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The United States said on Wednesday that it supported freedom of expression and was in touch with a female Florida student who refused entry to Israel for alleged support for a pro-boycott campaign. Palestinian.
The State Department said that the US embassy in Jerusalem was offering consular assistance to 22-year-old Lara Alqasem, who had chosen to challenge her ban on entering Israel and had been detained for a long time. week.
"In general, we value freedom of expression even in cases where we do not share the political views expressed and this is the case," Robert Palladino, spokesman for the department, told reporters. of the US state.
"Our strong opposition to the boycott and sanctions of the state of Israel is well known," he said.
But he added, "Israel is a sovereign nation that can determine who enters."
Alqasem, whose father is of Palestinian origin, had planned to study human rights at the Hebrew University and had an Israeli visa, said his mother, Karen Alqasem, to Florida WMNF radio.
But Lara was arrested at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv and was questioned about the origin of her family name and the birthplace of her father, said her mother.
According to her mother, she was denied entry, which she denied, into a group of pro-Palestinian students from the University of Florida.
Last year, Israel passed a law banning the entry of supporters of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement, which advocates isolating the Jewish state about its treatment of Palestinians and inspires international advocacy action against South Africa in the era of apartheid.
Gilad Erdan, Israel's Minister of Homeland Security, said that Alqasem would be allowed to stay and take her place at the university if she publicly denounced the BDS movement.
Israeli Minister of Homeland Security, Gilad Erdan (L, photographed in July 2017), said that the American student Lara Alqasem would be allowed to stay and take her place at the university if she publicly denounced a pro-Palestinian group of which she is allegedly a member.
