Richard Falk, the UN Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur on the situation of Palestinian human rights in the West Bank and Gaza, was denied entry to Israel. Falk, who is Jewish, has been very critical of Israeli policies and he was barred entry at Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday with his entourage.
Simona Halperin, the director of the Foreign Ministry’s International Organization and Human Rights department, said that Falk was turned back since as rapporteur he was “illegitimate” because he is “completely unobjective.”
Missing in this logic, however, is the idea that people should not be barred for their views. Falk is not a threat to security. He may be an annoyance to the government and his appointment infuriated officials. I know little about Falk and I am certainly no fan of UN officials who can sometimes have authoritarian views of their own such as nited Nations General Assembly President Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann. However, Falk’s views are shared by many inside and outside of the country. To deny entry to a UN official because of the content of his view is a self-defeating act for Israel and an abuse in my view.
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Fascist Nationalism is the Devil when you look at political structures. It is the base for authoritarian dictators and is good for nothing else. When one is fighting the Devil, one must be careful not to become what one fights. Israel and America seem to have spent the last 40 years (that last 10 in overdrive) becoming EXACTLY what we defeated in WWII. And I don’t think it’s a case of if you look into the abyss too long either. It’s a decision by a limited and known number of people. Greedy, unscrupulous people in positions of political and corporate power. A conscious, soulless, evil decision. I don’t see any reason why more “leaders” from both countries should not be held accountable. Soon too. Before they succeed in doing something really stupid. Harm to one is harm to all.
And it’s off topic, but I’d like to take this opportunity to tell Saudi Arabia good luck with that Anti-Blasphemy movement at the U.N., that Islam sucks as much as ANY religion (including mine) and that they should grow a sense of humor. I know that last one will be difficult, but they should give it a shot.
I hope the Israelis don’t give George W. any ideas that he can use on Americans before he leaves office on January 20th. I think that any country that refuses entry to people based on their political views, deserves ridicule and scorn.