Fight Apartheid by Supporting our Israeli Client's Claim for Asylum
Fight Apartheid by Supporting our Israeli Client's Claim for Asylum
Latest: March 18, 2022
Tribunal grants permission to appeal asylum and apartheid arguments
The First-tier Tribunal has allowed our client’s appeal on the basis that returning him to Israel would result in his being subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment on account of his mental…
Read moreOur client is a Jewish rabbinical student from Israel who vocally supports the struggle for Palestinian rights, and strongly opposes Zionism and Israeli apartheid on religious and political grounds.
After he was detained and beaten by the Israeli authorities on several occasions for peacefully protesting against Israeli state policies, he fled to the UK and claimed asylum.
The UK Home Office rejected his asylum claim and our client has appealed the decision to an independent Tribunal.
He argues that Israel's apartheid government persecutes anti-Zionists like him, and that he'll be conscripted into Israel's armed forces and made complicit in war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Legal ramifications
To assist judges and the Home Office to understand the risks associated with certain countries and conflicts, the Upper Tribunal regularly hands down binding 'Country Guidance' cases. Yet when it comes to Israel-Palestine, there is no such case explaining the central issue of Israel’s systematic racial discrimination.
It is simply not possible to properly consider our client's case without addressing apartheid, which is a legal concept codified in the 2002 Rome Statute and the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid.
The need to consider apartheid has become particularly pressing following the recent release of reports from B'Tselem and Human Rights Watch, both concluding that Israel is governed by an apartheid regime that systematically dominates and oppresses Palestinians.
Israel also persecutes and tries to silence those Jewish Israelis who, like our client, oppose its apartheid regime.
Expert evidence
Our client has instructed eminent experts to provide tailored reports to the Tribunal hearing his case. One is by Professor Illan Pappe, Jewish Israeli professor with the College of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of Exeter and author of such books as ‘The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine’ (2006) and 'The Idea if Israel’ (2016).
The other is by professor and rabbi Yakov Rabkin, who is an expert on the history and theological justifications of Jewish opposition to Zionism, as well as Israeli government treatment of anti-Zionists. Their expert evidence will assist the Tribunal to make detailed findings in our client’s case.
About us
The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) is a London-based NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. We work with different organizations from Muslim and non-Muslim backgrounds, to campaign for justice for all peoples regardless of their racial, confessional or political background.
Our research work includes submitting reports to governments and international organizations, writing articles, monitoring the media, cataloguing war crimes and producing research papers on hate crime, discrimination, the nature of human rights and so on.
For over two decades, IHRC has worked very closely with members of other Jewish communities to highlight the crimes of Zionism and Israeli apartheid against both the Palestinian people and anti-Zionist Jewish communities.
We need your help
The case has the potential to set an important legal precedent, not only for Jewish Israelis resisting conscription, but for Palestinians oppressed by Israel's apartheid regime.
By sharing this crowdfunding campaign with people who might support it, and by making your own financial contribution, you will be supporting not only our client, but all those who take a principled stand against racism and oppression.
All funds raised will be used to pay our client’s legal fees as well as expenses for expert witnesses, interpreters, and travel costs.
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Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC)
March 18, 2022
Tribunal grants permission to appeal asylum and apartheid arguments
The First-tier Tribunal has allowed our client’s appeal on the basis that returning him to Israel would result in his being subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment on account of his mental health condition.
Although the Tribunal dismissed our client’s asylum appeal, he has been granted permission to argue those points at the Upper Tribunal which has the power to issue binding guidance.
A Resident Judge of the First-Tier Tribunal found that it was arguable that the judge who dismissed the asylum appeal had committed legal errors by
1.Failing to analyse his fear of persecution as an anti-Zionist at the hands of Israel’s apartheid regime;
2.Failing to consider whether he would have to live discreetly as an anti-Zionist if returned to Israel;
3.Placing undue weight on the untested hearsay evidence of his father about whether he was exempt from military service, over and above the evidence of numerous expert witnesses and multiple objective sources; and
Failing to take into account extensive evidence of the ways in which the Israeli government and non-state actors persecute Orthodox Jewish anti-Zionist members of the Neturei Karta in particular.
We urgently require funds for the Error of Law hearing before the Upper Tribunal where our client will be seeking to persuade the senior judges to set aside the decision of the lower court and list the case for country guidance on the nature of Israeli apartheid that will bind future judges.
