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JERUSALEM (Reuters) – An American student barred from Israel under a law against pro-Palestinian boycotters appealed on Sunday to the court's highest court, which suspended her deportation to the country. waiting for a discussion about the case.
Lara Alqasem, 22, went to Israel on October 2 with a student visa, but security officials denied her entry as president of a small local chapter. of Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Florida.
Since then, she has been in detention at the airport and is challenging this exclusion, with the support of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she was scheduled to begin a one-year MSc program on Sunday.
On Friday, the Tel Aviv District Court dismissed Alqasem's appeal. Alqasem's lawyers announced Sunday that she had filed a double petition with the Israeli Supreme Court to prevent her from being deported and to consider an ultimate remedy.
"A suspension has been pronounced against the deportation, and the appeal will be heard this week," said a spokesman for the court.
His case sparked a debate in Israel over whether democratic values were compromised by a 2017 law banning the entry of foreigners who publicly support the anti-Israel boycott, and whether a hard line against the student would hurt ultimately the image of the country.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's position was similar to that of other countries.
"If … you are vehemently against the United States and are trying to enter the United States, there is a good chance you will not be allowed in," he told reporters. Christian journalists. "This is also the case of many European democracies. This is true of the democracy called Israel. "
His government said the activities of Students for Justice included a campaign to boycott Sabra's hummus, manufactured and sold in the United States by a company owned in part by an Israeli company.
Israel considers these groups, as well as the wider movement of boycott, divestment and sanctions, not only as an attempt to isolate it from the occupation that the Palestinians seek, but also as a campaign in favor of its destruction.
Alqasem, of Palestinian origin, ceased its activities within the Students for Justice group several months before the anti-boycott law came into effect, and pledged not to participate in any activities. boycott in Israel and did not intend to go to the West Bank, his lawyers said.
The Israeli Supreme Court rarely accepts appeals concerning administrative cases settled by lower courts, said Alqasem's lawyer, Leora Bechor. "It requires unique circumstances," she told Reuters.
Bechor said that Alqasem could have chosen to return to the United States, but had chosen to remain in detention at the airport, where she had only intermittent access to telephone and voice calls. he was denied the right to read and write material.
Additional reports by Maayan Lubell; edited by Emelia Sithole-Matarise
