This
article is from Law.com:
9th Circuit Grants Arab Israeli's Asylum ClaimThe 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday granted asylum to a family of Arab Israelis, making a rare finding that a powerful U.S. ally had persecuted its own citizens.
In reversing the rulings of several immigration judges, a unanimous panel not only said the backdrop of Arab-Israeli violence is a factor that counts for -- not against -- asylum claims, but also ruled that so-called "economic persecution" supports a bid for a new life in America.
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"When analyzed in the aggregate, the physical assaults and economic harassment endured by
Baballah compel a finding of persecution," Judge Richard Paez wrote in Baballah v. Ashcroft, 03 C.D.O.S. 6079. He was joined by Judges A. Wallace Tashima and Sidney Thomas.
In 1992, Baballah showed up at San Francisco International Airport with his wife and child in tow, having fled what he described as a 10-year pattern of harassment by Israeli military personnel. He claimed that partly because of his ethnicity (he is the son of Jewish and Arab parents), he was unable to get a job, first as an accountant and then as a lifeguard. When he took up fishing, military patrols sprayed his boat with high-powered hoses and fired bullets over his head. Fearing for their safety, Baballah's fishing crew eventually abandoned him. His brother was also harassed and sent to prison for a year, resulting in a "mental impairment," according to Baballah's claim.
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----USER COMMENTARY----
The government of Israel proved to be persecuting and terrorizing ethnic minorities? Oh, the irony...
PB