Israel denies work visa to pro-BDS German journalist who accused Israel of apartheid

Israeli authorities refuse work visa request to anti-Israel German journalist over her calls to boycott Israel.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli authorities have rejected a work visa application by a German journalist who called for economic and military sanctions against Israel, preventing her appointment as the permanent Israel correspondent for a German newspaper.

The Population and Immigration Authority approved a recommendation by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism to deny a visa to Serena Bilanceri, 43, a German journalist of Italian descent who writes for the left-wing newspaper Die Tageszeitung.

The decision, announced Sunday, followed a review of articles published by Bilanceri in which she accused Israel of practicing apartheid and urged Western governments to impose sanctions on the Jewish state.

Bilanceri, who has reported on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from Israel, Jordan and Syria, had requested authorization from the Government Press Office to work as the newspaper’s permanent correspondent in Israel.

Avi Cohen Scali, director-general of the Diaspora Affairs Ministry, recommended rejecting the application under Amendment 40 to Israel’s Entry into Israel Law, which allows authorities to refuse entry to individuals who advocate boycotts of Israel.

The ministry cited two opinion articles published by Bilanceri in 2025 as grounds for its recommendation.

In a November 17 article titled “Sanctions Against Israel,” Bilanceri endorsed Amnesty International’s description of Israel as an apartheid state and accused Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria of pursuing a coordinated campaign to expel Palestinians.

“Settler violence is not an isolated incident, but part of a radical strategy of expulsion,” she wrote.

Bilanceri argued that international intervention was necessary and called for punitive measures against Israel.

“The pressure must come from the international community; the United States, Germany and Europe must impose financial and military sanctions,” she wrote.

In another article, published September 1, 2025, Bilanceri criticized Germany for opposing European Union sanctions against Israel over its military operations in the Gaza Strip.

She urged European governments to adopt a unified position and escalate sanctions if initial measures failed to achieve their intended effect.

Following the decision to deny Bilanceri a visa, Cohen Scali defended the government’s action, accusing the journalist of using her professional position to promote anti-Israel political objectives.

“Anti-Israel actors and those who slander Israel should not set foot in the country,” he said.

“We will not tolerate calls for a boycott of Israel under the guise of professional journalism,” Cohen Scali added.

He argued that professional journalists should not take sides in the conflicts they cover or use their access to Israel to advance political agendas harmful to the country.

According to the ministry, Bilanceri’s published calls for sanctions met the legal criteria for denying her entry and residence authorization.

The Population and Immigration Authority subsequently accepted the ministry’s recommendation, rejecting her application for a work visa and preventing her planned appointment as the newspaper’s permanent correspondent.

No response from Bilanceri or the newspaper to the visa decision was included in the Israeli reports announcing the move.