Prominent Jewish-American activist, Ariel Gold, was yesterday denied entry into Israel over her links to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Gold was prevented from entering Israel when she landed at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport yesterday afternoon. She was held until 11 pm when she was informed that her entry had been refused despite holding the correct papers.
Ariel Gold arrived in Israel on a student visa, which was revoked at the airport. The interior minister says she tried to take advantage of the fact that she's Jewish to promote BDShttps://t.co/qZYstsKajq
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) July 1, 2018
Gold wrote on her Facebook page that
“I am in the Tel Aviv airport getting deported. I got a visa in advance to enter the country but they are refusing to honor it and are deporting me now.”
She had been intending to undertake a Jewish studies programme at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
I am in the Tel Aviv airport getting deported. I got a visa in advance to enter the country but they are refusing to honor it and are deporting me now.
Gepostet von Ariel Gold am Sonntag, 1. Juli 2018
Several high-profile Israeli ministers were involved in denying Gold’s entry. Public Security Minister, Gilad Erdan, recommended preventing her entry into Israel, after which Israeli Interior Minister, Arye Dery, revoked her student visa. Erdan wrote on Twitter that “whoever acts for a boycott of Israel and comes here to cause damage will not enter the country,” reported the Times of Israel.
Reminder: The State of Israel has, for many years, decided to refuse entry and deport human rights activists whilst cosying up to European antiSemites who hold positions of leadership. I experienced this 4.5 years ago and today Ariel Gold is going through similar. pic.twitter.com/L5Lj9Z2UnM
— Gary Spedding (@GarySpedding) July 1, 2018
Gold has a long history of activism and has been repeatedly targeted by Israeli authorities and the media. In 2017, she visited Hebron (Al Khalil) to monitor the military trial of Palestinian human rights activist Issa Amro.
In an interview with Haaretz, Gold said she had come “under attack” after Israel Hayom ran an article calling her admission into Israel a failure and alleging that she had tricked Israeli authorities to gain entry.
Ariel Gold is a wonderful activist who saw the horrors of the Palestinian life under Israeli apartheid, She is Jewish, she was denied – the reason: “using her Jewishness to promote human rights for Palestine”. Thank you Ariel, for speaking up so loud for Palestinian Rights. pic.twitter.com/opY1OdGgjW
— Issa Amro عيسى عمرو ?? (@Issaamro) July 2, 2018
Gold works as a campaign director for Code Pink, a left-wing NGO that works to end US-funded wars and occupations. She has previously been arrested in both Israel and the US for participating in protests against Israeli policies and is banned from visiting the Buraq (Western) Wall, situated in Jerusalem’s occupied Old City at the base of Al-Haram Al-Sharif compound after she was caught carrying political signs while entering the plaza.
Why did Israel deport Jewish mom and CODEPINK staffer @ArielElyseGold? Because she advocates for #palestine rights. https://t.co/EI8kCyROWE
— Medea Benjamin (@medeabenjamin) July 2, 2018
The move to bar Gold comes following the introduction of an Israeli law, in May 2017, which forbids entry visas or residency rights to foreign nationals who call for economic, cultural or academic boycotts of Israel or illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli government has cracked down on boycott advocates of late, with Security Minister Erdan attempting to label the BDS movement “terrorism” last month.
#Knesset Passes '#BDS Ban' Preventing Foreign Boycott Supporters from Entering Israel https://t.co/qVPIWgDJsM via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/ZrexhjXhCv
— Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) March 13, 2017
In January, Israel published a “blacklist” of 22 international NGOs “whose employees and/or members are banned from entering Israel due to their alleged support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.”
Israel's new gimmick, a map of "Hate" of BDS organizations globally (PT), means that the older "Four Sentences that Defeat #BDS" didn't work. Israel is trying everything to fight the global #BDS movement, but the only way to stop it is to end its apartheid rule over Palestinians. pic.twitter.com/tJfzFZeL6R
— Adalah-NY (@AdalahNY) June 23, 2018
General director of Adalah – The Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Hassan Jabareen, described the move as “reminiscent of South Africa’s apartheid regime” and “firmly condemn[ed] the Israeli government’s ban, which arbitrarily places draconian limits on foreign visitors.”
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
Israel is not the home for the Jewish people apparently but the home for CERTAIN Jewish people. Therefore, it is not a democracy at all. Not only is Israel intolerant of other ethnic groups but also intolerant of OTHER opinion. It is a fascist state and has no “shared values” with the Western democracies whatsoever. It is a heathen outpost of criminals who do everything they can to extort and persecute the people from whom they stole everything…including land, buildings and improvements, businesses, harbors, inventories, culture etc.