RELEASE: MN House Republicans urge Omar to reconsider support for BDS movement

ST. PAUL, MN—On Thursday, The Israeli government announced that Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar would be denied entry into Israel as a direct result of her support for the anti-Israel, anti-Semitic Boycott Divest Sanction (BDS) movement in accordance with Israeli law.

House Republicans sent a letter late last month to Omar urging her to reconsider her support for BDS and House Resolution 496, which implicitly invoked Nazi Germany in defense of the BDS movement. The letter, signed by more than 50 members of the Minnesota House Republican Caucus, was led by Rep. Ron Kresha, R-Little Falls, who chief authored Minnesota's law banning the state of Minnesota from entering into contracts with companies who support the BDS movement, and House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, R-Crown. A copy of that letter can be found here.

"Congresswoman Omar is once again making headlines because of her support for a movement that Democrats and Republicans agree is anti-Semitic," said Rep. Kresha. "Congresswoman Omar was right when she said just last year that BDS is "not helpful to getting that two-state solution" and that BDS "stops the conversation" that could lead to peace between Israel and Palestine. She should reflect on her own statements about BDS, and reconsider her support for this anti-Semitic movement."

The Minnesota Legislature passed anti-BDS legislation in 2017 with broad bipartisan support, securing 103 votes in the House, 57 votes in the Senate, and was ultimately signed into law by former Governor Dayton.

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