Dear Wikimaniacs!
okay i will address this issue, and please excuse me had it been addressed
elsewhere online, and point me to where i can have a look on the discussion.
One of the most important criteria in deciding on the place to host
wikimania annual conferences is “ease of attendance”, which is only logical.
[
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania/Judging_criteria] Now there are
some serious concerns regarding hosting the next wikimania conference in
Haifa, Israel. Please bear with me, and understand that non of these
concerns has anything to do with politics, and that they are entirely
practical:
1) This is a quote from a website of an American company called “A Briggs
Passport & Visa Expeditors” [
http://www.abriggs.com/high_level/FER_I/Israel_FER.php] which specializes in
securing “expedited passports and travel visas for international travelers
...” It says:
“Israel has strict security measures that may affect visitors. Prolonged
questioning and detailed searches may take place at the time of entry and/or
departure at all points of entry to Israel, including entry from the West
Bank and Gaza. Travelers with Arabic surnames, those who ask that Israeli
stamps not be entered into their passports, and unaccompanied female
travelers have been delayed and subjected to close scrutiny at points of
entry. Security-related delays or obstacles in bringing in or departing with
cameras or electronic equipment are not unusual. Laptop computers and other
electronic equipment have been confiscated from travelers leaving Israel
from Ben Gurion Airport during security checks. While most are returned
prior to departure, some equipment has been damaged, destroyed or lost as a
result. Americans who have had personal property damaged due to security
procedures at Ben Gurion can contact the Commissioner of Complaints at the
airport for redress. During searches and questioning, Israeli authorities
have denied American citizens access to U.S. consular officers, lawyers, or
family members.”
This is not the only source that confirms these practices.
2) It is frequently reported, that airport and entry points officials,
refuse to stamp the israeli entry permit in a separate paper and insist on
stamping it in the passport. Travelers with an israeli visa, or even
exit/entry stamp in their passports, may not enter many countries, including
Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait, and Sudan, and
perhaps other countries of which i have no knowledge. Carriers of visas and
stamps from any of these countries and other countries as well (such as
Bahrain, Pakistan, Algeria, Indonesia, and Malaysia) are reported to be
frequently harassed and maltreated as they attempt to enter Israel.
3) I am rather concerned about the difficulty, and impossibility of some
interested participants to be able to attend had they wanted. There are
problems on the levels of acquiring a visa, then leaving their countries to
Israel without trouble, then entering Israel, then leaving Israel, then
getting back to their countries from Israel; the prospect of trouble and
maltreatment exists with every step of these. Participants from Iran, Syria,
Lebanon, and Palestine, and maybe other countries, are not even allowed to
enter into Israel. Why should they not be able to participate in the
wikimania annual conference? And why should the conference be held in such a
place, in which precisely “ease of attendance” is absolutely lacking?!
I believe that Israel is not an appropriate place in which to hold a
conference such as wikimania for all the reasons mentioned above, and i
believe that it is fair to reconsider the decision, and i hope that we,
along with the wikimedia foundation, and along with the israeli participants
too, will find reason to address the issue with view to fairness and
practicality.
Most appreciatively,
Maysara Omar