JERUSALEM (JTA) — A dual Israeli and Canadian citizen who joined a militia in an unnamed Arab country to fight the Islamic State is being held in prison there and could face the death penalty.

The Jewish man, Ben Hassin, 21, is the son of an Israeli father and a mother who has lived in Canada for 30 years. He has been under arrest since June 2015 in the Arab country for the murder of a taxi driver, who he shot after the cabbie threatened to kill him for being Jewish and Israeli, according to reports citing Hassin’s father, Ilan, of Tel Aviv.

Ilan Hassin told the local media that his son went to visit his grandparents in the Arab country and while there decided to enlist in the fight against ISIS with a local militia.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Israel’s deputy minister for regional cooperation, Ayoub Kara of the Likud party, told the daily Haaretz that Hassin was to be executed for the murder after he had been in jail for a year and a half. Kara, who first learned of the situation in November, said he was able to have the execution canceled, as long as the family pays a $120,000 ransom.

Kara said he asked Israel’s military censor to allow Hassin’s story to go public, so the family can raise money for the ransom. The ransom must be paid by Sunday, according to Ilan Hassin.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry also is involved in efforts to get Hassin released.

Ben Hassin reportedly has been tortured in prison, his father told Israeli media.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.

This year, we have stood together in strength and sorrow. Our Forward team has worked around the clock to help you find clarity amid the chaos.

If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.

Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism. 

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount