Undercover Israeli police officers arrested prominent Israeli anti-occupation activist Jonathan Pollak at his workplace yesterday morning, reported +972 Magazine, “after he repeatedly refused to appear in court over a private prosecution filed against him by a far-right organization”.
According to witness accounts, “three officers arrived at the Haaretz building in south Tel Aviv, where Pollak works as a graphic designer and took him into custody.”
MUST READ Jonathan Pollak, from an Israeli prison: 'To join the fight to topple apartheid, the few Jewish citizens of Israel willing to do so will first have to recognize that they are overprivileged and be willing to relinquish that status'https://t.co/ZcFgBxFQPm
— Artists for Palestine UK (@Art4PalestineUK) January 7, 2020
In December 2018, far-right group Ad Kan launched a private prosecution attempt against three Israelis – including Pollak – for their role in protests against the Separation Wall.
Pollak had repeatedly refused to appear in court, saying he did not recognize the legitimacy of a system that maintains a “military dictatorship” over “subjects that lack all basic democratic rights” in the West Bank and Gaza or are “second-class citizens” in Israel.
Israel arrests leading anti-occupationist Jonathan Pollak for refusing to legitimise israel's military dictatorship by attending its kangaroo courts https://t.co/NqWQf4YKyL
— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) January 6, 2020
Police have tried to arrest Pollak a number of times, including at home and in his workplace. According to +972 Magazine, Pollak’s refusal to appear in court “means he can legally be held in custody, indefinitely or until he agrees to post bail and attend hearings at the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court”.
Refusing to pay bail yesterday, Pollak said:
“Engaging with these hearings would be a recognition of the Israeli court’s authority to discuss its opposition to the same regime it represents. This is not a matter of money, and I do not intend to legitimize the court’s discussion of this matter.”
Friend & comrade Jonathan Pollak jailed by #Apartheid #Israel again. #ICC4Israel #FreePalestine https://t.co/06n4PLv5De
— Zackie Achmat (@ZackieAchmat) January 7, 2020
Pollak’s lawyer, Gaby Lasky, “requested that Pollak be released without conditions, given that the police failed to send a representative to the hearing”, the report added. A second hearing is scheduled for this afternoon.
Last July, Pollak was “physically assaulted by two assailants as he left work”, one of whom was armed with a knife. Neither assailant has been caught.
(Middle East Monitor, PC, Social Media)
