Peace activist and ecumenical Christian leader condemns Israel’s human rights violations

“While America Celebrates Freedom, I Was Denied Entry to My Homeland Palestine and the Promise of Liberty,” Sir Rateb Y. Rabie, KCHS, HCEF founder says in newsletter statement. Click here to read more. Israel consistently violates Visa Waiver Program agreement it made with United States

Dear Fellow Americans, Happy 4th of July.

Today, millions of us gather to celebrate the birth of a nation built on liberty, justice, and the unshakeable belief that all people deserve to live free.

We watch the fireworks rise into the night sky — symbols of hope, courage, and the promise that freedom belongs to everyone.

But as we celebrate these ideals, I carry a heavy truth.

As a Palestinian American, I was denied entry to my homeland — Palestine — along with seven other Palestinian Americans. We were turned away at the border, humiliated, interrogated, and rejected under the vague and unjust accusation of “prevention of illegal immigration considerations.”

To be denied entry to the land of your ancestors… To be told you are a stranger where your roots run deepest… To be treated as a threat when all you carry is love for your people… This is a pain that words struggle to hold.

What does this accusation mean? It implies things that are simply not true:

That we intended to overstay. We provided full itineraries showing we were staying only eleven days — yet we were treated as if we were trying to disappear into our own homeland.
That we planned to work illegally. For over thirty years, my work has been humanitarian — transparent, legal, and dedicated to serving the Palestinian people with dignity.
That we previously violated immigration laws. None of us have ever overstayed or broken any immigration rule.
That our purpose was unclear. Our purpose was simple: to visit, to learn, to connect, to return home.

These accusations were not just false — they were dehumanizing. They denied us the basic right to walk on the soil of our ancestors, to see our families, to breathe the air of our homeland.

On this Independence Day, I ask you to reflect with me.

America’s promise is not only for those born within its borders. It is a beacon for all who believe in justice, dignity, and freedom. And today, as we honor that promise, let us remember those who are still fighting for the very rights we celebrate.

Let us stand for liberty not only for ourselves, but for Palestinians — and for all people who live under oppression, discrimination, and denial.

May this 4th of July be joyful, but also deeply reflective.

With hope and determination,

Rateb Y. Rabie, KCHS
President/CEO
Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF)

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Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

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