United Methodists are responding to Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth ,a statement of faith and urgent call to action from Christians in Palestine. UMKR seeks, through nonviolent means and in partnership with Palestinian Christians, freedom, justice and equality for all Palestinians and Israelis.
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ABOUT OUR NEWS SOURCES
The articles we include in our lists to 'Read More' – in our newsletters and on our website – are provided as an informational service for our readers, and the views expressed may or may not be shared by UMKR.
Some selections may be repetitive;because some periodicals have paywalls, we provide a variety of sources in the hope that every reader will find some of them accessible, with or without a subscription.
Read these sections of the
Winter-Spring 2019
newsletter:
TAKE ACTION:
• NO US $$$ for Abuse of Children - goes to our action alert eblast
• Rise Against Racism, Counter CUFI
• UNITED METHODISTS' NEWS:
Response to GC2019; 2019 Resolutions;
Oppose Anti-Free Speech Bill; MFSA Says "No"; UMC Board's Actions
• PARTNERS' NEWS
Two Steps Forward for Lutherans; AMP: 500 Strong on Capitol Hill; JVP: "Zionism, a false & failed answer"
IN THE NEWS: ISRAEL/PALESTINE
• SUMUD: The Great March Continues
• UN Report: Israeli War Crimes
• Removing Last Restraints in Hebron
• Palestinian Revenues, Economic Crisis
• Waging War on Prisoners
• Deporting and Denying Entry
• Israeli Elections: Game-changer or...?
IN THE NEWS: UNITED STATES
• Ilhan Omar and a New Frontier
• US, Israel Fight Int'l Criminal Court
• Airbnb Whirlwind Ends in Disgrace
• Occupied no longer? Golan Heights
• Deal of the Century...Not!
IN THE NEWS: SPOTLIGHT
• Black-Palestinian Solidarity
• SEIZE THE DAY
Coming Events, June-Dec 2019
• THE HOLY LAND BECKONS:
News on ethical tourism AND
Upcoming 2019 Trips
News & Analysis UMKR News & Alerts
UMKR Newsletter - Winter-Spring 2019
Read the newsletter eblast in your browser
IN THE NEWS: ISRAEL/PALESTINE (and U.S.)
Deporting and Denying Entry
There are many instances every month of Israel limiting access to their country and to Palestinian territory based on political viewpoint and race/ethinicity, which calls into question Israel's commitment to the fundamental principles of a democracy. Here we have two examples that became major news stories.
Now the United States is duplicating those policies, denying entry to Palestinians who clearly present no threat and have been to the U.S. many times or even have lived here. Denial of visas in both countries is being used as punishment for political views and as political leverage.
Deportation for Director of Human Rights Watch in Israel
In April, an Israeli court upheld the Israeli government’s order to deport Omar Shakir, the Human Rights Watch Director for Israel and Palestine. Human Rights Watch responds: “The ruling sets a precedent that could hamper the work of other advocacy organizations and jeopardize the status of other rights workers in Israel….Israel portrays itself as the region’s only democracy, but is set to deport a rights defender over his peaceful advocacy….The decision sends the chilling message that those who criticize the involvement of businesses in serious abuses in Israeli settlements risk being barred from Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.” Read Human Rights Watch's Response
READ MORE:
Washington Post: Israel wants to deport me for my human rights work NY Times:Israel Invokes Anti-Boycott Law to Order Human Rights Worker Deported Electronic Intifada: Israeli court upholds expulsion of human rights defender Time Magazine: The Director of Human Rights Watch in Israel Is Being Deported +972 Magazine: What kind of democracy deports human rights workers?
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American Barred from Israel:
“Because you married a Palestinian”
In early April, Elaine Zoughbi,
an American citizen, was barred from
entering Israel simply because she is
married to a Palestinian. Elaine and
her family (photo) have many United
Methodist friends and supporters;
her husband is the Director of
Wi’am: The Palestinian Conflict
Resolution Centre, a United Methodist
Church Advance Project in Bethlehem
where several UMC missionaries have served.
The Zoughbis have been residents of Bethlehem for almost 30 years and raised four children at their home near the Church of the Nativity. Zoughbi departed from the United States on April 2nd, was detained at Ben Gurion airport for 12 hours under surveillance, and on April 3rd, was forced to take a return flight to the United States, getting her passport back only after landing. As Elaine reported on Facebook, while she was being taken to her flight back to the US, she said to the border agent: “I must be a special American because, unlike every other American who can enter and automatically get a 3-month tourist visa, I can no longer do that.” He replied to her: “Because you married a Palestinian.”
JUNE UPDATE: Grace Zoughbi was finally able to return to her family in Bethlehem, in time for her daughter's wedding, but only by first paying a large amount of money as bail to ensure she does not violate her visa, money that the family had to borrow, and only for three months, then she must leave her family and leave Palestine where she has lived for decades.
