Thank you Rashida Tlaib for canceling your visit

[malaise]

Humanitarian reasons my black ass.
Tell them to fuck off.

Big victory here

[hlthe2b]

1. Her lengthy statement:

Link to tweet

[malaise]

3. Excellent

Thanks for this

[UpInArms]

58. Can anyone else remember Rachel Corrie?

Rachel Corrie

Rachel Aliene Corrie (April 10, 1979 – March 16, 2003) was an American activist and diarist.[1][2] She was a member of a pro-Palestinian group called the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).[3] She was killed by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) armored bulldozer in a combat zone in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, under contested circumstances[2][4] during the height of the second Palestinian intifada.[5]

She had gone to Gaza as part of her senior-year college assignment to connect her home town with Rafah in a sister cities project.[6] While there, she had engaged with other International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activists in efforts to prevent the Israeli army's demolition of Palestinian houses.[2][7][8] According to the Israeli authorities the demolitions were carried out to eliminate weapons-smuggling tunnels.[2] According to human rights groups the demolitions were used as collective punishment.[2]

Less than two months after her arrival,[6] on March 16, 2003, Corrie was killed during an Israeli military operation after a three-hour confrontation between Israeli soldiers operating two bulldozers and eight ISM activists.[4][9]

The exact nature of her death and the culpability of the bulldozer operator are disputed, with fellow ISM protestors saying that the Israeli soldier operating the bulldozer deliberately ran over Corrie, and Israeli eyewitnesses saying that it was an accident since the bulldozer operator could not see her.[10][11][12][13]

The Israeli army conducted an investigation, which concluded that the death was an accident, and that the driver of the bulldozer could not see Corrie due to limited visibility from his cab. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch as well as B'Tselem and Yesh Din criticized the military investigation.[14][15][16]

... more at link ...

[hlthe2b]

60. I certainly do... It is still painful to remember how little repercussions, how determined the RW

was to both bury her story but likewise blame her for her own death.

I read about the Broadway or Off Broadway theatrical production of her life a few years ago and hoped it would "get legs" and be exported to productions across the country. Sadly, it did not seem to take hold.

[UpInArms]

61. That so little attention was given to her by the media spoke volumes

Of its complicity in all that is wrong.

[FakeNoose]

2. This entire episode is unfortunate in so many ways

However I think she's handling it well. It's the right decision to cancel her visit.

[malaise]

5. Yes indeed

Love your Ditch Moscow Mitch

[lettucebe]

29. Awesome t-shirt transfer

Someone needs to sell t-shirts and whatnot with this image. I'd buy one

[kentuck]

4. Good for her!

Those bastards!

[nolabear]

6. What a woman.

[spanone]

7. K&R...

[bucolic_frolic]

8. She delivered a Democratic display of strength

I suppose foreign countries can do as they like, and let the international system of diplomacy, free press, and negotiation sort out their fallout, but what really irks here is Congress sets its own agenda. Presidents do not have the Constitutional authority to control agenda or travels of members of Congress. There might be an advisory from the State Department based on hazardous travel to hostile or war-plagued countries, but this was an avoidable incident. It has blown up in Trump's face. Notice that as the country is shifting against him, he is becoming more peeved, angry, controlling, authoritarian. And no one is listening.

[Freethinker65]

9. I feel sorry for her grandmother

[djacq]

10. Proud moment to stand against oppression.

[luvtheGWN]

13. Not just oppression,

but also apartheid, because that's what it is.

[MadMike47]

11. They should all cancel out

The entire House delegation ought to cancel in support of Omar and tell Netanyahu to go to hell.

[malaise]

12. +1,000 n/t

[usaf-vet]

14. Isn't the power to travel for Congressional business Speaker Pelosi decision to fund or not?

She alone could stop all funded travel to Israel... right?

[FBaggins]

27. Yes and no

Trips are sometimes funded by outside groups. 70+ members were over there just last week on an AIPAC jaunt.

[StarfishSaver]

44. These trips are usually sponsored by committees of jurisdiction and are approved by the chair

The Speaker surely has influence, but the decision is generally up to the committee chair.

[gratuitous]

15. Trump and Netanyahu failed to buy her off

That won't make Needy Amin very happy, mostly because he doesn't understand the notion of standing on principle even when it works to one's personal disadvantage.

[lame54]

16. I'm confused...

Who canceled first?

[malaise]

18. She and Ilhan Omar were banned by the Israeli government

and then they lifted her ban for humanitarian reasons so she could see her grandmother.
Imagine banning someone whose family is Palestinian - even they knew how that looked to the world.

[lame54]

20. I missed the middle part...

Went to bed knowing they were banned

Woke up to read she cancelled

Missed the part where the ban was lifted

[OnDoutside]

26. Yes, but not for Congresswoman Omar.

[Justice]

17. Why did she sign a letter YESTERDAY pledging to respect restrictions?

That's the part that has me confused.

