Haaretz: March 9, 2019
"Am I Too Dangerous to Enter Israel?"
By Letty Cottin Pogrebin

If supporting a non-violent boycott of the settlements makes me an enemy of the Israeli state, so be it. But Israel's border officers will have to hear my story before they turn me away for good. Continue reading...

Times of Israel: March 8, 2017
"UK's Johnson tours West Bank settlements with Peace Now," UK Foreign Secretary receives briefing on West Bank settlements from Peace Now 

Associated Press: March 8, 2017
"Johnson says Britain still backs 2-state solution in Mideast," UK Foreign Minister tours the West Bank with Peace Now

New York Times: March 7, 2017
"New Israel Law Bars Foreign Critics From Entering the Country," APN's Lara Friedman quoted on new Israeli "Entry Law"

Voice of America: March 7, 2017
"Israel to Close Borders to Backers of Pro-Arab Boycott," APN calls Israel’s new anti-BDS bill a “severe blow to Israeli democracy.

Jerusalem Post: March 7, 2017
"Settlers call on UK's Foreign Secretary Johnson to Visit," After learning that UK Foreign Secretary will meet with Peace Now for a briefing, settler leaders say they want to meet him, too. 

Jewish Telegraph Agency: March 6, 2017
"Knesset bans entry to foreigners calling for boycotts of Israel," APN’s CEO, Debra DeLee, warns that Israel’s new anti-BDS bill violates of its own democratic principles, most notably the freedom of political expression.

Jerusalem Post: March 6, 2017
"Anti-settlement Peace Now to Brief UK's Boris Johnson on Settlements," Peace Now’s Lior Amihai to brief British Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, on the status of settlements on Wednesday, March 8. 

If supporting a non-violent boycott of the settlements makes me an enemy of the Israeli state, so be it. But Israel's border officers will have to hear my story before they turn me away for good.

Okay,  yes, I’ve written critical articles and signed Open Letters protesting Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and decrying the settlement enterprise; and yes, I’ve been a member of Americans for Peace Now for more than 30 years and a supporter of B’Tselem, Human Rights Watch, ACRI, and the New Israel Fund, among other “suspect” organizations. So it’s a safe bet that, under the new Israeli entry ban, I’m going to end up on the government’s blacklist.

Since the mid-1990s, the settlers established nearly 100 illegal outposts and built dozens of neighborhoods and illegal projects in many settlements. In 2015 alone 15% of the units constructed in the settlements was illegal.

During the past year, Settlement Watch conducted extensive research on illegal construction in settlements and outposts. The data collected exposes a process parallel to the official planning process in the settlements – that of illegal construction. This parallel process is what allows for thousands of housing units to remain on the ground, and be connected to roads and infrastructure.

I’ve been devoting much of my life to activism in support of Israel’s future wellbeing, advocating for peace and security, working to bolster Israel as a democracy and a Jewish state, living side by side in peace with a sovereign Palestinian state.

I was raised with the infant state of Israel in the late 1940s as the sixth child in the household of my parents Philip and Ethel Klutznick, activists and strong supporters of Israel’s right to exist and thrive as the homeland of the Jewish people. Dad, an international Jewish leader, advocated for the survival and the growth of Israel throughout his lifetime, but warned in the early 1980s that Israel must negotiate peace with its enemies, a common sense position of strength through peace.

Monday, Israel’s Knesset kicked me in the behind. It made me into a persona-non-grata.

Americans for Peace Now strongly condemns new Israeli legislation adopted today by the Knesset, which would ban entry to Israel of foreign nationals who support or publicly engage in boycotts of either Israel or West Bank settlements. 

APN's President and CEO Debra DeLee said: "This new draconian law is a severe blow to Israeli democracy. It is aimed at a basic civil liberty, the freedom of expression, and will severely harm Israel by keeping out some of its greatest supporters.