Haaretz: She's an American Citizen, but Israel Says She Can't Return Home to Bethlehem
READ MORE:
Haaretz: This American-Palestinian Endangers Israeli Public Security Haaretz: Deportation of American Living in West Bank Shows Israel's Obsessive Fear of Palestinian Population Facebook: Post by Elaine Zoughbi’s Husband Facebook: Post by Elaine Zoughbi’s Daughter
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Renowned Palestinian spokesperson and negotiator,
denied U.S. Visa
Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, a PLO Executive Committee member
and a senior figure in the Palestinian public relations
arena, announced in June that her U.S. visa
application has been rejected. She has been a longtime
Palestinian spokesperson and a well-known figure
appearing frequently on CNN and other media outlets.
Regarding possible reasons for the extraordinary denial
of a visa to enter the U.S., Ashrawi tweeted ”Choose
any of the following: I’m over 70 & a grandmother;
I’ve been an activist for Palestine since the late 1960’s;
I’ve always been an ardent supporter of nonviolent
resistance.” She also wrote: "I’ve met (and even negotiated with) every Sec. of State since Shultz, and every President since George H. W. Bush (present administration excluded); I’ve been a vocal critic of this administration and its underlings; I believe in freedom of speech," she wrote.
Ashrawi has been publicly critical of the Trump administration; nevertheless, in February of this year, Jason Greenblatt tweeted that Ashrawi was "always welcome" to meet him at the White House. In March, Ashrawi condemned Israeli military strikes in Hamas-ruled Gaza, and Greenblatt responded with: "Stop hurting Palestinians w/bad judgment.”
Amid claims from the State Dept that there is no change in policy about admitting Palestinian leaders, and some pundits’s suggestions that this may have been a bureaucratic mixup, Lara Friendman, of the Foundation for Middle East Peace and a former U.S. foreign service officer in Jerusalem, observes: “Someone with the stature of Hanan Ashrawi doesn’t just go through the regular diplomatic process,” she said. “It gets noted. She’s had a visa for years. She travels here often, and over a long period of time. To not give her a visa this time is a significant change.” In light of the several recent cases of such visa denials, she said: “it’s reasonable to ask whether or not there hasn’t been a de facto shift in U.S. policy that is denying visas to Palestinians to come to the U.S. based on their political views, which would be deeply troubling.”
READ MORE:
Washington Post, by HANAN ASHRAWI: I am a Palestinian negotiator. I was denied a visa — and I think I know why. Haaretz: U.S. Rejects Top Palestinian Official Hanan Ashrawi's Visa Request Haaretz: Months Before Palestinian Official Banned From U.S., Trump Envoy Invited Her to the White House Jerusalem Telegraph Agency: Palestinian activists don’t understand why they can’t enter the US
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See also our story on "US and Israel fight International Court of Justice," As part of the battle against accountability for possible war crimes by the U.S. or Israel, the United States has denied a visa for the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, thereby denying her access to meetings at the United Nations where she is to report.
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Palestinian Human Rights Leader Denied U.S. Entry
April 2019 – United Methodists for Kairos Response deplores the United States’ government decision to deny entry to esteemed activist Omar Barghouti, a leader in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Known and respected worldwide for advocating peaceful methods of protest against the apartheid Israeli government and the oppression of the Palestinian people, Barghouti was a recipient of the Gandhi Peace Award in 2017. He was scheduled for a speaking tour in the US in April, but was informed before takeoff on Wednesday, April 10, at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel that he would not be allowed entry to the US and was therefore not permitted to board the flight. Clearly, the Israeli and US governments are working together to muffle awareness of the brutal treatment endured daily by the Palestinian people, as well as to stifle the growing success of the BDS movement across the US and the world. This current action, coupled with the persistent lobbying of Israel supporters to pass laws in the US violating the civil liberties of those who advocate boycott as a means of peaceful protest, is not only alarming but also a call to conscience to those who believe in freedom, equality, and justice for all.
READ MORE:
The Guardian, BY OMAR BARGHOUTI: I co-founded the BDS movement. Why was I denied entry to the US? James Zogby: Protecting Americans’ Right to Hear from the Leader of BDS NY Times, by Michelle Goldberg: Anti-Zionists Deserve Free Speech NPR-National Public Radio: U.S. Denies Entry To Leader Of Movement To Boycott Israel
TAKE ACTION: SIGN THE LETTER
Americans Have the Right to Hear Barghouti
ADD YOUR NAME to the letter that Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and the Arab American Institute (AAI) will deliver to the House FOREIGN AFFAIRS Committee and House JUDICIARY Committee, asking them to reinstate Omar Barghouti's ability to travel to the US and investigate who made the decision to ban Omar from entry and why. SEE & SIGN THE LETTER
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