Messianic Jew to appeal his deportation from Israel

BE’ER SHIVA, Israel — A British Messianic Jew deported from Israel in 2013 for participating in an evangelistic outreach to Jews confirmed that he will appeal his case to a supreme court.

Barry Barnett, 50, left the country Dec. 2, 2013, under a deportation order issued by Israel’s Ministry of the Interior and was banned from the country for 10 years. Barnett said his primary concern is returning to Israel but that the case has religious rights implications that go far beyond him.

“If we win in the Supreme Court, not only does it get me back to Israel instead of waiting 10 years after having been deported, it means that every single Christian has the right or every religious person has the right to express their faith freely without intimidation,” Barnett said. “It’s about the right of religious expression.”

Barnett was arrested Nov. 20, 2013, near the city of Be’er Shiva by immigration enforcement officers at a Jews for Jesus campaign. The arrest struck members of Jews for Jesus as odd from the start; members of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish group known as Yad L’Achim followed Barnett and other members of the group during the campaign and organization leaders said officers with evident religious bias singled out Barnett, the only non-Israeli in his canvasing group.