The Knesset passed a new law earlier this year banning active members of anti-Israel boycott campaigns from entering the country. Recently the regulation generated much outrage—even from some supporters of the Jewish state—because it was applied to five members of an interfaith delegation. Miriam Elman defends what she sees as sensible policy:
There’s a radical irony to the hysterical response [by the members of the delegation] to being barred from Israel, an irony no doubt lost on the boycotted boycotters. . . . But laying this aside, those who oppose the law are wrong. [It doesn’t] make it difficult for the vast majority of people who criticize Israel to get tourist visas. . . . To meet the criteria [for being barred from entry], one must hold a senior-level position in certain targeted organizations, be a key activist in the boycott movement, be a [public] figure who openly supports the boycott, or operate on behalf of the targeted organizations. . .
Rather than stifling free speech, [as its critics claim], the law is a long-overdue corrective to the absurd situation that’s developed in Israel in recent years, in which high-profile foreign nationals have routinely taken advantage of the country’s freedoms in order to work against it. . . .
Why would people who so detest Israel want to go there, study there, or screen their films there? . . . Prominent representatives of major BDS organizations who go to Israel, like the five hardcore BDS activists who were prevented from boarding their flight this past Monday, don’t arrive to do touristy things like creating life-long memories at the country’s holy sites, natural wonders, cultural venues, or world-class restaurants.
Instead, they visit so that they can engage in anti-Israel political activity and collect new material for delegitimizing the state and vilifying its people once they get back home. . . . More than a few can be found out and about harassing and obstructing IDF and security personnel at protests. Such activities go beyond simply “advocating for” a boycott.
Read more on Forward: http://forward.com/opinion/378406/seriously-boycotters-if-the-goal-of-your-visit-is-to-harm-israel-stay-home/