A new Israeli law banning foreign nationals who publically support a boycott of Israeli products from entering the country is not part of an international trend, one expert says.
Israel’s parliament on Tuesday authorities to deny visas to foreign nationals who publically call for a boycott of the country.
The move came on the same day as a revised travel ban preventing nationals from six Muslim-majority nations from entering the US.
Australian National University professor of international relations Andrew Carr told SBS News the timing was most likely coincidental and it shouldn’t be assumed countries would mimic the immigration policies of the United States.
“Most countries decide their immigration policies based on a very narrow set of circumstances,” Dr Carr said. “So there is not a lot of overlap or flow of ideas or policy adoptions.”
The Israeli movement is aimed at combatting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which promotes economic, academic and diplomatic boycotts of Israel over their policies towards Palestinians.
Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council executive director Dr Colin Rubenstein told SBS the new travel ban showed Israel was taking the growing threat from BDS seriously.
“The Boycott Divestment Sanctions, campaign is an important part of the international strategy, to demean, defame and essentially delegitimise Israel," Dr Rubenstein said.
“The efforts to undermine Israel have diversified, from war to terrorism and essentially to a collection of activities that can be referred to as ‘lawfair’ … Israel as a society - and a certainly as a government - have woken up to it in recent years and is determined to try and side-track, to contain and to ultimately defeat [it]."
Israel’s ban targets political activists as opposed to the US ban, which targets people of specific nationalities. Several other governments around the world have similar policies to Israel, such as China, who regularly block human rights and pro-Tibetan activists from entering the mainland.
Sixteen Muslims-majority nations, mostly in the Middle-East but also including Bangladesh, Brunei and Malaysia, have also had long running bans on Israeli passport holders from entering their countries.
It isn't clear how the Israeli government plans to use the new law or how many people will be banned.
The Israeli government has in the past blocked some prominent activists from entering, but there are concerns the new law could be used more broadly.
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The bill targets those who make a “public call” for boycott and it isn’t clear if that will include social media posts. Dr Rubenstein said he didn’t believe there would be a significant change from current Israeli policy.
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights executive director, Yousef Munayyer, told SBS News he was concerned the law would lead to the increasing number of people being banned.
“We are seeing the state really cracking down and acting out against those who have embraced non-violence and non-violent forms of dissent,” Mr Munayyer said.
Israel has favorable visa conditions and a pathway to citizenship for people of Jewish heritage, regardless of their nationality. Mr Munayyer said the government hasn’t said if the new law would be used to target activists of Jewish background.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement questions regarding how many Australians would be subject to the ban should be directed to the Israeli government and to date no requests for Australian consular assistance had been made.
Australian Jewish Democratic Society executive member Dr Jordy Silverstein plans to travel to Israel in May this year as part of a tour organised by an international Jewish organisation.
She says the ban is undemocratic and isn’t sure whether she will be banned from entering when she arrives. Her organisation advocates for the boycott of products manufactured in Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian territory.
“There are a lot of people who have really still clung to the idea of Israel as a Jewish home for all Jews," she told SBS News.
"I think those people are feeling really challenged and that’s been the Jewish response that I’ve seen on Twitter and Facebook, online and in conversations.”
Dr Carr said while issues like Israel and the US travel ban often got a lot of attention they were “almost entirely symbolic”.
He said many of the global concerns that countries would close their borders following the Global Financial Crisis haven’t been realised because movement of labor was entrenched in the global economic system.
"It's the belief that as a domestic population you should be able to control these issues, that sense of control is often extremely vital," Dr Carr said.
"So even a small shift [in immigration policy] that displays that ability to control how many and who come into the country is often sufficient."
