For the first time, a delegation with the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center was denied entry to Israel earlier this month. <\/p>\n
Sabeel, a registered nonprofit based in East Jerusalem, has nearly 40 years of history in the region. In the past three years, the group has welcomed more than 450 people in delegations and pilgrimages to the Holy Land. These trips are \u201clearning experiences\u201d for everyone involved, said Omar Haramy, director of Sabeel. They are inspired by the Bible\u2019s repeated instructions to \u201ccome and see,\u201d and \u201cgo and tell,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The delegation of 13 travelers, all American citizens, was coordinated by Rev. Ed Phillips and Rev. Sara Webb Phillips, married United Methodist ministers from Atlanta, Ga. On Aug. 13, the group was entering Israel\u2014nine delegates had been admitted into the country when border agents suddenly ordered them to re-enter the processing area, then detained the whole group in a holding room in the terminal at Sheikh Hussein Bridge. <\/p>\n
As they sat, morning turned to evening. Several guards approached the couple, accusing them of lying about the purpose of their trip. <\/p>\n
Ed said a guard told him that, \u201cYou\u2019re here to tell the story of what we\u2019re doing to the Palestinians.\u201d He said the guard also accused him of lying about their purpose in Israel, telling them \u201cshame on you. You\u2019re Getting exactly what you deserve.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then she turned around a stormed off,\u201d Ed said. <\/p>\n
The delegation the Phillips assembled included Christians, Muslims, Jews, and Hindus. They planned to visit Jerusalem, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Holocaust museum; Yad Vashem; along with Hebron, Bethlehem, and Taybeh in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli settlers recently attacked<\/a> Palestinian residents and set fire to homes, workplaces, farmland, and last year, the historic Church of St. George. <\/p>\n Purpose of the trip <\/p>\n Besides visiting holy sites, delegations meet locals and learn about their experiences. <\/p>\n \u201cWe never claim that we have one voice or one story,\u201d Haramy said. <\/p>\n People of all backgrounds and faiths participate in discussions, and Haramy said they emphasize hearing stories from a diverse group of those who live in the region. Whether their stories are similar or not, sharing is \u201cvery helpful for all of us, who\u2019ve been in so much violence,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Haramy added that a Sabeel group was the first of its kind to visit survivors of Hamas\u2019s October 7 attacks. <\/p>\n At Sheikh Hussein Bridge, the Phillipses\u2019 delegation waited for around six hours to cross. Nine people were initially given visas and admitted into Israel. The remaining four\u2014three of them people of color\u2014faced increasingly prolonged questioning from border guards, who expressed disbelief that people as diverse in age and race would know each other, let alone be friends. <\/p>\n \u201cHow can that be?\u201d Ed Phillips recalled being asked. \u201cYou all look different.\u201d <\/p>\n Sara Webb Phillips, who was also denied entry, described repeated questioning about Sabeel. She told a guard that she and her husband had organized the trip and had traveled with Sabeel previously. <\/p>\n \u201c[The guard] said, \u2018Sabeel is a terrorist organization,\u2019\u201d Sara recalled. \u201cAnd I said, \u2018No, it is not.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n Some time later, guards ordered the nine delegates waiting in the \u201cWelcome to Israel\u201d area to re-enter the terminal and took their visas away. In a holding room, the delegation was informed that they had been denied entry. Guards confiscated their passports, and the group contacted human rights lawyer and Sabeel co-founder Jonathan Kuttab, as well as the U.S. Embassy. Ed Phillips said he saw a border agent attempt to wrench the cellphone of a woman from the delegation while she spoke with the Embassy. <\/p>\n Travelers received forms entitled \u201cDecision concerning denial of entry according to the Entry Into Israel Law 5712-1952.\u201d The form cited two reasons for denial: \u201cPublic security or public safety or public order considerations,\u201d and \u201cPrevention of illegal immigration considerations.\u201d <\/p>\n Jacques Delli Paoli, one of the delegates, said Sabeel advised them to \u201cbe open and honest\u201d in all communication with agents. Paoli, who has worked in international humanitarian aid, was traveling from Maine and looked forward to visiting holy sites for the first time. \u201cI was coming as a tourist to learn.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cWe believe in transparency and in honesty,\u201d said Haramy. \u201cWhat we do is not unethical.\u201d <\/p>\n Ordered to leave <\/p>\n Before the forms were signed, travelers said the border agents\u2019 mood shifted, and armed guards abruptly ordered them to leave. While guards shoved them toward a bus on the Jordanian side, Sara Webb Phillips said she only agreed to let anyone board once they had their passports in hand. <\/p>\n Haramy said the border guards refused to cooperate with the U.S. Embassy and lied to an Israeli judge, claiming that none of the delegates had yet entered Israel when nine of them had. The detainment was a departure from standard border procedures, he said, under which travelers with an ETA-IL travel approval (which all 13 delegates had) are interviewed and then either receive a visa or are denied. \u201cYou don\u2019t bring somebody back after you let them in,\u201d said Kuttab. <\/p>\n Granting an individual a visa then taking it away with their passport, after they have cleared immigration and customs officials, amounts to \u201cpretend[ing] that they never entered, that they were denied entry.\u201d Kuttab also said that a traveler should only be turned away if there are legitimate security concerns specific to that individual\u2014rejecting a whole group even if one person is inadmissible would be \u201cvery disturbing.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cOne of the reasons why we said \u2018come and see,\u2019 [was] because people didn\u2019t believe us.\u201d\u2014Omar Haramy, director of Sabeel <\/p>\n Friends of Sabeel North America, an independent affiliated group headed by Kuttab, has called<\/a> for the U.S. to investigate whether the incident violates Israel\u2019s commitments as a member of the U.S.\u2019s Visa Waiver Program. Under that agreement<\/a>, U.S. citizens traveling for tourism or business can reciprocally \u201cexpected to be approved\u201d for visa-free entry to Israel for up to 90 days. <\/p>\n Neither the Israel Population and Immigration Authority nor members of Congress representing the delegates responded to requests for comment by time of publication. <\/p>\n Last week, Kuttab filed an administrative petition on the group\u2019s behalf, asking an Israeli court to have the denial of entry revoked. <\/p>\n Increased scrutiny <\/p>\n Over the past year, Israel has increased deportations<\/a> and revoked travel authorizations<\/a> for foreigners, particularly activists<\/a> intending to provide a peaceful, protective presence for Palestinians threatened by settlers. To Haramy, it\u2019s further proof that Israel is \u201chiding something,\u201d relating to its treatment of Palestinians. Journalists, activists, faith leaders, people of conscience, and tourists alike are denied entry \u201cbecause [Israel] is afraid that they will see something that will expose the crimes.\u201d <\/p>\n