Left to Die Abroad: How the U.S. Surrenders Its Citizens to Israel

How Israel’s imprisonment of a 16-year-old Floridian reveals the quiet death of American citizenship abroad.

Retrieved from Al-Jazeera: ‘”We need help’: Family pleads for release of US teenager held by Israel”

It’s been 8 months since Mohamed Zaher Ibrahim (16 years old), an American citizen from Florida, has been imprisoned in Israel’s notorious Meggido and Ofer prisons. His father, Zaher Ibrahim, has not heard his son’s voice in 268 days. Though arrested as a child, Israel’s prison protocol for Palestinian minors of any nationality makes no guarantees for how they will be treated.

Will my child be able to visit with his parents while in prison?

Probably not.

Can my child at least give me a phone call from time to time?

Unlikely.

Will my child at least have access to his lawyer so he can fight the charges against him?

Maybe, if he’s lucky.

Will you feed my child, will you give him adequate food and water?

Sometimes, sure.

Is my child alive? Did you kill my child? Can you please tell me if he’s dead? Is my child dead?

No comment.

Ibrahim’s dad faced 45 days of excruciating, debilitating silence before reaching out to his representative in Florida. At that point, it wasn’t clear whether Mohamed was even alive. When US embassy officials finally visited him in jail, they found him 25 pounds lighter and his skin ravaged by mites. Whenever an American citizen is detained abroad the Department of State (DoS) coordinates consular support for the prisoner, including in the form of welfare checks. And that’s exactly what embassy officials had been doing until news about his deteriorating condition made it to mainstream media in July, after which officials were restricted from visiting him.

It is for the accusation of “rock throwing” that Israelis put Mohamed in prison back in February before violating the Fourth Geneva Convention and transferring him out of the occupied territories and into Ofer prison in Israel, an area off limits to Mohamed’s family.

Help Abroad

Whether you’re experiencing a crisis or need urgent assistance while abroad, the U.S. embassy or consulate is here to assist. We can help if you’ve lost a passport, are a victim of a crime, or need help returning to the United States during a crisis or after a natural disaster.

Promises from the US Department of State for citizens traveling abroad

Israel keeps hundreds of kids in jail, kids as young as 12, for accusations that are rarely, if ever, investigated or fairly interrogated in trial. Mohamed denied the claims against him on video in an interview with Israeli officials, and has yet to receive a trial date, have regular meetings with his lawyers to come up with a decent defence strategy, but faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted.

There are many obvious reasons to care about Mohamed’s case, the first being that he is locked up in a prison notorious for torture and sexual assault and prevented from seeing his family -- all the age of 16. The second is, of course, the abject denial of basic human rights while detained. Mohamed is completely cut off from the rest of the world, prevented from seeing his lawyers and consular representatives and undergoing extreme conditions at a very tender and formative age. He doesn’t even know that his cousin, Sayfollah Musallet, another American from Florida, was brutally beaten to death by Israelis after his arrest. Mohamed and Sayfollah were supposed to work at their family’s ice cream shop together this summer, but it’s winter now and Mohamed wastes away behind bars while his cousin lies buried somewhere in the West Bank.

The third reason, and one that hasn’t been covered extensively by Western media, is the blatant and explicit erosion of American citizenship in the hands of Israelis.

I’m writing this piece in November, a full year after both the Republicans and Democrats culminated their highly xenophobic and anti-immigrant campaigns. Both parties distinguished, explicitly or implicitly, American citizenship as a privileged status and one that should be made difficult to acquire. This kind of rhetoric and policy application came as no surprise from Trump’s MAGA movement which has long sought to build walls around our country, limit immigration based on race and religion and conduct mass deportations. Kamala Harris’ craftily worded concessions to this popular issue was less expected by her voters, though not unexpected by those educated on Democrats’ record on mass deportations. Whereas Trump loudly and proudly demonizes immigrants, Harris’ platform promised “cracking down” on the border, prioritizing border security and cratering asylum claims.

Both candidates, however, based their campaign promises on a common point: American citizens are afforded rights, privileges and protections that are and should remain in a class of their own.

Having American citizenship means that your country will take on certain risks and undertake sufficient effort to make sure we’re protected no matter where we are in the world. This could mean facilitating your evacuation if your host country is hit with an earthquake, or if a civil war breaks out, or if you’re badly injured or ill and need to be brought home for expedited medical care, or -- as is the case for Mohamed -- if you are unlawfully arrested or held in a foreign prison for political reasons. The DoS manages these actions through its consular services around the world, and most importantly, by leveraging diplomatic power in service of its citizens.

That is, of course, if the crisis you face abroad is not caused by Israel.

“This fucking sleight of hand. Apparently being attacked is not sufficient to get the attention of the State Department. Next time I’ll be sure to get wounded.”
— @infinite_jaz, October 25 2025

Jasper Nathaniel (@infinite_jaz) is a journalist-turned-international observer that has been living in the West Bank as a witness to the depraved, animalistic warfare faced by Palestinian farmers in the village of Turmus Ayya.

