CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Palestinian Citizen of Israel Jailed for Criticism of the War on Iran

Majd Asadi at a protest in Umm al-Fahm, 2025.

Earlier this month (March 2), Israeli police arrested and jailed Majd Asadi, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, on charges of “incitement” and support for “terrorism.” Asadi is an opera singer and activist from Daliyat al-Karmel, a town in northern ’48 Palestine. He had written a Facebook post critical of the US-Israeli war on Iran. It appeared after Israel, aided by the CIA, assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, also killing his daughter and grandchild.

In his post, Asadi had dared to say that it was a good thing that under Khamanei, Iran hadn’t surrendered to Western imperialists. He also added that the US-Israeli war was motivated by wanting to control Iran’s oil and resources. The authorities considered this a form of “identification” with a “terrorist” organization (the Iranian government).

Asadi’s words rained on the parade of most Israelis, who cheer for the bombing of Iran almost as aggressively as they cheer for the bombing of Gaza. In an interview last Friday, Asadi explained that he deliberately wrote in Hebrew in addition to Arabic, so that Israelis get a dose of truth that Zionist media would never air. He views the use of the Hebrew language as a political weapon. “I want........

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