By Khalid Amayreh in the Occupied West Bank
"Seeking to punish critics for communicating the truth about Israel to the world, Israel has barred an American scholar from entering the country and a Palestinian journalist from leaving the occupied territories for a brief trip to Germany......
Finkelstein is the son of survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto and concentration camps. He wrote in his book that “I do care about the memory of my family’s persecution. The current campaign of the Holocaust industry to extort money from Europe in the name of the needy Holocaust victims has shrunk the moral stature of their martyrdom to that of a Monte Carol casino.” Predictably the powerful Zionist establishment, both in Israel and North America, couldn’t tolerate his daring and meticulously-documented criticisms.....
And now my story: A few weeks ago, I received an invitation from the German Institute for External Relations to attend a conference on how journalists ought to reconcile patriotism with journalistic professionalism in wartime.....
I have made laborious efforts and knocked on many doors to obtain a permit that would enable me to travel abroad for the two-day conference. Interestingly, I have not been allowed to travel abroad for 13 years.....
Last week, I went to the local District Coordination Office (DCO) in Dura, my town, hoping that they would be able to help. The office forwarded my personal details to the Shin Beth office in Hebron. However, the next day, I was told rather tersely that I was “barred from traveling for security reasons.” No further details were given.
In the process, I discovered that painful truth the Palestinian Authority DCO officials were no more than insignificant middle-men between the Israeli occupation authorities and Palestinian citizens. They had absolutely no authority or influence, which generally epitomizes the overall status of the entire PA vis-à-vis Israel.....
Needless to say, Israel, which classifies Palestinians into either terrorists who ought to be annihilated or quisling-like collaborators, has no right to deny Palestinian journalists freedom of movement, internally or externally. Indeed, without this freedom, a journalist can hardly carry out his job properly......
Is Israel worried that people like Khalid Amayreh and Norman Finkelstein would expose its criminality more than it has already been exposed? Is this the reason why the Israeli authorities are trying to fetter people’s freedom of movement?.....
We are not Israeli citizens, and Israel has no sovereignty over us. Hence, the draconian repression is incompatible with international law.
Hence, I call on my colleagues around the world to strongly protest this violation of my natural and human rights to travel, first as a human being and second as a journalist.
Finally, a few words to the Palestinian Authority: You are maintaining a huge bureaucracy of thousands of officials and operatives whose main job is supposed to help Palestinian citizens bypass or overcome the stringent restrictions of the occupation. However, it is obvious these people have failed to carry out their tasks.
It is really sad and embarrassing that while Israel allows certain VIPs to travel freely (probably in the hope that the preferential treatment would pernicious Israeli goals) the Israeli occupation regime continues to deny the vast bulk of the Palestinian people their basic rights, including the right to travel.
It is time that you insist that Israel refrain from interfering with Palestinian freedom of movement. If you can’t do it, then just pack up and leave. This would be much better for your own dignity and the dignity of the Palestinian people. "
"Seeking to punish critics for communicating the truth about Israel to the world, Israel has barred an American scholar from entering the country and a Palestinian journalist from leaving the occupied territories for a brief trip to Germany......
Finkelstein is the son of survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto and concentration camps. He wrote in his book that “I do care about the memory of my family’s persecution. The current campaign of the Holocaust industry to extort money from Europe in the name of the needy Holocaust victims has shrunk the moral stature of their martyrdom to that of a Monte Carol casino.” Predictably the powerful Zionist establishment, both in Israel and North America, couldn’t tolerate his daring and meticulously-documented criticisms.....
And now my story: A few weeks ago, I received an invitation from the German Institute for External Relations to attend a conference on how journalists ought to reconcile patriotism with journalistic professionalism in wartime.....
I have made laborious efforts and knocked on many doors to obtain a permit that would enable me to travel abroad for the two-day conference. Interestingly, I have not been allowed to travel abroad for 13 years.....
Last week, I went to the local District Coordination Office (DCO) in Dura, my town, hoping that they would be able to help. The office forwarded my personal details to the Shin Beth office in Hebron. However, the next day, I was told rather tersely that I was “barred from traveling for security reasons.” No further details were given.
In the process, I discovered that painful truth the Palestinian Authority DCO officials were no more than insignificant middle-men between the Israeli occupation authorities and Palestinian citizens. They had absolutely no authority or influence, which generally epitomizes the overall status of the entire PA vis-à-vis Israel.....
Needless to say, Israel, which classifies Palestinians into either terrorists who ought to be annihilated or quisling-like collaborators, has no right to deny Palestinian journalists freedom of movement, internally or externally. Indeed, without this freedom, a journalist can hardly carry out his job properly......
Is Israel worried that people like Khalid Amayreh and Norman Finkelstein would expose its criminality more than it has already been exposed? Is this the reason why the Israeli authorities are trying to fetter people’s freedom of movement?.....
We are not Israeli citizens, and Israel has no sovereignty over us. Hence, the draconian repression is incompatible with international law.
Hence, I call on my colleagues around the world to strongly protest this violation of my natural and human rights to travel, first as a human being and second as a journalist.
Finally, a few words to the Palestinian Authority: You are maintaining a huge bureaucracy of thousands of officials and operatives whose main job is supposed to help Palestinian citizens bypass or overcome the stringent restrictions of the occupation. However, it is obvious these people have failed to carry out their tasks.
It is really sad and embarrassing that while Israel allows certain VIPs to travel freely (probably in the hope that the preferential treatment would pernicious Israeli goals) the Israeli occupation regime continues to deny the vast bulk of the Palestinian people their basic rights, including the right to travel.
It is time that you insist that Israel refrain from interfering with Palestinian freedom of movement. If you can’t do it, then just pack up and leave. This would be much better for your own dignity and the dignity of the Palestinian people. "
No comments:
Post a Comment