ByMaya Ilany, Maya Ilany
Yachad's Maya Illany asks why Benjamin Netanyahu, who prides himself on engaging with controversial leaders, would deny representatives from Israel's greatest ally
August 22, 2019 17:00
The decision to ban the two US congresswomen is a diplomatic and political failure that exposes the Israeli government’s greatest weakness: its lack of vision for a peaceful future.
It is true that the two are no great fans of the Israeli government. But democracies do not let people through their gates based on their political views.
After all, Netanyahu’s Israel has been collaborating with the most dangerous leaders in the world: from the Jew-hating, far-right prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán; through Brazil’s president Bolsonaro, who openly embraces antisemitic practices and says the Holocaust can be forgiven; to far-right North American leaders like Gavin McInnes, founder of the neo-fascist group Proud Boys, who said Israelis have a “whiny paranoid fear of Nazis”.
Then why would Benjamin Netanyahu, a prime minister who prides himself on engaging with controversial leaders, deny the entry of two representatives of Israel’s greatest ally, the United States?
The official reason for banning the two Democratic congresswomen from visiting Israel and the West Bank is their support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement (BDS), which, according to Mr Netanyahu’s statement, will “harm” Israel and increase “incitement” against it.
In reality, rejecting the visit has not downplayed the criticism against Israel. Rather it has amplified it and made Israel look, at best, servile to political demands from the US President and, at worst, frightened of the congresswomen’s position.
If Mr Netanyahu was genuinely interested in undermining the BDS movement, why would he provide it with such a great press opportunity?
The truth is that a visit to the region could have been an opportunity for the congresswomen to meet Israelis and Palestinians whose daily lives are impacted by the conflict and occupation, hear from them about their hopes and fears, and see the situation on the ground as it is.
It could have been an invaluable opportunity to replace the simplistic narrative of “good guys” and “bad guys” with a new and complex story about real people living in the region today.
For these reasons, Yachad are proud to take delegations of British Jews to the region every year, to see the parts of Israel and the West Bank we don’t normally get to see when visiting family or holidaying.
In our experience, these visits are a real eye-opener for people from across the political spectrum and a rare opportunity to talk and listen to wide range of perspectives: Israelis and Palestinians, anti-occupation activists and settlers, diplomats and security experts.
And the truth shall set you free! @PeterBeinart on visiting Gaza and the West Bank pic.twitter.com/ZJxB76oy6c
— Tahar (@laseptiemewilay) August 19, 2019
We will never know how Ms Tlaib and Ms Omar’s views would have changed as a result of their visit.
What we do know is that banning them from the country exposed Benjamin Netanyahu’s greatest weakness.
Instead of silencing them, Mr Netanyahu should have explained how his vision for the region is preferable to theirs.
But Netanyahu’s Israel doesn’t have any vision for ending the conflict and bringing peace at all. It is a passiveness that runs counter to the pro-active, visionary spirit of Zionism.
After all, Israel is a country that was created against the odds and had lived up to its founding principle articulated by Theodor Herzl: “If you will it, it is no dream.”
Israel can once again win the hearts and minds of people all over the world, but it will take bold actions to bring about peace for Israelis and Palestinians.
Maya Ilany is the deputy director of Yachad UK
