In February, Palestinian prisoners released as part of the Gaza ceasefire agreement were forced to wear shirts emblazoned with the Star of David, the Israel Prison Service (IPS) logo, and the phrase “We will not forget and we will not forgive” in Arabic. 

Now, a Jewish-Israeli detainee in IPS custody has also been subjected to this humiliating practice: IPS officers compelled left-wing activist Itamar Greenberg, who was arrested last Sunday, May 24 at an anti-war protest, to wear a shirt with the inscription “Am Yisrael Chai” (“The Nation of Israel Lives”). During his detention, they also cursed at him, and threatened that next time they would tattoo a Star of David on his face — as had previously been done to a Palestinian detainee from East Jerusalem.

On May 24, anti-war demonstrators briefly blocked a road in Tel Aviv; during the protest, Greenberg, a 19-year-old conscientious objector who had served nearly 200 days in military prison, was arrested. He was taken to the Lev Tel Aviv police station, where he was interrogated for “disturbing the peace and public order.” He was then transferred for a few hours to the Glilot station, returned to Lev Tel Aviv, and from there was taken by the IPS to the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court for a hearing.

“From the moment I got out of the IPS vehicle at the courthouse, I can’t even describe how cruel they were,” Greenberg recounted. “They kept saying, ‘You’re the worst terrorists, you leftists, we’ll put you in a cell with Arabs, with illegal migrants.’”

IPS officers noticed the “Peace Partnership” shirt Greenberg was wearing at the time of his arrest, which bore the slogan “No to war, yes to peace” in Hebrew and Arabic. “That really triggered them. It’s not even a radical shirt,” Greenberg explained. 

“They took me for a strip search and brought me a thick gray shirt. After the search, they forced me to wear it, and I saw it had ‘Am Yisrael Chai!’ written on it in blue marker, with a drawing of the Israeli flag. I heard the guy who drew it bragging about it to his friends.”

From the basement cell in the courthouse, Greenberg was brought up for a hearing before Judge Ravit Peleg Bar-Dayan. Only toward the end of the hearing did his lawyer and others notice the IPS shirt. According to Greenberg, “The IPS tried to get me out of there quickly, saying, ‘Come on, you’re not staying, the hearing’s over.’ [When] my lawyer insisted on saying a few words,the IPS officers started yelling, ‘That’s your country’s flag! What’s wrong with the Israeli flag? Go draw a Palestinian flag instead.’”

During the hearing, Greenberg’s lawyer, Ramzi Ktilat, called the Hebrew inscription on his client’s shirt  “an attempt to make a statement and to harm the dignity of the detainee.” He explained that the practice is part of a larger pattern. “Since October 7 and during the war, the IPS has been using this slogan [“Am Yisrael Chai”] to humiliate detainees they believe do not support the war.”

The judge ruled that the matter be brought to the attention of an Israel Prison Service (IPS) official. She rejected the police’s request to extend Greenberg’s detention by three days, and released him with a one-month ban on participating in protests declared illegal by the Israel police, under penalty of a NIS 5,500 fine.

‘Have fun in the tunnels’

After the hearing, IPS officers brought Greenberg back down to a basement cell, where he waited for about two hours. “When we went down in the elevator — which is small — they threatened me again,” Greenberg recounted. “One of [the officers] said: ‘I’ll turn you into a far-right winger [who wears] a kippa [yarmulke] with a Star of David. Come put on tefillin [small black leather boxes worn by Jewish adults for weekday and Sunday morning prayers]. Are you a Jew who is circumcised?’ It was really unpleasant.”

Before he was released, a senior IPS officer arrived with “platoon commander” written on her uniform, according to Greenberg. “She photographed me with her phone. I thought she was doing it to investigate the matter because she had heard what happened during the hearing.”

Later, when Greenberg was about to be released, another IPS officer asked him: “What is that shirt? You’re not leaving in it.” Greenberg replied that he would indeed leave in the shirt the officers had forced him to wear. “I told [the officer]: ‘Of course I am. You embarrassed me, tried to humiliate me, and I demand documentation of it.’”

According to Greenberg, the officer responded with an insult: “I hope you get kidnapped.’’ The senior officer present chimed in as well. “Amen, go to Gaza. Have fun in the tunnels.”

“They said, ‘Amen, may an Iranian missile fall on your head.’ and ‘Next time you’re arrested, we’ll tattoo a Star of David on your face’ — I assume like what was done to a Palestinian detainee. In the middle of all this talk, I realized that if I refused, they’d beat me, so I took off the shirt.”

This was Greenberg’s fourth arrest since being released from military prison. The most significant take away, he says, is that “for Palestinians this [abuse] is the standard practice, and now it’s being directed at activists too.”

The Israel Prison Service responded to +972’s request for comment with the following statement: “The detainee in question arrived at the IPS’s Nachshon escort unit wearing a shirt with Arabic writing. For his own safety and to prevent friction with other detainees, he was asked to change into clothing provided by the IPS.

“As for the claim regarding writing on the clothing – the matter will be thoroughly examined, and if it is found to have occurred, disciplinary measures will be taken accordingly. The IPS emphasizes that its personnel act according to the law, equally and without bias, while safeguarding the rights and safety of every detainee and prisoner.”

The IPS chose not to respond to allegations regarding cursing, photographing, and threats.

On Tuesday, May 27, the Israel Prison Service reported that the IPS Commissioner had instructed the appointment of an investigating officer to look into the circumstances of the incident and also ordered the immediate removal of the guard from his position “until the investigation process is completed.”

A version of this article was first published in Hebrew on Local Call. Read it here.