The human rights lawyer Noura Erakat was arrested on Tuesday at a Palm Beach county, Florida, budget hearing about the county’s more than $1bn investments in Israeli bonds. Erakat, a prominent Palestinian-American activist, legal scholar and Guardian contributor, was one of several people in attendance at the public commission hearing who were forcibly removed by local law enforcement. The removal happened when the group attempted to speak out against the county’s investment in the bonds – the largest by a municipal government.
Representatives for Palm Beach county did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a video of Erakat’s arrest posted by Al Jazeera, two law enforcement officers are seen taking her away as she speaks about wanting to exercise “basic free speech”. Erakat told the Guardian that she and other critics of the county’s investment in Israeli bonds had planned to make statements at the hearing but that when they arrived there, the county’s mayor, Sara Baxter, told those present they could only speak for one minute as opposed to the slotted three.
She later said only residents would be allowed to speak and that people who applauded would be removed. Erakat also recalled that Baxter said that speakers could not address the Israeli bonds issue because they were a policy matter and not a budget one. When people spoke about the matter anyway, they were removed from the room.
During a recess, police officers entered the room and “handpicked” people to remove, she added. Investments in the Israeli bonds have become a controversial issue as US public opinion of Israel has plunged. In Florida, a group of residents sued Palm Beach county last year over the investment, which the group says was carried out in violation of local laws, including requirements that foreign investments meet certain ratings and prohibitions around investing for political reasons.
The case was dismissed in August for lack of standing, but the plaintiffs are appealing the decision. Several candidates in recent primaries races have pledged to end public investments in Israeli bonds. The group argued in a memo to elected officials earlier this year that investment of public funds in Iraeli bonds violates both international law and fiduciary duties and may expose officials and beneficiaries alike to “substantial legal, ethical and financial risks”.
Erakat said she was “rough handled” and held, tightly cuffed, in the back of a police car for two hours before being shackled and transferred to a local jail, where she was released on bail. She was charged with a trespass misdemeanor. We talk about fascism but to see it play out so vividly was what compelled me to stay in the room honestly.” Charles Blaha, a former state department official and Dawn adviser who was also ejected from the room, wrote in a statement that the county commission had abruptly canceled the scheduled discussion.
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