8 Jan, 2018
Global publicity follows Israel entry ban on 20 pro-Palestine groups
Jewish Voice for Peace, a prominent U.S.-based group of Jews battling the Israeli occupation of Palestine, is among a list of 20 global civil society movements whose activists will be barred from entering Israel.
It is the only Jewish group on the list released by the Strategic Affairs Ministry on 08 Jan and published by the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz. The newspaper, which has a much more fair and balanced approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said that members of the banned organisation “will not be allowed to enter the country due to their support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.”
Several of the gr0ups are revelling in the ban. The JVP’s Executive Director Rebecca Vilkomersen said she is “heartened by this indicator of the BDS movement’s growing strength.”
Another group on the ban is CODEPINK, a “women-led grassroots organization working to end U.S. wars and militarism, and support peace and human rights initiatives.”
CODEPINK said it “takes pride in being recognized as a staunch defender of Palestinian human rights alongside the other five US organizations that have also been banned.” It added: “Our response to the ban will be to increase all efforts to challenge Israeli policies of occupation and apartheid. We are certain that this ban will undermine its intended goal of covering up Israeli crimes against Palestinians and will help galvanize public opinion for freedom and justice in Palestine. We remain committed to using the BDS nonviolent tactic to reveal corporate complicity in Palestinian human rights violations.”
The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign called it “a badge of honour.”
The Ha’aretz report said the list primarily includes European and American organizations as well as groups from Latin America, a group from South Africa and an international umbrella organization.
The paper quoted the Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan as saying, “We have shifted from defense to offense. The boycott organizations need to know that the State of Israel will act against them and not allow [them] to enter its territory to harm its citizens. No country would have allowed critics coming to harm the country to entry it.”
Interior Minister Arye Dery, whose ministry is responsible for implementing the list, was quoted as saying: “These people are trying to exploit the law and our hospitality to act against Israel and to defame the country. I will act against this by every means.”
See the full list and read the Ha’aretz story here: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.833502
The publication of the list has only served to increase the profile of the 20 organisations and will lead to them getting more publicity and funding support. Here are some examples of the result:
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