News from BRICUP
Cambridge PhD student banned from Israel, now US falls into line
The text of a letter from Jameel to Professor Chen, chair of the ICSA CFRS (International Conference on Sustainable Urbanisation, Committee on Freedom and Responsibility in the Conduct of Science), at the Singapore National Academy of Sciences.
Dear Professor Deliang Chen,
My name is Mr Jameel Zayed and I am a fourth-year PhD student in the department of chemistry at Cambridge University, UK. It has come to my attention that at the 8th ICSU CFRS meeting in Singapore, 19-20 July 2010, my case was discussed under item 7.2 'Israel, Scholarly Access and HUGO'. I attach the publically available meeting report here for reference.
First of all I would like to express my deep thanks that my case was discussed at the ICSU meeting. I note that the decision of item 7.2 was, as it relates to my case, and I quote:
"To note, with concern, the various reports where Israeli scholars and institutions had been subject to restrictions on freedom of association; to make enquiries with the UK Royal Society regarding the case of Jameel Zayed"
My case, in summary, relates to my being refused entry to Israel in September 2009, followed by the notification that I was banned from entry to Israel for 5 years until 2015. This affected, and continues to affect me in two ways:
i) It jeopardised a research collaboration between ourselves at Cambridge (myself and my supervisor, Dr Oren A. Scherman) and the head of the department of chemistry at Tel Aviv University, Professor Yoram Cohen. We were also applicants to a British Council-funded Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership (BIRAX), which had we been selected, would have been rendered unable to carry out the proposed research owed to my being banned from entry to Israel. All subsequent collaboration efforts have ceased since my being banned from Israel.
ii) I am unable to see my family who live in north Jerusalem, who hold Israeli citizenship.
As you are no doubt aware, there exists a large amount of literature on the topic of being 'denied', or 'refused' entry to Israel and/or bans being implemented in certain cases. I am just one case. In 2008, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported a 61% increase between 2005-7 in cases of denied entry to Israel as recorded by the Interior Ministry's Population Administration. This represents 4,769 people in those two years alone.
Some notable recent examples in the media, including that of academics being denied entry or banned from entering Israel, to name but a few, are:
Professor Norman Finkelstein (DePaul University, USA) - In 2008 + 10 year ban
Professor Noam Chomsky (MIT, USA) - In 2010
Mairead Maguire (Peace Nobel Laureate, Ireland) - In 2010 + 10 year ban
Professor Richard Falk (UN Human Rights Envoy, Princeton University, USA) - In 2008
Dr Nicola Pratt (Warwick University, UK - Formerly of East Anglia Univeristy, UK) - In 2009
This issue is therefore one of international significance for at least two reasons; i) that of academic freedom/fluidity of movement of academics between Israel and other countries, and ii) to review the policies behind these cases as they relate to Israeli policy itself.
I have not yet been given any justification for the decision to ban me for 5 years, neither from the Israeli embassy in London, nor from the airport or authorities in Israel. This ban of course includes barred entry to the Occupied Palestinian Territories which are under total Israeli administration.
According to the professional advice of Mr Richard Goldstein, Attorney at Law, during our meeting in July 2010, my being refused entry to Israel has undoubtedly become a part of my international visa history and very likely contributed to my U.S. F1 student visa application being 'suspended' by the U.S. Embassy in London, subject to a Security Advisory Opinion (SAO) being issued on my name. The actions of Israel at Tel Aviv's airport in 2009, have therefore not only jeopardised academic research plans, but also tarnish my name as it relates to international travel in general, particularly to the U.S. where I am currently scheduled to commence a post-doctoral position upon completion of my PhD. This will require a future visa application which I am now very concerned about since being denied once for travel to the U.S.
With what I have outlined in mind, I would be very grateful if you could further pursue the many cases of academic freedoms being infringed upon by the Israeli government. This is a topic very worthy of study, happening in the midst of the international calls for boycott against Israel in response to its continuous transgression of international law. Such 'Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions' (BDS) calls condemn, in solidarity, Israel's apartheid policies (ex-President Jimmy Carter, Palestine Peace not Apartheid, 2006, and Israeli Apartheid: A Beginners Guide, Ben White, 2009), which have been responsible for the continuous ethnic cleansing of the indigenous inhabitants, resulting in one of the largest refugee populations in the world.
Finally, in addition to the 8th ICSU CFRS meeting report discussed, I also attach for your attention a documented communication between the organisation, British Committee for Universities for Palestine (BRICUP), and the British Council relating to the impact of denied entry on my and my supervisor's planned BIRAX-funded research collaboration with Tel Aviv University, along with a picture of what a refused entry stamp looks like in a British passport.
Best regards,
Jameel M. Zayed
PhD Candidate, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge