Petition to Supreme Court: Adalah Demands Cancellation of Travel Ban Imposed on Literary Critic and Journalist Antwan Shalhat

14/02/2006

On 26 January 2006, Adalah submitted a petition to the Supreme Court of Israel on behalf of renowned literary critic, translator and journalist Antwan Shalhat, asking the court to instruct the Minister of the Interior to cancel the order filed against Mr. Shalhat barring him from leaving the country for 12 months. Adalah also demanded that the Court order the Minister of the Interior to use his authority to impose travel bans on citizens only when there is a near certainty that the individual's travel will cause harm to state security. On 13 February 2006 the Minister of Interior responded to the petition, repeating his arguments in favor of the travel ban on Mr. Shalhat. On the same day, Adalah submitted to the Court a request for an urgent hearing.

The Minister of the Interior filed the order against Mr. Shalhat under Regulation 6 of the Emergency Regulations (Leaving the Country) of 1948. In the petition, filed by Adalah Attorney Marwan Dalal on behalf of Mr. Shalhat, Adalah argued that the Minister of the Interior lacks the official authority to issue an order banning Mr. Shalhat from leaving the country, as he had no current plans to travel outside of Israel. The petition further claimed that, as the right to leave the country is a constitutional right, enumerated in Article 6 of Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, the Minister of the Interior must demonstrate, with certainty, that the individual's travel poses a real threat to state security to justify employing such harsh measures. The petitioners made reference to a ruling issued by the Supreme Court in 1948, the Minister of Interior may employ such draconian measures when there is a “serious and honest concern” that the travel probably will pose a risk to the security of the state.

The petitioners further claimed that the state violated its obligation to respect Article 12 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which proclaims the right of individuals to leave the country. Israel is a signatory to the covenant, and the Israeli Government ratified it in 1991. The petition noted that the UN Human Rights Committee stated in its interpretation of article 12 of the ICCPR (General Comment 27), inter alia, that a state must demonstrate the strict "requirement of necessity” to justify a limitation of this right.

The petition also emphasized that the Minister of the Interior's order violates Mr. Shalhat's basic right to due process, as the Minister banned him from leaving Israel without allowing him a hearing in which to object and defend himself. Furthermore, the Ministry of the Interior issued the order based on classified information, making it impossible for Mr. Shalhat to challenge the accusations against him.

Adalah also submitted two affidavits in support of Mr. Shalhat from acclaimed novelist Sami Michael, and “Israel Prize Laureate” Prof. Sason Somekh, an expert on Arabic language and literature. In his affidavit Sami Michael states that:

As a reader of Antwan's creation and writing, I was impressed by his ability to find the common by his meticulousness for adopting humanist values... I think that Antwan, through his translation of Hebrew work into Arabic and his public activities, has made a notable contribution to the understanding, closeness, tolerance and friendship between these two peoples: the Israeli and the Palestinian. Therefore, any attempt to restrict Shalhat's work, by any means, will serve, in the end, those who seek hate and enmity and wish to shatter the aspiration of building relationships between the two peoples.

Prof. Sason Somekh stated that:

Antwan's numerous articles and books published during the last decades bear witness to his dedication to the matters he deals with. They place him as an excellent literary critic and a wise and critical commentator on contemporary Hebrew culture… I have no doubt that Antwan is one of the best translators from Hebrew to Arabic of our time. Through his work he plays an important role in the creation of dialogue between the two cultures.

Mr. Shalhat is a prolific author and skilled translator of Hebrew and Arabic literature. He has written, among other things, two dramatic plays and articles on literary criticism, and published many editorial pieces in newspapers. He was also an editor for the "Al-Ittihad" and "Fasl Al-Maqal" newspapers. His translation work includes: Amos Kenan, The Road to Ein Harod, 1983; Yeshayahu Leibowitz, People, Land, State, 1986; Q. Zetnick, The Confrontation, 1991; Paul Kor, Caspian (a children's book), 1999; Joshua Sobol, Ghetto (a play), 2000; Hanokh Levin, Queen of the Bathtub (a play), 2000; and Benny Morris, A Correction of a Mistake, Arabs and Jews in Palestine 1936-1956. Shalhat has also edited the translation to Arabic of Sami Shalom Chetrit, The Mizrahi Struggle in Israel 1948-2000: Between Oppression and Emancipation, Between Identification and Alternative.

H.C. 841/06 Antwan Shalhat et.al. v. The Minister of the Interior (case pending)

See also: Adalah Seeks Cancellation of Travel Ban Imposed on Renowned Literary Critic and Journalist Antwan Shalhat, Adalah News Update, 16 January 2006