7mo ago

I was detained at a US airport and asked about Israel and Gaza for 2 hours. Why? | Ilan Pappé

www.theguardian.com I was detained at a US airport and asked about Israel and Gaza for 2 hours. Why? | Ilan Pappé

Border agents asked whether I believe Israel is committing genocide and what I think of popular protest slogans shortly after I landed in Detroit

I was held for two hours. The first round of questions was about my views on Hamas. Then the agents wished to know whether I thought Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip amount to genocide and what I think of the slogan “Palestine should be free from the river to the sea”. I said yes, I do think Israel is committing genocide. As to the slogan, I said that in my view people anywhere in the world should be free.

Then the agents interrogated me about who I know in the Arab American and Muslim American community. They asked me to provide them with telephone numbers, took my phone away for quite a long period and asked to wait until they made some phone calls before they let me go.

27 comments

Wow, there is really some shit going on in USA, we would usually only expect from a totalitarian regime, and absolutely not from a democracy.
- Wow, there is really some shit going on in USA, we would usually only expect from a totalitarian regime, and absolutely not from a democracy.
  The biggest issue is that the Biden administration is laying the pavement like they are.
- This happens in almost every countries customs, its not unique to the US
- Well that's what we get for letting Trump win... Huh? What's that? Biden is still President?
  
  Created by GW Bush in 2008, passed in 2009 :
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_Security_Screening_Selection
  Not all laws are recent you know.
  
  AFAIK the basis for these checks were established under Bush. So mostly designed by Republicans and not democrats.

The first round of questions was about my views on Hamas. Then the agents wished to know whether I thought Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip amount to genocide and what I think of the slogan “Palestine should be free from the river to the sea”.
In a situation like this, the only correct answers are "lawyer" and silence.
- If you are detained at foreign border security, unfortunately, you don't have guaranteed legal rights to a lawyer. They can unilaterally ask for statements, seize property given up for search, or deny entry on any grounds.
  
  Airports are their own legal zones, similiar to embassies, in US? What the hell?
  or deny entry on any grounds.
  I thought that's the only thing they can do?
- Yeah that's not how CBP works especially for non citizens. I tell Americans this all the time and nobody believes it. Until it happens to them or someone they know.
  You have zero rights. You can be detained without legal representation or cause for 72 hours thanks to the Patriot Act. Even as a citizen. Your electronics seized and spied on. All your social media, email, picture, everything read. It happens daily.
  It happens more often to black and brown people and non citizens. But it shouldn't happen at all.

I would tell the bums to look up the Warsaw Ghetto during WW II.

This is the best summary I could come up with:
Then the agents wished to know whether I thought Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip amount to genocide and what I think of the slogan “Palestine should be free from the river to the sea”.
Why are ostensibly liberal and democratic countries so interested in profiling or restricting academics who are trying to share our professionally informed views about Israel and Gaza with the North American and European public?
In addition to his academic post, Abu Sitta has practiced as a physician in Gaza and is able to provide first-hand testimony about what is happening there on the ground.
Many other well-known and well-versed academics who can provide in-depth analysis, which is not always to be found in the mainstream media, are also affected by the threat or possibility of travel restrictions.
Antisemitism definitions, such as those outlined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, are weaponized to silence any show of solidarity with the Palestinians.
In the process I learned that only detailed historical research, which, alas, ended in a rather long book, can explain North American and European politicians’ Pavlovian responses to people’s attempts to exercise their speech rights on the Palestinian struggle.
The original article contains 922 words, the summary contains 194 words. Saved 79%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

So basically a foreign national that potentially has connections to Hamas went through customs and got asked questions for two hours. Whats the story here?
- Found the racist
  
  They do mod/love to post in conservative communities
- He’s Israeli.

27 comments