In the midst of the hot takes offered up by the 2020 Democrat candidates when the two anti-Semitic U.S. congresswomen were denied entry into Israel, the guy at the front of the pack was quickly reminded that former President Obama’s administration made a similar decision.

Joe Biden posted a tweet meant to criticize the Israeli government’s decision. He said he is a supporter of Israel but no one should be denied entry into a democratic state over “ideas”. “No democracy should deny entry to visitors based on the content of their ideas”, he said.

I have always been a stalwart supporter of Israel—a vital partner that shares our democratic values. No democracy should deny entry to visitors based on the content of their ideas—even ideas they strongly object to. And no leader of the free world should encourage them to do so. — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 15, 2019

Under normal circumstances, this would be a reasonable opinion from an American accustomed to First Amendment rights. In the case of congresswomen Tlaib, however, the fact that an organization that is known for supporting the BDS movement and the elimination of Israel was sponsoring her trip certainly played a role in the decision. When it became clear that Tlaib’s motivation was to go to Israel and provoke controversy on behalf of Palestine, it shouldn’t be surprising that denial of entry was made.

Hey, remember that time that the Obama administration made a similar decision? As a matter of fact, the Obama administration made a similar move in 2012 when the State Department denied entry to a member of the Israeli Knesset. Ben Shapiro quickly reminded Biden he was vice-president when that happened.

Remember that time the Obama administration barred a member of Israeli Knesset from entering the United States in 2012? Because you were vice president at the time. https://t.co/kBl47NJ9Tn — Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 15, 2019

In that case, the person denied a visa to enter the United States to attend a conference was Michael Ben Ari. The reason given was that, according to the State Department, Ben Ari had ties to a terrorist group. This idea centered around Ben Ari’s conservative views and actions. He follows Kahanism ideology which means he believes that Arabs shouldn’t be living in Israel and shouldn’t have voting rights in Israel. The Kach party has been banned by the Israeli government and the U.S. State Department has labeled it a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

Michael Ben Ari’s denial of entry would fall into the same category as Tlaib’s since both were denied due to their political statements. Yet Biden only voiced objection to one and that happened in the course of his Democrat primary campaign. Biden didn’t personally make the decision in 2012, of course, but I am surprised he weighed in as he did, given the dreadful relationship the Obama administration had with Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu in particular.

At the time of Ben Ari’s denial of entry, the President of the Knesset, Reuven Rivlin voiced his opposition.

Shapiro was referring to an incident in 2012 in which Israeli Knesset Member Michael Ben Ari was denied an entry visa by then-President Obama’s State Department who claimed he had ties to a terrorist group. President Reuven Rivlin responded to the ban, calling it “an assault on the Knesset as a whole.” Rivlin said, ”The United States’ allegation that an MK is a terrorist is unacceptable.” It is also noteworthy that despite garnering more than 70 percent of the Jewish vote in his elections, Obama, with Biden at his side, pursued policies that were anti-Israel including a deal greenlighting Iran’s nuclear program at the same time the country was ringing with calls of “Death to Israel and America” and running tests of intercontinental missiles with “Death to Israel” painted on their nose-cones.

The organization sponsoring Tlaib and Omar is MIFTAH, an anti-Israel propaganda group founded by Haneen Ashrawi. The group organizes junkets to introduce U.S. politicians to the region and their propaganda. For example, in 2016 Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) was caught calling Jews “termites” in a speech a few months after one such trip to Israel with MIFTAH. You may remember Johnson as the congressman who voiced his concern that Guam may tip over and capsize if it becomes over-populated.

So, if the outrage is over Israel denying entry to members of Congress, that argument can quickly be overruled because of the intentions of the politicians who were denied. Tlaib made her intention perfectly clear in a tweet Friday. When she was granted entry to visit her elderly grandmother – the reason for her trip, she claimed – Rep. Tlaib said nevermind.

Silencing me & treating me like a criminal is not what she wants for me. It would kill a piece of me. I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in–fighting against racism, oppression & injustice. https://t.co/z5t5j3qk4H — Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) August 16, 2019

A visit to see Grandma was just an excuse and it looks like Tlaib hates Israel more than she loves her elderly grandparent. It’s all about Palestine, not America with her. Tlaib is milking it for all the political capital she can get with her supporters. Rep. Omar made the same claims as Tlaib – they were going to witness “the occupation” of Palestine.

Let’s be clear: the goal of our trip was to witness firsthand what is happening on the ground in Palestine and hear from stakeholders —our job as Members of Congress. But since we were unable to fulfill our role as legislators, I am sharing what we would have seen. (THREAD) — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019

I agree with Ed’s conclusion that ended his article Friday: “Tlaib’s a lying provocateur, who’s now been caught in her own trap.” Tlaib was caught and exposed herself and her intentions. Sleepy Joe Biden allowed himself to get involved because he’s in a campaign now.

I’ll end with this – we’ve been pondering the memory lapses of good old Joe on the campaign trail and enjoying the entertainment of his verbal gaffes, too. Well, he did it again. Friday night during a fundraiser in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware he got confused about in which state he delivered remarks recently attacking President Trump on his Charlottesville statement.

At one point, the former vice president referenced his own speech in Burlington, Iowa last week when he accused the president of “fueling a literal carnage” in the country with his rhetoric, but initially said the speech took place in “Burlington, Vermont.” Biden immediately corrected himself to say he delivered those remarks in “Burlington, Iowa.”

Not normally a big deal with most candidates and he quickly corrected himself according to the pool report but Joe is a known gaffe machine. It’s just further proof that he can’t speak without gaffes, even the most simple of facts get mixed-up. And, if I were Biden, I wouldn’t be reminding everyone within earshot that the whole basis of his campaign is based on a trope. Despite what Biden and fellow Democrats say, President Trump did denounce white supremacists and the neo-Nazis in the Charlottesville march.