Airlines Cancel Tickets of ‘Fly-tilla’ Protesters

By Haaretz April 13, 2012

Dozens of pro-Palestinian activists were prevented from boarding Israel-bound flights on Friday, due to the fact that their names appeared on a blacklist distributed by the Israeli government to a number of European airlines.

The activists were on their way to participate in a fly-in protest against Israeli construction in West Bank settlements, scheduled to take place on Sunday. Last July, a similar “fly-in” took place, with over 300 international activists arriving in Israel, and 120 detained.

In the letter, which was obtained by Haaretz, Amnon Shmueli of the Interior Ministry’s Population and Immigration Authority writes, “In light of statements by radical pro-Palestinian activists indicating that they intend to arrive on commercial flights from abroad, in order to disturb the peace and confront security forces at Ben Gurion International Airport and at other points of friction, it has been decided to forbid their entrance, in accordance with my authority according to the Law of Entry to Israel.”

Referring to a list of names of known pro-Palestinian activists whom Israel suspects will attempt to enter the country over the weekend, which was included in the letter, Shmueli writes, “In light of the above, you are requested not to board them onto Israel-bound flights.

The letter then goes on to threaten punitive steps if the airlines fail to comply with Israeli demands. “A failure to uphold this directive is liable to lead to leveling of sanctions against the airlines.”

“This is only a partial list, and additional lists will be sent subsequently. There is a high probability that the entry of additional activists will be prevented, whose names we cannot pass on ahead of time,” the letter continues.

For more, go to Haaretz.com

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’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO