Dareen Tatour ( Arabic: دارين طاطور, born 16 April 1982 in Reineh) is a Palestinian poet, photographer, and social media activist from Reineh, Israel, who writes in Arabic, her mother tongue. [1] She was tried, convicted, and sentenced to five months in prison by an Israeli court in 2018 for "inciting violence" and "supporting a terrorist organisation" in postings on social media, one of which was a video that included a reading of her poem. [2] [3] [4] Following her appeal, the conviction for the post containing the poem was overturned the following year, but the conviction for her other posts was upheld. [5] [6]
In 2019, she received an Oxfam Novib/PEN Award for Freedom of Expression. [7]
She has published her work on Facebook, and YouTube. [8]
In October 2015, Tatour published a poem on YouTube and Facebook titled "Qawem Ya Shaabi Qawemahum" ("Resist my people, resist them"), [9] where the words were cited as the soundtrack to images of Palestinians in violent confrontations with Israeli troops. [10] This led to her arrest and indictment for incitement to violence and for support of a terrorist organization. A full translation of the poem as made by a police officer is cited in the indictment document. The rest of the indictment relates to three Facebook publications: (i) the picture of Israa Abed, a woman from Nazareth, laid on the ground of the central bus station in Afula after she was shot by Israeli soldiers and guards; (ii) a profile picture with the Arabic writing "Ana Al-Shahid Al-Jay" ("I am the next martyr"); and (iii) a post citing the call by Islamic Jihad for Intifada in the West Bank and calling for Intifada inside the green line for Al-Aqsa. [8]
Tatour's poem was viewed more than 200,000 times before her trial. [11]
The posts coincided with the so-called "Knife Intifada", a wave of daily Palestinian stabbings which had begun in 2015, had killed dozens of Israelis in a matter of months, and had been widely attributed to social-media encouragement. [12] [13] [14] Israeli investigators asserted that: "The content, its exposure and the circumstances of its publication created a real possibility that acts of violence or terrorism will be committed." [8] [11]
At the same time, Tatour's prosecution elicited widespread international condemnation. According to the BBC, by 2018 "the poet's case has become a cause celebre for free speech advocates and has drawn attention to a recent rise in Israeli arrests - of Israeli Arabs and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank - accused of incitement or planning attacks online" [12] The PEN American Center condemned her arrest and sentencing in 2016, [15] [16] organized letter-writing campaigns on her behalf, [17] and following her conviction in May 2018 stated that the conviction “relies on a wanton mischaracterization of her work and is an unacceptable attack on freedom of expression in Israel”. [18] Her arrest was also condemned by the American anti-Zionist organization Jewish Voice for Peace. [19]
Tatour initially denied authoring the posts and poem, but after switching attorneys she admitted to having done so, and instead began claiming the poem had been mistranslated. [8] [11]
The prosecution's argument emphasized her denial, reversal, and subsequent blaming of others, asserting that a person "confident of the justice of his path and purity of his intentions consistently admits to publishing the things attributed to him, and explains the underlying intentions." [8]
Tatour's defense argued that she was being tried to "intimidate and silence Palestinians in Israel" and that "criminalization of poetry… derogates from the cultural richness of all society." [11]
She was convicted on May 3, 2018, [20] and on 31 July 2018 sentenced to five months' imprisonment. [8] She was released in September, 2018. [5]
In May 2019, the Nazareth District Court overturned her conviction for the poem, though not the convictions for other social media posts. [6] The court ruled that the poem did not "involve unequivocal remarks that would provide the basis for a direct call to carry out acts". [6] The court noted that Tatour was known as a poet and that "freedom of expression is accorded added weight when it also involves freedom of artistic and creative [expression]". [6]
Dareen Tatour ( Arabic: دارين طاطور, born 16 April 1982 in Reineh) is a Palestinian poet, photographer, and social media activist from Reineh, Israel, who writes in Arabic, her mother tongue. [1] She was tried, convicted, and sentenced to five months in prison by an Israeli court in 2018 for "inciting violence" and "supporting a terrorist organisation" in postings on social media, one of which was a video that included a reading of her poem. [2] [3] [4] Following her appeal, the conviction for the post containing the poem was overturned the following year, but the conviction for her other posts was upheld. [5] [6]
In 2019, she received an Oxfam Novib/PEN Award for Freedom of Expression. [7]
She has published her work on Facebook, and YouTube. [8]
In October 2015, Tatour published a poem on YouTube and Facebook titled "Qawem Ya Shaabi Qawemahum" ("Resist my people, resist them"), [9] where the words were cited as the soundtrack to images of Palestinians in violent confrontations with Israeli troops. [10] This led to her arrest and indictment for incitement to violence and for support of a terrorist organization. A full translation of the poem as made by a police officer is cited in the indictment document. The rest of the indictment relates to three Facebook publications: (i) the picture of Israa Abed, a woman from Nazareth, laid on the ground of the central bus station in Afula after she was shot by Israeli soldiers and guards; (ii) a profile picture with the Arabic writing "Ana Al-Shahid Al-Jay" ("I am the next martyr"); and (iii) a post citing the call by Islamic Jihad for Intifada in the West Bank and calling for Intifada inside the green line for Al-Aqsa. [8]
Tatour's poem was viewed more than 200,000 times before her trial. [11]
The posts coincided with the so-called "Knife Intifada", a wave of daily Palestinian stabbings which had begun in 2015, had killed dozens of Israelis in a matter of months, and had been widely attributed to social-media encouragement. [12] [13] [14] Israeli investigators asserted that: "The content, its exposure and the circumstances of its publication created a real possibility that acts of violence or terrorism will be committed." [8] [11]
At the same time, Tatour's prosecution elicited widespread international condemnation. According to the BBC, by 2018 "the poet's case has become a cause celebre for free speech advocates and has drawn attention to a recent rise in Israeli arrests - of Israeli Arabs and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank - accused of incitement or planning attacks online" [12] The PEN American Center condemned her arrest and sentencing in 2016, [15] [16] organized letter-writing campaigns on her behalf, [17] and following her conviction in May 2018 stated that the conviction “relies on a wanton mischaracterization of her work and is an unacceptable attack on freedom of expression in Israel”. [18] Her arrest was also condemned by the American anti-Zionist organization Jewish Voice for Peace. [19]
Tatour initially denied authoring the posts and poem, but after switching attorneys she admitted to having done so, and instead began claiming the poem had been mistranslated. [8] [11]
The prosecution's argument emphasized her denial, reversal, and subsequent blaming of others, asserting that a person "confident of the justice of his path and purity of his intentions consistently admits to publishing the things attributed to him, and explains the underlying intentions." [8]
Tatour's defense argued that she was being tried to "intimidate and silence Palestinians in Israel" and that "criminalization of poetry… derogates from the cultural richness of all society." [11]
She was convicted on May 3, 2018, [20] and on 31 July 2018 sentenced to five months' imprisonment. [8] She was released in September, 2018. [5]
In May 2019, the Nazareth District Court overturned her conviction for the poem, though not the convictions for other social media posts. [6] The court ruled that the poem did not "involve unequivocal remarks that would provide the basis for a direct call to carry out acts". [6] The court noted that Tatour was known as a poet and that "freedom of expression is accorded added weight when it also involves freedom of artistic and creative [expression]". [6]