Israel’s detention of a reporter and two prominent Palestinian rights activists in Sheikh Jarrah is drawing international condemnation as residents of the East Jerusalem neighborhood continue to resist a forced expulsion campaign led by government-backed Israeli settlers.
On Saturday, Israeli police assaulted and arrested Al Jazeera journalist Givara Budeiri as she covered a sit-in marking the 54th anniversary of Israel’s 1967 occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. The police also destroyed Al Jazeera cameraman Nabil Mazzawi’s equipment.
Budeiri, who at the time of her arrest was wearing a flak jacket that clearly identified her as a member of the press, was released hours later on the condition that she stay away from Sheikh Jarrah for at least 15 days.
Budeiri’s arrest drew sharp rebukes from global press freedom organizations and Al Jazeera, whose acting director-general said in a statement that “such attempts to prevent journalists from carrying out their professional duty to inform the world and report events on the ground is a crime against the journalistic profession.”
The Foreign Press Association said the journalist’s arrest represents just the “latest in a long line of heavy-handed tactics by Israeli police.”
https://twitter.com/KamahlAJE/status/1401258257449107461?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1401258257449107461%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2F2021%2F06%2F06%2Fisraels-detention-journalist-palestinian-activists-sheikh-jarrah-draws-global
Hours after Budeiri’s release, Israeli police reportedly stormed into the home of 23-year-old activist Muna al-Kurd and arrested her, alleging that she participated in ‘public disturbances’ in Sheikh Jarrah. Muna has since been freed.
The police on Sunday also arrested Muna’s twin brother Mohammed al-Kurd, who has gained global attention for fiercely defending Palestinian rights during recent appearances on major media programs. The al-Kurd family is one of many facing possible expulsion. (Update: Mohammed has also now been released.)
“Israel is on a rampage in Sheikh Jarrah, detaining journalists and prominent Palestinians like the al-Kurd twins, all because they won’t shut up about being ethnically cleansed from their homes,” tweeted journalist Alex Kane.
Middle East Eye reported Sunday that “the siblings, whose family has been living under the threat of imminent displacement from their house in Karm al-Jaouni in occupied East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, have become icons of the Palestinian struggle against Israeli settler expansion.”
The latest crackdown in Sheikh Jarrah by Israeli police came just days before the nation’s Supreme Court is set to rule on whether Palestinians in the neighborhood can be expelled from their homes at the behest of Israeli settlers. A hearing on the matter was postponed last month, just before Israel kicked off its deadly 11-day bombing campaign in the occupied Gaza Strip.
“The historic Sheikh Jarrah district is inhabited by descendants of Palestinian refugees who were expelled from their towns and villages by the Zionist militias during the Palestinian Nakba (Catastrophe) of 1948,” Middle East Eye noted. “At least 13 families have been ordered to leave their homes in Sheikh Jarrah since May, including 58 people facing the threat of expulsion from their homes where they lived for generations. In October 2020, an Israeli court ruled in favor of Israeli settlers who claim that some eight Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah are living on land that used to belong to Jews.”
A new hearing on the expulsions is set for Tuesday, June 8.
Yousef Munayyer, a Palestinian-American writer and political analyst, said Sunday that “through attacking and arresting journalists there and now arresting two of its most outspoken advocates in Muna al-Kurd and Mohammed al-Kurd, the Israeli government is trying to stop you from hearing about Sheikh Jarrah.”
“The best response,” added Munayyer, “is to listen harder and [amplify] their voices louder.”
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $93,000 in one-time donations and to add 1295 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy