JERUSALEM — As a student at the University of Florida, Lara Alqasem served a stint several years ago as president of the tiny local chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.
The group typically had a single-digit membership, and one of its more notable political activities appears to have been a campaign to boycott an Israeli brand of hummus. A Facebook event post indicated that all of 19 people showed up for the campaign’s launch.
But that seems to have been enough for the Israeli government to bar Ms. Alqasem from entering the country under a 2017 law intended to combat the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, a loose network whose goals include pressuring Israel into ending the occupation of the West Bank. Israeli officials consider the B.D.S. movement to be anti-Semitic and bent on Israel’s destruction, since it also promotes the right of return for millions of Palestinian refugees to their former homes.
Ms. Alqasem arrived at Ben Gurion Airport last week with plans to enroll at an Israeli university, and has been has been held there since while she appeals a deportation order. On Tuesday, the Israeli government presented her with a choice: Apologize and renounce her support for the boycott movement, or give up on her plan to study in Israel and be placed on a plane back to the United States.
On Thursday, the Israeli  ruled in favor of Lara Alqasem, a 22-year-old  student who appealed an expulsion order, allowing her to remain in the country. She was refused entry upon arrival in Israel on October 2 at  and threatened with deportation; Israeli authorities alleged that Alqasem supported a pro-Palestinian boycott against the state. The student was held in custody as she appealed the order.

On entry at Ben Gurion, Alqasem had a valid student visa to enrol in the . According to reports recounted by ''The New York Times'', the student recently served as president to a small chapter of  (SJP). Israel enacted a law in 2017 granting the state the authority to deport individuals supporting the  movement.

An Israeli lawyer representing the student called the allegation "egregious"; Alqasem studied  in Florida. The Hebrew University asked to join her during the appeal process, in defence of Israel's academic freedom. The director of the university, Barak Medina, stated: "To be clear, we strongly oppose the boycott campaign against Israel, and Israel has to fight it... But to deny entry to every person who has expressed support for a boycott is counterproductive".

Alqasem appealed to the Israeli High Court after being rejected by a lower court. The ruling allows her to pursue further education in the country.