WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, Racism, and Intolerance for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, released the following statement:

“I disagree adamantly with Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) in regards to our policy toward the State of Israel and the BDS movement that seeks to marginalize a strong ally of the United States. However, I also disagree adamantly with the highly political move to bar two Members of the United States Congress from visiting Israel, the only functioning democracy in the Middle East. It was wrong for the Prime Minister of Israel to block the American lawmakers. It is in Israel’s interest for these critics to see this vibrant democracy and talk to Israelis firsthand. It was even more egregious that the President of the United States interfered in this process for his own political purposes. President Trump continues his attempts to use every opportunity to turn the historically bipartisan support for Israel into a political wedge. For the sake of our strong, longstanding bilateral relationship, Prime Minister Netanyahu should not play into such blatant manipulation.”

###