The State Dept. Is So Considerate

After reading this, I turned to the Jerusalem Consulate-General in Jerusalem wishing to know: may Jews submit reports about being denied entrance to Joseph's tomb in Shechem, an act guaranteed according to the Oslo Accords and, likewise, being denied by the Waqf officials our right of freedom of prayer on the Temple Mount?


---------- Forwarded message ----------

- from Zogby's Arab American Institute.

Summer travel plans? Read this!

By href="http://www.aaiusa.org">AAI

Posted on Sunday June 14, 2009

If you plan to travel to Israel or the Occupied Territories this summer, please report any instance of denied entry to the Department of State. The Arab American Institute maintains contact with State and senior officials in the office of American Citizens Services about this and other, relevant issues. ACS continues to encourage U.S. citizens to report instances of denied entry. At the recent, April 24th meeting held by the White House for Arab American leaders, Michele Bond reiterated her desire to hear about any difficulties American citizens face when traveling to the Occupied Territories. During a May 28th conference call with several organizations, including the AAI, Michele Bond again reiterated the need for American citizens traveling to the Occupied Territories to notify the Bureau of Consular Affairs of any problems they face, be it denial of entry or unnecessary delays and harassment at the border crossings...or just send emails of anecdotes and negative experiences without full details of their personal information if they are concerned with privacy...The United States has continuously made it clear to the Israeli government that fair and consistent treatment of U.S citizens, regardless of ethnicity, is a priority, and continues to address this matter with the highest levels of the Israeli government.

The Consulate General strongly encourages anyone denied entry into Israel or the West Bank to complete the Denial of Entry Form and submit it via e-mail to JerusalemACS@state.gov in order to track cases.

Posted on Sunday June 14, 2009

If you plan to travel to Israel or the Occupied Territories this summer, please report any instance of denied entry to the Department of State. The Arab American Institute maintains contact with State and senior officials in the office of American Citizens Services about this and other, relevant issues. ACS continues to encourage U.S. citizens to report instances of denied entry.

At the recent, April 24th meeting held by the White House for Arab American leaders, Michele Bond reiterated her desire to hear about any difficulties American citizens face when traveling to the Occupied Territories. During a May 28th conference call with several organizations, including the AAI, Michele Bond again reiterated the need for American citizens traveling to the Occupied Territories to notify the Bureau of Consular Affairs of any problems they face, be it denial of entry or unnecessary delays and harassment at the border crossings.

Citizens can fill out official Denial of Entry forms, providing their information and the details of their denial, or just send emails of anecdotes and negative experiences without full details of their personal information if they are concerned with privacy. It is vital for the Department of State to have this information, Ms. Bond informed us, so that the department has empirical evidence to present when they address this issue with senior Israeli officials.

The United States has continuously made it clear to the Israeli government that fair and consistent treatment of U.S citizens, regardless of ethnicity, is a priority, and continues to address this matter with the highest levels of the Israeli government. Without any reporting of cases of denial of entry or harassment, the U.S government is forced to take the Israeli government at their word when they say that the situation has improved and is being resolved.

The Consulate General strongly encourages anyone denied entry into Israel or the West Bank to complete the Denial of Entry Form and submit it via e-mail to JerusalemACS@state.gov in order to track cases.