Jewish activists are pressuring lawmakers to support a bill that bars Israel from detaining children with U.S. funds. “You said separating families does not protect U.S. security. That is also true in Israel at this moment and it’s our money that is paying for the Israeli military in very high amounts,” an activist challenged MA Rep. Stephen Lynch.

On August 27 Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin held a ceremony to officially sign a law allowing the state to refuse business from companies that boycott Kentucky trade partners, including Israel. The bill’s supporters hailed it as a way for the state to crack down on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

A week before Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib were barred from entering Israel and Palestine by Benjamin Netanyahu, a group of congressional staffers attended a tour of the area carried out by a former Israeli intelligence official. According to the itinerary filed with the House Ethics Committee, the staffers traveled to various sites on a 7-day excursion that featured lectures from an Israel Defense Forces base commander, a Palestinian billionaire who has worked alongside occupation forces, and an Israeli settler who advocates for the annexation of the West Bank.

A 17-year old Palestinian from Lebanon who was set to begin classes at Harvard University was denied entry into the United States on August 23. Ismail B. Ajjawi says he was questioned about the political posts of his friends before he was deported.

A bill that would have required all California high school students to take an ethnic studies course will be delayed for at least a year after pro-Israel groups complained that the curriculum failed to address anti-semitism and singled “Israel out for condemnation.” Some of the backlash was initiated by an organization that is funded by the Israeli government.

Democratic candidates for president love to criticize Netanyahu, but they don’t offer specifics on stopping him. Kirsten Gillibrand wants to hold Israel accountable for barring congresswomen from visiting, Bernie Sanders wants to leverage US aid “to end some of the racism that we have recently seen in Israel,” and Elizabeth Warren says, “Push hard.” But none of them has a plan.

The Democratic field for president wants to blame Donald Trump for Israel’s decision to bar Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from entering Israel, not Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli media is reporting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will bar Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) from entering Israel for a planned congressional delegation over their support for the BDS movement.

Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren were both questioned about their potential policies towards Israel this week by members of the progressive Jewish organization IfNotNow. Here’s what they said.

41 Democrats went to Israel…but they didn’t seem to want you to know it.