Mousa Qous was a leader of the small but storied Afro-Palestinian community in Jerusalem’s Old City, representing it in international anti-racism forums and empowering its beleaguered youth. A journalist, skilled translator, and former prisoner, he decoded Palestinian politics for innumerable outsiders, applying a deeply principled critique and gentle humor in his approach...
On October 21, 1991, Qous was arrested again while working as a reporter with the English-language weekly al-Fajr, published in Jerusalem and Washington, DC, as a companion to the Arabic newspaper of the same name, which was an unofficial voice of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).20 A month later, he was sentenced by the Lod Military Court on November 19, 1991, to four years in prison for membership in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), for instructing others to write graffiti and organizing food distributions.21 His case was taken up by the Committee to Protect Journalists.22
“He was a man who did not live for himself, but for the greater cause,” said a close acquaintance. “He stressed that in light of an unjust reality that has no stability, we cannot be held hostage by delusions; it is our duty as individuals to give up personal comfort for the sake of a higher and important cause.”23
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