Trump’s plans for Israel visit stir controversy after comments about Muslims

Reporting from Jerusalem —  Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s announced visit to Israel prompted an outpouring of outrage from both Jewish and Arab politicians Wednesday in the wake of his controversial call to ban Muslims from entering the United States.

Trump’s comments were already stirring debate in Israel even before he announced plans to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu there on Dec. 28, sending objections to the next level.

Trump had endorsed Netanyahu during a previous Israeli election campaign, professing to be a “big fan of Israel” and of Netanyahu himself. “There’s nobody like him, he’s a winner,” Trump said ahead of 2013 elections that saw Netanyahu win another stint as prime minister – as he did again this year.

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Netanyahu’s office said the meeting was scheduled two weeks ago, before Trump’s comments about Muslims. Netanyahu will meet with any candidate from any party who wishes to meet with him, his office said, although officials stressed this did not mean the prime minister agrees with their every statement.

Later the prime minister released a statement saying that his nation “respects all religions.”

“The state of Israel respects all religions and strictly guarantees the rights of all its citizens,” the statement said. “At the same time, Israel is fighting against militant Islam that targets Muslims, Christians and Jews alike and threatens the entire world.”

Israeli lawmakers were more direct. Thirty-seven legislators, both Jews and Arabs representing nearly one-third of the 120-member parliament, signed a letter demanding that Netanyahu publicly denounce Trump’s comments about Muslims and cancel the meeting until the American candidate retracts them.

While leaders worldwide were condemning the Republican candidate’s comments, “Netanyahu is giving him a warm embrace,” said lawmaker Michal Rozin of the opposition Meretz party, who initiated the letter.

“This racist should not be welcome in the Knesset,” tweeted Labor Party lawmaker Omer Bar-Lev, although it wasn’t clear if any plans had been made for Trump to visit Israel’s parliament.

Ahmad Tibi, an Arab Muslim lawmaker, appealed to Speaker Yuli Edelstein to prevent “the neo-Nazi” from entering the Knesset until the danger represented by “all the Trumps” is truly understood by all.

Another Muslim legislator, Issawi Frej, demanded that the interior minister bar Trump from entering the country altogether.

“As an Israeli citizen, I expect the state to treat racism against me as it does racism against Jews,” Frej told reporters. Israel would not allow a “Jew-hater to use it to peddle his political goods,” he said, and must take the same stand on Trump.

The Jerusalem Post quoted a source involved in the trip who said Trump’s staff was considering a visit to the Jerusalem holy site revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. A visit to the sensitive site, which houses Al Aqsa Mosque, against the backdrop of anti-Muslim comments, could prove volatile.

Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. and a member of Netanyahu’s coalition, cautioned that Israel must not “get dragged into the politics” of the U.S. presidential campaign but could not remain silent when an entire community was “maligned just for its faith.” Israel should host Trump as a candidate while expressing deep reservations over the offensive comments, he said.

The flap over Trump’s comments and planned visit to Israel comes as Israeli President Reuven Rivlin was set to meet President Obama in Washington on Wednesday.

Since taking office in July 2014, Rivlin has emerged as a vocal advocate of promoting equality between Jews and Arabs, combating racism and discrimination in Israel and taking steps to improve relations with Palestinians in the absence of a solution to the conflict.

Sobelman is a special correspondent.

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