Anti-Israel Palestinian activist Omar Barghouti, a leading advocate of boycotting Israel, has been denied entry into the U.S.
Barghouti, 55, opposes Israel’s existence and has been accused of supporting terrorism. He is a leader of the boycott, divest, and sanctions, or BDS, movement, which tries to impose financial pressure on Israel by boycotts against supporters of Israel.
Barghouti was stopped at Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel on Wednesday and, despite holding valid travel documents, was told that U.S. immigration officials had denied him entry into the U.S.
The Arab American Institute said in a statement, “Barghouti was not provided an explanation for his denial of entry beyond ‘immigration matter.’”
Barghouti had planned a speaking tour with stops at Harvard University, New York University, and a bookstore in Philadelphia, as well as meetings in Washington. He had also planned to attend his daughter’s wedding.
West Bank-based Barghouti is a part of a prominent Palestinian clan that includes Marwan Barghouti, 59, a convicted murderer who supports suicide bombings and led the first and second intifadas against Israel
Israeli authorities refused to renew Omar Barghouti’s travel documents in 2016. Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri said he was “using his resident status to travel all over the world in order to operate against Israel in the most serious manner.”
Barghouti has prompted ire for his comments about Israel, including questioning its existence and calling it the “most violent entity that exists” in the Middle East. He once described the Second Intifada, which included 120 suicide bombings, as the “tell-tale heart of the old Palestine.”
In a 2010 interview, Omar Barghouti defended violence against Israel in support of Palestinian interests. “We most definitely have a moral and legal right to an armed resistance against the military occupation of our land,” he said, “as long as we attack legitimate targets, that is, the occupation, settlers, and people who are armed.”
