Alqasem Family via AP
American student Lara Alqasem traveled to Israel last Tuesday hoping to start a law degree at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, but she got stopped at the airport and up to today has not even gotten past the airport. Alquasem is of Palestinian descent and has been suspected to be associated with the international BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) movement. BDS has established numerous controversial boycotts against Israel to promote Palestinian rights and power. One of these boycotts includes encouraging musicians not to perform in Israel - I remember the artist Lorde last year stirring a lot of controversy over cancelling her concert in Israel.
Israel's government in response to BDS has passed legislation allowing them to refuse entry to "foreign nationals" that they believe are either harmful to Israel or are associated with BDS. Alqasem was about to be deported, but along with the Hebrew University, she is working to appeal the order, arguing that she has no affiliation with pro-Palestine groups such as BDS. However, the more heated issue is Israel's intolerance towards people of opposing viewpoints to maintain Israel's security and ideological/political purity at the expense of freedom of expression. Alqasem is expected to hear a verdict from a local court within the next couple of days.
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2 comments:
It surprises me on how far their affair has gone. I personally worry that these two nations will slowly destroy themselves. The accusation of a foreign student to be part of the BDS without a slight of evidence or investigation is far to ridiculous. One can see their point on how they are trying to prevent possible people with the same belief/ideals as the Palestinians.
I think it's no surprise that Israel reacted this way. The conflict between Israel and Palestine has been going on for decades, and each side believes they are correct. This mindset evokes each side to hate the other side. From this mindset, they generalize the foreign student as someone who is trying to cause harm to Israel, especially since she is of Palestinian descent. However, I do think the decision Israel made is unjustified and an overreaction without any proof/evidence that she is part of the BDS.
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