A British messianic Jew deported from Israel last year for participating in an evangelistic outreach to Jews confirmed that he will appeal his case to the nation’s supreme court, it was reported in early October.
Barry Barnett, 50, left the country in December 2013 under a deportation order issued by Israel’s Ministry of the Interior. He was banned from the country for ten years. Barnett was arrested near the city of Be’er Shiva by immigration enforcement officers at a Jews for Jesus ‘Behold your God Israel’ campaign.
The officials intimidated and interrogated Barnett and then held him in an immigration detention centre for four days. Barnett then had a court hearing with an immigration judge. Ministry of the Interior officials claimed that Barnett violated the terms of his B-2 tourist visa for doing missionary work, even though sharing of religious beliefs is a permitted activity on the same B-2 visa.
