By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
TEL AVIV, Israel – Jared Malsin, the editor-in-chief of Ma’an News Agency’s English edition, has been detained by Israeli authorities at Ben Gurion International Airport on January 12, as Malsin returned from a holiday in the Czech Republic. Malsin is a Jewish American and Ma’an News Agency is a major Palestinian news outlet, based in Bethlehem in the West Bank.
After interrogating Malsin for eight hours, the Israeli Interior Ministry ordered officials not to admit Malsin into Israel and had scheduled him to be deported to the Czech Republic on a flight at 6 am on January 14. Castro Daoud, an attorney for Ma’an, as well as diplomats from the United States embassy, intervened on Malsin’s behalf and requested an injunction against the deportation. The Israeli attorney general rejected the request, but that decision was overturned by a Tel Aviv judge, who granted Malsin a hearing, scheduled for January 17.
Court documents revealed that Malsin was apparently deemed a security risk because of his political opinions. Interior Ministry interrogators reportedly compiled Malsin’s past stories for Ma’an, including those “criticizing the State of Israel.” The interrogators further questioned Malsin’s motives in wanting to enter the West Bank, adding that he “claimed to be Jewish,” and argued that Malsin “exploited his Jewishness to gain entry into the State of Israel.” Court records showed that among the specific reasons for detaining Malsin included “lying to border officials,” “here illegally,” and “entered into Israel by means of lies.” According to Israeli law, Jews from around the world are eligible to immigrate to Israel.
Malsin’s detention has provoked sharp rebukes from international press organizations, including the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which called the detention “unacceptable.”
“Israel cannot hide behind the pretext of security to sideline journalists who have done nothing more than maintain an editorial line that the authorities dislike,” said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, the Middle East and North Africa coordinator for CPJ.
Malsin had lived in Bethlehem with his partner, Faith Rowold, for two years. Malsin had originally come to Israel on the Birthright program, and had never overstayed his visa, except for his most recent one, which was only a few days overdue. He had reportedly been told by Israeli authorities that this was not a problem. According to a colleague at Ma’an, Malsin was in frequent contact with Israeli officials, and was recently offered access to military installations in the West Bank.
Ma’an issued a statement saying it “scrupulously maintains its editorial independence and aims to promote access to information, freedom of expression, press freedom, and media pluralism in Palestine.”
For more information, please see:
Palestine News Network – US Editor Fights Israel For Denying Him Entry – 15 January 2010
BBC News – US Editor at Palestinian Agency Fights Israel Entry Ban – 14 January 2010
Ma’an News Agency – Tel Aviv Court Delay’s Ma’an Editor’s Expulsion – 14 January 2010
International Middle East Media Center – Chief Editor of Major Palestinian News Agency Detained – 13 January 2010
New York Times – Israel to Expel American Journalist – 13 January 2010
