Israel revokes residency of taz correspondent Bilanceri; taz says she never called for boycott

The Israeli government has revoked the residence permit of taz correspondent Serena Bilanceri, accusing her of calling for a boycott of Israel. This is unacceptable.

taz correspondent Serena Bilanceri in Petra, Jordan. Photo: private

By Katrin Gottschalk, Barbara Junge, Ulrike Winkelmann, and Judith Poppe

The Israeli government has revoked the residence permit of taz correspondent Serena Bilanceri. As a result, she was not granted a work visa. We regard this as a significant infringement on press freedom. The Netanyahu government is thereby abandoning the ground of democratic rule of law. We otherwise know such actions only from authoritarian regimes.

Bilanceri had already encountered difficulties that were hard to comprehend when entering and leaving Israel in the past: her laptop was held back at Tel Aviv airport last year, allegedly for a explosives examination. She received it back destroyed.

No justification for the decision was communicated to Bilanceri. Specifically, according to the website Israel National News – Arutz Sheva, the Israeli Population and Immigration Authority accuses Bilanceri of having called for sanctions against Israel in two texts in September and November 2025. In both contributions, Bilanceri commented on the illegal settlement of the West Bank and the humanitarian emergency in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli authorities evidently interpret this as a call for boycott.

According to the website Israel National News – Arutz Sheva, the State of Israel also has the legal right to deny entry to people who call for a boycott of Israel. Bilanceri is said to have defamed Israel: Avi Cohen Scali, Director General of the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs, is quoted as saying: "Calls for a boycott of Israel under the guise of a professional press" would not be tolerated.

The Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism has since confirmed that the account by the website Israel National News – Arutz Sheva is correct.

The Government Press Office (GPO), which ultimately issues official accreditation and press credentials, also verifies this.

Legislative Amendment of 2025

Both refer to a legislative amendment from February 2025. It stipulates that individuals can be denied or stripped of their residence permit based on four criteria. Denial of the Holocaust and of October 7 are two of these criteria. Additionally, those who call for international prosecution of Israeli citizens and soldiers, or for a boycott of Israel, can have their residence revoked. Bilanceri is accused of the latter.

The taz editorial leadership makes clear: Serena Bilanceri has at no point called for a boycott of the State of Israel. It is unacceptable that the Israeli government uses legitimate criticism—also voiced by the EU—of Israel's actions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as grounds to restrict press freedom.

Bilanceri herself also emphasizes in a social media post that she has never advocated a boycott of Israel: "I have spoken out in favor of financial and military sanctions in response to the Israeli government's actions in the West Bank, particularly in light of settler violence and the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip at the time. And it is completely normal, indeed part of a journalist's work, to express one's opinion in an opinion piece—in this case, in the two aforementioned texts. To those who made this decision and spoke with Israeli media, but not with me, I would like to say: You are not banishing 'anti-Israeli actors.' You are banishing foreign journalists who have criticized your government's actions."

Bilanceri Is Not the First Journalist Turned Away

Bilanceri is not the first journalist to be denied entry to Israel since 2025. Before her, four other journalists have been denied entry since 2025—likely also on the basis of this law. These include the French journalist Alice Froussard, the Spanish journalist Queralt Castillo, the French photojournalist Frédérique Le Brun, and Alessandro Stefanelli, an Italian journalist and photographer.

Since other German and European media representatives have experienced or could experience similar treatment, taz calls on the German government to advocate with the Israeli government for the observance of fundamental and human rights, including freedom of opinion and the press, and to enable taz staff member Serena Bilanceri to re-enter and fully resume her work in Israel.

The taz calls on the German government to advocate with the Israeli government for the observance of fundamental and human rights, including freedom of opinion and the press.

Serena Bilanceri has reported from Israel and the Palestinian territories for many years and has been an official taz correspondent since June 2026.

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