Adalah, The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, sent Aug 27 an urgent letter to Israel’s Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, following the police’s temporary closure of the Communist Party of Israel (CPI) branch in Haifa on Monday night to prevent a planned screening of the film Janin-Jenin by director Mohammad Bakri.
Adalah demanded that the Attorney General immediately intervene to stop the ongoing political persecution by the police against the activities of CPI. The letter was sent on behalf of Reem Hazan, Secretary of CPI in the district of Haifa, after she was summoned for two police interrogations over the planned screening. The event was planned as a fundraiser for the #Think_about_Gaza campaign where donations to the campaign would be collected in addition to the screening of the film and a talk with Bakri.
Janin- Jenin features interviews with residents of Jenin refugee camp, in light of repeated attacks on the camp in recent years. It follows Bakri’s earlier documentary, Jenin, Jenin, which was released 22 years ago, and sharply criticized the Israeli military’s gross human rights violations in Jenin in the wake of the Second Intifada.
In 2021, in an extreme act of political suppression, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled against Bakri in a defamation case brought by soldiers depicted in the film. The court banned the screening of Jenin-Jenin in Israel and ordered Bakri to pay damages to the soldiers.
The police summoned Reem Hazan for questioning, following an interrogation the previous evening. During the prior questioning, Hazan clarified that the film scheduled for screening was not Bakri’s banned Jenin, Jenin, but a new film. However, about half an hour before the event was to start, the police station commander issued an administrative order to close the branch citing information, including confidential intelligence, claiming that the event could “endanger public peace.”
In the letter, Adalah Attorney Hadeel Abu Salih, who attended the police questioning with Hazan, argued that the order is unlawful as it infringes on the rights to political expression and freedom of assembly for activists and participants, as well as the director’s freedom of creation and expression. Adalah also noted that the party decided to reschedule the canceled screening for 9 September 2024 at the Haifa branch. Adalah therefore requested that the Attorney General instruct the Haifa police not to obstruct the event again and to prevent any further infringements on the freedom of expression and political assembly of citizens and residents.”
It should be noted that Adalah has repeatedly approached the Attorney General regarding harassment and intrusions by the police at the CPI branch in Nazareth. These incidents included searches, the confiscation of signs and red flags, and the vandalism of a painting of the Palestinian flag on the building’s exterior wall. Adalah has received no response from the Attorney General, and the Police Investigations Department informed Adalah that it will not initiate an investigation into these incidents.
This is the latest action of the Haifa police to suppress freedom of expression and assembly. The Haifa police station has systematically banned Arab-Palestinian demonstrations, the display of Palestinian flags, and protest signs against the war on Gaza for several months. In the past three months alone, more than 50 protesters have been arrested on various unlawful grounds. These arrests typically resulted in the detainees being released, and in some cases, the court even referred the incidents to the Police Investigations Department due to severe violence inflicted on the detainees.
Demonstration in front the Communist Party of Israel branch in Wadi Nisnas, Haifa, against police decision to ban the screening of Janin-Jenin. Among protestors Hadash MKs Ayman Odeh and Aida Touma-Sliman and Hadash Chairman and former MK Issam Makhoul, Monday evening, August 26, 2024 (Photo: Zo Haderech)
According to Adalah Attorney Hadeel Abu Salih, “We are not aware of any instance since the days of the military rule where the police have issued an order to close a political party branch in Israel. We have repeatedly warned the relevant Israeli authorities that the police systematically abuse their powers for political persecution and the suppression of Palestinian citizens in Israel. This abuse has severely escalated since far-right racist Minister Ben-Gvir took office. The police lead a campaign of suppression of legitimate criticism of Israel’s brutal war on Gaza, leading to hundreds of wrongful arrests aimed at deterrence and punishment. Despite this, the State Attorney and the Attorney General have not only failed to act against this campaign of silencing and intimidation but have also, in some instances, actively supported its continuation.”
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=32087
