13 US Citizens Denied Entry to Israel for Trip to Learn About Palestinian Christians

A group of 13 U.S. citizens, traveling to Israel as part of a weeklong interfaith trip with the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, were denied entry at the border two weeks ago. The delegation, led by retired Emory University theology professor L. Edward Phillips and his wife, Sara Webb Phillips—an ordained United Methodist minister—planned to tour Jerusalem and the West Bank. They traveled from the U.S. to Jordan and intended to enter Israel via the Sheikh Hussein Crossing. Upon arrival, they were interrogated by Israeli border agents. Nine members of the group were initially granted visas and allowed entry, while four were denied. Subsequently, Israeli border authorities boarded the bus where the nine were waiting and revoked their visas.

L. Edward Phillips, who taught historical theology and worship at Emory’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, described the experience as unexpected. “I always wanted to be first at something,” he said by phone from Jordan. “Now I’m the first person to lead a Christian delegation into the West Bank to be categorically denied entry.” The Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, a 40-year-old nonprofit organization registered in Israel, has welcomed thousands of visitors over the years. Its director, Omar Haramy, noted that although Israel has denied entry to a few individuals in the past, it has never denied an entire delegation.

Haramy expressed concern over the treatment of the group, calling it inconsistent with Israel’s self-identification as a liberal democracy. “This is how you’d expect somebody going into Iran or Iraq or North Korea,” he said. “You don’t expect a group of interfaith people, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, with a clean record, many of them professors, graduates of top-notch universities, to get treated like this.” Seven of the 13 members of the delegation gathered for a photo prior to crossing the border and being denied entry. Edward Phillips and his wife, Sara Webb Phillips, are pictured in the front row.

Sabeel is appealing the denial of two individuals in the group. Jonathan Kuttab, a Palestinian human rights attorney from Manheim, Pa., and executive director of Friends of Sabeel North America, an affiliate organization, stated that Israel does not allow groups to appeal. The incident raises questions about the treatment of interfaith delegations and the broader implications for religious freedom and humanitarian access in the region.

Source: Read the original report