Netanyahu’s catch-22 over anti-BDS campaign

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will soon have to decide whether to allow a visit to Israel by the Americans Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, two Muslim congressional representatives from the Democratic Party. The women recently announced their plans to visit Israel and the Palestinian-controlled territories in the next few weeks. No matter what Netanyahu decides, it will be a bad decision.

If Netanyahu lets them in, he will be emptying an amendment to the Entry to Israel Law of any real substance. The amended law was intended to prevent supporters of boycotts of Israel from entering the country, so allowing them in would be the statute's death knell. If, on the other hand, he denies the two representatives entry, he could find himself in hot water with the Democratic Party and at the center of an international incident, even if President Donald Trump tweets his support for such as decision.