Dr. Eyad Jamil al-Jawhari was arrested by the Shin Bet on June 29. Dr. al-Jawhari an Israeli citizen who lives in the occupied Golan Heights. He was currently finishing up a degree in Syria, and has for some time been going back and fourth between Syria and Golan. This story has not been reported in the Israeli media due to a gag order by the Shin Bet. Israel frequently uses these gag orders to prevent the media from reporting on story’s that might make Israel look bad. The gag also ensures that the Shin Bet don’t have to explain anything about why Dr. al-Jawhari was arrested.
As a result of the gag order we are only left with to speculate as to why the Shin Bet picked up al-Jawhari. The most plausible reason is that the Shin Bet wants to get anything and everything it can on the civil war in Syria. Shin Bet either wants to interrogate him about anything he may know, or wants to try and use him as an intelligence source inside Syria.
The fact remains though that al-Jawhari hold an Israeli ID, which in theory allows him the same rights as any citizen in Israel. It will be a cold day in hell before you see the Shin Bet arrest an Israeli citizen and hold them incommunicado. While the Israeli public may be able to justify these sorts of actions, the fact remains that this is not how a democratic state operates. The Shin Bet have a long history of torturing prisoners while in custody. There is no telling what al-Jawhari faces while in the control of the Shin Bet. Due to the heinous laws in Israel dealing with imprisonment of enemies of the state, Dr. al-Jawhari could face a life time in prison. These sorts of incidents must be reported on in Israel. If they are not, then a cycle of human rights violations and impunity for those committing them will never come to an end.
To keep up to date on this story please check out Richard Silverstein’s website Tikun Olam.
Porkins Policy Review 