Please see the links below for further information:
Israeli student to appeal UK asylum case on apartheid grounds
UK judge overturns Home Office decision on Israeli asylum seeker | Middle East Eye
Jewish asylum seeker to continue fight against "apartheid" Israel - IHRC
UK court hears asylum appeal from Israeli student refusing to serve in army | Middle East Eye
Israeli student seeks asylum in UK to avoid committing 'crime of apartheid' | Middle East Eye
Jewish anti-Zionist to plead his case for asylum in the UK | News | Al Jazeera
Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC)
Nov. 3, 2021
Tribunal hears damning evidence of Israeli apartheid & persecution
Our client’s asylum appeal hearing before the immigration tribunal concluded on 27 October 2021. The judge reserved his decision which is expected within the next few weeks.
The Tribunal heard damning evidence of Israeli apartheid and its persecution of conscientious objectors.
Franck Magennis, the barrister who was representing our client, emphatically argued that Israel is governed by a regime that commits a series of human rights abuses within a project of pursuit of racial domination, i.e. an apartheid regime, and that without understanding the racist structure underpinning Israel, it would not be possible to determine the risk to our client in Israel. Relying on detailed reports by Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, Mr Magennis argued how our client would become complicit in the crime against humanity that is apartheid by being conscripted into the army.
Notably, the Home Office presenting officer did not resist in any way whatsoever the assertion that Israel is an apartheid regime.
Expert evidence was provided in the form of reports by Professor Ilan Pappe, Professor Yakov Rabkin and Dr Tom Gilberthorpe as well as a witness statement from Noa Levy, an Israeli lawyer who has significant experience in representing individuals persecuted for resisting conscription to the military.
Ms Levy testified about how her clients who are imprisoned for not answering the call to service are routinely subjected to violence, abuse and cruelty. This includes being seized from their homes in night-time raids, being stripped naked, forced to sit in puddles of urine, threatened with sexual violence and deliberately exposed to toxic fumes for lengthy periods of time.
Our client was very grateful for the significant show of solidarity from supporters who gathered outside the court building flying Palestinian flags and carrying banners and placards against Israeli war crimes and apartheid. We also thank all those who sacrificed their day to do so.
We are immensely grateful to all of you who have generously donated towards our client’s legal fund but we are still quite a distance from hitting our target to cover the costs of this unprecedented appeal. Any further help in donating and sharing the page would be highly appreciated.
Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC)
Oct. 22, 2021
Hearing relisted for 27 October 2021, Call to Attend Solidarity Vigil
Our client’s asylum appeal will now be heard at 10 am on Wednesday 27 October 2021 at the Immigration Tribunal, 2 Piccadilly Plaza, Mosely Street Manchester M1 4AH.
We are organising a vigil from 9am outside the court building in solidarity with our client and all those who have been persecuted by the Israeli apartheid regime. We encourage all opponents of apartheid and supporters of justice to attend.
We are immensely grateful for your support to date but we are still quite a distance from raising the funds needed for our client’s legal challenge. Please donate generously and share the link with all your contacts.
Our client has been humbled by your continued support and sends his gratitude.
Please continue to support this case by
1.Making a donation to our client’s legal fund.
2.Attending the solidarity vigil outside the court building on 27 October 2021.
3.Writing a letter of support to our client. Please send to [email protected] and we will forward them to him.
4. Sharing this update on your social media platforms
The case continues to receive wide coverage in the international press. The news stories can be accessed below.
Haaretz
Israeli yeshiva student could open asylum doors to conscientious objectors, Palestinians
Andalou Agency
Anti-Zionist Jew seeks UK asylum after refusing military service in Israel
Business Insider
Middle East Eye
UK asylum case of Israeli student adjourned in wait for Yiddish interpreter
Israeli student seeks asylum in UK to avoid committing 'crime of apartheid'
Al Jazeera English
Jewish anti-Zionist to plead his case for asylum in the UK
TRT World
Middle East Monitor
Islamic rights group supporting Jewish refusenik's UK asylum claim
Morning Star
Israeli anti-zionist seeking asylum in Britain ‘harassed’ outside court
The New Arab
Anti-Zionist Israeli's lawyer 'confident' UK asylum rejection will be overturned
IHRC TV
Donate to Stop our Clients Deportation to Israel
Press TV
Pro-Palestine Israeli fights deportation from UK
Arabi21.com
Israeli anti-Zionist seeks asylum in Britain
Islam21c
Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC)
Sept. 21, 2021
Hearing adjourned as Tribunal fails to provide Yiddish interpreter
Update: Hearing adjourned as Tribunal fails to provide Yiddish interpreter; supports of Palestine gather outside court as our client is harassed and intimidated by apologist for Israeli apartheid
Our client’s asylum appeal was adjourned yesterday after the immigration Tribunal in Manchester attempted to proceed with a Modern Hebrew speaking interpreter, even though our client speaks Yiddish. The judge reserved the case to himself due to complexities invovled which he said required a senior judge to look at it.
