Category: Press Releases - Page 83 - International Solidarity Movement

Three Scandinavian ISM activists trapped by curfew in Awarta village following settlers’ murder

15 March 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

UPDATE:

At 5:30 pm last night a large mob of settlers came down the hill and attacked villagers with stones, breaking one 15-year-old boy’s arm. At 5pm the soldiers had announced that their curfew was finished, but it became clear today that the curfew is still in effect as soldiers shout at people to go back inside if they step outside their homes. Though ISM activists could have left last night, they stayed in the village anticipating disturbances from settlers, and are now trapped again by the continuing curfew. Villagers have told the activists that their presence is influencing the behavior of the settlers: the soldiers are less abusive when internationals are present. Regarding the investigation into the murder of the settler family, evidence has yet to be presented incriminating a Palestinian. Most Palestinians, such as Hani Awad from Awarta, strongly doubt that a Palestinian would have committed the crime and think it would have been impossible for anyone to break into the settlement.

14 March 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

UPDATE:

As of 12:30pm the ISM activists are locked in a room with the children of the family that they’ve been staying with while soldiers search the house. It’s difficult for the ISMers to confirm information they receive as they’re not allowed to leave the house, but they’ve heard that 100 village men were taken into detention at the school for interrogation a few hours ago.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Today the village of Awarta, near Nablus, is facing the second day of a severe curfew imposed by the Israeli military, following Friday morning’s murder of a settler family in the settlement Itamar . Three ISM activists–Cinda, 23, Chad, 25, from Sweden, and Cissy, 53, from Norway–are currently trapped in the village. Anyone caught stepping outside of their house is arrested. Soldiers have said that they’ll maintain the curfew until they’ve apprehended the settler family’s murderer. The army hasn’t presented any evidence that the murderer was from Awarta, and villagers have said to the ISM that they strongly doubt the murderer was even Palestinian as the settlement is so heavily guarded it would be impossible to break in. Soldiers are beating people and continuing their house raids: destroying houses from the inside, cutting off electricity, and polluting the drinking water by throwing mud in the water-tanks. 30 homes were occupied by soldiers last night. Computers and phones have been destroyed and money and property were stolen by the soldiers. In the last two days soldiers have been throwing sound grenades inside and outside the houses, and shooting in the air. The ISM activists may be arrested soon, but they intend to stay as long as possible because they feel their presence improves the behavior of the soldiers, and villagers have asked them to stay.

For more information:
Cinda, ISM activist inside the village: +972 59 741 4023
ISM Media Office, Ramallah: +972 59 760 6276

Jailed Bil’in Protest Organizer, Abdallah Abu Rahmah, to be Released on Sunday

14 March 2011 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

UPDATE:
Abdallah Abu Rahmah of the Bil’in Popular Committee who was supposed to be released yesterday after 16 months in jail was kept for another night for “administrative reasons” but will be released today.

What: Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s release from prison
Where: The Bitunya checkpoint, near Ofer Military Prison
When: Monday, March 14th, 04:00 PM

11 March 2011 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

Abu Rahmah is expected to be released after having served the 16 months sentence imposed on him by the Israeli Military Court of Appeals for organizing demonstrations. Abu Rahmah will be received by his family, friends and supporters, and will hold a press conference at the prison’s gate on his release.

What: Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s release from prison
Where: The Bitunya checkpoint, near Ofer Military Prison
When: Sunday, March 13th, 04:00 PM
Media Contact: Jonathan Pollak +972-54-632-7736

Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, was arrested last year by soldiers who raided his home at the middle of the night and was subsequently indicted before an Israeli military court on unsubstantiated charges that included stone-throwing and arms possession. Abu Rahmah was cleared of both the stone-throwing and arms possession charges, but convicted of organizing illegal demonstrations and incitement.

An exemplary case of mal-use of the Israeli military legal system in the West Bank for the purpose of silencing legitimate political dissent, Abu Rahmah’s conviction was subject to harsh international criticism. The EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, expressed her deep concern “that the possible imprisonment of Mr Abu Rahma is intended to prevent him and other Palestinians from exercising their legitimate right to protest[…]”, after EU diplomats attended all hearings in Abu Rahmah’s case. Ashton’s statement was followed by one from the Spanish Parliament.

Renowned South African human right activist, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, called on Israel to overturn Abu Rahmah’s conviction on behalf of the Elders, a group of international public figures noted as elder statesmen, peace activists, and human rights advocates, brought together by Nelson Mandela. Members of the Elders, including Tutu, have met with Abu Rahmah on their visit to Bil’in prior to his arrest.

