Israel’s High Court of Justice on Monday urged several international aid groups to withdraw petitions challenging the government’s refusal to register them, with justices saying they were unlikely to rule against a policy under which the state may refuse them visas based on security and delegitimization concerns.
“We believe that it is legitimate, the right and duty of a state, to protect itself against bodies that denounce or boycott the state,” said Supreme Court Justice Yael Wilner, who headed the three-judge High Court panel, according to a report in the Haaretz daily on Tuesday.
“All the more so for organizations that support an organization that has been declared a terrorist organization in the State of Israel,” she added. “From our perspective, this does not justify intervention.”
The petitions had sought to challenge the registration framework through which humanitarian organizations secure recommendations for visas and work permits for their foreign employees.
The court on Monday appeared unpersuaded by arguments from global NGO Save the Children, the Italian group CESVI and the Swedish organization Diakonia. The aid groups had argued that their criticisms of the Jewish state were a legitimate form of expression.
Justice Alex Stein told the petitioners that “anyone who calls the State of Israel an apartheid state has no right to set foot in the State of Israel.”
“The word apartheid crosses red lines,” he said during the hearing. “The State of Israel can be criticized for instances of violence, but the word apartheid has a very clear connotation; apartheid states should not exist.... As soon as you say that, it delegitimizes the State of Israel in the international arena. It is part of the gradual plan to bring about the end of the State of Israel.”
The justices also cited the aid organizations’ ties to Islamic Relief Worldwide, which Jerusalem declared an unlawful association in 2014 over its support for and financing of the Hamas terrorist group.
CESVI agreed to withdraw its petition, according to Hebrew media reports. The High Court reportedly gave the remaining petitioners until Thursday to respond to its recommendation that they do the same.