Our client is claiming asylum in the UK as he fears he will be conscripted and forced to commit war crimes and the crime against humanity that is apartheid if he is returned to Israel.
Despite this set back, our client was deeply heartened and moved by the show of solidarity for him by supporters of Palestine outside the court, particularly as there were attempts to harass and intimidate him by apologists for Israeli apartheid. Supporters surrounded and held up Palestinian flags to protect him from being photographed. An anonymity order is in place that prohibits anyone from publishing anything that may identify our client as a means of protecting him from harm.
Please continue to support our client’s case. Due to increased costs, as a result of the adjournment, we would be grateful if supporters could:
- Contribute further funds to our client’s cause
- Continue to share the fundraising page and media coverage of the case with all your contacts on Facebook and other social media.
- Show your support by attending in person (we will let you know the next hearing date)
Our client would like to take this opportunity to thank his supporters for their continued support.
Media interest in the case continues to grow around the world (see links below)
Anti-Zionist Jew seeks UK asylum after refusing military service in Israel – Anadolu Agency
Israeli anti-zionist seeking asylum in Britain ‘harassed’ outside court – Morning Star
UK asylum case of Israeli student adjourned in wait for Yiddish interpreter – Middle East Eye
Islamic rights group supporting Jewish refusenik's UK asylum claim – Middle East Monitor
Israeli student seeks asylum in UK to avoid committing 'crime of apartheid' – Middle East Eye
Jewish anti-Zionist to plead his case for asylum in the UK – AlJazeera
Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC)
Sept. 17, 2021
Media interest in Israeli apartheid case builds as appeal set to be heard
Thanks to your generous support, we have hit our initial target to assist our client in fighting his asylum case.
We hope we can rely on your continued support in helping our client raise further funds for his imminent appeal hearing before the immigration tribunal on 20 September 2021.
These funds are for the expert, legal and interpreter fees for the hearing. Details of our experts are below.
This case is of seminal importance not just for our client but for all Palestinians: our client is seeking to not just protect himself from being persecuted on return to Israel, but to do so in a way that Israeli apartheid is highlighted as the root cause of not only his suffering but first and foremost, that of the Palestinians.
The case is also picking up media interest with Al Jazeera, Middle East Eye and Press TV all covering the story. You can read more at the links at the bottom of the page.
Experts
Our evidence includes reports by the following experts:
Professor Yakov Rabkin, lecturer in contemporary Jewish history and the history of science at the University of Montreal since 1973. Author of A Threat from Within: A Century of Jewish opposition to Zionism (London: Zedbooks, 2006).
Professor Rabkin’s report demonstrates the critical differences between Judaism and Zionism and explains why opposition to Zionism and the State of Israel cannot be equated with anti-Semitism.
Professor Ilan Pappe, Jewish Israeli professor with the College of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of Exeter and author of such books as ‘The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine’ (2006) and 'The Idea if Israel’ (2016).
Prof Pappe’s report confirms the following:
• Serving in the IDF is deemed as a heresy and sin and is a felony which is defined in Hebrew as “YEHAREG VE BAL YAVOR”, which literally means “Better Die than Commit”, namely, one would rather die than serve in the army.
• The main motive of the Israeli government’s present recruitment laws is to assimilate the religious Jews into the general culture and society. This is why so much is invested in recruiting young men and women from the Haredi [Orthodox] community.
• The Orthodox Jewish community itself sees these attempt to recruit by force as abductions and they would report the abduction of so and so from his home at the dead of night in an attempt to force him to convert by violating the 3 principles that are not to be violated at any circumstances: (a) to join the army, (b) to provoke the nations of the world and (c) to break the vows made to your rabbis.
• Our client would be deemed a deserter and liable to serve a prison sentence of up to 15 years for desertion.
• He is likely to be tortured in detention.
Dr Tom Gilberthorpe, consultant psychiatrist
We have instructed Dr Gilberthorpe to assess the impact on being returned to Israel on our client’s mental health.
Thank you, once again, for your inspirational support and please take a look at and share the media reports on our client’s case so far:
Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/16/asylum-appeal-of-anti-zionist-jewish-israeli-who-refuse
Middle East Eye: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-israel-student-conscientious-objector-asylum-claim
Donate to Stop our Clients Deportation to Israel – IHRCtv YouTube
Pro-Palestine Israeli fights deportation from UK (presstv.ir)
Israeli anti-Zionist seeks asylum in Britain – arabi21.com
IHRC takes up case of asylum seeker fleeing Israeli apartheid – ihrc.org.uk
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