News from BRICUP
Cambridge scientist refused entry at Ben Gurion airport
Dear Friends,
My name is Mr Jameel Zayed of the department of chemistry at the University
of Cambridge. I wanted to share with you my ordeal on Saturday when
visiting Israel's Ben Gurion airport, Tel Aviv.
Upon arriving at the airport, I was detained for 9 hours and interrogated
repeatedly with no access to food. Humiliated by the numerous strip
searches, I was given no reason for my detention, before finally being
told that my access to Israel had been denied. I was then taken by police
to a detention centre where I was locked in a cell for another 9 hours
awaiting deportation back to Britain. I visit my Israeli grandparents
regularly who live in Jerusalem as Israelis, and I have never had a
problem in the past. My uncle in Israel contacted the British embassy
in Tel Aviv, and even the director of trade and investment there was
unable to extract further information regarding our detention other
than that 'security reasons' were responsible.
As it turns out, within the first 30 minutes of my detention, in the
first interrogation interview, I was asked my occupation. I replied
that I am a research scientist, when asked further, I said that I am
a chemist. The mood of the interrogators instantly changed, to which
one of them said "ha!, you galloped on the wrong side of the border
today my friend", in a sarcastic tone, she continued to then say
she is now in no mood to let me in. I find this ridiculous that people
are being profiled according to their professional skill set.
I find this unlawful treatment of British citizens without justification
unacceptable, and I am currently in contact with the relevant embassies
to determine how this will affect my future visits.
This may also affect my ability to access Israel in the coming months
as part of a research collaboration funded through the British Council.
Since Israeli scientists can enter the UK freely, British scientists
should be assured the security that they are also allowed to enter Israel
to nuture the good scientific relations that the UK and Israel possess.
The cases of random detainment and deportation of foreign citizens has
been reported numerous times over the past months, and I hope that this
issue gets sorted before it begins affecting academic relations between
Israel and its international research collaborators.
With kindest regards, Jameel
Jameel Zayed