Israeli court hears appeal by US student held over ‘BDS links’
Al JazeeraLara Alqasem, who has been detained for 15 days, awaits a final verdict on her appeal over her alleged support for BDS. “They said that the fact that she was not involved in BDS groups … works in her favour.” Alqasem, who is of Palestinian descent, has been held at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport – despite having a valid visa – for more than two weeks since arriving from the United States to begin a master’s degree in human rights at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “Today’s hearing will address the question of whether Ms Alqasem is a BDS activist or simply an intellectually curious student who has found herself the target of politicised thought-policing,” Alqasem’s second lawyer, Leora Bechor said in a statement ahead of the hearing. ‘Keep fighting’ The BDS movement started in 2005, after a call issued by Palestinian civil society groups for “people of conscience” around the world to help end Israel’s abuses against Palestinians by cutting off cultural, academic and economic ties with the state. Ben-Hillel said the defence team argued that the law, which denies the entry of a wide variety of people into Israel, is “wrong and harms a lot of basic rights”.
History of this topic
US student Lara Alqasem claims victory in Israel boycott case
Al Jazeera
American student detained in Israel airport over BDS support
Al Jazeera
American student detained in Israel airport over BDS support
Al JazeeraDiscover Related
