Suleiman Maswadeh, the diplomatic relations correspondent for Kan News, expressed his complex experience of being an Arab in Israel in an interview on Tuesday featured in the Kan documentary Cleared for Publication.
Maswadeh spoke about the complexity and difficulty of being Arab in Israel, feelings that have intensified since October 7.
He then explained that he was aware that his “mere appearance on television” may serve as “a thorn in the side of many people.” Moreover, he explained that since the beginning of the war last year, he has “been getting emails such as, "What is your stance on Hamas? What is your stance on the massacre? Do you support it? Do you condemn it?' Come on.”
"I think that as someone who works in the public sector and receives my salary from the public, I owe the public an explanation. But if we’ve reached a point where people want to hear you condemn, and you’re not condemning enough... it drives me crazy,” he emphasized.
'Hard to be Arab in this country'
Maswadeh then began to question why he was targeted for these questions, saying, “Because what? Arabs weren’t affected on October 7? Weren’t Arabs murdered here? Just because they knew they were Arabs? That’s insane to me. And yes, it’s not a cliché. It’s hard to be Arab in this country, and especially now, it’s hard to be Arab."
Maswadeh, 29, was born and raised in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. He is the eldest brother of six sisters. Since he was born in east Jerusalem, he was not an Israeli citizen but held permanent residency status.
In Kan's documentary, viewers were able to witness the moment he received his Israeli ID card after eight years of attempts to obtain it.