Israel Supreme Court allows expulsion of human rights activist
By Steve Hendrix and Ruth Eglash
November 5, 2019
JERUSALEM -- Israel's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the government could expel the head of Human Rights Watch's Israel and Palestine office after accusing him of supporting boycotts against the country.
The ruling represents the likely culmination of the protracted effort to expel Omar Shakir, a U.S. citizen, and marks an escalation in Israel's determination to prevent critics from operating in the country under new laws that equate support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement (BDS) with challenging Israel's right to exist.
Others have been denied entry visas under the laws, including two U.S. congresswomen in August, [1] but Shakir, who first had his work permit revoked in May, would be the first to be expelled. He has 20 days to leave the country.
Human Rights Watch has condemned the effort to remove its local chief, arguing that Shakir's pro-boycott sentiments were gleaned from social media posting during his college years and were not part of his work in Israel. Activists noted that Israel's action would put on a shortlist of undesirable countries that have expelled its activists.
"Denying entry to or, worse, deporting people from a country because they are or were in their past critical of its governmental policies is a classic feature of authoritarian regimes," Michael Sfard, Shakir's attorney, said after Israel's Interior Ministry announced its announced its intent to remove his client.
HRW's Jerusalem office said Shakir was reviewing the ruling and would respond soon.
Arab lawmakers condemned the action. Heba Yazbak, an Arab Israeli member of the Knesset, said in a tweet that the move was intended to "repress and silence organizations that are defending Palestinian human rights and acting against the occupation. Only a state that has something to hide will act to deport human rights activists."
But Interior Minister Arye Dery said his action targeted Shakir as an individual, not Human Rights Watch as an organization that is still authorized to work in Israel and the Palestinian territories it controls.
"Anyone who works against the state should know that we will not allow him to live or work here," Dery told the newspaper Haaretz.
Shakir was initially denied a visa to work in Israel but the government relented, granting him a year-long work permit in 2017. In 2018, he was told his renewal had been denied under the anti-BDS law and was given two weeks to leave the country. [2]
"After a thorough investigation, it was found that in recent years, Mr. Shakir has worked consistently, prominently, and continuously to promote boycotts against the State of Israel and international companies investing in Israel," the Ministry said in a statement at the time.
Officials say the boycott campaign actively promotes Israel's demise and denies the country's basic right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state. Those who advocate BDS say their goal is to pressure Israel into complying with international law vis-a-vis its policies toward Palestinians. The movement discourages the purchase of Israeli goods, pressures international companies not to conduct business in Israel, and urges celebrities not to visit or perform in the country.