there is “no way in hell” she would attend when Israeli President Isaac Herzog delivers an address to a joint session of Congress next week, saying his presence sends an “absolute wrong signal” amid tensions between Israel and the West Bank.
“There is no way in hell I am attending the joint session address from a President whose country has banned me and denied [U.S. Rep. from Michigan] Rashida Tlaib the ability to see her grandma,” Omar said in a series of tweets. She also said the U.S. government should not have invited him to speak in the first place.
“The United States can and should use its diplomatic tools to engage with the Israeli government, but giving the current government the honor of a joint televised address sends the absolute wrong signal at the wrong time,” Omar continued.
Herzog, who was elected president in 2021, is scheduled to address Congress on July 19. The visit also coincides with Washington, D.C., celebrating 75 years since the founding of Israel, the anniversary of which was observed in April.
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She added, “Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s address comes on behalf of the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, at a time when the government is openly promising to ‘crush’ Palestinian hopes of statehood—essentially putting a nail in the coffin of peace and a two-state solution.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Omar’s office for comment, but a response was not immediately received.
In her series of tweets, Omar said the invitation also comes as Israel’s “cabinet members directly attack President Biden” and as the country conducts an overhaul of its judicial system.
The Minnesota Democrat also said Palestinians in the West Bank suffered their “deadliest year,” sharing a report that said at least eight Palestinians were killed, and 50 others were injured during a “major Israeli offensive” in the West Bank city of Jenin earlier this month.
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She noted the U.S. continues to provide billions in military aid each year to Israel and said she similarly opposed a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who delivered a joint address to Congress last month, citing his government’s human rights record.
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Omar was removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this year as her congressional colleagues pointed to controversial remarks she made about Israel. The vote, 218 to 211, fell strictly along party lines, with one member voting “present.”
Herzog last visited the U.S. in October 2022, when he met with President Biden and other U.S. leaders at the White House. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also visited Herzog in Jerusalem in January.