Muslim community leaders and members of organisations working towards justice for Palestinians have condemned the late-night arrest of Sheikh Raed Salah by the UK Border Agency on 28th June.
Sheikh Raed is the leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel and he is in Britain at the invitation of Middle East Monitor (MEMO) to speak to parliamentarians, academics and public meetings on the plight of Palestinians living in Israel and Jerusalem. He has been served with a deportation order under Section 3 of the Immigration Act.
The Border Agency’s action appears to have been carried out following a libellous campaign in the right-wing, pro-Israel media and bears all the marks of a political rather than a legal measure to curb freedom of speech.
The arrest of such a high-profile and well-respected Palestinian leader will, inevitably, damage relations between the Muslim community and other sections of British society. Sheikh Salah is renowned for his non-violent approach to the protection of Palestinian rights in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Home Secretary Thereas May has clearly succumbed to pressure from the Israel Lobby in Britain to prevent Sheikh Salah from being able to give a first-hand account of the discrimination faced by the so-called “Arab-Israeli” community; Israel’s Palestinian citizens constitute 20% of the total population in the state.
The visit of Sheikh Salah was trailed three weeks in advance by MEMO and his talks have been advertised widely, prompting an aggressive media campaign to have him stopped from entering the country; legal steps are being taken by lawyers acting on behalf of Sheikh Salah in respect of some of the allegations made against him in at least two national newspapers. It is astonishing that neither the Home Office nor the Metropolitan Police sought clarification and further information from MEMO; nor, indeed, did either express their concerns that his presence in the UK might be a threat to public order.
Raed Salah is an Israeli citizen who is, presumably, free to travel as far as his own government is concerned, and has never been held by the Israeli authorities on any of the charges levelled at him by the Israel Lobby in Britain. It is astonishing, therefore, that the British government, which preaches democracy and freedom to the extent of going to war to uphold those values, has resorted to denying freedom to someone on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations and media hype.
This shameful situation has the potential to be a watershed in community relations in Britain; the Prime Minister should sack the Home Secretary if she does not resign immediately, and rescind the deportation order. The law of the land should govern such matters based on solid evidence, not the baying of pro-Israel lobbyists in the media and wider community.
Signed by:
Friends of Al Aqsa
British Muslim Initiative
Interpal
Middle East Monitor
Palestine Solidarity Campaign
