Today, in response to the release of the Israeli government’s list of blacklisted organizations who will be banned from entering the country, Daniel Sokatch, CEO of the New Israel Fund, released the following statement:

“We’ve said it before: banning political opposition is the policy of autocracies, not democracies.

“The Netanyahu government’s Entry Law, which is a travel ban that uses blacklists and litmus tests to bar visitors from entering Israel based on their beliefs, flies in the face of the democratic principles enshrined in Israel’s declaration of independence.

“Our position hasn’t wavered: NIF does not support the global BDS movement and we don’t agree with the blacklisted organizations on many issues. But we don’t have to agree with them to know that banning them from visiting Israel is just wrong. We know that it’s profoundly anti-democratic to discriminate against those who advocate for nonviolent strategies just because the government doesn’t agree with their views.

“Our position is principled: We do not support the BDS movement. We oppose the government’s travel ban and all its actions to punish those with whom it disagrees.”