36 Facts About Raed Salah

Sheikh Raed Salah Abu Shakra is a Palestinian religious leader from Umm al-Fahm, Israel.

Raed Salah is the leader of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel.

Raed Salah is a popular figure in the Muslim world and among Palestinians for his staunch defense of al-Aqsa against what they see as Israeli attempts to take it over.

Raed Salah has held sermons praising the "defenders of al-Aqsa" and his Northern Branch has organized free bus trips from Palestinian localities in Israel to Jerusalem in order to strengthen the bond between Muslims and the holy sites.

Israel has accused Raed Salah of inciting to violence and of supporting terrorism.

In 2021, Raed Salah was awarded Al-Murabit Prize by International Union of Muslim Scholars.

Raed Salah's father was a police officer and his two brothers followed in his fathers footsteps.

Raed Salah has eight children, and is gained respect as a poet.

Raed Salah won again in 1993 and 1997 before standing down in 2001 to focus on other issues.

The Northern branch, led by Raed Salah, believed that would be tantamount to recognizing the legitimacy of the State of Israel.

Raed Salah has been arrested numerous times; on suspicion of fundraising for Hamas and for his popular sermons that Israeli authorities claim often involve incitement of violence.

Raed Salah certainly sees political Islam as a major factor in the formulation in the coming years in Israel, and he sees his party as having a strong say.

Raed Salah believes that Arab representation in the Israeli parliament lends it undeserved credibility:.

Raed Salah however downplays the schism between the Northern and Southern Branches of the Islamic movement, who does field candidates in national elections.

Raed Salah believes that the Arabic language is threatened in Israel by Hebrew, which is the country's main language.

Raed Salah's detractors claimed that he referenced the blood libel antisemitic canard during a protest in East Jerusalem in 2007, a claim he strongly denied.

Raed Salah admitted to charges of maintaining contact with a foreign agent and rendering service on behalf of illegal organizations.

When Raed Salah was released from prison in December 2010, every Palestinian leader in Israel visited and paid their respects to him.

In 2007, Raed Salah held a sermon in a mosque in East Jerusalem following archaeological digs near the Mughrabi Gate, which leads up the Temple Mount and the al-Aqsa compound.

Israeli newspapers at the time wrote that Raed Salah accused Jews of historically having used children's blood to bake bread, an anti-Semitic blood libel.

Raed Salah claimed that his intent wasn't to repeat a blood libel and that his use of the term "holy bread" showed that he weren't referring to Jews since there is no holy bread in Judaism.

The pro-Palestinian British press monitoring organization Middle East Monitor produced a report titled The Sheikh Raed Affair, defending Salah.

In 2013, Raed Salah was tried for incitement to violence and racism for his 2007 sermon and convicted of incitement to violence but not to racism, and sentenced to eight months in prison in March 2014.

Raed Salah appealed to the Supreme Court which in April 2016 reduced his sentence to nine months because the sermon happened a long time ago and Raed Salah had not committed similar offenses since then.

Raed Salah began serving his sentence in May 2016 and was placed in solitary confinement.

On 2 October 2009, while the clashes were ongoing, Raed Salah gave a speech which was branded incitement by the Israeli police, claiming that he had egged the protestors on.

Raed Salah was on board the Mavi Marmara, the lead ship of the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla, which attempted to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.

One Israeli police source claimed that Raed Salah tried to provide cover for an activist who shot at a commando during the raid, but that the gunman had already been hit.

Early Palestinian reports claimed that Raed Salah had been critically injured by a gunshot wound to the head.

Those reports were false and Raed Salah had only suffered minor injuries.

Raed Salah was taken to the Ela Prison in Beersheba to await a court hearing on their involvement with the flotilla.

Hours after he was released, Raed Salah gave a speech in Umm al-Fahm, claiming that Zionism "which began in Turkey, would end in Turkey".

Raed Salah yelled at the police and demanded that they treat his wife with respect.

Raed Salah was convicted three years later of "interrupting" police officers and fined NIS 9,000 as well as given a two-year probation.

Raed Salah was due to attend a Palestine Solidarity Campaign meeting with Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn, Yasmin Qureshi, and Richard Burden.

Raed Salah's lawyer said that quoting from the Quran should be protected by freedom of speech, and that it is a matter of interpretation whether such quotes are Islamic discourse or incitement.