Settlers have long gone unchallenged in their campaign to terrorize, assault and murder these villagers in the occupied territories by any means necessary. From poisoning wells by dunking animal carcasses into the water, to murdering lambs, to breaking into homes, stores and windows with bricks, to assassinating Palestinians in broad daylight, Israeli settlers in the West Bank answer to no soldier, police officer, government leader, or -- as it turns out -- American official.

Nathaniel discovered this limitation firsthand when he and his Palestinian colleague were led into an ambush by the IDF and nearly mauled to death by a rabid swarm of masked settlers. Videos of Nathaniel’s harrowing escape where he jumps out of a moving vehicle to escape the mob has gone viral several times since it was first uploaded.

“I want to be very clear: The IDF lured me and the Palestinian farmers directly into this ambush and then sped off. The US Embassy told me that they cannot protect me.”
— @infinite_jaz, October 19, 2025

US officials, in more or less words, deferred to the IDF and Israeli officials in almost every circumstance as far as Nathaniel’s wellbeing was concerned, never intervening to support legal action or accountability for the American journalist who nearly died by the hands of Israeli settlers.

...We haven’t got the manpower to protect the nearly 60k American Palestinians, and legally, we’re not permitted...The protection of American citizens is always the responsibility of the host nation government, which is why we pull our embassies out of places that host nation can’t or won’t protect them (Syria, Iran, Yemen, Venezuela...)...

Text correspondence between Nathaniel and the US embassy in Israel

When asked if it should be assumed that it’s the Israeli government’s and the IDF’s responsibility to protect American citizens, the embassy official responds with “Yes, that’s what’s supposed to happen.”

“The US Embassy said that no, they cannot protect me.”
— @infinite_jaz, October 19, 2025

So, where does this leave Americans who not only pay for Israel’s continued genocide against their will, but also fund the unlawful detainment and torture of American children? According to US officials, directly in the crosshairs of the IDF, Israeli settlers, and Israeli torture camps.

There is no better example than Nathaniel’s case, which exposes the earth shattering hypocrisy and logistical flaw in the way the Department of State is supposed to work. As a citizen visiting a country where strong diplomatic ties exist, DoS expects that country and their officials to protect you and offer you the rights and services expected of a foreign ally. The DoS steps in and uses their diplomatic ties to facilitate your protection when you need it. But if that host country is Israel, and if the danger you face is by Israeli hands, the DoS becomes an impotent actor. Rather than severing ties with Israel for refusal to protect American citizens, they thrust your life in the hands of the IDF, even if they know the IDF are happy to let you die in a swarm of settlers or kill you themselves. They defer to Israeli officials who promise to kill anyone who interferes with their illegal actions in the West Bank and Gaza and label American citizens a “security threat” without merit.

In their own words, embassy officials admit what is “supposed” to happen, yet never does, when an American is attacked, imprisoned or killed by Israelis.

Remember: in the last month alone, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in the West Bank 264 times. Since 2023, over 2400 attacks have taken place, an average of 8 per day, in which Israelis have killed several Americans, or in the case of Jasper Nathaniel, tried to kill. While an American child faces up to 20 years in prison for rocks he almost certainly never threw, Israeli settlers will likely not be charged with any crime at all. They will get away with assassinating Americans, or at least trying to, with 0 protest from our government.

Unlike Iran, Syria, Yemen or Venezuela -- the “evil” countries from whom America has severed ties due to fears citizens will not be protected -- Israel gets to imprison you without trial at the age of 16, starve you to emaciation, infect you with mites and tics, prevent you from seeing your mom, dad and lawyer while in jail, let violent mobs chase you out of moving cars, or simply beat you to death with complete and total impunity. The same citizens whose pay checks are garnished involuntarily every month for military support to the genocide state and the same citizens who paid an average of $5000 in taxes to Israel in 2023 alone are afforded 0 diplomatic protection or support when their lives are brutally and arbitrarily endangered by the world’s biggest killer of children.

The DoS’ total impotence in Nathaniel’s case shines a light on much of the rationale behind theories like Israel’s control over the American government, the progressive-except-Palestine phenomenon, and the overwhelming calls for ending all financial ties to Israel from both the left and the right. It also makes sense of the utter failure to protect Mohamed, a literal child, from the torture chamber known as Ofer. And, humiliatingly, it explains why calls for his release from American lawmakers like Ilhan Omar, Chris Van Hollen, Pramila Jayapal, and 24 other members of congress, to Marco Rubio and Mike Huckabee Sanders have gone completely unaddressed.

The bottom line is clear: if you’re an American in Israel, you are on your own. No one is coming to help you.

