Israel Bans Omar/Tlaib

[Dill]

(08-16-2019, 05:55 PM)Bengalzona Wrote: Initially, I tended to side with Tlaib on this as I think it is narrow-minded and bad policy to refuse a visit from a politician from an allied country, especially if they have criticized your country. You bypass the opportunity to demonstrate to them how they are wrong about you (and possibly make people start to wonder if maybe they were right). Even Ghaddafi and Kim Jung Il figured that out eventually.

Now I have to criticize Tlaib for the same reason. When you go to another country, you are a guest. When you go to Japan, it is customary to take your shoes off in a lot of places. In Saudi Arabia, apparently you are supposed to mouth kiss and hold hands with the Prince and King when you are hanging around them. In Israel, everyone is expected to observe Shabbat at sundown on Fridays. And if they ask you not to publicly request a boycott of their country, that sure sounds pretty reasonable to me.

And now, everyone loses because stubborn people refuse to sit down and discuss their differences for political hack reasons. What f***ing genius thinks that is a good idea?

Ultimately, it is all one big political horse and pony show. Nothing to see here folks.

B! always glad when you pop up on the international threads. Question now:

When you go to the West Bank, an occupied territory, whose "guest" are you?

My take--In this case, Congresswomen were invited to Israel (and apparently Israeli-controlled territory) in what amounts to a PR move. The goal of the Israeli state is political--to manage international perception (especially American) of the occupation, through impressions created for its congressional "guests."

Not sure why Tlaib, whose family suffers under the occupation, should be expected to comply with this. Pretty sure Bibi/the Likud are unwilling to renounce control and illegal settlement of the West Bank. The less Americans know about this situation, the better, from their perspective.

So the case is not analogous to observing (or refraining from offending) local customs. Also, it is too soon to say everyone loses. There can still be a winner, unless a new Trump tweet diverts public discussion away from the myriad political questions raised by his apparent instigation of Bibi's ban.