Issues
Palestine
Summer travel plans? Read this!
By AAI
AAI
Posted on Monday July 20, 2009
If you plan to travel to Israel or the Occupied Territories this summer, please report any instance of denied entry to the Department of State. The Arab American Institute maintains contact with State and senior officials in the office of American Citizens Services about this and other, relevant issues. ACS continues to encourage U.S. citizens to report instances of denied entry.
At an April 24th meeting held by the White House for Arab American leaders, Michele Bond reiterated her desire to hear about any difficulties American citizens face when traveling to the Occupied Territories. During a May 28th conference call with several organizations, including the AAI, Michele Bond again reiterated the need for American citizens traveling to the Occupied Territories to notify the Bureau of Consular Affairs of any problems they face, be it denial of entry or unnecessary delays and harassment at the border crossings.
Citizens can fill out official Denial of Entry forms, providing their information and the details of their denial, or just send emails of anecdotes and negative experiences without full details of their personal information if they are concerned with privacy. It is vital for the Department of State to have this information, Ms. Bond informed us, so that the department has empirical evidence to present when they address this issue with senior Israeli officials.
The United States has continuously made it clear to the Israeli government that fair and consistent treatment of U.S citizens, regardless of ethnicity, is a priority, and continues to address this matter with the highest levels of the Israeli government. Without any reporting of cases of denial of entry or harassment, the U.S government is forced to take the Israeli government at their word when they say that the situation has improved and is being resolved.
Here are some useful links for you to keep in mind as you travel this summer:
- Overview of U.S. Citizens Services, as posted on the website for the Jerusalem Consulate
http://jerusalem.usconsulate.gov/service.html - Information about Denial of Entry into Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is available through the website of the Jerusalem Consulate (under U.S. Citizens Services)
http://jerusalem.usconsulate.gov/index.html - Link to background on issue of denied entry from Jerusalem Consulate website
http://jerusalem.usconsulate.gov/border-crossings.html - ‘Refusal of Entry Information Sheet’
http://jerusalem.usconsulate.gov/pdfs/allenbydenialform.pdf
The Consul General strongly encourages anyone denied entry into Israel or the West Bank to complete the Denial of Entry Form and submit it via e-mail to JerusalemACS@state.gov in order to track cases.
Please be on the alert for an e-mail from AAI in the coming weeks with more details on how we can help facilitate this process for you. You can always check our website for information on this and other initiatives: www.aaiusa.org