International human rights organization Amnesty International condemned Abu Rahmah’s conviction as an assault on the right to freedom of expression. Human Rights Watch denounced the conviction, pronouncing the whole process “an unfair trial”.

Israeli organizations also distributed statements against the conviction – including a statement by B’Tselem which raises the issue of questionable testimonies by minors used to convict Abu Rahme, and The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) which highlights the impossibility of organizing legal demonstrations for Palestinians in the West Bank.

Legal Background
Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, was acquitted of two out of the four charges brought against him in the indictment – stone-throwing and a ridiculous and vindictive arms possession charge. According to the indictment, Abu Rahmah collected used tear-gas projectiles and bullet casings shot at demonstrators, with the intention of exhibiting them to show the violence used against demonstrators. This absurd charge is a clear example of how eager the military prosecution is to use legal procedures as a tool to silence and smear unarmed dissent.

The court did, however, find Abu Rahmah guilty of two of the most draconian anti-free speech articles in military legislation: incitement, and organizing and participating in illegal demonstrations. It did so based only on testimonies of minors who were arrested in the middle of the night and denied their right to legal counsel, and despite acknowledging significant ills in their questioning.

The court was also undeterred by the fact that the prosecution failed to provide any concrete evidence implicating Abu Rahmah in any way, despite the fact that all demonstrations in Bil’in are systematically filmed by the army.

Under military law, incitement is defined as “The attempt, verbally or otherwise, to influence public opinion in the Area in a way that may disturb the public peace or public order” (section 7(a) of the Order Concerning Prohibition of Activities of Incitement and Hostile Propaganda (no.101), 1967), and carries a 10 years maximal sentence.

Bil’in marches against US veto in the United Nations

25 February 2011 | Popular Committee Against the Wall

Dozens were injured in the weekly demonstration against the Occupation and settlements. The demonstration was held against the United State’s veto of a UN resolution which condemned Israel’s illegal settlements. The demonstration was attacked with tear gas by Israeli soldiers who wanted to crush the nonviolent demonstration. Hundreds from Palestine, Israel and the international community attended the demonstration. The demonstration was also in solidarity with the Libyan people.

The march was organized by the Popular Committee Against the Wall in Bil’in, along with dozens of peace activists, Israelis and foreigners in solidarity. Demonstrators carried Palestinians flags and sang chants of unity and solidarity with the people of the Arab world. Demonstrators carried posters of prisoner leader brother Marwan Barghouti, and imprisoned popular committee leader Abdullah Abo Rahma, coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the Wall in Bil’in, as well as banners calling for an end to division and occupation, and condemning the US veto.

The demonstrators marched from the village chanting for unity and the rejection of differences. The march confirmed the need for a resounding Palestinian resistance to occupation and the release of all prisoners, and freedom for Palestine.

The march headed towards the wall, where the military force of the Israeli occupation army had formed a barrier of human soldiers near the gate of the wall at the western side of the fence to prevent demonstrators from entering the land behind the wall. A large number of soldiers deployed on the route of the wall protected a large car spraying protesters with “skunk water.” When protesters try to cross the barrier towards the soldiers, the army fired sound bombs and rubber coated steel bullets. Finally the soldiers began firing tear gas and live ammunition (.22 caliber) at demonstrators. Dozens resulted tear gas inhalation injuries.

April 20-23: The 6th Annual Bil’in Conference on the Palestinian Popular Struggle

As nonviolent resistance for freedom sweeps across the Arab world, join us in harnessing the winds of change at the 6th annual Bil’in Conference.

What: 6th Annual Bil’in Conference on the Palestinian Popular Struggle
When: 20-23 April 2011
Where: The Village of Bil’in, Occupied West Bank

Louise Morgantini at the 2010 Bilin COnference on Nonviolent Resistance

From Gaza to Bil’in, popular resistance to the occupation remains steadfast. Drawing delegations from across the globe, the Bil’in conference will provide opportunities to build and strengthen ties between Palestinian, Israeli and international activists working against Israeli apartheid, to strategize and to support Palestinian popular resistance. Representatives from the popular committees throughout the West Bank will be in attendance.

As a result of our experience in previous years we have decided to add a fourth day to the conference and make more time for participatory workshops. The program will include a number of renowned presenters as well as opportunities to workshop, participate in a direct action and visit other communities engaged in popular resistance.

