The Atlantic

Is Israel's Travel Ban Comparable to Trump's?

The Knesset passed a law that would deny entry to some foreign activists who support boycotting the Jewish state.
Source: Christian Hartmann / Reuters

On Monday, just hours after President Trump issued his revised executive order on immigration, lawmakers in Israel passed a travel ban that is also generating controversy. The new law aims to bar any foreign activist “who has knowingly issued a public call to boycott the state of Israel or pledged to take part in such a boycott” from entering the country.

Among its many confusing components, “it is not entirely. However, the law will apply to those who boycott Israel and its institutions (but who may still want to visit Israel to protest or organize efforts against the country) as well as those who boycott Israeli settlements, which . Essentially, the ban formalizes an improvised policy whereby Israel’s interior ministry has blocked the entry of some pro-Palestinian activists into Israel in the past.

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