BDS Activists Blocked From Flight To Israel

Rabbi Alissa Wise Image by Jewish Voice For Peace

By JTA July 25, 2017

(JTA) — Five members of an interfaith delegation to Israel were prevented from boarding their flight from Washington DC due to their activism on behalf of the BDS movement.

The Jewish Voice for Peace organization said in a statement Monday that the delegation tried to check into its Lufthansa flight at Dulles International Airport, only to be told that Israeli government had ordered the airline not to let the five passengers board.

Israel’s Knesset in March amended the Law of Entry to prevent leaders of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement from being allowed into Israel. The amendment applies to organizations that take consistent and significant action against Israel through BDS, as well as the leadership and senior activists of those groups.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on the report.

Three of the activists were from JVP, including a rabbi; the other two members of the delegation prevented from boarding the flight were Rick Ufford Chase, of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship in Rockland County, New York, and Shakeel Syed, a national board member with American Muslims for Palestine in Los Angeles.

The other 18 participants on the Interfaith Network for Justice in Palestine delegation arrived in Israel Monday morning, and were allowed to enter after several hours of detention and questioning, according to JVP.

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