Rashida Tlaib’s Grandmother Speaks for Us All

By David Boddiger  |  August 17, 2019 | 8:07pm
Congress

It wasn’t enough for
Donald Trump to call his friend in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
and urge him to block two sitting U.S. congresswomen from visiting that
country. Always the narcissistic bully, Trump also felt compelled to pile on more with insults on social media afterward.

For Reps. Rashida
Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, the last couple of days have been an emotional roller
coaster. First, Israel—prompted by Trump—banned
the two from entering the country during an upcoming trip.

Then, Israel said it
would allow Tlaib to visit her 90-year-old grandmother in the occupied West
Bank, but she would have to pledge not to express support during the trip for the
boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement that she has supported in the past.
Tlaib ultimately did not accept the deal, and in doing so, she must have
realized that she
may never get the opportunity to see her aging grandmother again.

“The Israeli
government used my love and desire to see my grandmother to silence me and made
my ability to do so contingent upon my signing a letter – reflecting just how
undemocratic and afraid they are of the truth my trip would reveal about what
is happening in the State of Israel and to Palestinians living under occupation
with United States support,” Tlaib said in a statement.

“I have therefore
decided to not travel to Palestine and Israel at this time. Visiting my
grandmother under these oppressive conditions meant to humiliate me would break
my grandmother’s heart,” she added.

Late Friday afternoon, Trump further insulted the family (emphasis below
is mine).

“Rep. Tlaib wrote a
letter to Israeli officials desperately wanting to visit her grandmother.
Permission was quickly granted, whereupon Tlaib obnoxiously turned the approval
down, a complete setup,” Trump tweeted. “The only real winner here is
Tlaib’s grandmother. She doesn’t have to see her now!”

What. A. Complete. Asshole.

Tlaib’s grandmother,
Muftia Tlaib, had
a response for the U.S. president: “May God ruin him,” she said while
sitting under an olive tree in the West Bank village of Beit Ur Al-Fauqa,
according to Reuters.

Rashida’s uncle Bassam
Tlaib also offered a poignant observation, saying, “Trump has told Rashida and
Ilhan to go back to their home countries. What a contradiction, yesterday he
asked them to leave and today he asks that they aren’t let in.”

Sounds about right. Also, #BeBest!

 
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