[LAF] Fwd: URGENT: victimisation of Palestinian minor / Gaza Freedom March
VolodyA! V Anarhist
Volodya at WhenGendarmeSleeps.org
Wed Sep 23 12:10:15 UTC 2009
-------- Исходное сообщение --------
Тема: URGENT: victimisation of Palestinian minor / Gaza Freedom March
Дата: Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:54:15 +0200
От: International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network <uk at ijsn.net>
Отвечать: uk at ijsn.net
www.ijsn.net <http://www.ijsn.net/> email: ijan at ijsn.net
<mailto:ijan at ijsn.net> (international) uk at ijsn.net <mailto:uk at ijsn.net>
(UK) 020 7209 4751
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear friends,
Please see below for *urgent* call to protest the sexual harassment of a
young Palestinian woman by a male guard in Hasharon Prison; and secondly
an IJAN article in /Electronic Intifada/ about the latest organising
ofВ the *Gaza Freedom March.В *We will add discuss both of these items
at tomorrow's IJAN meeting.
* Thursday, 24 September 2009, 7pm.В / Crossroads Women's Centre/, 230a
Kentish Town Road, NW5 2AB *(Entrance on Caversham Rd, near Kentish Town
, wheelchair accessible)
Hope to see you there,
Yours,
Michael
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Dear All,
В
*Please protest against the victimisation of a Palestinian minor,
whoВ courageously lodged a complaint against sexual harassment * by one
of the male guards in the Israeli Hasharon Prison.
В
The minor from the occupied West Bank is now held in isolation, as part
of the victimisation campaign she is being subjected to by the prison
authoritiesВ В - see details below in the email from Tirtza Tauber of
WOFPP.
В
PleaseВ protest to the Israeli authorities [see details below] and
demand that the minor is immediately released from isolation.В It is
important that you emphasise that she would immediately be placed
together with other Palestinian female prisoners unless she is
immediately released from prison to be reunited with her family.
В
Please urgently write to Ron Prosor, Israeli Ambassador to Britain:
info-assist at london.mfa.gov.il
<mailto:info-assist at london.mfa.gov.il>В and/or Public at london.mfa.gov.il
<mailto:Public at london.mfa.gov.il>В Embassy of Israel, 2 Palace Green,
London, W8 4QB
В
Also write to Israel Prisons Service: Prisons Service Commissioner, P.O.
Box 81, Ramle 72100, Israel
Fax: +972-8-9193800В
В
*Please circulate this call for action. *
В
Regards,
Yael Kahn
Chair of Islington Friends of Yibna [IFY]В Islington_Yibna at yahoo.co.uk
<mailto:Islington_Yibna at yahoo.co.uk>В 07880 731 865
+++++++++++++++++++++++
19 September 2009
http://www.wofpp.org/english/minor.html
Since the last month WOFPP has accompanied, with deep concern, the minor
political prisoner who complained of sexual harassment by one of the
guards in Hasharon Prison where she was held.
В
WOFPP's lawyer, Taghreed Jahshan, visited the prisoner many times during
the recent period and has sent a very urgent letter, on 6 September
2009, to the Prisons Service Commissioner, with copies to the Central
Area's Commander and other persons of the Service Prison staff and to
the Chairman of the Bar Association's Prisons Committee.
В
Since there was no reply, another urgent letter was sent on 14
September, and again it had not been answered in writing.
В
The letter raised serious claims of the prisoner - verified by affidavit
– according to which, following the complaint she has submitted, the
Prisons Service harassed the prisoner, by transferring her to another
prison to the isolation/separation wing in which criminal prisoners are
being held, without any legal basis, and holding her in inhuman
conditions: a stuffy, very damp cell, without any sunlight, without TV,
ventilator, books (except one book she brought with her) and without
handicraft materials. The prison authorities also had taken from the
prisoner her head coverings. In addition, there were many ants in the
cell that disturbed her sleep at night. In fact, the prisoner sat about
24 hours a day facing the walls without anything to occupy herself with.
