Immigration Authority Rejects German Journalist's Work Visa Application over Anti-Zionist Politics
Authorities said her articles met legal criteria for denying entry under Israel’s boycott law, blocking her planned permanent correspondent post.
- On Sunday, the Population and Immigration Authority denied a work visa to Serena Bilanceri, a German journalist for Die Tageszeitung, following a recommendation from the Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry.
- Ministry Director General Avi Cohen Scali recommended the denial under Amendment 40 to the Entry into Israel Law, which permits authorities to block individuals who promote boycotts against Israel.
- Officials cited opinion articles Bilanceri published in 2025 where she endorsed Amnesty International's "apartheid state" characterization and called for international economic and military sanctions against Israel.
- "Anti-Israel actors and those who slander Israel should not set foot in the country," Cohen Scali said, adding the ministry will not tolerate boycott calls "under the guise of professional journalism."
- This decision follows a series of regulatory measures recently taken by Israeli security and government authorities against foreign activists and journalists who advocate for boycotts and sanctions against the state.
30 Articles
30 Articles
He cannot live in Israel or work there because he incited the boycott. This is the accusation with which the authorities of Tel Aviv denied the working visa and revoked the residence permit to the Italian journalist Serena Bilanceri, correspondent of the German newspaper Taz. One position, the Israeli one, that the reporter has categorically rejected. [...] The article Israel denies the working visa and revokes the residence permit to the Italia…
Israel denies German journalist visa over criticism of Netanyahu government
The Israeli government accused a German correspondent for taz of calling for a boycott of Israel, although she had advocated for certain sanctions over Israeli policies in Gaza and the West Bank in opinion articles
The Israeli government accuses »taz« journalist Serena Bilanceri of making boycott calls and no longer lets her into the country. It is not the first time that the correspondent has problems with her entry.
Action constitutes 'a significant infringement on press freedom,' says taz
It is not the first problems: According to the newspaper, a "taz" journalist is not allowed to enter Israel. According to the media, it is about reports in which she has demanded action against the country. Her employer is outraged.
Apparently in connection with her critical reporting, the taz journalist Bilanceri refuses to enter the country. She speaks of bad news for the freedom of the press. Israeli colleagues are also concerned. By J.-C. Kitzler.[more]]>
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Bias Distribution
- 53% of the sources lean Right
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