Two Israeli-Arab MKs banned from accepting travel funds from BDS groups
Haneen Zoabi and Yousef Jabareen stopped from taking cash to go abroad to speaking about supporting boycotts of Israel
Two Arab Israeli lawmakers have been banned from accepting funds for travel abroad from organisations that support a boycott against Israel.
The lawmakers’ requests were turned down on Tuesday by the Knesset’s Ethics Committee, Times of Israel reported.
The rejection was based on a motion passed in January citing a blacklist by Israel’s Strategic Affairs Ministry of 20 organisations that support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, or BDS movement, against Israel.
Yousef Jabareen of the Arab Joint List Party told the Times of Israel that he would appeal the decision to the country’s Supreme Court.
Jabareen was invited by Jewish Voice for Peace for a planned week of speeches in late April at universities, think tanks and public events across the East Coast, including a proposed briefing on Capitol Hill, where he was scheduled to speak about the deterioration of democracy in Israel.
Haneen Zoabi of the Arab Joint List was scheduled to attend a conference in Ireland with funding from the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which appears on the blacklist.
“We are deeply disappointed that MK Yousef Jabareen won’t be able to join us in the U.S. due to the Knesset decision to effectively block his travel,” Rebecca Vilkomerson, the executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace, said in a statement. “We were very much looking forward to learning from his experience as an MK and his leadership on issues of democracy and equality in Israel. This decision is sad evidence of the further deterioration of Israeli democratic standards.”
“The travel ban is a serious blow to my freedom in my political activity as a Knesset member,” Jabareen said in a statement. “Without funding from the group inviting me I obviously won’t be able to travel to the US due to the high costs. Participating in conferences and giving speeches is a significant part of my job as an elected official, and it is unthinkable that I be prevented from doing that job.”
Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan of Likud praised the decision, according to the Times of Israel. “It is unacceptable for a Knesset member in Israel to lend a hand to the boycott organisations,” he said.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
