Omar Shakir

Human Rights Watch Israel and Palestine Director Omar Shakir speaks to press ahead of his deportation from Israel, flanked by HRW head Kenneth Roth, right, and attorney Michael Sfard, left, November 25, 2019 (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org).

How Israel’s top court outlawed moral opposition to the occupation

In the topsy-turvy world of Israel's High Court, international law is nothing more than a disguise to delegitimize the state and its settlements.

By Hagai El-Ad January 16, 2020

Human Rights Watch Israel and Palestine Director Omar Shakir parts with friends and supporters at Ben-Gurion Airport ahead of his deportation from Israel, November 25, 2019 (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org).

PODCAST: Who will Israel deport next?

Attorney Emily Schaeffer Omer-Man explains how, in deporting Human Rights Watch's Omar Shakir, Israel is now policing the speech and political opinions of human rights advocates.

By Henriette Chacar November 29, 2019

Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch (Courtesy of Omar Shakir).

Supreme Court rules Israel can expel top Human Rights Watch director

Israel's top court says Omar Shakir can be deported, escalating the government's efforts to silence criticism of its policies.

By Henriette Chacar November 5, 2019

Latest

Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch (Courtesy of Omar Shakir).

PODCAST: Israel wants to deport this human rights defender

On the latest episode of The +972 Podcast, Human Right Watch’s Omar Shakir talks about Israel’s case against him, which he believes is a watershed moment for democracy and free speech in Israel. Listen here: iTunes/Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify For more than a year now, Israel has been trying to deport the Israel and Palestine Director…

By +972 Magazine June 28, 2019

Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch (Courtesy of Omar Shakir).

What kind of democracy deports human rights workers?

Israel is trying to deport Human Rights Watch’s Omar Shakir, claiming democratic states have every right to defend themselves. The only problem? Israel is neither democratic nor acting in self-defense. By Hagai El-Ad At the heart of the Jerusalem District Court’s recent ruling to authorize the deportation of Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine director of Human Rights Watch, one can…

By +972 Magazine April 28, 2019

Palestinian protesters against negotiations with the Israeli government clash with Palestinian riot police on August 28, 2013, after protesters were banned from approaching Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (Issam Rimawi/Flash90)

Palestinian Authority, Hamas use torture to silence dissent, report finds

A new report by Human Rights Watch documents dozens of cases whereby the Palestinian authorities in both the West Bank and Gaza use arbitrary arrest and torture to repress critics. A new Human Rights Watch (HRW) investigation published Tuesday draws on 86 cases of arbitrary arrest, abuse, and torture by Fatah and Hamas authorities in the West Bank…

By Samer Badawi October 23, 2018

Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch (Courtesy of Omar Shakir).

Human Rights Watch sues Israel in first challenge to anti-boycott travel ban

This is the first application of the 2017 amendment to Israel’s entry law in which a foreign national already living and working in Israel has had their work permit revoked for alleged support for BDS. Human Rights Watch and its Israel and Palestine director, U.S. citizen Omar Shakir, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the Israeli government following the Interior Ministry’s decision…

By Mairav Zonszein May 16, 2018