Israeli police raided the renowned Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem on Sunday, arresting its owners, Mahmoud Muna and his nephew Ahmad Muna, and confiscating books deemed as “inciting terrorism.” Among the seized materials was a children’s coloring book titled From the River to the Sea, which authorities cited as an example of inflammatory content. The 40-year-old bookstore, owned by the Palestinian Muna family, has long served as a center for Palestinian literature and cultural discourse, offering works in Arabic and English that provide perspectives often absent in Israeli narratives. The raid, carried out without prior warning, left the bookstore in disarray, with shelves overturned and books scattered across the floor. Witnesses reported that Israeli forces used Google Translate to identify and remove books containing words like “Palestine” or displaying the Palestinian flag.
Following their arrest, Mahmoud and Ahmad Muna were detained at West Jerusalem’s Russian Compound before being released under strict conditions. They were placed under five days of house arrest and barred from entering the bookstore or any of its branches for 20 days. Initially accused of “inciting and supporting terrorism,” the charges against them were later reduced to “disturbing the public order.” The arrest has sparked condemnation from international literary and human rights organizations, including PEN International, which labeled the raid as part of a systematic effort to silence Palestinian voices. The Consul-General of France in Jerusalem, Nicolas Kassianides, attended the court hearing and criticized the police action as an assault on freedom of expression, calling for an immediate end to such pressures.
The Educational Bookshop, established in 1984 by the late Ahmed Muna, has played a crucial role in preserving Palestinian history, literature, and identity. It has been a hub for intellectual and cultural discussions, hosting literary events, book readings, and screenings that foster dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis. The store’s English-language section, in particular, has been instrumental in providing access to books on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that challenge mainstream Israeli narratives. The raid has fueled concerns about Israel’s increasing suppression of Palestinian culture, with critics accusing Israeli authorities of engaging in “cultural erasure” as part of broader policies of occupation and control over Palestinian spaces in East Jerusalem.
