- Jonathan Pollak
Jonathan Pollak (
1982 -) is an Israeli anarchist and graphic designer who grew up inTel Aviv and lives inJaffa . Pollak was amongst the founders of the radical Israeli groupAnarchists Against the Wall , which is one of the most active and militant groups of the Israeli radical left.As early as September 2002 in the village ofJayyous and its struggle to stop the construction of theIsraeli West Bank barrier on their land, Pollak was one of the first Israelis to join Palestinians in theAl-Aqsa Intifada .Pollak attended over 300 demonstrations in the last 4 years and appears in Israeli media relatively often. He is considered by many as the Israeli leader of the struggle against the wall, though as an anarchist he rejects that description [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=415862&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y] .The militant nature of the anarchists' actions and their radical political stance is highly controversial in Israel. Pollak's high profile singles him out for personal scorn as well.
Pollak was injured numerous times, including a head injury on April 3, 2005. An Israeli soldier shot Pollak in the head with a teargas canister from an M-16, from a distance of approximately thirty meters at a protest against the Wall in the
West Bank village ofBil'in . This left him with two internal brain hemorrhages and a wound requiring 23 stitches [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=560981] [http://electronicintifada.net/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/11/3775] . Jonathan was arrested dozens of times and convicted together with 10 others for blocking a road in front of the Israeli Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv on the day theInternational Court of Justice inThe Hague began its proceeding on the legality of the wall. He was also acquitted of a rioting charge together with another AAW activist,Kobi Snitz . They were both arrested at a demonstration against the wall in the village of Budrus [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=717498]Pollak is son to acclaimed Israeli actor
Yossi Pollak , and brother to TV actorAvshalom Pollak and film directorShai Carmely Pollak . Shai recently won the [http://www.jff.org.il/show_event.php?id=23 Wolgin Award] at the Jerusalem Film Festival for his MovieBil'in Habibti . The film depicts the story of the struggle against the wall in the village ofBil'in and briefly features Jonathan.In 2005 Pollak toured the United States with Eyad Morrar, a Palestinian organizer from the West Bank village of
Budrus , as part of a fundraising tour for theISM .As a result of transliteration issues from
Hebrew , Pollak's name may also appear as Polak, Pollack, Polack, Yonathan, or Yonatan.External links
* [http://awalls.org/ Anarchists Against the Wall] - Official website
* [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=598262 The disengagement as smoke screen] - An article in Ha'aretz Daily
* [http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=107&ItemID=12790 Flee, freedom fighter, flee] - An article about Azmi Bishara in Znet
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