Despite being granted a visa to Israel, Shin Bet security service prevented a US public figure Ariel Gold from leaving Ben Gurion International Airport on Monday, deporting her on the first flight to New York.
The decision on deportation came because of Gold’s activity in the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Gold, who is in her forties, is known as a prominent Jewish figure in the United States.
Her base of supporters largely consists of frustrated American Jews distressed by Israeli right-wing politics. They believe that Benjamin Netanyahu's government misses a historic opportunity to achieve peace with the Arab world and is opting to abort a political settlement with Palestinians.
They feel that there is a need to save Israel from itself, in reference to ultra-right Israeli nationalists.
Israeli authorities, according to security sources, discovered that she was a well-known activist in the boycott movement.
Gold was denied entry despite being granted a visa and fully submitting her application to the Israeli consulate in New York and said she wanted to visit the country to learn Jewish studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
It is worth noting that Gold visited the country months ago.
In the course of her visit, Israeli authorities, according to security sources, found out that she was a well-known activist in the Israeli boycott movement. When she left, Israeli authorities handed her a message that her entry into the country in coming days is conditioned on prior coordination.
When her plane landed at Lod airport last, Gold was taken for interrogation.
Public Security Minister of Israel Gilad Erdan issued an order to prevent her from entering the country, which was carried out by the office of Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, who canceled the visa granted to her.
Erdan’s order came in light of Gold “posting on social media sites videos slamming Israeli soldiers in Hebron as apartheid soldiers.”
More so, Gold was accused of promoting videos that called for not only boycotting Israel but boycotting companies, movements and institutions that deal with Israel.
