Prince William in Jaffa Image by Getty Images

(JTA) — A reporter for The Associated Press was prevented from covering Prince William’s visit to the Israeli prime minister’s residence because security guards detained him over questions regarding his ethnic origin.

Nebi Qena, a television producer, was held at the entrance to the residence for 45 minutes by security guards who asked about his ethnic origin and whether he was a Muslim, according to an AP article about the incident. The delay kept him from covering the event.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that it would investigate the incident, which it said was caused by “human error.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“Entrance to the Prime Minister’s Office facilities requires a stringent security examination,” the statement said. “We regret any distress or discomfort. This incident was caused by human error and will be investigated and the necessary changes will be made immediately.”

Qena, who is Albanian, has worked for AP for a decade, including three years covering Israel. He was accredited for the event and had received confirmation in advance that he would be allowed to enter.

“The Associated Press decries this blatant ethnic and religious profiling of an AP journalist and calls on the prime minister’s office to cease such biased practices immediately,” said AP’s media relations director, Lauren Easton, according to the article.

The Foreign Press Association called the incident “disgraceful and indefensible,” and added that journalists in Israel have previously been subject to strip searches and invasive personal questions from security guards.

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount