Appeal of US student barred from entering Israel rejected

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JERUSALEM (AP) — The lawyer for a U.S. student who has been barred from entering Israel because of alleged involvement in a Palestinian-led boycott movement says that her appeal to remain in the country has been rejected.

Yotam Ben-Hillel says a Tel Aviv Court on Friday rejected Lara Alqasem’s appeal to remain in Israel to attend graduate school. He says the 22-year-old Florida native has until Sunday morning to decide whether to appeal to the Supreme Court or leave the country.

Alqasem landed in Israel with a student visa on Oct. 2 but was blocked from entering because of her past involvement in the boycott movement against the Jewish state. She has been held in detention while appealing the order.

Alqasem has argued that she is no longer active in the boycott movement and has been supported by professors at her alma mater, the University of Florida, and Israel’s Hebrew University, where she hopes to pursue a master’s degree in human rights.

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