A Montreal-based solidarity activist and alternative journalist was barred
from entering Israel this past Saturday. Stefan Christoff, who is a member
of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and a media activist,
attempted to cross into Israel from Jordan.

Border officials held Stefan for several hours, where he was interrogated
and thoroughly searched before finally being barred entry. Stefan was
unilaterally deemed a "security threat" to Israel; no proof or explanation
was provided. Border guards threatened to remove Stefan by force if he did
not return to Jordan.

Stefan has been very active with Palestinian solidarity issues in
Montreal, raising awareness as a radio journalist and a member of the ISM.
Stefan's reports have been broadcast widely on community and alternative
radio outlets all over North America. He is a producer and host at CKUT
Radio in Montreal as well as a correspondent for Free Speech Radio News in
the United States.

Clearly, Stefan's only threat is that he is sympathetic to the Palestinian
struggle for self-determination, and that he was attempting to witness and
report first-hand the day-to-day reality of the illegal Israeli occupation
of Palestine.

Stefan's refusal is part of the Israeli practice of systematically
targeting Palestinian solidarity activists and alternative journalists.
Israeli authorities have attempted to bar many from ever entering the
country, while others are targeted for arrest for their work as observers
and participants at non-violent actions against the illegal Israeli
occupation. In one case, the Israeli Army murdered an
ISM activist (Rachel Corrie), while another activist still lies in a coma as a
result of an Israeli sniper bullet to the head (Tom Hurndall).

Canadian ISM members have previously challenged the "security threat"
designation in Israeli courts when they were in Israel, and have won
favorable decisions. With his forced removal from the Israeli-Jordanian
border, Stefan cannot effectively challenge his barring.

The systematic barring of Palestinian sympathizers continues the Israeli
policy of isolating Palestinians from the rest of the world. Individuals seeking
to visit the Palestinian people have no other access except through Israel, as
Israel controls all entrance and exit to and from the Occupied Palestinian
Territories. Canadian authorities are complicit in this process by not assertively
defending Canadian nationals who are arbitrarily barred from Israel or forcibly
removed. Moreover, based on previous cases, it is clear that information
about non-violent activists in Canada is being passed on to the Israeli
authorities.

ISM Montreal strongly encourages you to contact both Canadian and Israeli
authorities to assertively and politely express your disapproval of the
treatment of Palestinian solidarity activists, and in particular, Stefan
Christoff. Always, please also denounce the context in which the barring
of foreign activists occurs: the illegal occupation of Palestine by
Israel, and the courageous refusal of Palestinians to cede their right to
self-determination.


--> Please phone, e-mail and fax the Canadian Department of Foreign
Affairs, and the Israeli Embassy to complain about the systematic barring
of Palestinian solidarity activists and alternative journalists by Israel,
and to denounce the continued occupation of Palestine by Israel.

* Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAIT) at:
613-944-6788, or toll free (from within Canada only) at 1-800-267-6788.

* Canadian Embassy in Tel Aviv
(www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/telaviv)
Telephone : +011-972-3-636-3300
Fax : +011-972-3-636-3383
E-mail :  taviv@dfait-maeci.gc.ca

* Israeli Embassy in Canada:
50 O'Connor Street,
Suite 1005,
Ottawa Ontario
KlP 6L2
Tel: (613) 567-6450
Fax: (613) 237-8865
E-mail:  embisrott@cyberus.ca

Please send copies of your correspondence to  ism-montreal@resist.ca

More information about the International Solidarity Movement is available
at:  http://www.palsolidarity.org or  http://www.ismcanada.org