Jonathan Pollak
© Oren Ziv / Activestills
Jonathan Pollak leaving prison on February 20, 2020.
After about two months of detention, Israeli authorities released Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak on February 20. Pollak was arrested after right-wing group Ad Kan filed a suit against him for protesting in the West Bank and allegedly "attacking IDF soldiers". During his detention, Pollak refused to pay a NIS 500 bail (around $145) set by a Jerusalem judge for, in Pollak's words, refusing to "recognize the legitimacy of the Israeli system."

Last week, Pollak attended his first questioning session after the Israeli Attorney General ordered a criminal probe against him for "incitement to terror and to violence" over a new article published online. In addition to the incitement case, Pollak is facing another ongoing trial and several criminal probes into a dozen demonstrations he had participated in.

Palestinian journalist Ahmad Al-Bazz interviewed Pollak following his release.


About The Author

Ahmad Al-Bazz, born in 1993, is a multi-award winning journalist, photographer and documentary filmmaker based in the West Bank city of Nablus. Ahmad holds an MA degree in Television Studies from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom, and a BA degree in Media and Mass Communication from An-Najah National University in Palestine. Since 2012, Ahmad has been a member of the Activestills documentary photography collective that operates in Palestine/Israel region.