Washington: The Democratic United States (US) lawmaker, Ilhan Omar, has announced that she will not attend Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s upcoming joint address to Congress, citing ongoing tensions between the Israeli government and Palestine.
Herzog is scheduled to deliver the speech on July 19, as the politician is visiting Washington to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of Israel.
“There is no way in hell I am attending the joint session address from a President whose country has banned me and denied @RashidaTlaib the ability to see her grandma,” Omar wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
The lawmaker was referring to a decision taken by Israel in 2019 to prevent her and fellow Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib from entering the occupied Palestinian territories due to “suspected provocations and promotion” of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
“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,” Omar said in a series of tweets.
In her tweet, Omar added recent issues and concerns with the country and its government, emphasising the attempt of far-right members of the government to push legislation that would reform the country’s Supreme Court.
She also indicated that she had recently opposed the joint congressional address by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, last month, because of his government’s human rights record.
“The United States can and should use its diplomatic tools to engage with the Israeli government, but giving the current government the honour of a joint televised address sends the absolute wrong signal at the wrong time,” Omar concluded the tweet.
