Public Comment

Last Thursday the New York Times published a moving, tragic story of a Palestinian, Raed Jarrarov, who was denied entry into Israel to bury his father. 

His late father’s only crime was to be born a Palestinian - a man of a sterling reputation, a refugee, a civil engineer, a farmer and an entrepreneur. Jarrarov senior fled his home with his family in 1967 when Israel invaded the West Bank 

Raed visited his relatives in the West Bank in 2015 while working for a Quaker nongovernmental organization. He was anxious to visit his extended family in the city of Jenin but was prevented from doing so by the Israeli government. 

What apparently terrified Israel was Raed's position as advocacy director for the human rights organization, Amnesty International U.S.A. (AIUSA) which called on governments to ban goods from illegal Israeli settlements. This apparently was a red flag. 

Amnesty International is unequivocal in its condemnation of Israel’s settlement policy. Under International law, AIUSA considers Israel’s business activities in its illegal settlements a war crime.  

In a classic case of the tail wagging the dog, the American Consulate General in Jerusalem refused to intervene on Raed’s behalf and was told the officials could not help.