American Jewish BDS Activist Turned Away at Ben Gurion Airport

Ariel Alice Gold, a well-known  activist of the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement that seeks to isolate Israel internationally, was turned away at Ben Gurion Airport when she arrived on a flight from the United States. Gold is the co-director of an activist group called Code Pink, which advocates boycotting Israeli businesses.

Gold has visited Israel before, and has been involved in numerous far-left events at protests, including one at the Kosel, where she set up a photo-op carrying signs reading “Boycott Israel.” That was enough to get her placed on a watch list, and upon her arrival at Ben Gurion Airport Sunday night, she was detained for questioning by immigration authorities.

The last time she was in Israel she was told that she could only re-enter by informing Israeli officials of her intentions while still in the U.S. Gold, who is Jewish herself, filed for a visa, claiming she was arriving to take a Jewish Studies course at Hebrew University. The visa was granted, but upon a re-examination of her case, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan instructed that she not be admitted upon arrival. The act was carried out at the airport by officials of the Interior Ministry, with the authorization of Interior Minister Aryeh Deri.

Erdan wrote in a social media post that “the policy I have set is clear: Those who act against the state on a regular basis and advocate its boycott will not be allowed in. The rules have changed. Israel will no longer hold back against those who try to harm it.”