It is lamentable that a religious leader who issued a clear statement before travelling to Britain condemning all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism; who has never been convicted of anti-Semitism in Israel; has committed no crime in the UK; and who was invited to speak in Parliament by MP's, now finds himself living under strict bail conditions including the wearing of an electronic tag, observing a night-time curfew, reporting to immigration officials at noon every day and refraining from public-speaking.
In a statement, Home Office Minister Theresa May said, "I will seek to exclude an individual if I consider that his or her presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good, and the government makes no apologies for refusing people access to the UK if we believe that they might seek to undermine our society.” John Ware, for the BBC observes, “The Home Office has refused to elaborate on exactly why Sheikh Salah's presence has been judged "not conducive to the public good".
Ian Black, writing in the Guardian asks, “The real question about the episode is this: if Salah is tolerated in Israel, why did the UK government object to his presence?”
Many Palestinians in the UK as well as Palestine accuse the Israeli government of being behind his arrest and attempted deportation in order to intimidate and silence critics. Hanan Chehata, writing in the New Statesman elaborates on this.
“Sheikh Raed Salah has become the target of a vicious and concerted smear campaign by the pro-Israel lobby in the UK and unfortunately our government has now weighed in to give legitimacy to the systematic persecution of Palestinians on British soil as well… Sheikh Raed is the Palestinian leader of the largest civil society body in Israel and works with the largest umbrella body of Palestinian organisations, the High Follow Up Committee. As soon as the Middle East Monitor (MEMO) began to publicise the fact that we were inviting Sheikh Raed to the United Kingdom to take part in a series of public and parliamentary speaking engagements, a vicious campaign of demonization began against him in parts of the British media. Pro-Israel bloggers and journalists began to call him an anti-Semite, a hate preacher, and other libellous and defamatory statements were made against him. This is despite the fact that he has never been convicted of anti-Semitism in Israel, has spoken openly in Tel Aviv University, and has repeatedly denied and rejected all of the allegations made against him… The shocking treatment of Sheikh Raed will backfire as it is simply exposing the fact that, once again, the British authorities seem willing to do the Israelis' dirty work for them no matter how much it flies in the face of British standards of justice, democracy and free speech.”
It seems Sheik Salah has become the first Palestinian political prisoner on British soil.
Alan Travis, writing in the Guardian cites Sarah Colborne, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in London, said she was appalled by the decision to detain Salah. "This is a legitimate organisation which Israel has never moved to ban. Raed Salah regularly speaks at venues across Israel, where he has considerable support amongst the Palestinian citizens of Israel, who make up a fifth of the population." He had been elected mayor of his home town, Um al-Fahm, three times and never been convicted of anti-Semitism in Israel.
Colborne said Salah had asked his legal team to take action against those in Britain who had made allegations of anti-Semitism against him before his arrival. "The attempt to remove Sheikh Raed Salah from this country while he is taking legal action against those who have been defaming him is an obstruction of the course of justice," she said.
That seems to be the view of ordinary people in Britain too. Yesterday afternoon we took Sheik Salah for a meal in a local restaurant. Both there and as we walked back to the car along the streets of North London, people recognised his distinctive smile and warm features, and came over to shake his hand, bow slightly in respect, or ask if they could have their photo taken with him. This seems to contradict the Home Secretary's view that his presence in Britain is "not conducive to the public good".
At least the High Court appears more resistant to the influence of the Israel Lobby than the Home Secretary. Today, Lord Justice Aikens refused to give the Home Secretary permission to appeal against a High Court judge's decision on 15 July to grant Mr Salah bail.
More Photos of Sheikh Raed Salah
See also The Blond-Haired, Blue-Eyed, “Christian” Face of Terrorism
