The first lesson of Alqasem concerns the Israeli attack on democracy

The first lesson of Alqasem concerns the Israeli attack on democracy

It is not for the first time that Israel's Supreme Court has saved the country. This time, by annulling a decision, supported by the government and a lower court, to prevent a young American student, Lara Alqasem, from entering the country while she was arrival with a perfectly valid visa.

Alqasem, who went to Israel to obtain a Master's degree in Human Rights at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, suddenly became an enemy of the Jewish state. Her so-called "crime" was to be a supporter of the BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) while she was at the bachelor's degree. When the dust falls on the sad tale of the Israeli government's efforts to prevent it from entering the country, the question that will probably remain for everyone is one posed by one of the Supreme Court justices who heard the case, who asked the following question: "How does this advance Israel's fight against the BDS?

There is only one answer to this question: this is not the case and it will not be the case. And we can add another question: how does it serve Israel? Treating a 22-year-old student who has or has not supported the BDS movement during her undergraduate studies is an enemy of the people is nothing less than a madness and an action bordering on panic. Despite all its efforts, the BDS movement has so far had very limited success. This is mainly due to its own weaknesses, particularly its ideology rather than its politics, and its elements that question not only the role of Israel in blocking a two-way solution States, but beyond the very right of a Jewish state to exist, not to mention the international conditions that currently favor Israeli politics.

It is here that the hysterical reaction of Israel is doomed to fail and plays in the hands of the BDS movement by giving it sufficient means to ask if Israel is a true democracy, while discouraging other young people from study in the country. By its own actions, the State of Israel invites prospective students to flee its universities, especially if they have been convicted on dubious "pro-Israel" websites overseeing the activities of the university. students that they consider hostile to Israel. The irony is that Alqasem, deciding to study in Israel, defies the call to boycott the Israeli university. The logic therefore is that she was welcomed with open arms. One could even suggest benefiting from VIP treatment – but certainly not 15 days of detention, as in this case. Inadvertently, the Israeli authorities behave like a local branch of the BDS movement.

And, let's face it, like many other young people with a developed sense of justice, equity and care of outsiders, Alqasem most likely opposes Israel's policy towards Palestine. However, she made the courageous decision, which will not fail to be unpopular with many of her contemporaries, to study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which is the second oldest university created by the Zionist movement, and in a city ​​at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But that, of course, was not enough for the Minister of Public Security, Gilad Erdan. In his clumsy attempt to get off the gigantic ramshackle structure created by those who arrested and detained Alqasem at the airport, he suggested that she would be allowed to enter the country if she "clearly and specifically states that She made a mistake in the past. and she now believes that supporting a boycott of Israel and the BDS is a mistake and is not legitimate and if she regrets her past in the past as a chapter leader of a boycott organization . "

The hysterical reaction of Israel is doomed to failure and enters the hands of the BDS movement

Yossi Mekelberg

So her solution was public humiliation: a kind of modern shameful march to the city square to atone for her past sins, otherwise she would not have the right to study in Israel. Erdan's interpretation of his role in protecting the public is a bad idea here to restrict freedom of expression. His role is to lead the police, not the police of the mind.

Alqasem, although there is no evidence that she represents a threat to anyone and although she arrived with a valid student visa, was deprived of her liberty for 15 days and treated as if she were one of Israel's fierce enemies. Erdan and his ilk cause irreparable harm to Israel's image and international reputation. They spread paranoia and fear, as if anyone linked to the BDS movement posed an existential threat to the country's future.

Professor Tallay Ornan of the Hebrew University said that this case was not just a personal problem. She said, "This is a declaration of war against what we are working for: expanding knowledge, freedom of information, recognition of others, and enlightenment." , we can only agree with this badessment.

Unfortunately for Alqasem, her first lesson on human rights in Israel was to spend more than two weeks in a detention center at Ben Gurion International Airport while she was engaged in a battle which should never have been brought before the courts. However, it is always a story with a happy ending (ish). Despite all the efforts of the Israeli government to considerably weaken the Supreme Court, it has proved to be a beacon of human rights and civil law by putting an end to the attacks of the authorities against the democratic foundations of the country. .

Alqasem will no longer be prevented from studying in one of Israel's most prestigious universities and acquiring the skills necessary for a lifetime career in the world of human rights. ;man; a world that scares many of those who in their daily lives prefer to violate these rights rather than protect them. She may have missed her first week of study, but she learned, like all of us, a great lesson that defending for what is right and just can give, even against all odds and against mighty powers, the right result .

• Yossi Mekelberg is Professor of International Relations at Regent's University in London, where he directs the International Relations and Social Sciences Program. He is also an badociate member of the MENA program at Chatham House. He regularly contributes to the international print and electronic media. Twitter: @YMekelberg

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