“Nearly three months later, I’m on my way to Ofer Prison with Mohammed’s father, Zaher, for his court hearing. We heard through the grapevine that this has become an enormous “headache” for the US Embassy, and they’ll be sending their people.”
— @infinite_jaz, October 29, 2025

Nathaniel, whose paths crossed with the Ibrahim family during his time in the West Bank, traveled with Mohamed’s father on October 29th to Ofer in hopes of catching a glimpse of his son’s face on court CCTV. Though immense pressure from American activists and the global community created a “headache” for the American embassy, his name was left off of any pending hostage swap when Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan took effect. Israel’s taken notice, also, of the resounding support for his immediate return and the tide against their clearly brutal and illegal actions, and in typical Israeli fashion have opted to double down on their cruelty.

“In response to mounting pressure on US lawmakers to demand the release of Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim—the 16-year-old American held in Israeli military detention since February—and ahead of his next court hearing on November 9, the Israeli Embassy in Washington is circulating a letter on Capitol Hill filled with disinformation and key omissions meant to erode support for his case.”
— @infinite_jaz, November 6, 2025

Rather than negotiating the original deal for Mohamed’s release and heeding the calls of American officials, the embassy and DoS, they want to put him away for 2 years in a panicked plea deal. Keep in mind, Mohamed has never seen his charges tested in court, nor has the Israeli government ever provided evidence to gain conviction for their “rock throwing” claim. Israel has invested instead in a campaign on Capitol Hill to silence lawmakers by circulating a letter that claims Mohamed admitted to throwing rocks at Israeli vehicles, omitting that a sworn affidavit states clearly that he only “confessed” because prison officials threatened to beat him if he didn’t.

Mohamed’s first court date following the upswell of support from around the world and campaigns for his release from lawmakers and human rights organizations was set to take place on November 9th, giving hope to his parents that perhaps a deal would be reached over the weekend. The court date was cancelled & has yet to be rescheduled.

“The interrogator threatened that if I did not comply, he would instruct the soldiers to beat me. Out of sheer fear, I ultimately confessed.”

Testimony from Mohamed Zaher Ibrahim in a sworn affidavit

Mohamed’s already a pretty slender kid. Can he go another few months without adequate food and unsafe living conditions? Can a teenager who is already severely underweight, deprived of daylight and from seeing his parents behind bars and facing probable torture and abuse survive another 2 years of this hell? Are minors even built to survive the kind of circumstances Israel doles out so generously? On that issue, Israel will make no comment.

“For nearly 9 months, Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim—a 16-year old American citizen—has been unlawfully detained, tortured and starved at an Israeli prison.

Now, he faces an Israeli tribunal that is threatening to unjustly imprison him.

Mohammed must be released immediately and our government must investigate the abuse he faced in Israeli prison. We demand justice and accountability!”
— @repdelilahramirez, November 9, 2025

What good is our status as a “global super power” when it kneels immediately to a vassal state like Israel? What purpose do our embassies and diplomatic foreign relations play when Israel refuses to even engage with their requests? What benefit do we get from our greatest ally when they kill, maim and imprison our citizens with total impunity? What power do our lawmakers have when our own Vice President, JD Vance, and Secretary of State, Marco Rubio are useless against people who put our own children behind bars? On this issue, it’s the United States’ turn to refuse comment.

Israel’s ongoing actions may not have cost American lives in the same way it has for Palestinians, and while we all remain traumatized by Israel’s actions in Gaza, we watch the carnage from afar in relative comfort. And yet, it is plainly untrue to say that Americans have not lost anything during this genocide. Our protections as citizens have been significantly eroded by Israel, the standard of our rights abroad has been cratered by Israel, and the very thing that both genocidal parties claim to fight for -- the sanctity of American citizenship -- has been rendered completely inactive because of Israel.

If, for whatever reason, you do not see it in your interest to oppose Israel for its genocide, for its war crimes against multiple countries, for the several looming economic crises that Americans have shouldered in their favor, or for the thousands that are cut from your pay check to fund Israelis’ luxurious and excessive lifestyle, you should add your American passport to the list of things you’re willing to sacrifice for the genocide state, because in Israel, it is nothing more than kindling.

As with everything, Palestine remains the ultimate test for contradiction and hypocrisy, and proves that American citizenship, the core focus of the 2024 election and perhaps the most consequential election of our era and the reason Trump got elected, is totally compromised in Israeli hands.

What you can do to help

At the time of writing this, Mohamed remains imprisoned without a set date for trial and in deplorable conditions that are damaging to his health. Israel will never admit this, but their recent concerted effort to smother calls for his release and bully lawmakers into looking the other way on this issue make it very clear that advocacy for Mohamed is working. Now is exactly the time we should apply maximum pressure on our representatives to demand the full and unconditional release of Mohamed Zaher Ibrahim.

Click here for ways to support Mohamed and call for his immediate release with scripts to call your representatives, the American embassy in Israel and members of the senate.

Please consider subscribing for free as well as sharing this article with your friends to create more pressure to help Mohamed.