Prominent Israeli writers and US Jewish leaders rally behind east Jerusalem bookstore that was raided by police

Some of the biggest names in Israeli literature, in addition to an array of American Jewish leaders, are speaking out in support of two Palestinian booksellers from east Jerusalem who were placed on house arrest after a police raid.

Sunday’s raid on two branches of the Educational Bookshop, a prominent bookstore with a large English-language selection, has drawn international outcry. The shop’s owner, Mahmoud Muna, and his nephew Ahmad were arrested for incitement, a charge later downgraded to disturbing public order, and are now serving five days of house arrest. They are also reportedly banned from their own store for 20 days.

Among those protesting the raid, in which police officers upended the store in search of inciting materials, are a number of Israel’s most prominent writers. An open letter opposing the raid and arrests, printed in English, Hebrew and Arabic, garnered signatories including David Grossman, Etgar Keret, Lea Aini and Gili Bar-Hillel, the Hebrew translator of the “Harry Potter” series.

“The Educational Bookshop chain, and its flagship store, are a cultural center for Palestinian and Israeli meetings, and we fear that the raid on the store, the confiscation of books from it, and the imprisonment of its owner under the pretext of ‘violating public order’ is a regime provocation, designed to erase the Palestinian cultural narrative and harass those involved in it,” the Israeli authors’ letter says. “We call people of letters and intellectuals, writers and poets, book sellers, to come to Jerusalem, stand by the educational bookshop and express their support for free culture, dialogue between nations, and education for tolerance and humanism as the only tool to resolve the conflict.”

Prominent Israeli English-language writers also condemned the incident.

“The raid on Jerusalem’s THE EDUCATIONAL BOOKSHOP and the arrest of Mahmoud Muna and Ahmad Muna is a dangerous error of judgment by the Israel Police which should be reversed immediately,” Matti Friedman, the Jerusalem-based author and journalist, wrote on Facebook Monday.

“Our people should not be in the business of banning books,” posted Sarah Tuttle-Singer, author of the memoir “Jerusalem, Drawn and Quartered.” “We should not be arresting booksellers unless they are explicitly calling for violence, unless they are openly lusting for Jewish blood. Mahmoud Muna is not.”

The store is a frequent destination for American Jewish tour groups in the area, and an American Jewish open letter in support of the Munas has garnered more than 180 signatures. The letter was circulated by Encounter Programs, which organizes tours that include the shop, and describes its signatories as “American Jewish leaders who have dedicated our lives to the strength and flourishing of the Jewish people and to a safe and thriving Israel.” The list includes a range of congregational rabbis and leaders of Jewish groups.

“The Educational Bookshop has long been a gathering place for intellectual exchange, home to books spanning a wide range of perspectives,” the letter says. “It is a proof text for Israeli democracy. The decision to detain its proprietors is deeply alarming, and we urge a reconsideration of these actions and encourage the Munas’ immediate release from house arrest.”

The letter adds, “We recognize the complex challenges facing Israel’s security and governance, and we support efforts to ensure safety and order. This is not the way. The detention of these individuals sends a troubling signal and risks undermining values that have long been a source of Israel’s — and the Jewish people’s — strength.”

The literary free speech organization PEN America also condemned the raid and arrest of the Munas.

“Now more than ever, books offer a bridge towards understanding, sharing knowledge, and fostering dialogue,” Liesl Gerntholtz, managing director of PEN America’s Freedom to Write Center, said in a statement. “When authorities arrest booksellers for the ‘crime’ of selling books, they threaten everyone’s right to understand and engage the stories and ideas those books hold.”