В
All these details were reported in a letter to the Prisons Service
Commissioner; however he did not see fit to reply in writing concerning
these claims. Even worse, probably following the letter, insecticide was
sprayed in the wing. The prisoner was taken out of her cell for a few
minutes and, immediately after the spraying, she was returned. As a
result, she was overcome by feelings of suffocation and dizziness for
some hours, and she continued to feel chest pain.
В
Only on 15/9/09, after a month during which the prisoner was held in the
conditions described above, she was transferred to a cell with
reasonable conditions, but still in the same isolation/separation wing.
В
These last days, staff members in charge at the prison where the
prisoner is detained, made telephone contact with attorney Jahshan and
told her that the most senior ranks handle the matter of the prisoner,
aiming to find a solution for her by transferring her from the wing
which she is held in.
В
*Our position is clear in this matter: a political prisoner should be in
a political prisoners' wing - there is no other solution. *
В
The same staff members promised attorney Jahshan to update her on Monday
21 September 2009. If the decision that will be taken will not meet the
required objective, a plea in the prisoner's name will immediately be
submitted to the court.
В
Regarding the prisoner's complaint against sexual harassment (attorney
Jahshan represents her also in this matter): The prisoner says that she
will continue to fight until the guard will get the punishment he deserves.
В
It should be noted that WOFPP is in close and continuous contact with
the prisoner's family which is updated on every detail.
В
The minor prisoner has been held in isolation/separation for over a
month and probably will have to spend the holiday of Eid-elFiter alone.
В
Isolation/separation is a kind of torture
В
Please write letters of protest to the Israel Prisons Service:
В
Prisons Service Commissioner
P.O. Box 81
Ramle 72100
Israel
Fax: +972-8-9193800
And to the Israeli embassy in your country.
В
Please forward a copy to WOFPP: E-mail address: Info at wofpp.org
<mailto:Info at wofpp.org>
В
*Urgent call*
В
Arabic: http://www.wofpp.org/arabic/minor.html
English: http://www.wofpp.org/english/minor.html
Hebrew: http://www.wofpp.org/hebrew/minor.html
French: http://www.wofpp.org/french/minor.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Compromising for Gaza without compromising Palestine
*Gabriel Ash, Mich Levy and Sara Kershnar*
/The Electronic Intifada/
*9 September 2009 *
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10761.shtml
International efforts in solidarity with Gaza must not ignore
Palestine's history and Palestinians' full demands. (Wissam
Nassar/MaanImages <http://www.maanimages.com/>)
One result of CODEPINK's delegation to the Gaza Strip in May was the
idea to organize a large march through the territory with a significant
international presence including well-known personalities. In the spirit
of nonviolent direct action, the march would challenge the appalling and
inhumane siege of Gaza. The idea, which immediately captured the
imagination of many organizers, was the brainchild of Norman
Finkelstein. We are truly grateful for Professor Finkelstein's creative
thinking and willingness to put forward big ideas that generate
enthusiasm and engagement.
However, after the initial call, the framework of the march was
challenged by highly-respected Palestinian activists Omar Barghouti from
Jerusalem, and Haidar Eid from the Gaza Strip. Their criticism,
expressed with the utmost respect for the courage and good will of the
organizers, challenged the organizers' decision to delay engaging in a
wide conversation with Palestinian civil society and activists until
after the call was made and the framework formulated. As Barghouti and
Eid noted, that also led to a number of problems with the framework and
the call. The call failed to provide historical context to the current
siege, barely referred to the occupation and picked and chose from the
history of Palestinian nonviolent resistance. It also used language that
inadvertently reflected Israeli propaganda strategies, isolating
Palestinians in Gaza from their counterparts in the West Bank (including
East Jerusalem), Israel and the Diaspora.
Ultimately, these criticisms led to a compromise that satisfied both the
Palestinian critics and most of the initial organizers. This compromise
was reflected in a context document that is now part of the call. We
welcome the concerns of prominent Palestinian activists who represent
significant grassroots organizing. We see in the exchange, negotiation
and outcome, a model example of how solidarity work can deepen and
improve through giving full attention to honest and constructive
criticism from those most impacted by the horrors we are challenging.
We have read the context document and express our full support for the
march based on the revised call.
