Jack Teitel
Jack TeitelFlash90

An ongoing hunger strike by Jack Teitel, who was convicted of murdering two Arab men 20 years ago, entered its eighth day on Sunday, in what he calls an act of protest against the worsening conditions of his imprisonment.

Teitel, a Florida-born computer technician who immigrated to Israel in 1999, was convicted in 2013 for the murders of an Arab taxi driver and an Arab shepherd in 1997. While Teitel had originally been arrested as a tourist in connection with one of the murders in August 1997, no charges were filed due to insufficient evidence.

After being arrested in an unrelated case, police discovered two pistols in his possession, leading to his eventual conviction and two life sentences in prison.

Dubbed “the Jewish terrorist” for the killings and a string of other politically and nationalistically-motivated attacks, Teitel was originally deemed unfit to stand trial by the Jerusalem District psychiatrist, a decision that was later overturned.

Over the past eight days, Teitel has protested what he says is a sudden and unjustified worsening of the conditions of his imprisonment.

Teitel, who had been serving in Ayalon Prison, was recently transferred to Rimonim Prison. Since his transfer, the Israeli Prison Service has limited visits by his wife and five children. While Teitel was permitted up to three visits with his family each month and was allowed to stay in the same room with them during such meetings, since the transfer the number of visits has been reduced two just two per month. In addition, while the previous visits were “open”, now Teitel’s wife and children are not allowed to meet with him in the same room, and must remain behind a glass visitation window.

Since the changes, Teitel has refused to eat, pledging to continue his hunger strike until his family’s visitation rights are restored.

“The Israeli Prison Service has behaved cold-heartedly with its refusal over something so basic, for a father to defend his children’s right to meet with him in an appropriate manner,” said Teitel’s attorney, Azriel Friedenberg.

“I met a weak, worn-out man who is nevertheless determined regarding the one thing left to him in life – his connection with his wife and children.”

In 2015, Teitel maintained a hunger strike for several weeks after he was placed in solitary confinement and deprived of both his fan and cell air-conditioning during the middle of a hot spell.