Israeli agents raided two of the Educational Bookshop’s three locations in East Jerusalem and the West Bank yesterday, confiscating books and arresting owners Mahmoud Muna and Ahmad Muna. The stores reopened today, but the owners remain in custody, apparently on charges of “disturbing the public order.” Witnesses described the chaos of the raids: plain-clothed officers entered, started throwing books on the ground, used Google Translate to arbitrarily judge the nature of books, seized “offensive” books such as Walid Khalidi’s All That Remains and arrested the Muna brothers.
 
For over 40 years, the Educational Bookshop has served as a place for locals and foreigners of all persuasions to gather, talk and peruse books about the region. Customers often walk into our own store and remark that it reminds them of the Educational Bookshop. (The Bookshop sells copies of our magazine, the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.) We share the same vision and aspirations as the Educational Bookshop: a world where all are free to read, learn and talk, even about topics deemed offensive or uncouth by the powers that be.
 
We stand in solidarity with the Educational Bookshop and demand the immediate release of Mahmoud and Ahmad. No government has the right to intimidate and harass those promoting dialogue and knowledge.