Imam freed after calling for Arab insurrection south of Tel Aviv, expulsion of Jews

Senior official in Israel’s Islamic Movement leads protest in Jaffa calling for an Arab uprising and the mass expulsion of Jews.

By World Israel News Staff

A Muslim leader in one of Israel’s largest Arab communities was released from police custody Monday – less than two days after he was arrested for leading an antisemitic demonstration over the weekend.

On Saturday night, hundreds of Arab Israelis rallied in the Ajami neighborhood of Jaffa following reports that an Arab woman had been pepper-sprayed during a traffic dispute with Jews.

Police later confirmed that a local woman had claimed to have been sprayed with pepper spray, adding that an investigation was launched, though authorities did not identify the nationality of the suspects and made no indication the incident was nationalistically motivated.

However, leaders of the local branch of the Islamic Movement claimed the pepper spraying was carried out as a targeted attack on members of the Arab community.

The demonstration was organized by Sheikh Muhammad Mahamid, who advocated a violent Arab uprising in Jaffa and the mass expulsion of the ancient port city’s Jewish inhabitants.

“We agreed to have dog parks here, not dog houses,” Mahamid said, referring to synagogues. “With fire and blood, we will redeem Jaffa.”

“It is either us or them,” he continued. “This is our city.”

The Muslim cleric called for the mass expulsion of “settlers” from Jaffa, referring to Jaffa’s Jewish majority.

Mahamid is the deputy chief of the Islamic Movement’s Jaffa branch.

Jaffa, part of the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, has a population of roughly 53,000, of whom one-third are Arabs.

Former Knesset member and former Tel Aviv-Yafo council member Sami Abu Shehadeh (Balad) also described Jaffa Jews as “settlers” and accused Israel of pursuing a “systematic policy targeting the people of Jaffa.”

During the protest, demonstrators hurled objects at passing cars and clashed with police officers.

On Sunday, police arrested Mahamid on suspicion of antisemitic incitement and disturbing the peace.

“This morning, police arrested a Jaffa resident—a religious cleric in his 30s—on suspicion of conduct that could disrupt public peace,” a police spokesperson said.

“During the march, racist chants were heard that could lead to disturbances of public order and harm public peace. In addition, later that night the suspect was heard on social media calling for disorder, including racist incitement against Jews.”

A day later, however, a judge ordered police to release Mahamid.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir excoriated the decision, calling it a “disgrace.”

“The decision to release an imam who openly called for ‘blood and fire’ against Jews is a disgrace and a scandal. While the Israel Police act with dedication, professionalism, and courage to arrest inciters and prevent the next incitement, there are those within the judicial system and the prosecution who serve as a breeding ground for them and repeatedly throw obstacles in the way of the police’s work.”

“Releasing such an inciter is not only a moral failure, but a dangerous message that legitimizes the next call for violence, for harm to Jews, and for the disruption of public order,” he said. “Those who release inciters bear responsibility for the consequences.”