Jaffa imam faces suspension for protest following racist attack on Arab woman

A sheikh from Jaffa has received a notice from the Interior Ministry that he may be suspended from his government job as imam in the city’s al-Nuzha Mosque for taking part in a protest after a racist attack on a pregnant Arab woman on Saturday.

Sheikh Mohammad Mahameed, 36, shares on social media a letter from a deputy director in the ministry, dated Tuesday, saying he had until tomorrow at 8 a.m. to appeal the decision to suspend him.

Non-Jewish clergy in Israel who are officially recognized by the Interior Ministry’s religions department receive a government salary and are considered civil servants.

“The far right failed to silence my voice by unjustly putting me in jail; now they’re trying to punish me by dismissing me from my position as imam of the al-Nuzha Mosque in Jaffa,” says Mahameed on Facebook.

He dismisses the charges against him and says he will continue in his role whether or not the government pays him. “Our mosques are not toys!” he adds.

The al-Nuzha Mosque invited Jaffa’s Muslim community to take part in an evening prayer today in support of Mahameed. Haaretz reports that about 200 people attended, including Sheikh Safwat Freij, head of the Islamic Movement, and that Mahameed said in a sermon there: “We’re not afraid, because we spoke the truth — we want to live in this city in security and peace.”

כמאתיים בני אדם משתתפים בכינוס במסגד א-נוזהה ביפו במחאה על ההזמנה של אימאם המסגד, שיח׳ מוחמד מחאמיד, לשימוע בידי משרד הפנים. מחאמיד נושא דברים בקריאה לאחדות יפו, ואומר כי אנשיה לא יוותרו. במקום נוכח בין השאר גם שיח׳ ספואת פריג׳, ראש התנועה האסלאמית בישראל pic.twitter.com/GUhywt8aCj

— Yair Foldes (@Yair_Foldes) December 17, 2025

The grounds for Mahameed’s suspension as a public employee are the criminal probe launched against him on suspicion of participating in an illegal protest, disturbing public order, disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct, according to the letter he received. The letter cites Clause 48 of the 1963 Civil Servants (Discipline) Law, which stipulates that civil servants can be suspended for up to 30 days if there is reason to believe they have committed a crime.

Veteran Arab MK Ahmad Tibi slams the move to suspend Mahameed. “Has a Jewish rabbi ever been punished for clear incitement to violence and racism? Never. Because they’re Jewish,” he says. “You won’t silence the Arabs of Jaffa.”

The Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality declines to comment on the issue of Mahameed’s suspension.

Mahameed was one of 14 Arabs from Jaffa, including four other Muslim religious officials, who were arrested following the Saturday protest, according to the local Arabic-language news site Yaffa48.

Police accused the detainees of shouting nationalist slogans against Jewish people. Footage from a speech Mahameed gave during the protest shows him leading the crowd in chants of “With spirit and blood we’ll redeem you, Jaffa,” and, referring to Jews, saying: “If anyone wants to leave this place, it’ll be them.”

"ברוח, בדם נפדה אותך יפו. זה או אנחנו – או אנחנו": במילים האלה ובנחישות שילהב הלילה את הקהל המוסלמי-יפואי השיח' מוחמד מחאמיד – מואזין מסגד "אל-נוזהה" בעיר שממנו יצאו שני מחבלים תושבי חברון לביצוע פיגוע הירי ברכבת הקלה ביפו באוקטובר 2024.

הרקע למחאות ביפו ובהן הקריאות הלאומניות… pic.twitter.com/XALJmcMTpS

— עומרי חיים | Omri Haim (@HaimOmri) December 13, 2025

All 14 have since been released. Mahameed, who was arrested Sunday night, went home the next day. The Arab48 news site has cited released suspects as saying they were told by police investigators that the arrest was a “decision from high up.”

On Monday, police arrested three Jewish suspects in the attack. The court earlier today extended the suspects’ arrest until Sunday. According to Hebrew media, they are part of the Hilltop Youth group, who are currently barred from entering the West Bank due to previous attacks on Palestinians.

Mahameed’s al-Nuzha Mosque made headlines in October last year when members alerted authorities to an ongoing shooting attack whose perpetrators, Palestinians from the West Bank, had stashed equipment in the mosque and threatened worshipers. Nonetheless, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir threatened to demolish the mosque if any members were found complicit, and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu referred to its members as “terrorists.”