The following report is mostly translated from the French at Collectif Palestine Vaincra:

On Saturday, 2 October, the Collectif Palestine Vaincra — a member organization of the Samidoun Network — organized a Palestine Stand from 11 am to 1 pm outside the Capitole metro station in Toulouse, France. The stand was organized as part of the ongoing month of action for the release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, the Lebanese Communist and freedom fighter for Palestine imprisoned in French jails since 1984, despite being eligible for release since 1999.

Amid a sunny day, the Collectif installed several large banners calling for the freedom of Georges Abdallah and Ahmad Sa’adat, the imprisoned general secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The stand was surrounded by Palestinian flags, and activists offered free stickers, flyers and leaflets to passers-by. The stand also offered books, including the new book by Said Bouamama, The Georges Abdallah Affair. Many people were attracted by a large explanatory banner presenting the history of Georges Abdallah’s case and struggle.

For over 2 hours, participants distributed hundreds of flyers and held dozens of discussions with passers-by. Speakers delivered calls to action over the sound system, explaining the history and political commitment of Georges Abdallah as well as the ways he is targeted for political and judicial state revenge. The stand also played music in support of Georges Abdallah and the Palestinian cause, such as “Entre leurs murs” by the rapper VII.

At the same time, many people took solidarity photos in support of the international campaign to liberate Georges Abdallah. Across generations, there is growing support for the release of Europe’s longest-held political prisoner.

The stand builds atop multiple actions being organized in Toulouse by the Collectif to support Georges Abdallah. He has remained imprisoned largely because he refuses to renounce his revolutionary commitment and the legitimacy of his cause: the struggle of the peoples against imperialism, racism and colonialism.

The month of action was launched on 24 September with a Palestine stand at the Bagatelle market, preceded by a twitterstorm on the occasion of the meeting between Emmanuel Macron and the new Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati, which reached over 540,000 people.

On Sunday, 26 September, the Collectif organized a Palestine picnic for social gathering and exploring Palestinian and Arab cuisine, while discussing the mobilization for Georges Abdallah and upcoming initiatives. A few days later, many posters demanding his release appeared in bus stops throughout the city, including in the Mirail and Bagatelle districts.

https://twitter.com/CollectifPV/status/1442737196927172608

This was followed on 28 September by a stand at the University of Mirail, which received a warm welcome from many students in support of the Palestinian cause. Over 50 cards calling for Georges’ release were signed by students outraged by the ongoing imprisonment of this Lebanese Communist.

https://twitter.com/CollectifPV/status/1442809405611905027

On several occasions, people distributed flyers in the city center of Toulouse, sparking dozens of discussions about Georges Abdallah and the urgent need for his release.

https://twitter.com/CollectifPV/status/1443281339587911682

The mobilization for Georges’ release continues throughout October and will conclude with two important events:

• Thursday, 21 October – screening of the documentary, “Fedayin: The Struggle of Georges Abdallah”
  8:30 pm, American Cosmograph Theatre, with Collectif Vacarme(s) Films and Said Bouamama, sociologist and author of “The Georges Ibrahim Abdallah Affair”
• Saturday, 23 October – Demonstration to free Georges Abdallah
  2 pm, from the train station in Lannemezan, France to the prison where Georges Abdallah is held. Free bus from Toulouse — email collectifpalestinevaincra@gmail.com to participate!

The Collectif Palestine Vaincra organizes actions and initiatives in Toulouse to support the Palestinian people and their resistance for the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea. Contact the Collectif to get involved, or reach out to Samidoun Network to get involved in your local area outside of France.

Photo credits: Corine Janeau

From Friday 24 September to Sunday 26 September, the activists of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network in the Spanish State (Samidoun España) were present at the Fiesta festival, marking the centenary of the Communist Party of Spain, in the municipality of Rivas Vaciamadrid.

The presence of Samidoun Spain was crucial during these important days, which served as a meeting point for a wide range of political activists and organizations of the left in the Spanish State. During the event, Samidoun organizers had the opportunity to converge with many other national and international social movements, with internationalist activists, political parties, as well as with fundamental political and artistic personalities of the Spanish, Latin American and international left in general.

Comrade and activist Jaldía Abubakra participated in the internationalist space in a forum on the Arab region with Jon Rodríguez Forrest, responsible for International Relations in Izquierda Unida (United Left), Sira Rego, MEP of UP-IU (Unidad Podemos – Izquierda Unida) in the Confederal Group of the European United Left, spokesperson of IU and Head of External Area of IU, and Abdullah Arabi, Delegate of the Polisario Front in Spain. During her speech, she emphasized the need for Palestinian struggle to break with the disastrous path of Oslo for a new stage of resistance and building a strong Palestinian national front that advocates real decolonization and not collaboration with the Zionist colonizer.

Samidoun Spain coordinated with other political forces to continue to strengthen support for the Palestinian struggle and resistance for the liberation of Palestine. The event also provided the opportunity for three full days of raising awareness and involvement for Palestine among all of the guests who came to enjoy the cultural events or other political and social activities organized by the Communist Party of Spain.

Throughout the weekend, Samidoun activists at their information and materials stand distributed information leaflets about the campaign to boycott Israeli pharmaceutical company TEVA and other Israeli products and institutions; about the urgent situation of Palestinian political prisoners in Zionist prisons; the Israeli colonization of Palestine and the need to free Palestine from the river to the sea; as well as the upcoming Alternative Palestinian Path Conference (Masar Badil) that will take place at the end of October. At the same time, we invited the passers-by to join the upcoming events that Samidoun has organized in Madrid, such as the screening of “Fedayin, the Struggle of Georges Abdallah“, the event for the tenth anniversary of Samidoun at the EKO Social Center and the big demonstration for Palestine that will take place on 31 October in Madrid.

In addition, many people showed their solidarity by taking pictures with the images of the Palestinian political prisoners. Among them, artists like Toni Mejías, journalists like Miquel Ramos and even political figures like Daniel Jadue, Chilean Communist mayor in the commune of Recoleta.  The stand served to raise awareness among people who were unaware of the issue, but also to increase the information level, interest and involvement of those who knew about the political reality in Palestine.

Finally, the solidarity fundraising that the group did through the sale of merchandising was a real success. It was very satisfying to walk around the fairgrounds and see different passersby with T-shirts and bags with the map of Palestine silkscreened and around it in big letters: “Free Palestine from the river to the sea”.

We invite everyone to continue to participate in the next solidarity initiatives, in particular next Tuesday, 26 October at The Neighborhood Theater, where the film “Fedayin, the fight of George Abdallah” will be presented. Georges Abdallah is a Palestinian resistance fighter imprisoned in France since 1984 who, although he has been eligible for release since 1999, is still imprisoned. In addition, for all of you who have run out of T-shirts or bags … this is your moment to get your own!