Emily Jacir

Palestine / USA

Austrian nationals Marwan Abado, Peter Rosmanith and Franz Hautzinger were invited to perform on July 25th, 2003, in Jerusalem, and July 26th in Bethlehem as part of the 12th Jerusalem Festival Songs of Freedom concert series organised by Yabous Productions.

Abado, who is of Palestinian origin, was officially invited by the Austrian Embassy in Tel Aviv, as well as the United Nations Development Programme. He obtained a visa through the Israeli Foreign Ministry in Vienna prior to his arrival. On July 20th, 2002, Marwan Abado arrived at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport and was immediately detained by the Israeli authorities. After being held for 24 hours in the airport prison (a representative from the Austrian Embassy, who had come to welcome him, remained with him during this time), Israeli security cancelled his visa and he was put on the next plane back to Vienna. He was denied entry into Israel for ‘security reasons’. No further explanation was given.

Marwan is one of hundreds from around the world – filmmakers, artists, doctors, lawyers, students, government officials, human rights workers, etc – who has been refused entry by Israeli security, with the official reason given being ‘security’. They are targeted because they are working with or helping Palestinians.

I asked Marwan and his band to imagine that they were in Jerusalem and to perform the concert.

(Text: imagine limerick catalogue, 2004)