Changing course is never easy. It would have been far better had this
discussion taken place before the call went out. That, however, is a
lesson for the future. The compromise led a few of the organizers to
leave in anger and recriminations. Some argued that the new context
document is "sectarian" and will severely damage the potential of the
march. While disputes are inevitable in every political endeavor, we
call on all parties to cast aside differences and arguments, to respect
the compromise and unite on our common objective, ending the siege of
Gaza. What is important now is getting the best and most effective march
possible.
We see the context document as a thoughtful attempt to bring together
for this march those of us who support boycott, divestment and sanctions
(BDS) and the full objectives of Palestinian liberation -- including the
right of return and full and equal rights for Palestinians living in
Israel -- with those activists whose support for lifting the siege of
Gaza is largely humanitarian. Contrary to misrepresentations, the
context document does not require marchers to adhere to BDS. But as the
march puts nonviolence on its banner and claims inspiration from
nonviolent Palestinian resistance, it cannot, without being offensive,
ignore the increasing presence and far-reaching international impact of
BDS as a Palestinian campaign of nonviolent resistance that is endorsed
by all factions, including Fatah and Hamas, as well as more than 100
civil society associations. The growing support for BDS among prominent
Western figures and mainstream organizations belies the claim that the
mere mention of it is divisive.
Nor does the document commit the marchers to support the Palestinian
right of return. It does commit the marchers to recognize the
Palestinian Nakba and the historical fact that the refugees' right of
return, recognized by UN resolution 194, has been denied. These refugees
make up 75 percent of the population of Gaza and are the recipients of
this march's solidarity. To recognize this history does not compel one
to agree to any specific resolution of the conflict. But refusing to
recognize it denies the history of the Palestinian people, a denial that
is inconsistent with any form of solidarity.
The new document's only demand is the end of the siege of Gaza. There
are no other demands. Nothing in it prevents activists committed to a
"two-state solution" and a "Jewish state" from participating. We
therefore strongly object to representing the new language as an attempt
to limit the scope of the march. We take strong offense at the attempt
to label the recognition of the concerns of Palestinian liberation
within the context of a solidarity action as "sectarian." We seriously
doubt that the number of individuals willing to fly to Egypt and then
march in Gaza, yet who refuse to recognize the history of Gaza, is very
large.
We are also heartened by the addition of non-governmental partners in
Gaza. As soon as the context statement was added, endorsements came from
the University Teachers' Association in Palestine, Palestinian Student's
Campaign, al-Aqsa University, Arab Cultural Forum-Gaza and al-Quds Bank
for Culture and Information-Gaza. We are also encouraged by the addition
of the International Solidarity Movement and support from members of the
South African Palestine solidarity community. The elected government of
Gaza has also endorsed the march and will now hopefully increase its
assistance.
In supporting this compromise, we are mindful of the original aim of the
organizers for large and "ecumenical" participation. We share that goal.
However, our conversation would benefit from honesty about the meaning
of "ecumenical." It never means "everybody." We don't just want the
maximum number of marchers; we want the maximum number that can be
achieved without compromising the visions of the diverse organizers and
solidarity groups participating in this particular project.
Where should the line be drawn? This is a difficult decision that haunts
every political struggle and always requires deliberation, negotiation
and compromise. It is misleading to frame the debate as one between
those who want maximum participation and those motivated by ideology, in
particular when this framing aims to delegitimize the concerns of
Palestinian activists representing significant sections of Palestinian
grassroots organizing. We all have political lines that we won't cross.
The lines drawn by those at the very heart of the struggle deserve our
particular respect.
We now have a fair and inclusive basis for organizing the march, open to
proponents of radically different political visions yet respectful of
all, and in particular, respectful of Palestinian history and struggle.
We must now all strive to make this march as big and as successful as
possible.
/Gabriel Ash is an activist, writer and a core member of IJAN
(International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network). He writes because the pen
is sometimes mightier than the sword and sometimes not.
Mich Levy is an activist and educator. Mich is an international
organizer with IJAN.
Sara Kershnar is an activist and organizer. Sara is an international
organizer of IJAN./
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