Israeli Supreme Court Greenlights Deportation Of Human Rights Watch Researcher

Israel’s supreme court on Tuesday upheld a government decision
to expel a senior Human Rights Watch official over his alleged
support of a boycott of the country, the ruling said.

Israel has sought to expel Omar Shakir, director for Israel and
the Palestinian territories for the New York-based rights group,
for more than a year.

It will now be up to the government whether to follow through
and deport Shakir, a US citizen, who brands the move a bid by
Israel to silence and delegitimise critics of its treatment of the
Palestinians.

“If it proceeds, I have 20 days to leave & it’ll join ranks
of Iran, N Korea & Egypt in blocking access for @hrw official,”
Shakir tweeted after the decision was announced, referring to
Israel.

It would be the first expulsion of its kind under a 2017 law
allowing the deportation of foreigners who support boycotting
Israel, though there have been cases of people being denied entry
under the measure.

Breaking: Israeli Supreme Court upholds my
deportation over my rights advocacy. Decision now shifts back to
Israeli gov; if it proceeds, I have 20 days to leave & it’ll
join ranks of Iran, N Korea & Egypt in blocking access for
@hrw official. We wont
stop. And we wont be the last https://t.co/Wf4FAyK2Qk^[1][2]

— Omar Shakir (@OmarSShakir) November
5, 2019^[3]

The case against him was initially based on alleged statements
in support of a boycott he made prior to taking up his post, HRW
says.

The government later added new statements it alleges are in
support of a boycott.

Human Rights Watch says it has criticised Israel’s human rights
record but has never advocated a boycott – and the same is true for
Shakir since he joined the organisation.

Israel’s ministry of strategic affairs, which probes potential
violations of the 2017 law, alleges Shakir’s activism, particularly
related to the country’s occupation of the West Bank, has amounted
to calls for a boycott.

The BDS movement – Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions – calls for
a boycott of Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians.

Israel sees the movement as a strategic threat and accuses it of
anti-Semitism – a claim activists strongly deny.