Arriving in Israel for a wedding celebration, the two were turned away on suspicion of belonging to the Black Hebrew Community.
An American convert to Judaism and her 10-year-old son were detained for almost 48 hours in a holding cell at Ben-Gurion Airport before being denied entry to Israel and placed on a return flight to the US.
Idit Malka and her son Kahxin from Cape Coral, Florida, had arrived on June 12 to celebrate the wedding of Malka’s sister who lives in Yeroham, in the Southern District, and to spend time with her five other siblings, all of whom live in Israel.
According to the Population, Immigration and Border Authority (PIBA), Malka and her son were turned away because of suspicions she belongs to the Black Hebrew community and was planning to remain in Israel instead of returning to the US on August 20, as her ticket stated.
