Dim Amor
Last Monday, November 24, Knesset Member Ayman Odeh published a provocative post on the social network X, in which he referred to Israeli security forces using the term "fascism". The publication raises serious legal questions regarding incitement and defamation, and accompanies an incident that occurred in East Jerusalem, shedding light on a complex network of foreign funding, problematic connections, and secretive management.
Odeh wrote on X: "In the theater of the absurd called the occupation, there are moments that cannot be described in words, moments of pure cruelty. Look at these children: crying, frightened, innocent children who came only to participate in an artistic performance at Al-Hakawati Theater in East Jerusalem. Fascism is spreading, but its roots are planted in the occupation. Therefore, it must be ended, both peoples must be freed from the yoke of occupation. Because we were all born free".
The background to the publication is a raid carried out by the Israeli police on Al-Hakawati Theater in East Jerusalem and the dispersal of a children's show being held there. Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir issued an order to close the theater under the Law for Implementation of the Oslo Accords in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The police acted according to the order, claiming there is a connection between the theater event and the Palestinian Authority and that the event was held without the required permit under the law. The dispersed show was called "Dreams Under the Olive Tree" and was described as a musical performance for children and youth.
Al-Hakawati Theater is not an ordinary theater. It operates within the territory of the State of Israel but defines itself as the "Palestinian National Theater". The theater maintains a bank account in the Palestinian Authority, and at times the Registrar of Associations in Israel has no access to this account – apparently a situation indicating improper management. However, this was not the reason for the closure order. According to a source in the security forces, the theater incorporates into children's shows, starting from age three, messages teaching Israeli Arab children that they are "Palestinians" and conveying content about not loving the State of Israel and allegedly not loving Jews. The source reported that all shows, from children's productions to adult productions, constitute hatred toward Jews and toward the State of Israel.
The words of Knesset Member Odeh, who publicly refers to Jews, the people of Israel, Jewish police officers, and Israeli security forces as "fascists", raise serious legal questions about incitement and defamation. The absurdity inherent in his words is that Odeh earns a salary every month from the public funds of those same "fascists" whom he calls names.
In the video posted with Odeh's message, it was written in Arabic: "They work to prevent children from the most basic rights, from their heart's desires and their hobbies. In Jerusalem, extensive restrictions are imposed aimed at thwarting any attempt to highlight our Palestinian identity through our heritage and folk culture". The closure order was not issued arbitrarily, and according to the source's statements, the content of the shows allegedly incites against the State of Israel.
An in-depth investigation reveals a complex picture of foreign funding and concealment attempts. Over the past seven years, the theater has received millions of shekels in donations from abroad. In its reports to the Registrar of Associations, the theater attempted to hide and erase or obscure the names of donors. As an association operating according to the laws of the State of Israel, the theater is obligated to be transparent to the public, yet even the details of the chairman and management of the theater were hidden from the general public. Only after an in-depth audit conducted by the Registrar of Associations and its demand to reveal donor names was the main funding source discovered.
One of the theater's main donors is the HBS organization, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, a German political foundation linked to the German Green Party, which donated hundreds of thousands of shekels to the theater. The problem with HBS is not just about money. The organization has an interest in maintaining a theater in Israel that defines itself as Palestinian and that allegedly incites against Israel. The HBS organization provides economic and media support to terror organizations operating deliberately against the State of Israel.
The Heinrich Böll Foundation is a German political foundation linked to the German Green Party and operates in the fields of education, democracy, human rights, and sustainability. According to a source who reported on this, HBS has previously sent funding or was connected in terms of partnership to several Palestinian associations suspected of connections to extremist or terror elements. For example, according to the NGO Monitor website, HBS funded or was connected to organizations like Addameer. In certain cases, such as a conference identified with Hamas members' participation, HBS organized the conference and apparently supports Hamas.
HBS's positions and political activity, including cooperation with Palestinian organizations, protest calls, and alleged collaboration with Hamas under the headline "support for human rights", have brought it under criticism from parties claiming connections with suspect organizations. Investigations indicate funding of non governmental organizations that were connected with groups defined as terror organizations.
One of HBS's spokespersons, Hassan Youssef, is described as the son of a central figure in the Hamas movement in the West Bank and as someone who was arrested for several years by Israeli authorities. The HBS organization officially refers to Israeli authorities as "Israeli occupation authorities". Additional spokespersons include Younes al-Jarrou, formerly among the senior members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and subsequently chairman of the board of directors of the Al-Dameer association for human rights in Gaza.
According to a publication in the newspaper "Makor Rishon" dated November 17, 2017, it was revealed that the office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Ramallah, a political foundation funded by the German government and associated with the Green Party, was a partner in organizing a conference titled "The Intifada of 1987: History and Memory", marking thirty years since the first Palestinian intifada against Israel. The conference, planned to be held in Gaza between November 24-26 and in Beirut between November 28-30 of that month, included in the list of speakers participants who are former or current members of the terror organizations Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Therefore, Al-Hakawati Theater worked with all its might to hide its main donor. The HBS donor is factual information, an organization supporting terror maintains and causes a Palestinian theater in Israel to exist. When the content of the shows is allegedly incitement, it is not by chance that the theater received a closure order and security forces arrived to enforce the State of Israel's order.
The theater's management consists of Arabs with Israeli citizenship, responsible for its actual operation. The theater, as an institutional body, receives funding from the HBS organization, which according to claims raised concerning it maintains, allegedly, direct or indirect connections that could be interpreted as support for Hamas and elements or activists of a problematic nature. Committee members are Dima Abu Hilal, Hani Ghusha, Wael Abu Arafa, Tarek Sayed, Salah Adama, Imad Muna, and Raad Twil. The auditing accountant is Samir Sahar (Elyosef CPA), the authorized reporter is Dina Wakeela, and the legal advisor is attorney Sani Khuri. Attempts to contact the theater's attorney, committee members, and the theater itself for a response were unsuccessful.
The theater also receives donations from SIDA, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, a governmental body funded by the Swedish state budget. The agency supports projects of aid, development, human rights, education, health, and democratic governance. The theater did not hide this fact.
However, reports and studies indicate that SIDA has funded, in the past and present, Palestinian organizations allegedly connected to extremist elements or groups defined by Israel as terror organizations or having connections to terror. For example, according to NGO Monitor, some of Sweden's grant recipients through SIDA included non-governmental organizations accused of preaching, incitement, and justifying violence after the events of October 7, 2023.
The criticism against SIDA, as presented by NGO Monitor and academic research, claims that oversight of how money flows and is used may be deficient. That is, although SIDA did not directly transfer terror funds, some of the organizations that received funding may promote hostile ideology, incitement, or campaigns against Israel -a fact that raises moral and strategic questions.
Knesset Member Ayman Odeh has no evidence that the Government of Israel, the closure order against the theater, and the security forces are "fascists". On the other hand, there apparently is evidence that the theater's conduct is problematic, especially regarding the bodies donating to it. When it comes to money, apparently it doesn't stink. Only in attacks carried out in Israel are people harmed, Jews, citizens, and tourists.
Photo of MK Odeh and Minister Ben-Gvir from the Knesset archive, use in accordance with Section 27A of the Copyright Law.
