Supreme Court hears HRW activist's expulsion appeal
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The Supreme Court in Jerusalem hears the appeal of the local director of Human Rights Watch, who is seeking to block an attempt by the government to expel him for allegedly supporting an international boycott movement against Israel.
A lower court in April upheld a decision not to renew Omar Shakir's work visa and ordered him to leave the country, saying his advocacy against West Bank settlements amounts to support for the Palestinian-led boycott movement. Israeli law bars entry to those who publicly support a boycott of Israel or its settlements.
"We want to be able to do the same work we do in nearly 100 countries across the world and here in Israel," Shakir said, speaking to reporters outside the courtroom. "The kind of work we've been doing in Israel for three decades, the kind of work that we've done with Palestinian Authority, with Hamas, with every country in the Middle East and North Africa."
