Rights Group Likens Israel’s ‘BDS Blacklist’ to South Africa’s Apartheid Regime

Israel's legislation sees campaigners fined or jailed and anti-Semites. (Photo: File)

Israel’s “BDS blacklist” of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and members who will be banned from entering the country and which was released on Sunday was strongly condemned by rights organizations and likened to the defunct apartheid regime in South Africa.

Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan announced the list of 22 NGOs from Europe, the United States, South America, and Africa whose employees and/or members are banned from entering Israel due to their alleged support of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign. With this move, the Israeli government aims to further stifle the global movement against the occupation.

Hassan Jabareen, general director of Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, condemned the Israeli government’s ban, saying it “arbitrarily places draconian measures on foreign visitors” and “restricts the ability of Israeli citizens and Palestinian residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) to exercise their rights of association for the purposes of family unification, for employment, and for cultural and political exchange.”

Jabareen said in a statement that,

 the “ban is an overt violation of the constitutional rights of Israeli citizens and the rights guaranteed to Palestinian residents of the OPT under international humanitarian and human rights law. This move is reminiscent of South Africa’s apartheid regime which also prepared blacklists in order to punish people and prevent the entry of those opposed to its racist policies.”

The Entry to Israel Law (Amendment No. 27) (Denying a Visa and Residency Permit for Advocates of Boycotting Israel), prevents foreign nationals or non-residents who have publicly expressed support for the BDS campaign from entering Israel.

The list of organizations now banned by Israel includes:

AFPS (The Association France Palestine Solidarité)

BDS France

BDS Italy

ECCP (The European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine

FOA (Friends of Al-Aqsa)

IPSC (Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign)

Norge (The Palestine Committee of Norway)

Palestinakomitee

PGS (Palestine Solidarity Association in Sweden)

Palestinagrupperna i Sverige

PSC (Palestine Solidarity Campaign)

War on Want

BDS Kampagne

AFSC (American Friends Service Committee)

AMP (American Muslims for Palestine)

Code Pink

JVP (Jewish Voice for Peace)

NSJP (National Students for Justice in Palestine)

USCPR (US Campaign for Palestinian Rights)

BDS Chile

BDS South Africa

BNC (BDS National Committee)

(Wafa, PC, Social Media)

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