The furor over a trip by Cong. Rashida Tlaib (Democrat of Michigan) to Israel (about which I wrote an article today, "How Trump Put Netanyahu in an Untenable Position"), raises the topic of Israeli policy.
Israel has a history of excluding political opponents, including such prominent Americans as Norman Finkelstein in 2008 and Noam Chomsky in 2010. Others not allowed into the country (as documented by Seth Frantzman) include at least 56 "Flytilla" activists in 2012, Garry Spedding in 2014, Makarim Wibisono in 2015, Isabel Piri in both 2016 and 2018, Raed Jarrar in 2017, and Fouad Ahmad Assadi in 2019. Lara Alqasem was detained at the airport in 2018 but eventually let in.
In 2017, this policy became law, with the passage of complex legislation that bans any foreigner "who knowingly issues a public call for boycotting Israel that ... has a reasonable possibility of leading to the imposition of a boycott – if the issuer was aware of this possibility." This ban also includes calls to boycott any Israel institutions (a reference to universities) or "any area under its control" (a reference to West Bank towns). The law permits exceptions.
My take: It's only common sense that a state can exclude avowed enemies, enemies who wish for the destruction of the country. But this should be signaled in advance, not when a traveler has already arrived. (August 16, 2019)
