The global BDS movement is opposed to international study in Israel. USACBI encourages students in the US who want to enroll in academic programs in the region to explore options at Palestinian universities. Lara Alqasem’s week-long detention at Ben Gurion Airport is an example of Israel’s discrimination against Arab Americans and illustrates that study in Israel is not equally accessible to US students and is undertaken at some risk for many.

Furthermore, Israeli government officials have demanded that Lara Alqasem denounce BDS as a condition for possible entry into Israel. This type of ideological coercion is a scandalous example of Israel’s efforts to extort from Palestinians in detention statements aimed at undermining Palestinian national interests. If one did not support the academic boycott of Israel before the detention of Lara Alqasem, Israel’s treatment of this American Palestinian student provides ample reason to  embrace BDS.

USACBI encourages students and professors to make a commitment to Palestinian human rights and boycott study abroad programs in Israel.

Photo: image distributed by supporters of Lara Alqasem