By Frank Watson
Freelance Columnist 

Entitled to Agitate

 

August 29, 2019



To tweet to not to tweet, that is the question. I have found over my considerable years that when you have nothing to add, you should keep your mouth shut. Our president seems to have missed that lesson. When Congresswomen Tlaib and Omar were planning their trip to Israel, he had nothing to add, but he did anyway. He tweeted something silly about allowing the two congresswomen to visit Israel would be a sign of weakness. A sign of weakness for whom? The liberal press immediately condemned the president for picking on two “women of color” and influencing Israel to refuse them entry. I wonder how much influence President Trump has over approval or disapproval of Israeli travel visas. When he weighed in, however, he made a big deal out of a non-event.

Israel is a country under siege and has been for over 70 years. They continue to be threatened from all sides as well as from within. Eradication of Israel is national policy for neighbors on all sides. They have terrorist groups living within their borders whose sole purpose is to create chaos. Israel, Judea, Palestine (whatever you want to call it) has been a war zone for 4,000 years and shows no sign of letting up. They must, therefore, play by different rules. I had a taste of those rules several ago while I was in the Air Force and traveled to and from the Middle East. I had two diplomatic passports, one used only for Israel and another for other countries. Some countries refused entry if documents showed you had ever been to Israel. I found myself in Saudi Arabia with an administrative error in my documents. I spent a couple very uncomfortable hours at gunpoint. It was a scene right out of an old black and white spy movie, lights in my face, shadows in the background, the whole bit. I was finally stuffed in the back door of a Pan Am plane for New York and told not to come back to Saudi Arabia. They play by different rules in that part of the world.

So it should have been no surprise when Congresswomen Tlaib and Omar were refused entry into Israel. They have laws against political demonstrations. They frequently turn ugly. Tlaib and Omar are outspoken critiques of Israel and probably would have been denied entry with or without presidential tweets. Israeli policy denies entry to antisemitic agitators, which the two congresswomen certainly are. I was a bit surprised, however, when Representative Tlaib was granted permission to visit her grandmother on humanitarianism grounds. They asked her to refrain from anti-government activities while in Israel as a condition for entry. She refused. I guess she didn’t want to see her grandmother all that bad. Last week Representatives Tlaib and Omar called a press conference to demand Congress sanction Israel for imposing travel restrictions. I was surprised to find some members of Congress not only sympathetic, but actually leaning toward sanctioning Israel. All in all, Tlaib and Omar got what they wanted. It would appear their only purpose was to stir things up.

Why is it that we seem to believe agitators have special rights? Mandy Morris, from Spokane, was the national teacher of the year a few years ago. Since then, she has joined the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). This impressively named group actually has no official association with anything. During the summer break, the AFT decided to go to an immigrant detention center in McAllen, Texas, to determine if children’s educational needs were being met. When they were denied entry, they notified the press and held an all night “vigil” outside the center. Their only real purpose was to stir things up to advance their views. I’m reminded of my last Air Force Assignment at Minot Air Force Base. Political demonstrators would call, and we would meet them at the back gate so they could protest for the media. It was all for show. Everyone would get in position, the cameras would roll and the protesters would wave their signs and yell. When the cameras stopped, we would all shake hands and go on our way. We didn’t have to accommodate the agitators; it was just easier that way.

Immigration detention centers have a job to do. They don’t allow entry for agitators. Israel has special circumstances. They don’t allow entry for agitators.

(Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Colonel and a long time resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free lance columnist for over 18 years.)

 

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