Don’t lie to Israeli immigration

Bevan Hurley at HoS reports:

A peace activist was detained for 48 hours before being sent back to New Zealand for trying to enter Israel on a tourist visa.

The point being she was not a tourist and lied.

Amy Thomson, 26, was held at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on February 26. She tried to enter the country for a three-month voluntary internship at a non-government organisation promoting peace.

Thomson said the Israel Palestinian Centre for Research and Information told her she should claim to be a tourist.

Well that says a lot about them.

Israel, of all countries, has every reason to be vigilant about who can enter their country. Lying is a bad way to get in.

Suspicions were raised when Israeli immigration authorities saw she had recently visited Lebanon, which is in ongoing conflict with Israel.

Ha, I had just come from Iran when I entered Israel and had also been to Kuwait, Egypt and Turkey. so I also got a lengthy interrogation. I didn’t mind so much as she was cute 🙂

Thomson was questioned for eight hours about her visit to Israel, who she knew, and her intentions.

During which time she lied. They can spot liars. And how stupid is this – Her Linked In profile refers to her intended internship.

One interrogator mockingly congratulated her for winning a $500 prize for an essay she had written on Iranian politics which appeared on the Massey University website.

Oh my God – Mossad know how to use Google. The fiends.

“I felt humiliated and ashamed. Eventually it seemed to me that he had found something out and knew that I had lied about something.”

Exhausted, after a 24 hour flight and 12 hours questioning, Thomson admitted that she was to work for a non-governmental organisation.

Should have said that from the beginning, and applied for the correct visa.

She said she regretted not being honest but it was a valuable experience.

“I know what it’s like for the Palestinians to deal with what they deal with every single day.”

Oh Good God.