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JERUSALEM – In an innovative case, Israel stopped a US student for one week at its international airport, accusing it of supporting a Palestinian-led boycott campaign against the Jewish state.
The case highlights Israel's concerns about the boycott movement and the considerable efforts made to stop it. The grassroots campaign has made significant progress in recent years, particularly among university students and millennials.
Lara Alqasem, a 22-year-old American citizen accompanied by Palestinian grandparents, landed at Ben Gurion airport last Tuesday with a valid student visa. But she was prevented from entering the country and ordered her deportation, on the basis of suspicion she supports the boycott.
An Israeli court ordered that she remain in detention while she appeals. The one week detention is the longest in a boycott – related case, and it was not clear right away Tuesday that a final decision would be made.
Alqasem, of the suburbs of Fort Lauderdale in the Southwest Ranches, Florida, is a former president of the Florida University section of Students for Justice in Palestine. The group is a branch of BDS movement, whose name comes from its calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.
BDS proponents said that by urging companies, artists and universities to break ties with Israel, they used non-violent means to resist unfair policies against Palestinians. Israel claims that the movement masks the grounds for delegitimation or destruction of the Jewish state.
"Lara has been the president of a chapter of one of the most extremist and hateful anti-Israeli BDS groups in the world," said Minister of Strategic Affairs Gilad Erdan, who is spearheading Israeli government's efforts against the boycott. "Israel will not allow entry to those who work to harm the country, whatever their excuse."
The ministry said that during Alqasem's participation in Students for Justice in Palestine, the club had pleaded for a boycott against Sabra Hummus, a brand of chickpea dip owned by Israel.
On Tuesday, Erdan proposed a compromise, stating in an interview on the radio that he would rethink his decision to deport her if she apologized and give up her support for the BDS.
"If Lara Alqasem hears tomorrow, out of her own voice, and not through all kinds of lawyers or statements that may be misinterpreted, claim that support for BDS is not legitimate and that it 's not. she regrets what she did, we will certainly review our position, "he said.
Last year, Israel promulgated a law prohibiting any foreigner from "knowingly issuing a public call for boycott of Israel" to enter the country. He has also identified 20 groups of activists from around the world whose members may be denied entry upon their arrival. Until now, he has blocked the entry of 15 people, according to the Ministry of Erdan.
The ministry uses a variety of sources to identify BDS activists, including informant councils and social media publications. The ministry says its suspicions were deepened after learning that Alqasem had recently removed all of its social media accounts.
In her appeal, Alqasem asserted that she had never actively participated in boycott campaigns and had promised the court not to promote them in the future.
"We are talking about someone who just wants to study in Israel, who is not boycotting anything," said his lawyer, Yotam Ben-Hillel. "She's not even part of the student organization anymore."
Alqasem is enrolled to study human rights at the Hebrew University of Israel in Jerusalem. The university has left its support behind her, announcing Monday that she would join the Alqasem call.
She also received a boost from her former Hebrew professor at the University of Florida, who described her as an exceptional and curious student. In a letter to the Israeli Haaretz newspaper, Dror Abend-David stated that she had "an open and positive attitude towards Judaism, Jews and the state of Israel" .
In an interview in Florida, her mother, Karen Alqasem, affirmed the tolerance and intellectual dynamism of her daughter.
"As far as I can remember, Lara dreamed of studying and knowing the country," she told the Associated Press. "She may have criticized some of Israel's policies in the past, but she respects Israeli society and culture, for her it is not a contradiction."
Her lawyer and a group of opposition lawmakers went to Alqasem and claimed that she was in safe, but mediocre, conditions. In a conversation with her daughter last Friday, Alqasem said that Lara had complained of a bedbug infestation in her cell. With her phone confiscated and her communication essentially restricted to calls with her lawyer, Lara felt "completely cut off from the world," she said.
In addition to the anti-BDS campaign, Israel has arrested or questioned a number of Jewish vocal critics, both Israeli and foreign, about their political views when they entered the country in recent months. These tactics, coupled with legislation limiting the influence of anti-occupation groups, have raised concerns that the nationalist government is attempting to stifle dissent.
The Ministry of Strategic Affairs said that it only dealt with BDS cases. The Shin Bet, which oversees security procedures at border crossings, says that it stops people solely for security issues, not their political views.
