A well-known American Jewish journalist, Peter
Beinart, was detained for questioning by Israel’s secret service, at Ben Gurion
airport. The observant Jew from New-York was on his way with his wife and two
young kids to celebrate a family event in Israel.
In his article I Was Detained at Ben-Gurion Airport
Because of My Beliefs , Beinart writes “An Israeli government led by men who respect
neither liberal democracy nor the rule of law now knows it has kindred spirits
in Washington. […] Israel, like America, is getting uglier. And yet I
can’t imagine not coming here. I’ll keep doing so until they bar me outright.”
Israel’s security services have been questioning more and more people
about their political views. This would not have become a public issue and
excited the Israeli as well as Jewish media outside Israel, had the detained
not been well-known and influential. That influential, that Bibi Netanyahu
half-apologised, by explaining that Beinart’s questioning had been an
administrative mistake by a local officer.
Beinart:
ReplyDeleteNever mind Mr. Beinart, to whom no real harm was done, who is quite capable of fending for himself, and the questioning of whom was described apologetically by the Prime Minister - no less - as a mistake.
The issue is a wider one: Why shouldn`t a country be entitled to have a word with individuals who call for boycotts of, divestments in, and sanctions against that country?
If these individuals wish to harm it economically or to create provocations that might lead to bloodshed, they can be considered enemies of the people (of that country).
Consequently that country must reserve the right to refuse entry if and when they wish to visit it.
If that country happened to be Turkey, for instance, a valued member of NATO, then the fate of such individuals would be jail without trial. They would be referred to as terrorists.
Conversely, in Israel they are called "activists" and those who fund them are called "non-Government organizations". All they have to be afraid of is an interview and the possibility of being sent back to where they came from.