Israeli police foil film screening of Mohammed Bakri’s Janin Jenin by issuing temporary order to close Communist Party headquarters in Haifa

27/08/2024

Monday night, the Maki Haifa Branch was shut down by the police for an event that included a screening of Mohammed Bakri’s new film. Bakri’s earlier film, Jenin, Jenin, was banned by an Israeli Court in 2021. Adalah demands immediate intervention by the Attorney General to ensure police will not obstruct the next screening. This action is part of broader Israeli police policies designed to suppress dissent against Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza.

Today, on Tuesday, 27 August 2024, Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel – sent an urgent letter to Israel's Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, following the police's temporary closure of the Maki (The Israeli Communist Party) branch in Haifa on Monday night to prevent a planned screening of the film Janin Jenin by Palestinian director Mohammad Bakri. Adalah demanded that the Attorney General immediately intervene to stop the ongoing political persecution by the police against the activities of Maki. The letter was sent on behalf of Reem Hazan, Secretary of Maki 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 Mohammed Bakri.

CLICK HERE to read the letter [Hebrew]

CLICK HERE to read the police’s order to temporarily close the party’s branch

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.

Yesterday, 26 August, 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 Mohammad 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 from 19:00 until 05:00 the following morning, 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 Maki branch in Nazareth. These incidents included searches, the confiscation of signs and 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.

CLICK HERE to read Adalah’s latest letter regarding the recent raid on the Nazareth Maki Branch [Hebrew].

For more information on the police’s 2023 raid on the branch, see here.

This is the latest action of the Haifa police to suppress freedom of expression and assembly. The Haifa police station has systematically banned 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. See more here.

Adalah Attorney Hadeel Abu Salih commented:

“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.”