Posted on 06/02/2008 7:21:27 AM PDT by Hildy
JERUSALEM - The U.S. has reinstated the Fulbright scholarships of seven Gaza Strip students blocked by Israel from leaving the Hamas-ruled territory, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.
The students were informed Thursday that their scholarships for the upcoming academic year would be deferred because they couldn't get out of Gaza, which Israel blockaded after Islamic Hamas militants seized power a year ago.
A letter dated Sunday from the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem said officials were working to secure exit permits so the students could continue the visa and university placement process.
"We are working very closely with the Government of Israel in order to secure its cooperation in this matter," the letter said. Consulate officials would not comment Monday beyond confirming the letter's authenticity.
Israel, he added, "sincerely hopes that it will be possible to get the students out by the beginning of the coming academic year."
All Gazans who exit the territory need to undergo tight Israeli security checks.
Israel allows pressing humanitarian cases to leave Gaza, but officials say students are not included in that definition. Some 500 students and their dependents have been allowed to leave over the past year. But exit permits have dried up in recent months in the wake of militant attacks on Israel, according to an Israeli human rights group, Gisha, which has been helping Gaza students leave for studies abroad.
Gisha director Sari Bashi welcomed the U.S. consulate's pledge to help the students. Gisha "calls on Israel to allow all students with scholarships trapped in Gaza to leave and study abroad," she told the AP.
The U.S. started appealing to Israel on Friday. The lobbying included a call from the No. 3 State Department official to Israel's ambassador in Washington on Friday morning.
State Department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters on Friday that the U.S. objected to the Israeli decision and "they heard our concerns."
Regev said the U.S. didn't immediately approach Israel to expedite the exit of the scholarship winners. "If we weren't aware of a problem, how can anyone expect us to solve it?" Regev asked.
Named for the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright, the grants are the flagship U.S. government educational exchange program. They go to U.S. citizens and nationals of other countries for a variety of educational activities, primarily university lecturing, advanced research, graduate study and teaching in elementary and secondary schools. The $198 million annual program brings 7,000 foreign students to the U.S.
The U.S. Department of State is out of control.
Whether they are patently stupid, or blatantly treasonous, they remain out of control.
Perhaps its time for a Dept. of State scorched-earh makeover.
Strip it from Condi on down, abolish ALL its policies and regulations, restaff it, and start over.
the U.S. caved into pressure from the NY Times, who made the scholarship withdrawal, an insignificant event, a top-of-the-fold front page story. The Times didn’t mention that only 7 students were involved until the end of the story. It is a good example of how the Times uses its front page as an editorial page.
Look at the bright side, they can make their own BELTS!
Gaza strip has a shoreline. They could try something called a boat.
Why don’t they travel through Egypt?
Don’t their fellow Muslims want them to be successful?
Gaza is on the Mediteranean sea. Don/t these “people” even have boats?
I think the Israelis are blockading Gaza. Something about shipments of rockets...
Israel could not stop a fishing boat leaving Gaza for Cypress. If they used force the world would howl. The truth is no one will let them in.
Israel could not stop a fishing boat leaving Gaza for Cypress. If they used force the world would howl. The truth is no one will let them in.
High volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel, WOT
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A boat would be stopped. Gaza has a border with Egypt, they could leave through there.
Halfbright scholarships would have been more appropriate.
like Arabs flying planes and never learned how to land,
These guys can pilot a boat, but don’t know how to dock.
I have no desire to help Palestinians until and unless they stop their attacks.
Is Israel blockading the coast?
I don't know if there's a total blockade or not, they do check boats, fisherman have always complained about that, and have pretty much shut down arms shipments by sea. A half dozen folk leaving Gaza in a small boat, I don't know if they'd get caught, or what would be done if they were. Probably be returned to Gaza. But where would they go, Egypt won't let them in, else they'd simply stroll across the border.
Understandable. The last time the Gazans made their way into Egypt in large numbers they flooded the local economy with counterfeit notes!
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