Free Antar the Clown

This is the guy I’d want teaching circus arts to my grandchildren. Antar the Clown (Mohammed Abu Sakha), a young man so engaging, caring, open and good-hearted that any child would bloom under his tutelage.

Israeli authorities, however, prefer to lock him up without trial. They’ve already done it three times (with multiple renewals/extensions) and a couple weeks ago, they did it again. Where is the sense in that? Isn’t Israel better off when he’s on the job at the nonprofit Palestinian Circus School in Birzeit, teaching kids to juggle and do acrobatics and stuff?

Israeli moms and dads, these arrests and imprisonments are done in your name

Outposts of the Israeli gulag known as “administrative detention” are found just around the next turn in the road or over the next hill from where you yourself might live, in various parts of the land of Israel/Palestine — prisons called Ofer, Megiddo, Negev, and (for women prisoners) Hasharon. Once this gulag gets hold of someone, they may remain there for considerable time — years, even. There are currently more than 9,000 “administrative detainees” in the gulag; over 1,200 were there for years before October 7th.

All kinds of people, young and old, as well as minors (yes, children too!) have been cruelly swallowed up in Israel’s gulag, which is in fact a system of imprisonment without trial for four to six months at a time, renewable indefinitely. The Israeli gulag is inhabited almost exclusively by Palestinian detainees of all professions and persuasions. It’s impossible to know what, if any, crimes any of them may have committed since they and their lawyers are denied access to the secret service files that military judges read when determining whether to agree that they are dangerous enough to lock up. You can read all about this system online: here, for instance. Many are evidently deemed dangerous not for anything they have done, but because the Israeli security services fear what they might be thinking or might do. And when their detention terms (plus any renewals) finally end, they are released back to their communities. Security threat over. Hmmmm.

Rescuing kids from despair, one at a time

Among the people languishing there without benefit of trial these days is Mohammed Abu Sakha, master of circus arts like juggling, tumbling, trapeze, and more. Teaching these arts to kids is his superpower.

Among the young trainees who rely on Antar to help them escape for a few hours each week from the brutality and chaos of life in the West Bank under military occupation, several are youngsters with disabilities. Some of those children have made crucial progress through their lessons with Antar at the Palestinian Circus School (PCS) — learning new physical skills, acquiring new self-confidence, and feeling less isolated and lonely, as reported by their mothers or by the school.

One is Mohammed A., now 21, who was born with a chromosomal deficiency that affects his mental abilities. “Mohammad did not speak a word until he was five years old,” his mother reports “I registered him in a deaf school in Betunia where he was taught his very first words…. In [regular] school, he was always alone. He didn’t play with his classmates. He was unable to express his feelings… he was sometimes hitting his own head and tearing his own clothes…”

 Source: Medical Aid for Palestine (MAP), public domain.

“Fortunately,” Mohammed A.’s mom continues, “I heard of the Palestinian Circus School. In cooperation with the Star Mountain Rehabilitation Center, Mohammad became one of the students of PCS. Both centers [have worked] tirelessly to enhance his self-esteem and teaching him how to become strong and brave. At PCS, he was trained on the diabolo, pyramids, how to do a front and back roll, how to jump. Mohammad excelled at the diabolo, and became known as ‘The King of Diabolo’! Mohammad’s self-esteem and strength were elevated as he stood [in a] theater in front of big audiences who were clapping for him…. My son Mohammad dreams of becoming a circus trainer.” (–Kefaya A., Mohammad’s mother)

Meanwhile, the beloved circus trainer he idolizes is locked away in the Israeli gulag, never tried for any crime, never permitted to defend himself in a courtroom. If he is so dangerous, why not bring him to trial?

Performing with the other kids – with a walker

Another youngster taking lessons at the PCS who has blossomed there is Mohammed B., now 18, who has cerebral palsy and finds walking difficult. This youngster asks questions that his coach has trouble answering – like “Why did God choose to make me disabled?” and “Will I be disabled forever?” He joined the circus school in 2012, when he was six years old, and has made good progress with physical and social skills. After a few years, he was able to participate in circus performances with other children, using his walker as a circus instrument. His confidence in himself has increased geometrically.

During one of Antar’s previous rounds of incarceration as an administrative detainee, in 2017, a much younger Mohammed B. made a video pleading for his release and return to teaching:

Source: Palestinian Circus School, public domain.

Action to free Antar

Those who care should write to the following, demanding that the Israeli authorities put Antar on trial or release him – now!

The Military Advocate General
Major Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi
Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel
Fax: +972 3 569 4526
Email: Mag@idf.gov.il

Commander of the IDF – West Bank
Major-General Abraham (Avi) Ahron Bluth
GOC Central Command
Military Post 01149, Battalion 877
Israel Defense Forces, Israel
Fax: +972 2 530 5741, +972 2 530 5724

Outside Israel, readers who care can write to their elected officials and urge that the international community put pressure on Israel to free Antar now.

And in particular, Jewish readers who care and who see the deep, long-term damage that this Israeli policy is inflicting, should call on their rabbis and community leaders to speak out and express how un-Jewish this practice is.

For a deeper dive on Antar’s case, find additional background in an article by Sam Bahour on Medium almost exactly one year ago.

Antar the Clown’s kids are anxiously waiting for his return to continue their circus arts training. We must not let them down.