Ministry to check with IDF, denied entry "a misunderstanding."
By YAAKOV LAPPINNoam Chomsky 311(photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The Interior Ministry denied entry to Jewish American linguist Professor Noam Chomsky – one of Israel's fiercest opponents – on Sunday and turned him back from the Allenby Bridge Border Crossing at the Jordan Valley, but indicated by press time Sunday night that it may reverse its decision and allow Chomsky to speak at the Bir Zeit University near Ramallah."We are checking with the IDF's Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Interior Ministry Spokeswoman Sabine Haddad told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday evening. "If COGAT gives us the all clear, we will grant him entry," she added.Haddad said the initial decision to deny Chomsky entry was down to a "misunderstanding," and denied claims that Chomsky's name was on a black list of individuals prohibited fromentering the country. She confirmed he was questioned for a number of hours before being denied entry by the Interior Ministry's Immigration and Border Authority.Speaking from the Jordan Valley, Chomsky told Channel 10 TV, "I've often spoken at Israeli universities."In 2009, following Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, Chomsky said, "supporters of Israel are in reality supporters of its moral degeneration."
