Monday evening my colleague, Nidal, the website manager for the Journal invited me out for an evening in Jerusalem. He picked me up at my hotel around a quarter to nine and we headed West.
Nidal's family lives in the Old City near the Kotel. Nidal speaks Hebrew fluently and he tries to teach me Hebrew more than Arabic, which is entertaining to me considering Nidal is Palestinian. Leading a very social life, Nidal goes out as much as possible with his friends in Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Haifa and Jerusalem. Although, I imagine his juggling of two jobs makes this passion for the nightlife rather difficult to pursue these days. Nevertheless, he was particularly excited to show me this place called Jan's in West Jerusalem, beneath a museum/theater, on the road to the German Colony. "Ya Heidi, it is SOOOO romantic," he told me.
In Hebrew, Jan's is spelled yud-alef-nun. Presumably then, the place is pronounced Yan's. I mention this only because Nidal kept referring to the place as Jan's, even though the Hebrew spelling was there, the whole thing was confusing. Anyway...
During the ride I asked Nidal why is it that he has no problem going back and forth between East and West Jerusalem, going out in the big cities of Israel?
"I have to live my life. I have to make the best of the way things are."
Fair enough, but in sharp contrast to other Palestinian contemporaries I have befriended in my time here.
We arrived at Jan's, a low-ceilinged, long room, with dark wood-paneled walls, covered in tapestries, portraits, and beaded ropes. The lamps were dim, Moroccan style, embossed with colored glass. There were tables and chairs but mostly cushions and floor couch-pads with low tables. Everything was muted in color, deep maroon, dark greens, browns, somewhat undistinguishable because of the lamps, casting a pale-golden hue as far as the light could reach.
Nidal and I chose a floor couch and a low table. He ordered hot chocolate with whipped cream, and I chose the warm "cinnamon drink" with pine nuts and walnuts floating on top.
Continuing our conversation about Nidal's life in the context of being a Palestinian, he said to me, "You know last week a man was killed near the post office on Salah-ah-Din. The police beat him up and he died."
Hearing this, my first reactions were shock and horror, and then my investigative dial got turned on.
"What do you mean Nidal? They killed him? They beat him up, why? Why would they do that?"
"I don't know, that's how it is here, these things happen," Nidal answered.
I decided not to pursue that topic of conversation because as much as I'm told not to ask why, for me it is necesary to not only ask why, but know "why" as well. From Nidal, I was not going to get the information I needed. I bookmarked the story in my mind.
We continued our evening, discussing various differences between Israel/Palestine and the rest of the world. Nidal is not convinced that I could live here because it is a hard life, hard to find work, the tension, the conflict, all the rough stuff that exists just below the surface. Around eleven p.m. Nidal returned me to the hotel, to prevent me from being locked out.
Now it is Tuesday morning. Najat and I are running errands. A stop at the pharmacy for one of her nephews, a birthday present for one of her brothers, a visit to the bakery for cookies, and a glass of date-rosewater juice for me.
While walking up on one of the side streets to Salah-ah-Din, en route to the bakery, Najat turned to me and said, "Heidi, did you hear a man was killed last week at the post office?"
She continued, "He was in an Israeli prison for many years. He had been married for 14 years and just one year ago he and his wife finally had a baby. Now there is a wife and baby boy with no husband, no father. He was a transport person, driving a van. They stopped him in his car, pulled him out and started beating him. They were kicking him and then brought him into the station, you know, next to the post office, and starting hitting him in the head. He lost consciousness and he never woke up."
I asked Najat, "They just pulled him out of his car and started beating him? Without reason? Why?"
"Don't asky why, Heidi. Maybe he said something to upset them. They found out he's an ex-prisoner and then they did this. This is how things are," she replied.
Now back in the office, I asked Lotahn if he had heard of this story. He had not.
I asked, "Lotahn, is it possible that for no reason they just started to beat him and it went too far? Does that really happen, with no reason?"
"For no reason, no. Maybe someone was having a bad day and yes, they got carried away. It does happen. But I don't know the story," Lotahn said.
I started searching on the internet for stories of a Palestinian man in East Jerusalem beaten to death by Israeli police. I found nothing on Google nor Al-Jazeera. Not until yesterday (March 14) did I think to look at Haaretz.
Below I have pasted three articles and corresponding links. From the Haaretz article I was able to find links to two other news sources covering the story, both Palestinian. Confusingly and distressingly, the Palestinian news sources cover the story entirely differently than Haaretz. The Haaretz article gives background on the man, the situation and the events leading up to his being at the police station here on Salah-ah-Din. The Palestinian sources state the alleged crime committed by the police officers and events during and after the beating. There are no eyewitness quotes in any of the articles, either Israeli or Palestinian. The case continues, as you can read in the articles below, with an autopsy called for by the deceased's family.
What bothers me is that there is a photo on the Palestinian news source articles that claims to be a photo of the man being beaten. This photograph, I believe, is NOT here at Salah-ah-Din street. There is no way to tell that it was taken at the scene described in the articles. You cannot see anything at all really. This photo is being used as proof of the event by readers commenting on the Haaretz website. In the photo there are two soldiers above a man on the ground, and figures looking like more soldiers in the background. The ground looks like dirt, no pavement.
Contrarily, where this event took place, there is only paved road, it is a busy intersection with lots of people during all daylight hours, and depending on the angle from which the photo was taken, one would see either: the wall of the Old City, the highway in either directions, or buildings with the numerous shops which the Palestinian articles mention. Also, the policemen here are dressed for full combat, with helmets, like the soldiers wear. The police I see every day at the station when I walk past are not dressed like this.
