JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel has stayed the deportation of a Jewish-American journalist working for a Palestinian news agency.
Jared Malsin, the English-language editor of the Palestinian Ma’an news agency, was detained Tuesday afternoon at Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport following a vacation in the Czech Republic. He was interrogated for eight hours and was to be deported Thursday morning.
The Tel Aviv District Court stayed the deportation Wednesday night and during a hearing Thursday requested more information on Malsin.
According to Ma’an, interrogation transcripts obtained by the news service show that Malsin was considered a security risk on the basis of his political beliefs, determined by his news stories that criticize the State of Israel. The transcripts also said, according to Ma’an, that security officials believe Malsin "exploited his Jewishness" to gain entry to Israel.
Ma’an, based in Bethlehem, has several radio stations and a television channel in the West Bank. The news agency also runs a Web site in English, Arabic and Hebrew.
