The Electronic Intifada 8 January 2003
Canadian activist Jaggi Singh (pictured right) traveled to Palestine on December 14th to write about the realities of the Israeli occupation and participate in the activities of the International Solidarity Movement.
On his arrival he was banned by an Israeli court from entering the occupied territories, an edict he defied on the grounds that it “normalized Israel’s occupation” of these lands.
On January 8th, while arriving for a pre-arranged meeting with a friend in West Jerusalem, Singh was bundled into a car by three Israelis in plain clothes.
The friend who witnessed the event stated:
“Jaggi was supposed to visit me this evening, after spending the day at Yad Vashem [Editor’s note: Israel’s Holocaust museum]. He called me to let me know that he would arrive at my house in 15 minutes. His arrival was somewhat eventful. I heard him yelling, and ran out to see three people in plain-clothes stuffing him into a car, which had been parked just outside my house. They showed me police badges, refused to give their names, and drove a car with plates 47-213-15.”
Singh’s attorney, Shamai Leibovitch, and the Canadian Consulate have been contacted.
Jaggi arrived at Ben Gurion Airport on December 14th and was initially refused entry by Israeli officials for ‘security reasons’. His attorney took his case to court and Jaggi was eventually given a one week visa with the condition that he not enter the occupied territories.
Jaggi is from Montreal, Canada and traveled to the occupied territories to write about the realities of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Jaggi is well known in Canada and abroad for speaking out against injustice in the many forms it takes.
In a telephone conversation with EI, Singh’s friend commented that it was “bizarre” that Israel had chosen to arrest him at this time, as he was about to leave the country on January 11th in any case.
Singh’s lawyer, Shamai Leibovitch, was able to ascertain that Jaggi was being held in the Russian Compound detention center in Jerusalem but was not allowed to speak to him as Singh was “not under investigation”. It is believed that Israel will deport Singh.
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