I could not include the photo but as of today it is still on the website pages, to which I have provided links.
For certain, a man was killed last Thursday. To what extent and why the police beat him is under investigation. I do not doubt that acts of brutality were committed and should be addressed. From the Haaretz article, it appears that there is a process under way that will penalize any wrong doing on the part of the law enforcement officers. I am perturbed by the use of such a photograph and the differences in coverage of the event.
It is problematic and alarming. It also indicates to me that one, or rather, I , cannot get a clear idea of what is going on here. Just when I think I'm beginning to understand the rules of the game here, I realize I absolutley do not. Reading the articles to put the pieces of the story together, I find I still have questions unanswered and an unclear image of what exactly happened.
Palestine News Network
Israeli police beat Palestinian man to death, family demands neutral autopsy
(Jerusalem)
Saturday, 10 March 2007
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1886&Itemid=29
Wa'el Yousef Karawi was from East Jerusalem's A-Tur neighborhood. Israeli police attacked him on a street popular for shoe, clothes and book shopping. Now the 32 year old Palestinian man is dead.
PNN's Jerusalem correspondent, Maisa Abu Ghazaleh, explained that the young man was driving on Salah Addin Street when the police stopped his car. Without any warning, the Israelis pulled Karawi out the vehicle and began severely beating him. There was
no reason offered at the time and Israeli forces still decline to comment.
Abu Ghazaleh also reported that Israeli forces have detained Karawi's body, refusing to release it to his family pending their own investigation and autopsy. The Israeli police are currently claiming that the man died as a result of falling on the ground. The family is demanding that the investigation and autopsy be performed by a neutral party.
On the end of Salah Addin Street that butts up against the walls of the Old City is the largest post office where Palestinians voted during the last presidential and Legislative Council elections. Next to that is an Israeli police station where several cruisers can be seen daily with officers milling about in the area.
from Jerusalemites.org
Israeli police beat Palestinian man to death
News In English ,,, March 2007
March 11, 2007
http://www.jerusalemites.org/News%20In%20English/english/2007/March/112.htm
(taken from IMEMC -- International Middle East Media Center
Israeli police beat Palestinian man to death
http://www.imemc.org/article/47347)
Wa'el Yousef Karawi was from East Jerusalem's A-Tur neighborhood. Israeli police attacked him on a street popular for shoe, clothes and book shopping. Now the 32 year old Palestinian man is dead.
PNN's Jerusalem correspondent, Maisa Abu Ghazaleh, explained that the young man was driving on Salah Addin Street when the police stopped his car. Without any warning, the Israelis pulled Karawi out the vehicle and began severely beating him. There was no reason offered at the time and Israeli forces still decline to comment.
Abu Ghazaleh also reported that Israeli forces have detained Karawi's body, refusing to release it to his family pending their own investigation and autopsy. The Israeli police are currently claiming that the man died as a result of falling on the ground. The family is demanding that the investigation and autopsy be performed by a neutral party.
On the end of Salah Addin Street that butts up against the walls of the Old City is the largest post office where Palestinians voted during the last presidential and Legislative Council elections. Next to that is an Israeli police station where several cruisers can be seen daily with officers milling about in the area.
Ha'aretz
Last update - 18:25 11/03/2007
Police, family clash over cause of death of Palestinian detainee
By Yoav Stern and Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondents, and Agencies
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/835739.html
Police and the family of a Palestinian who died in custody clashed Sunday over the cause of death of Wa'al al-Qarawi, 32, who died of unknown causes shortly after his arrest in East Jerusalem on Saturday.
Palestinians took to the streets in East Jerusalem on Sunday during al-Qarawi's funeral, hurling rocks at Jewish homes in the a-Tur neighborhood, Israel Radio reported. There were no casualties in the incident.
Al-Qarawi was initially believed to have died of natural causes as both Magen David Adom doctors and a Palestinian doctor who examined the body did not identify any unusual marks on the body. But the affair took an unexpected turn after signs of violence were found on his head and legs as his body was being prepared to be interred.
In light of the new findings, al Qawari's family is now demanding that an autopsy be carried out in order to establish the cause of his death.
Al-Qawari was detained for questioning in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of a-Tur, as he was caught transporting a Jordanian woman who is staying in Israel illegally.
Eyewitnesses and al-Qarawi's relatives say that he was beaten by the Border Policemen who detained him. Police sourced have said, however, that the officers who arrested the man made no physical contact with him.
Jerusalem Police have said al-Qarawi was instructed to drive over to the police station on Saleh a-Din Street in East Jerusalem, and complained he is unwell upon entering the station. According to police, officers alerted an MDA ambulance and shortly thereafter al-Qarawi collapsed and all attempts to resuscitate him failed.
Detectives from the Police Investigations Department were called to the scene and took testimonies from the police officers involved in the affair and from the passenger in his car.
The PID said Saturday they do not suspect that al-Qarawi had been beaten to death during questioning and that he appears to have died of natural causes.
Attorney Na'eela Atiya, who represents the al-Qarawi family, told Haaretz on Sunday that a Palestinian pathologist will conduct the autopsy. Should the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir agree to take the body back for examination, an institute doctor would also participate in the examination.
The body is currently being held at the al-Mekased Hospital in East Jerusalem.
Atiya said that the autopsy would be of value should the family seek to proceed with legal action against police.
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