Two weeks ago a 19 year old Jewish man from Philadelphia was arrested by Jerusalem police officers during the annual "Jerusalem Day", a traditional celebration identified with the political right in Israel. The young man, Lucas, was handled roughly by police officers (headed by Superintendent David Hayoun) and accused of "provocation and disrupting the peace." He was charged the next day at court with attacking Hayoun and biting his arm.

But Lucas' only apparent crime was being the wrong kind of American Jew at the scene - the kind wearing a kaffiyah alongside his yarmulke, and speaking against the occupation. 

The video above shows Lucas at the demonstration, giving an interview in which he speaks against Israeli policy, with protesters waving Israel flags behind him. He is then approached by Hayoun and fellow officers (among them an unidentified higher ranked Police Commander) and refuses to hand over his passport. He is subsequently shoved by one of the officers, and the video breaks off and continues later when he is forced down by Hayoun who sits on his head, shoving his head into the asphalt, and once forced into submission he is dragged strangled by his kaffiyah and shoved into a police car. Between the two parts of the video, Lucas and friends return to their hotel and decide "that we would go back to the parade merely to hang out and observe, this time without our small Palestinian flags." They then continued to protest in front of the parade, with local Palestinians joining them. Click here for Lucas' own account of his day. 

The charges against Lucas were ruled unfounded in two court proceedings. The magistrates court ruled that he should be released from police custody, and following an appeal by the police, Jerusalem district court Judge Yigal Marzel declined the police request to keep Lucas in custody, calling into doubt their claims of severe violence exercised by the defendant.

This act by the Jerusalem police sends a clear message to any Jew planning a visit to the holy city –  you are welcome, as long as your politics do not clash with ours.

In Jerusalem, young Jewish Americans who come to strengthen their ties with the Jewish state and their sense of Jewish identity are always welcome. However, two weeks ago in the Jerusalem "Flags Parade", they were expected to carry the banner and show their support, not join the left wing counter protesters.

Lucas was approached by police and beaten in order to teach him a lesson - that the warm Israeli embrace will not be extended to someone holding his views.

Instead, should he insist on joining the ranks of the minority left, he can expect the faithful boot. On choosing between the masses parading through the Old City's Muslim quarter shouting "death to Arabs", and "Muhammad is dead", and those presenting a different face of Israeli society and standing in solidarity with Palestinians, this wide-eyed young American made the wrong choice and was shown by police how leftist protesters are often handled in this country. 

We who sign this petition call on the Israeli police to investigate the matter and issue an official apology. If two court proceedings rule there is no clear evidence supporting police claims of violence on his part, the question of police brutality remains. Why was he targeted and approached by a high ranking officer? Did police follow protocol? How do the police view their role in such protests, and how did their behavior serve that purpose? Is there any evidence whatsoever to support police claim that Hayoun had been bitten, or did police officers give false testimony?

Until this matter is clarified and settled, American Jews and other tourists planning a visit to Jerusalem should take the message communicated thus far by Israeli police –  that they are only welcome if they wear the right colors.