Florida’s two Republicans in the U.S. Senate parted ways on whether Israel did the right thing in banning two Democrats in the U.S. House who have been critical of that nation.
After Israel barred U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., from visiting, from his perch on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., stressed his disagreements with them but insisted Israel should have welcomed them. Israel has agreed to let Tlaib enter to visit her ailing grandmother but she has decided against visiting.
“I disagree 100 percent with Reps. Tlaib and Omar on Israel and am the author of the antiBDS bill we passed in the Senate,” Rubio noted. “But denying them entry into Israel is a mistake. Being blocked is what they really hoped for all along in order to bolster their attacks against the Jewish state.”
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., applauded President Donald Trump for calling on Israel to ban the two congresswomen from entering and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for making the decision to keep them out.
“I agree with Donald Trump and Netanyahu. Israel is a sovereign nation and they have no obligation to let in anti-Semitic congressional members into their country,” noted Scott. “We can never and should never tolerate anti-Semitism.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
