U.S. Issues Visa Ban on Israelis and Palestinians Accused of West Bank Violence

The United States announced new visa restrictions that would target both Palestinians and Israelis who are believed to be involved in violence in the West Bank.

The immediate family members of those implicated in the attacks may also be subject to the visa restrictions, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday.

Read More

Omar Says There’s ‘No Way in Hell’ She Will Attend Israeli President’s Congressional Address

Rep. Ilhan Omar says there is “no way in hell” that she will attend Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s joint address to Congress and that he should not even be invited to speak.

“There is no way in hell I am attending the joint session address from a President whose country has banned me and denied @RashidaTlaib the ability to see her grandma,” Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, tweeted Wednesday.

Read More

Netanyahu Announces Coalition Deal to Return to Power

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday announced that he had negotiated a coalition framework with supportive parties to allow him to return to power.

Israel’s longest serving prime minister will soon lead a coalition of six parties on a right-wing platform, the New York Times reported. Many establishment media outlets, including the Times, have bemoaned his return to power and warned that his victory could signal a drift away from democracy for the Jewish nation.

Read More

Rocky Road for Ben and Jerry’s as Company Ends Boycott in Israel

Ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry’s ended a boycott of the West Bank after a local franchise took over the brand, its parent company Unilever announced Tuesday.

“Ben & Jerry’s in Vermont no longer has any authority over Avi. They can’t stop him from selling Ben & Jerry’s ice cream,” Alyza Lewin, president of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, which represented Zinger, told The Times of Israel.

Read More