The Only Democracy in the Middle East Imprisons Activist for Riding a Bike

Jonathan Pollak brazenly carried out his dastardly deed in broad daylight, right in the middle of the streets of Tel Aviv. And even after receiving a three month prison sentence, the radical Israeli activist shows no signs of remorse; he even told the judge in his case that he saw nothing wrong with his actions – and that his only regret was that he did not carry out all the offenses he stood accused of committing.

Pollak's crime, which justifies the Israeli state taking away his liberty and confining him to a prison cell? Riding a bike, along with about 30 others, to protest “Operation Cast Lead,” the Israeli government's macho name for its 2008-2009 assault on the Gaza Strip that killed more than 1,100 innocent men, women and children, an operation Amnesty International refers to as "22 days of death and destruction."

The politicians responsible for that war crime have yet to face any legal consequences. Instead, consequences are reserved for the powerless -- those who dared speak out against injustice being carried out in their name – with Pollak charged with the awful-strange-for-a-democracy "crime” of organizing and participating in an “illegal assembly” (that is, exercising his right to free speech).

A prominent protest figure in Israel, the 28-year-old Pollak founded the group Anarchists Against the Wall in 2003 to organize opposition to the barrier the Israeli government has erected along the West Bank – a barrier that, ever-so conveniently, has helped Israel illegally annex 12 percent of the West Bank. And it was because of Pollak's notoriety in Israel that his supporters say he was charged with organizing the January 31, 2008, bike ride through the streets of Tel Aviv protesting the government's aerial assault on Gaza.

Though he was but one of 30 people participating in the protest, Pollak was the only one arrested, a fact the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee (PSCC) – a group that's working to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine where Pollak serves as a media coordinator – attributes to “police vindictiveness.” And there's good reason to believe that, beyond the fact that similar "Critical Mass"-style protests in Tel Aviv have gone off without a hitch.

As PSCC's Joseph Dana notes, “Pollak was arrested by plain-clothes police who recognized him from previous protests and because, as claimed in court, they assumed he was the organizer and figurehead of the event. The protest was allowed to continue undisturbed after Pollak’s arrest and ended with no further incidents or detentions.”

Speaking today in court, Pollak was unrepentant, declaring that he would not “ask for leniency or express remorse.” However, he did express some regrets.

“[I]f there is remorse in my heart, it is that, just as I argued during the trial, I did not play a prominent role in the protest that day, and thus did not fulfill my duty to do everything within my power to change the unbearable situation of Gaza’s inhabitants, and bring to an end Israel’s control over the Palestinians,” said Pollak.

He wasn't done.

“The State of Israel maintains an illegitimate, inhuman and illegal siege on the Gaza Strip, which still is occupied territory according to international law,” Pollak continued. “I will go to prison wholeheartedly and with my head held high. It will be the justice system itself, I believe, that will need to lower its eyes in the face of the suffering inflicted on Gaza’s inhabitants, just like it lowers its eyes and averts its vision each and every day when faced with the realities of the occupation.”

According to Pollak's group, Anarchists Against the Wall, 129 people have now been indicted by the Israeli state for speaking out against its occupation of Palestine, its theft of the West Bank and the humanitarian crisis it has provoked in the Gaza Strip, where even before Operation Cast Lead more than 80 percent of residents were dependent on outside aid just to survive, according to Oxfam. With indictments come legal fees, which threaten to stifle dissent; if you'd like to help Israeli and Palestinian activists speak out on behalf of human rights, consider donating to their defense fund.

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Photo Credit: doron_efrati