BICOM

Israel’s Supreme Court yesterday delayed the deportation of Omar Shakir, Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) Israel director.

Shakir, a US citizen, appealed against a ruling of the Jerusalem District Court that upheld the decision of the Interior Ministry to deny him work and residency visas because of his support for a boycott of Israel. Shakir’s attorney, Michael Sfard, said the High Court issued an injunction allowing Shakir to remain in Israel for seven days. Sfard suggested to AFP that after the May 7 deadline, the High Court “could theoretically issue a new decision” on the case.

The Interior Ministry can now submit its response to the appeal which Shakir brought to the Supreme Court. The original Jerusalem court ruling upheld the Interior Ministry’s use of a new power, introduced in a 2017 law, to ban entry to foreign nationals who support a boycott of Israel.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) denied that they, or Shakir, support a boycott of Israel. HRW called the Jerusalem District Court’s ruling a “new and dangerous interpretation of the law,” saying it equated boycotting businesses operating in the West Bank to boycotting Israel.

The Israeli research centre NGO Monitor, which analyses the activity of NGOs in Israel said: “Shakir has been a consistent supporter of a one-state framework and advocate for BDS (boycotts, divestment, sanctions) campaigns… Shakir has called for BDS against companies with business activity over the 1949 Armistice line, seeking to have FIFA sanction the Israel Football Association and promoting the UN BDS Blacklist.”

Earlier this week the European Union called on Israel not to deport Shakir. A statement from the EU read: “We are concerned that, within the current political landscape, those on all sides who seek to bridge the gap between Israelis and Palestinians are undermined…In this regard, we urge Israel to allow Mr Shakir and Human Rights Watch to continue their human rights advocacy work unimpeded.”