Bethlehem University student recounts forced deportation to Carnegie Endowment in DC 5Feb10 February 6, 2010
Ma’an News Agency - 5 Februrary 2010
Bethlehem University student Berlanty Azzam, forcibly removed from the West Bank in October, was hosted via video-link in Washington on Wednesday by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where she spoke about the right to education in Palestine.
The event, titled “The Right of Palestinians to Study and Travel: A Discussion” had Berlanty recount her abrupt seizure, where she was blindfolded and handcuffed on the road from Ramallah to Bethlehem, held four hours then ejected into Gaza, where her family lives. Israeli military personnel said she was living illegally in the West Bank and ‘deported’ her to Gaza.
Berlanty’s story, as one of the narratives of dozens of BU students from Gaza, was put in context of the larger Israeli ban on Gaza residents seeking education at Palestinian universities in the West Bank by Vice President for Development at BU Brother Jack Curran. More than 12 students from Gaza were accepted to BU last year, but were denied permission to travel to the West Bank by Israeli officials, and many more, who were able to leave years ago, are afraid they will face the same fate as Berlanty.
Tania Hary, Director of International Relations for GISHA, the Israeli rights association who oversaw the legal case challenging the forcible removal, spoke on the particulars of Berlanty’s case, and its ramifications on the larger right to movement and education for Palestinians.
Organizers said they had hoped Berlanty would be able to travel to the United States to speak about the ordeal, but noted she was denied permission by Israeli forces to leave Gaza.
Groups in DC that participated in the discussion were, Project Engage, Americans for Peace Now, the Foundation for Middle East Peace, and Churches for Middle East Peace.
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Reader Comments
I wish Ms. Azzam the very best and hope she can continue to use her experience to bring peace and mutual respect between Palestinians and Israelis.
Bruce Craig Roter
Composer of “A Camp David Overture (Prayer for Peace)”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2au5SOYhO-8