Advertisement Placed in Ha’aretz (Hebrew edition)
20 March 2002

“Everyone has the right to leave any country,
including his own, and to return to his country.”
Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

“All persons are free to leave Israel.”
Article 6 of the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty

The Minister of the Interior prohibited Sheikh Ra’ed Salah from leaving the country by issuing an administrative order.

The Minister of the Interior refused to let Sheikh Ra’ed Salah know what materials he reviewed before issuing the order and the grounds for its issuance.

The Minister of the Interior did not provide an opportunity for Sheikh Ra’ed Salah to argue against the order prior or subsequent to its issuance.

This violation of freedom of movement and the right to due process of Sheikh Ra’ed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement in Israel, is one more in the long list of actions the Israeli government and Attorney General are using against the leaders of the Arab community in Israel. These actions are severely harming freedom of speech and the right of the national minority to political liberties and the principle of equality.

As human rights organizations of Israel, we call upon the Minister of the Interior to immediately rescind the order forbidding Sheikh Ra’ed Salah from leaving the country.

Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel
Arab Association for Human Rights
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel
Al Meezan Association for Human Rights
HaMoked Center for the Defense of the Individual
Mossawa Center
Physicians for Human Rights