Tentative schedule:

Wednesday, Thursday mornings: Presentations and panels by Palestinian and international figures (to be announced), including a video-link to Gazan fishermen working under siege.
Wednesday, Thursday afternoons: Strategizing workshops to share ideas and brainstorm, connect and network with international activists. A focus on linking the global BDS movement to the struggle “on the ground”.
Friday: Demonstration in Bil’in against the settlements and separation wall.
Saturday: Field trips to visit different neighborhoods and villages currently involved in the popular struggle.

Conference admission: €30 suggested donation
Accommodation with Bil’in families: €20/night

Prepare your delegation today and join the struggle to bring freedom to Palestine!

Adalah-NY: New Yorkers protest Israel Philharmonic for whitewashing apartheid, protests planned in other US cities

22 February 2011 | Adalah-NY

New Yorkers protest Israel Philharmonic for whitewashing apartheid, protests planned in other US cities

February 22 – Seventy New Yorkers protested the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra’s (IPO) performance at Carnegie Hall Tuesday evening, using chants, songs and street theater to highlight the IPO’s role in whitewashing Israel’s apartheid policies against the Palestinian people. The orchestra’s performances are being met with protests in six of the seven cities on its US tour, including a protest last Sunday evening in West Palm Beach, an upcoming Wednesday protest in Newark, and further protests in Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles, as reported by the Israeli news website YNet.

Noelle Ghoussaini from Adalah-NY explained, “Tonight we sent a clear message to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the Israeli government’s “Brand Israel” campaign that their music cannot drown out Palestinians’ calls for justice.” The US protests respond to the call from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) to boycott cultural institutions like the IPO that work to normalize Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and whitewash the oppression of Palestinians in Israel, the occupied territories, and in exile.

Hundreds of well-dressed concert-goers paused on the edge of the sidewalk in front of Carnegie Hall, and looked across the street at the protesters’ signs, and listened to their chants and songs. Many were handed a mock IPO program that featured a cover photo of a past IPO performance in front of Israeli tanks for the Israeli army, and, on the inside, the PACBI’s call for an international boycott of the IPO.

Protesters held signs saying, “Israel Fiddles while Palestine Burns,” “Justice Presto not Lento,” “Without Justice There’s No Harmony,” and “Boycott the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra;” and they carried a banner with the words “Don’t Harmonize with Israeli Apartheid,” surrounded on each side by a violin with a rifle barrel as its neck. Protesters chanted, “We love Gustav, we love Mahler, but occupation makes us holler;” “For liberation take a stand, don’t let Is-ra-el rebrand;” and “Muslims, Jews, Atheists and Christians, stand for justice like Egyptians.”

In a street theater skit, a protester -turned-IPO conductor asked the crowd, “How can apartheid continue without us promoting the new, positive, aesthetically vibrant and civilized Israel? Don’t forget, there is “art” in “apartheid.” The conductor instructed three violinists to play progressively louder in an ultimately unsuccessful effort to drown out and cover up Israeli crimes against Palestinians that kept welling up behind the orchestra.

By serving as cultural ambassadors for Israel, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra is supporting the “Brand Israel” initiative, a campaign by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to divert attention from Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and “show Israel’s prettier face, so we [Israel] are not thought of purely in the context of war.” The IPO refrains from criticism of Israel’s policies and is described by the American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra as “Israel’s finest cultural emissary.” American Friends of the IPO further notes that “the goodwill created by [the IPO’s] tours…is of enormous value to the State of Israel. As a result, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra maintains its position at the forefront of cultural diplomacy and the international music scene.”

One corporate sponsor of the IPO’s US tour is Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev, who hosted a gala IPO fundraiser. Leviev’s companies have been shunned by UNICEF, CARE, Oxfam, the British and Norwegian governments, and Hollywood stars for building illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and for involvement in human rights abuses in the diamond industry in Southern Africa.

The growing international movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel has gained momentum in recent years, with performers like Elvis Costello, Gil Scott-Heron, Roger Waters, Devendra Banhart, and the Pixies all refusing to play in Israel. The 2005 Palestinian civil society call for BDS until Israel respects Palestinians’ basic rights was endorsed by over 170 Palestinian civil society groups. The Palestinian BDS movement is a nonviolent campaign for Palestinian rights inspired by the international boycott campaign that helped to abolish apartheid in South Africa.