[malaise]

19. Maybe, just maybe she thought seeing her 90+ year old grandmother

was more important. Thankfully she had a rethink.

[Marengo]

22. So, her political agenda is more important?

[malaise]

24. Sometimes principle wins out

it doesn't have to be political.
Why should anyone agree to restrict her/his comments to please authoritarians?
If they were accepting me (to save face) but not the other person I was traveling with, I too would make a political decision and cancel.

[AncientGeezer]

43. Family is 2nd to politics? That sucks.

If my G'mom lived in Dumpster Tower....I'd go see her.

[StarfishSaver]

45. Maybe her grandmother told her to stand on principle and not to come

I think that's what my grandmother would have done.

[StarfishSaver]

56. Neither one of us has any idea what her motivation was/is

[obamanut2012]

33. "political agenda"?!

[Mc Mike]

57. It's for All the grandmothers, including hers.

[cwydro]

23. Sorry, but I'd do ANYthing to see my grandmother or mother again.

I don’t know how close she is to her, but she’ll regret that.

[AncientGeezer]

31. Yep....no amount of politics would keep me from that if it were possible.

My Mom died in '16 and my grandmother in '74 but if I had to crawl over molten glass, butt nekkid, for 1 more visit....I'm there in 3 seconds.

[cwydro]

32. My mom in 17.

I hear ya.

[AncientGeezer]

41. Sorry cwy...Mom loss sucks.

[Skittles]

35. I agree

this entire episode has been sickening

[cwydro]

38. I agree.

And saddening.

[Jose Garcia]

30. Perhaps she was trying to embarrass Israel and assumed they would refuse

[obamanut2012]

34. Yeah, no

[UniteFightBack]

37. There is certainly some sort of reason to profusely ask to be let in on humanitarian grounds and

then they agree and then you say oh wait no forget it...my principals just kicked in.

I don't understand it.

[cwydro]

39. Principles, but yeah, I agree.

This is not a good look for her.

[Justice4Jeb]

47. IKR

What about the figs! Weren't they planning on going fruit picking? Hope the grandma isn't too sad, maybe she'll make a statement or visit her in the states.

[MichMan]

53. I didn't understand it either. If she didn't want to go , why did she ask ?

It appears that she thought her request to visit her grandmother would be rejected and would make Israel look bad. When they agreed, she did a 180 and changed her mind.

After originally being denied entry, she wrote a letter with official Congressional letterhead requesting a visit to see her grandmother and specifically stating...

" I would like to request admittance to Israel to visit my relatives and specifically my grandmother who is in her 90's and lives in Beit Ur al-Fouqa. This could be my last opportunity to see her. I will respect any restrictions and will not promote boycotts against Israel during my visit. "

After Israel agreed, she accepted the offer, and then the very next day changed her mind and stated now she wasn't going stating;

"Silencing me & treating me like a criminal is not what she wants for me. It would kill a piece of me. I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in--fighting against racism, oppression & injustice."

[UniteFightBack]

55. I honestly also don't understand

saying FUCK ALL and going to see your grandmother. Maybe I feel that way because my grandmothers/grandfather and parents all died when I was young. I envy anybody who has an opportunity to see their grandparent and I don't understand why you would just toss that opportunity away.

[UniteFightBack]

36. I read her letter which was almost begging to go see her grandmother. Which I understand, it's

your grandmother, your family. I don't understand them saying yes and then her cancelling. I don't think that looks good nor does it make sense.

[cwydro]

54. Not a fan of this congress critter.

This has turned me off her big time.

[Mc Mike]

59. She's doing this for All the grandmothers, including hers.

[SCVDem]

21. Congress needs to start discussing

the removal of all military aid to Bibi.

I am sure that will get the attention of many people here and there.

You WILL NOT deny entry to any member of our congress! Okay, Steve King you can.

I don't like the tone of Israels correspondence in this matter.

It sounds just like tRumpspeak.

They do know he only has 39% support at the most, right?

[FBaggins]

28. Not likely to happen

No Republican would back such a move and there are far too many pro-Israel Democrats for it to even come up for a vote, let alone pass.

[DeltaLitProf]

40. What she can't say

. . . is that she suspects something bad might happen to her and to her family if she went ahead with the trip under these circumstances.

[StarfishSaver]

46. That's what I suspect

If that leg of the trip was purely a humanitarian trip to visit family, she would not be traveling on official House business and probably would not have been accorded the courtesies and protections given to a Member in an official delegation.

[UniteFightBack]

48. If she thinks/suspects that then that is exactly what she should say. nt

[AncientGeezer]

50. Excellent point

[guillaumeb]

51. She would be treated as a second class citizen. eom

[myohmy2]

52. +1

...

[EndGOPPropaganda]

62. With you, malaise

I am Jewish and a Jewish home land is very important to me.

But I am very opposed to this Israeli administration. Screw Netanyahu and his fascists.

[JonLP24]

63. Israel, Trump, and Netanyahu look bad

Not Talib.