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News from the Region

Ramallah Friends School Hit by Denial of Entry Policy

By Paul D. Pierce, Quaker International Affairs Representative- Jerusalem
October 2006

The Friends Boys School in Ramallah, Palestine. Photo: www.palfriends.org

When Renee Bowyer left Ramallah for Jordan at the beginning of October, she thought she would spend a couple of days in Amman, Jordan and return to teaching English at The Friends School in Ramallah the following week. Unfortunately, when she tried to re-enter Israel and renew her three-month visa at the Allenby Bridge in the middle of October, she was denied entry. Her 7th grade students at the Friends School would have to do without their teacher as a result.

Bowyer, who holds an Australian passport, joins hundreds and perhaps thousands of foreign passport holders who have been denied entry as a result of a new Israeli policy. Customs officers are not permitting entry of those who come on tourist visas several times in a year. Many internationals and Palestinians who hold the passports of other nations have been living in the West Bank for years, traveling every three months to renew their visas, as Israel have not allowed them another visa solution. Israel began implementing the policy last spring.  Authorities say the policy has been on the books for years, but now is being fully implemented. As a consequence of that policy hundreds of Americans have been turned away at Israel’s borders.

A “new and deliberate policy that amounts to discrimination against American citizens.”

Kathy Kamphoefner and myself arrived at the Allenby Bridge crossing into Israel in mid-September, with a letter from the American Friends Service Committee, assigning us to represent AFSC in Jerusalem. We were delayed at the border for two hours before receiving a visa for one week in the country. A spokesman for the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem told us that we were "lucky" to receive one week, unlike other Americans who were refused entry entirely.

“Alice” and “Carmen” arrived from the U.S. at the Jordan River Crossing two days after us.  They were denied entry by border officials, and sent back to Jordan. Border officials gave the two women no reason why they were being denied entry.

The situation is so critical that the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem has issued a new form for persons denied entry into Israel. The consulate is compiling statistics and sending them to the U.S. State Department daily due to concern expressed by government officials.

During a speech to the American Task Force on Palestine on October 11th, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice highlighted the problem of denial of entry and pledged "to do everything in my power to support your good work, and to ensure that all Americans receive fair and equal treatment."

As a result of her intervention, the U.S. State Department lodged a formal complaint in October with the Israeli authorities through the Israeli embassy in Washington D.C. The complaint asserts that Israel has obstructed and restricted the entry and exit of American citizens of Palestinian origin to and from the occupied Palestinian territories. American officials believe that the Israeli government has adopted a “new and deliberate policy that amounts to discrimination against American citizens,” according to an October 18th article in the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.

The new policy affects thousands of Palestinians holding American and European passports who want to visit relatives in the West Bank and Gaza, or who have business interests in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Campaign for the Right of Entry/Re-Entry to the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Palestinians have organized a vigorous campaign to highlight the "denial of entry" policy in just the last two months. The Campaign for the Right of Entry/Re-Entry to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (CRE) is a grassroots effort organized for the protection of foreign passport holders residing in or visiting the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The campaign, spearheaded by Palestinian-American entrepreneur Sam Bahour, has resulted in widespread media coverage of the issues in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the BBC and many other media outlets. In addition, the Israeli Committee for Residency Rights (ICRR) was launched within Israel on October 23, 2006.

Passports featuring a "entry denied" stamp. Photo: Maureen Clare Murphy

The campaign cites the fact that Palestinian families are being separated, investors are exiting the country, educators are unable to reach their schools and universities, and student education is being disrupted as a result of the implementation of border restrictions by the Israeli government. The Ramallah Friends School is just one of the many educational institutions being negatively affected by implementation of the “denial of entry” policy.  The Arab-American University of Jenin, which especially hired Arab-American faculty members is missing its entire English faculty, while many other departments are short of professors, due to so many have been denied re-entry.

The CRE describes the new policy as one of "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians from the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem for demographic concerns rather than for security considerations. The ICRR similarly sees the policy as "a sophisticated form of ethnic cleansing." Israeli journalist Amira Hass characterizes the policy as one of "silent transfer" of the population out of the Palestinian territories. The policy severely impacts humanitarian, educational, and civic institutions and international organizations employing foreign passport holders.

Last week, Mahmoud Amra, the principal of the Friends School, sent an e-mail to parents about Bowyers "denial of entry." He expressed hope that a substitute can be found for the 7th grade English class. "We are doing our best to minimize any negative consequences that might be caused by this situation," he said.

This week, after a four hour interrogation at the very same bridge where she was denied entry last time, Renee Bowyer was able to re-enter Israel. Two other teachers employed by the Friends School were also able to return without any problems. The question remains: what will happen in three months, the next time they try to renew their visas? And will the Israeli government change a policy that penalizes foreign passport holders? Only time will tell.

To learn more about the Campaign for the Right of Entry/Re-Entry to the Occupied Palestinian Territories visit: http://www.righttoenter.ps/

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