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Jonathan Pollak, right, at the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court after being arrested on January 6, 2020. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Israeli police arrested Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak at his workplace on Monday following a months-long campaign by the right-wing Israeli group Ad Kan, who has been pressuring Israeli authorities to arrest Pollak over charges he attacked Israeli soldiers during a protest in the West Bank. A press release circulated by fellow activists and friends of Pollak called the indictment  “an unprecedented escalation in the ongoing ‘shrinking space’ for dissenting voices.”

File photos of UMass Amherst Students for Justice in Palestine protesting, July 11, 2014. (Photo: UMass Amherst Students for Justice in Palestine/Facebook)

Last month, two civil rights complaints were filed against Columbia University in the wake of the Trump administration’s recent executive order on campus antisemitism. The Lawfare Project launched one complaint on behalf of an Israeli-American student who claims he was a victim of “systematic discrimination” from professors and pro-Palestine groups such as Students for Justice for Palestine and Columbia University Apartheid Divest.

Thanks to hundreds of generous supporters, we have surpassed our year-end goal! Your investment means Mondoweiss will share even more stories to advance change in 2020. The energy of those fighting for justice–and those trying to prevent it–has never been higher. Ths year, Mondoweiss will continue to deliver independent news and opinion to keep you and the rest of the world informed.

Activists with Jewish Voice for Peace and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice at the “No Hate, No Fear” march in New York City, January 5, 2020. (Photo: Twitter)

Amidst fear and mourning, the Jewish community is turning towards antiracist solidarity to create real safety. “One thing is clear,” JVP member Jay Saper writes, “our shared enemy is white supremacy and our shared solution is one another.”

Many media reports suggest that Israeli interests were taken into account in Trump’s decision to kill Qassim Suleimani. The Mossad chief had reportedly targeted Suleimani in comments last year, and Israeli officials were consulted ahead of the assassination, while European leaders and Congress were not.