Hmmmm..... this story doesn't appear in today's NY TIMES (either in print or on line). I wonder why.
On Fri, Aug 6, 2010 at 1:30 PM, Joseph Catron <[email protected]> wrote: > American VIP humiliated at airport > > Prof. Donna Shalala, Clinton's secretary of health, arrives in Israel > in order to fight academic boycott against Israel, claims she was held > at Ben-Gurion Airport just because she has Arab last name > > Itamar Eichner > Published: 08.06.10, 13:17 / Israel News > > This is not how she imagined her visit to Israel. Prof. Donna Shalala, > who served as the US Secretary of Health and Human Services for eight > years under Clinton and is currently the president of the University > of Miami, was held for two-and-a-half hours at Ben Gurion Airport > during which she underwent a humiliating security debriefing because > of her Arab last name – all this despite the fact that her hosts > notified the airport ahead of time that she is a VIP. > > The fact that Shalala arrived in Israel as part of an official > delegation of the heads of universities fighting against the academic > boycott against the Jewish State also seemed not to help her. > > Shalala, 69, was born in the US to Lebanese immigrant parents. She is > considered a true friend of Israel and has visited the country many > times in the past. > > She recently arrived in Israel as a guest of the American Jewish > Congress with the objective of increasing collaboration among > universities in Israel, the US, and the Palestinian Authority. During > their visit, members of the delegation met with President Shimon > Peres, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, and Palestinian Prime > Minister Salam Fayyad. > > The official visit ended on July 12, but Shalala stayed on for another > two days for a private visit. > > The AJC claims that it notified the Israel Airports Authority of > Shalala's VIP status as is customary prior to her departure. However, > the IAA claims that it has no record on file for Shalala prior to her > arrival. > > When Shalala arrived at the airport, she was not recognized as a VIP > and was even afforded what she claims to be "special" treatment > because of her Arab last name. She claims she was held for > two-and-a-half hours during which she was asked invasive and > humiliating personal questions. Despite the delay, she managed to > board the flight to the US. Officials who spoke with her said she was > deeply offended by the treatment she received. > > An IAA spokesperson reported in response: "This incident is unknown to > us. We performed a thorough check. There was no contact made with us > or any other body. No unusual events were registered at Ben Gurion > Airport, and we have no idea about this incident, which, from our > perspective, never happened." > > IAA officials said that root of the problem is that the host > organizations don't bother accompanying their guests to the airport. > > The incident was raised Wednesday during a discussion convened by > Deputy Foreign Ministry Ayalon to discuss treatment of VIPs at Ben > Gurion Airport. During the discussion, it was agreed that a new > protocol will be drafted that will keep incidents to a minimum. > > Shalala preferred not to comment on the article. > > http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3931210,00.html > > -- > "Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre, mod sceal þe mare, þe ure > mægen lytlað." > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > -- Jim Devine "All science would be superfluous if the form of appearance of things directly coincided with their essence." -- KM _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
