Two human rights activists who have been refused entry into Israel petitioned the Tel Aviv District Court yesterday to overturn the Interior Ministry's decision to keep them out of the country. The activists - Jamie Spector, 32, from San Francisco, and Christina Grafer, 46, from the Netherlands - planned to demonstrate against the West Bank separation fence as part of their involvement with the International Solidarity Movement. Security officials asked the Interior Ministry not to allow them into Israel when they arrived at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Saturday, saying they constitute a "danger to state security." The Tel Aviv District Court yesterday issued injunctions delaying their deportation while proceedings in the case continue.
Spector and Grafer are not the first to be denied entry into Israel during the past two weeks on the basis of their left-wing activity. As fellow ISM activist Ann Robinson Petter did when she was denied entry to the country at the end of June, Spector and Grafer also refused to return to their respective countries, were arrested by the immigration authorities at the airport, and petitioned the court to let them in. Robinson Petter, a 44-year-old graphic designer from New York, has since appealed to the Supreme Court against last week's district court decision ordering her to keep away from Israel due to her activity in ISM. The Supreme Court will hear the case on Thursday. |