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As the only Muslim in her class, she studied data science at one of the best universities in the Middle East. But at the Technion, Israel’s Technical University in Haifa, Bayan Khateeb was never alone. She had many friends, including Jewish Israelis, as “Spiegel” reports. As a Palestinian, the 23-year-old wanted to be a role model in the male-dominated world of artificial intelligence.
But a video was Katheeb’s downfall: because she was considered a bad cook, she extensively celebrated a successful Shakshuka, a specialty of Levantine cuisine. “Soon we will be able to eat a victory shakshuka,” she wrote of her success. She placed the Palestinian flag next to it. She posted the video on Instagram to a private group of six friends.
Victory in the kitchen, not in war
“It wasn’t about the war, it wasn’t about Hamas,” she explained to Spiegel a month after the October 7 massacre. For her it was a victory in the kitchen. “I proved it to you, I won, I can cook,” she reveals the meaning of the video. A friend saw it differently.
Without further ado, she forwarded Khateeb’s video. It spread quickly on social media – and the Palestinian woman was denigrated as a terrorist who had no place in Israeli society. They saw the video celebrating the Hamas attacks.
It wasn’t just strangers who saw it that way: fellow students told her that they no longer wanted to study on the same campus as her. This despite the fact that the Arab-Israeli woman had no bad intentions, as the Washington Post also reported.
“The images of the dead on October 7 are terribly painful for everyone, including me,” Khateeb said. “No clear-thinking person can condone such bloodshed.” But her comments are of no use to her.
Arrests, interrogations, firings
Two weeks after the video, the 23-year-old was arrested by police. She was humiliated and interrogated in prison for 24 hours, she tells Spiegel. When she was allowed to go home on October 26, she learned that the university had temporarily excluded her from studying. She also lost two jobs: as a math teacher and as a barista. Now she is constantly afraid “that they will come back and arrest me.”
Khateeb is not alone in this fear. Many Arab Israelis feel increasingly threatened by the wave of arrests, interrogations, firings and suspensions within Israel’s Arab community. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, there is great distrust. On Facebook, for example, people search for incriminating statements made by colleagues – often years ago. Then report it to the police.
Freedom of expression is severely suppressed
“An innocent tweet can land an Arab in jail,” confirms Israeli journalist Gideon Levy. Doctors are fired without explanation, influencers are arrested and their accounts are terminated. According to Spiegel, some authorities even ban Palestinians from certain areas of activity.
Michael Sfard, one of Israel’s leading human rights lawyers, speaks to the newspaper about the suppression of freedom of expression in Israel since the Hamas attack. “These are the worst days for freedom of expression and political discourse that I have ever experienced in Israel. By far.” (gs)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
