Salah Sarsour, president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque, said more than 80 days in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody ‘brought back old memories’ of Israeli military prisons, including “the humiliation” and abusive treatment by guards. Sarsour, born in the West Bank and a US permanent resident for nearly three decades, said he lost more than 30 pounds while detained after his arrest on 30 March when he was surrounded by at least 10 unmarked vehicles and armed agents. A federal judge ordered his release last month after finding Sarsour had probably been detained in retaliation for his advocacy for Palestinian rights, a likelihood the judge said would make the detention unlawful. The Trump administration continues to seek his deportation, and the Department of Homeland Security has alleged Sarsour funded terror organizations and lied on immigration forms; DHS pointed to decades-old Israeli military court convictions for throwing a Molotov cocktail and illegally possessing weapons. Sarsour says those convictions stem from an arrest as a teenager during the first intifada, that he was forced to sign documents under torture, and that he spent two years in an Israeli prison; he denies the DHS accusations. His arrest drew condemnation from scores of civil rights groups, community members and legislators and prompted protests outside the detention center. Sarsour said he believes the detention aimed to intimidate critics of Israel’s actions in Gaza but that it has instead strengthened support for Palestinian justice advocacy in Milwaukee.
