Israelis Insist Arab-Americans Post Cash Bonds; U.S. Objects
The United States has protested an Israeli practice of requiring cash bonds from visiting Arab-Americans and in some cases turning them away at the airport without explanation, a U.S. Consulate spokesman said Wednesday.
“What the Israelis are doing is discriminating against U.S. citizens based solely on ethnic origin,” said spokesman Ted Cubbison.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. July 18, 1987 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday July 18, 1987 Home Edition Part 1 Page 8 Column 4 Foreign Desk 2 inches; 71 words Type of Material: Correction
In an Associated Press story published by The Times on July 9 and dealing with an Israeli government requirement that some visiting Arab-Americans post cash bonds, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee was incorrectly described as a Palestinian group. In addition, it was implied that Abdeen Jabara, the group’s president, is a Palestinian.
The committee, which reports a membership of 16,000, is made up of a broad spectrum of Americans of Arab ancestry. Jabara is of Lebanese extraction.
Israeli government officials have said the policy is needed to ensure Israel’s security and to prevent the Arabs from settling in the Jewish state illegally.
Right to Deny
“As a sovereign country, we have the right to deny entrance to anybody,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Avi Shiron. “The Israeli government has said repeatedly its practices are justified. It is not a major issue between the two governments.”
But Cubbison said the United States will “continue our discussions until we are satisfied that all U.S. citizens are being treated equally.”
According to Cubbison, more than two dozen cases of Israeli discrimination against Arab-Americans have occurred in recent weeks. He refused to provide exact figures, as did Shiron.
The president of a Palestinian group investigating the charges said he has received about 30 discrimination complaints. “This is a matter of top priority with us,” said Abdeen Jabara, president of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee.
A $10,000 Bond
He said one woman from the occupied West Bank, who filed a complaint with the committee, said she was forced to post a $10,000 bond to be admitted to Israel with her four children. “For every one like her, who has that kind of money, there are dozens more who don’t have it and are turned away.”
Saida Hamad, 22, from the occupied West Bank town of Al Birah, said her sister Noel and four children were sent back to Virginia two weeks ago after spending the night at Ben-Gurion airport.
“She’s not a political activist at all,” said Hamad. “All we know is they told her that for national security reasons she had to be sent back.”
Many of the Arab-Americans banned from entering the country were elderly or children, Cubbison added.
Jabara acknowledged some Arab-Americans stay longer than their visas permit because requests for extended stays were denied.
He and other Palestinian leaders have asked the State Department to issue a travel advisory warning Americans of the situation.
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