Will Israel grant immigrant status to a former Israeli BDS activist?

Israeli-born Swedish artist Dror Feiler, a noted BDS activist, wishes to regain his Israeli citizenship after renouncing it in the 1970s.

By HAGAY HACOHEN
Updated: OCTOBER 29, 2018 04:58
BDS activists in Berlin (photo credit: REUTERS)
BDS activists in Berlin
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Israeli-born artist and jazz musician Dror Feiler contacted the Israeli embassy in Stockholm and requested that his Israeli citizenship be reinstated, Channel 10 reported Sunday evening.
Feiler claimed that he only renounced his Israeli citizenship in the 1970s because Swedish law did not allow dual citizenship at the time. The law had since been changed.
He added that he is interested in becoming an Israeli again because he would like to visit his 95-year old elderly mother, whom he has not seen in person since 2009.
Feiler claimed he was not allowed into Israel when he attempted to visit using his Swedish passport.   
The embassy workers, fully aware that Feiler is a leading BDS activist who was involved in Gaza Flotilla efforts in 2010 and 2011, passed the information to Jerusalem and are waiting a decision. 
In 2004, Feiler created an art installation titled Snow White and The Madness of Truth which featured the Maxim restaurant suicide bombing in 2003 that killed 21 Israelis and injured 51.
The work was damaged by Zvi Mazel, the Israeli ambassador in Sweden at the time, who told Feiler that his installation "is not a work of art. This is an expression of hatred for the Israeli people."
In theory, every Jewish person can receive Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return, but the state of Israel can refuse to grant citizenship in some cases. In the 1970s, Jewish-American mobster Meyer Lansky attempted to make aliyah but was denied entry into Israel.


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