Jonathan Pollak
Encyclopedia
Anarchism in Israel
Anarchism has been an undercurrent in the politics of Palestine and Israel for over a century.- Early Kibbutz movement :The anarchist ideology arrived in Palestine at the beginning of the 20th century, carried by a big wave of emigrants from Eastern Europe...
and graphic designer who grew up in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
and lives in Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
. Pollak was amongst the founders of the radical Israeli
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
group Anarchists Against the Wall
Anarchists Against the Wall
Anarchists Against the Wall , sometimes called "Anarchists Against Fences" or "Jews Against Ghettos", is a direct action group composed of Israeli anarchists and anti-authoritarians who oppose the construction of the Israeli Gaza Strip barrier and Israeli West Bank barrier. The AAtW calls the West...
, which is one of the most active groups of the Israeli radical left.
Previous to the formation of "Anarchists Against the Wall" Pollak lived for some time in a squatter community at Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and participated in sometimes wild demonstrations against globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
and against the Dutch Royal Family - which eventually resulted in his being arrested and deported from The Netherlands. Upon his return to Israel he became deeply involved in solidarity actions with Palestinian
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
villages, hard-pressed due to the clashes infusing from the Second Intifada.
Pollak was injured numerous times, including a head injury on April 3, 2005. An Israeli soldier shot Pollak in the head with a teargas canister from an M-16, from a distance of approximately thirty meters at a protest against the Wall in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
village of Bil'in
Bil'in
Bil'in is a Palestinian village located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, west of the city of Ramallah in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Bil'in has a population of 1,800, mostly Muslims.-History:...
. This left him with two internal brain hemorrhages and a wound requiring 23 stitches. Jonathan was arrested dozens of times and convicted together with 10 others for blocking a road in front of the Israeli Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv on the day the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
began its proceeding on the legality of the wall (which it eventually found to be illegal). He was also acquitted of a rioting charge together with another AAW activist, Kobi Snitz. They were both arrested at a demonstration against the wall in the village of Budrus.
Pollak is son to acclaimed Israeli actor Yossi Pollak, and brother to TV actor Avshalom Pollak and film director Shai Carmely Pollak. Shai recently won the Wolgin Award at the Jerusalem Film Festival for his Movie Bil'in Habibti. The film depicts the story of the struggle against the wall in the village of Bil'in
Bil'in
Bil'in is a Palestinian village located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, west of the city of Ramallah in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Bil'in has a population of 1,800, mostly Muslims.-History:...
and briefly features Jonathan. Pollak was part of the Israeli hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
scene as a teenager and remains straight edge
Straight edge
Straight edge is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs. It was a direct reaction to the sexual revolution, hedonism, and excess associated with punk rock. For some, this extends to not engaging in promiscuous sex, following a...
.
In 2005 Pollak toured the United States with Ayed Morrar, a Palestinian organizer from the West Bank village of Budrus
Budrus
Budrus is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located 31 kilometers Northwest of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics , the town had a population of 1,399 inhabitants in 2007."Budrus" is Arabic for "Peter" and in...
, as part of a fundraising tour for the ISM
ISM
--ism :* -ism – a suffix, meaning adherence or following an ideology* Isms philosophical world views-ISM :ISM is an acronym of:*Idiopathic sclerosing mesenteritis*Imperial Service Medal*Incorporated Society of Musicians...
.
In July 2009, Pollak gave evidence to the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict
United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict
The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, known as the Goldstone Report, was a team established in April 2009 by the United Nations Human Rights Council during the Gaza War as an independent international fact-finding mission to investigate alleged violations of international...
headed by Justice Richard Goldstone
Richard Goldstone
Richard Joseph Goldstone is a South African former judge. After working for 17 years as a commercial lawyer, he was appointed by the South African government to serve on the Transvaal Supreme Court from 1980 to 1989 and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa from 1990 to 1994...
. Pollak, together with Mohamed Srour, a Palestinian from the village of Ni'lin
Ni'lin
Ni'lin is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank, located west of Ramallah. Ni'lin is about east of the 1949 Armistice Line bordered by Deir Qaddis, the Israeli settlements of Nili and Na'ale to the northeast, the village of al-Midya and Modi'in...
in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, spoke to the Mission about the killing that they witnessed of Arafat and Mohamed Khawaja, during a demonstration against the Israeli assault on Gaza by Palestinians and Israeli and international solidarity activists in Ni'lin
Ni'lin
Ni'lin is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank, located west of Ramallah. Ni'lin is about east of the 1949 Armistice Line bordered by Deir Qaddis, the Israeli settlements of Nili and Na'ale to the northeast, the village of al-Midya and Modi'in...
on 28 December 2008.
On December 28, 2010, Pollak was sentenced to three months imprisonment and a fine of 1,500 shekels for taking part in a Critical Mass
Critical Mass
Critical Mass is a cycling event typically held on the last Friday of every month in over 300 cities around the world. The ride was originally founded in 1992 in San Francisco. The purpose of Critical Mass is not usually formalized beyond the direct action of meeting at a set location and time and...
bicycle demonstration against the blockade of Gaza in Tel Aviv in January, 2008. He was only person convicted, although he was arrested with 30 other protesters at the same demonstration.
As a result of transliteration issues from Hebrew, Pollak's name may also appear as Polak, Pollack, Polack, Yonathan, or Yonatan.
External links
- Anarchists Against the Wall - Official website
- The disengagement as smoke screen - An article in Ha'aretz Daily
- Flee, freedom fighter, flee - An article about Azmi Bishara in Znet
- UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict - Public Hearings First & Second session