On October 25, rallies across the US were held to support the Holy Land Five, Palestinian political prisoners in US jails, imprisoned and sentenced to up to 65 years in prison on the basis of anonymous testimony from an Israeli agent (given the pseudonym “Avi”) that their charity work served as “material support” to Hamas, even though the funds raised were never sent to any political party, organization, or entity designated by the US as a so-called “Foreign Terrorist Organization.” Indeed, USAID, the US government’s official development agency, has funded the same zakat or charity committees both before and after the indictment of the Holy Land Five. Please see the following articles for more detail on the case of the Holy Land Five:
- “Let us not be brought down”: Last Legal recourse for the Holy Land Five by Noor Elashi
- As Holy Land Five appeal begins, Palestinians in Gaza praise charity closed by Bush by Joe Catron
Rallies were held in Tampa and Chicago, and a number of other cities. In New York, Noor Elashi, daughter of Holy Land political prisoner Ghassan Elashi, joined the Center for Constitutional Rights to call for justice for the Holy Land Five as the US Supreme Court decides whether or not to hear their appeal.
See video below. Full report: http://www.sparrowmedia.net/2012/10/holy-land-foundation-appeal-noor-elashi-michael-ratner/
Press Conference with Noor Elashi & Michael Ratner on Eve of Supreme Court Rule on Holy Land Foundation from Sparrow Media on Vimeo.
