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Police raid Jerusalem's Educational Bookshop for second time and arrest manager
Police have raided Jerusalem’s Educational Bookshop for a second time and have reportedly arrested co-owner Mahmoud Muna’s older brother, Imad, who also manages the bookshop. The bookshop was first raided last month and books on the Israel-Palestine conflict were reportedly confiscated, while the co-owners were arrested and subsequently released. However, as of 4pm on 11th March, Imad was subsequently released.
Mahmoud, who co-owns the bookshop with his nephew Ahmad, had been scheduled to give an in-person talk at London Book Fair with English PEN on 12th March, on Publishing Responsibly in Times of Conflict, but following his brother’s arrest he was planning on proceeding with the event remotely. However, since his brother’s release, he now plans on attending in person.
Mahmoud and his nephew were arrested on 9th February 2025, while dozens of books were confiscated from their store. The bookshop, part of a chain with three locations, sells books that are imported into Israel and therefore pass inspection by Israeli authorities. It specialises in Arabic and English-language books on Jerusalem’s history and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The booksellers were initially charged with "inciting and supporting terrorism", but their attorney Nasser Odeh said this was changed to "disturbing the public order" while they were interrogated.
On 11th February, reports suggested the pair had been released by Israeli police with no charges brought against them.
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Now, Mahmoud Muna has reported that the police had arrested his older brother Imad, who also manages the store, and that police have mounted a second raid.
Andrew Franklin, Profile books founder and trustee of Index on Censorship, said: “It is unbearable that people are being arrested simply for selling books. Freedom of speech is under threat everywhere, nowhere more so than Israel. This is the second time this shop has been raided and all it does is sell books."
Lynn Gaspard of Saqi Books said: "We are appalled by the second raid on the Educational Bookshop carried out earlier today. With no explanation, more books have been confiscated and more distress has been caused to the Muna family, simply for doing their job. Every day we are seeing more booksellers, librarians, publishers and writers censored in almost every country around the world – this feels particularly poignant during the London Book Fair. The industry must rally to protect the freedom to read, which means the freedom to run a bookshop. Bookselling is not a crime."
The Israeli Police have not yet released a statement on the arrests. The Bookseller has contacted English PEN for comment.
UPDATE: 4.11pm, 11th March. According to a report in Haaretz, Imad has now been released.
