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Send your message today: Communicating despite the jailer – Letters to our prisoners in occupation’s jails

“Our prison was at the end of the citadel behind the ramparts. Looking through the crevices between the palisade in the hope of seeing something, one sees nothing but a little corner of the sky, and a high earthwork, covered with the long grass of the steppe. Night and day sentries walk to and fro upon it. Then one perceives from the first, that whole years will pass during which one will see by the same crevices between the palisades, upon the same earthwork, always the same sentinels and the same little corner of the sky, not just above the prison, but far and far away.” – The House of the Dead, F.M. Dostoyevsky.

There are nearly 4,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails today — subjected to a colonial system of imprisonment that aims to isolate them from their families, communities, people and movements. Nevertheless, Palestinian prisoners continue to resist, organize and lead the liberation movement. Messages of support and solidarity help to break down the bars and walls of isolation imposed by the occupation and make it clear that the prisoners are not forgotten, but are actually in the heart of struggle. Join us to send your letters of solidarity to Palestinian prisoners.

These messages can transcend all oppression and isolation our heroic prisoners are subjected to in Zionist prisons, and can bring that faraway free blue sky closer to them, overwhelming the one above the prison, reminding them that the Palestinian people, the Arab people and all progressive and democratic forces in the world have not and will not forget their sacrifices.

Join us in this initiative launched by Samidoun Network in the week of action for Palestinian prisoners works to convey our voice and support for our brave prisoners. Join us in writing a letter for all prisoners or for any particular prisoner in occupied Palestine. Samidoun Network in Occupied Palestine will deliver all messages via radio for our prisoners to hear.

Let us affirm to our prisoners that their freedom rests on our shoulders, for they are the ones who inspire us with their steadfastness and pave the way for freedom and return.

Click here to send your message to Palestinian prisoners! (Let us know whether we can also publish it on our website, and whether it is for a particular prisoner or all detainees.)

March in Berlin and actions throughout Germany take to the streets for Palestinian Prisoners’ Day

On 17 April, an enthusiastic march for Palestinian Prisoners’ Day wound through Neukölln, Berlin, Germany, organized by Samidoun Deutschland in partnership with several organizations, including Palästina Spricht Palestine Speaks, FOR-Palestine, Young Struggle Europe, Volksrat der Eelam Tamilen – Deutschland e.V., und Netzwerk Freiheit für alle politischen Gefangenen. Marking Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, the march progressed from Rathaus Neukölln to Hermannplatz, marching through Sonnenallee, home to many Palestinian and Arab restaurants and businesses in Berlin.

The march was enthusiastic and led by Palestinian youth, and many organizations delivered speeches and greetings at the event. The march was also joined by the Palestinian and Arab Institutions and Associations in Berlin.

Members of Samidoun delivered powerful messages in Arabic and German, saluting the struggle of 4,500 Palestinian prisoners behind Israeli bars and demanding freedom for all imprisoned strugglers. They carried banners and posters calling for the liberation of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, the Lebanese Arab struggler for Palestine imprisoned in French jails for over 36 years.

In the Samidoun speech at the rally, the speakers declared:

“The Palestinian prisoner movement was, and will remain, the shield of Palestinian and Arab resistance on the front line. The Palestinian prisoners are the advanced revolutionary corps struggling inside the furnaces of steadfastness and detention, within the dungeons of daily confrontation, engaged in a daily battle of confrontation that does not cease….As we sacrifice one hour of our time for them in this march, we must also remember that they are giving their whole lives for us, and for the liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.”

The cause of the prisoners, as we understand it in Samidoun Network, is the cause of all. It is a Palestinian cause, an Arab cause, an international cause. It is the cause of Shatila camp and al-Baqa’a camp, the cause of Palestinians in diaspora and exile, not solely the cause of 5,000 Palestinian prisoners and their families.

Today, from Berlin, we declare clearly: The prisoners’ movement represents all of us, so today, when we raise our voices for their freedom, we are also calling out for the people of Ain el-Helweh, Yarmouk, Neirab, Wehdat, Bourj al-Barajneh and Beddawi camps… We are continuing our struggle with them today, continuing the march of the revolution, liberation and return, the march of the revolutionary struggle, from the legacy of the martyrs and wounded who struggled in Palestine in 1936, who struggled in Palestine in 1936, in Beirut, in the Jordan Valley, in the Golan, and who were martyred on the borders of Palestine…”

“When we organize the Palestinian prisoners’ week in scores of regions, cities and capitals, we are doing this to remind the world of its moral and political responsibilities and to restore the rightful role and position of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, the true and legitimate national leaders that represent us and represent the resistance and the aspirations of our Palestinian people.

We need the prisoners more than they need us. It is our duty to raise the voice of the prisoners to the world and to all Palestinian communities in exile and diaspora, and raise their voice in unions, universities, factories, streets, parliaments, schools and all areas.”

“On this basis, we call today for:

First, exposing the crimes of the Zionist occupation against the Palestinian people and the brave Palestinian prisoners before the German and international public. We hold the German government accountable for its bias in favor of colonialism and Zionist crimes, and call upon it to respect German and international law and stand against these practices instead of justifying them in the right-wing, racist media.

Second,…Samidoun Network calls for unified action to build a wider movement for a comprehensive boycott of all occupation products and institutions. Building the boycott also means opposing normalization with Zionism.

Third, organizing for the liberation of the imprisoned hero, the struggler Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, who is for us a revolutionary model of steadfastness and an integral part of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, to achieve his freedom from French prisons after 37 years of detention.

Fourth, strengthening our popular unity and real cooperation between the various Palestinian, Arab, Islamic and progressive German organizations to build an international front to defend Palestinian rights..

Fifth, we say to the embassies of the Palestinian Authority and the embassies of the Arab regimes, end your silence and weakness….Our people will defend their prisoners!”

They concluded by calling on attendees’ to join and mobilize for the 15 May March for Return and Liberation in Berlin.

The demonstration in Berlin was also accompanied by many actions and protests throughout Germany for Palestinian Prisoners’ Day.

In Stuttgart, the Palästinakomitee Stuttgart, together with several organizations, joined in an anti-racist and anti-fascist demonstration in the city with signs, banners and Palestinian flags to mark Palestinian Prisoners’ Day. The committee drew attention to the campaign to free Palestinian students and highlighted the conditions and unjust detention of Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails.

In Frankfurt, members of Samidoun Deutschland organized a public display on the imprisonment of Palestinian students, with large posters and collages of the photos of jailed students in Israeli prisons. They set up a wooden chair to illustrate the stress positions and forms of torture used by Israeli interrogators against Palestinian students and other political prisoners.

Palestinian and Arab community organizations in Germany also organized sit-ins and actions in Köln, Koblenz and elsewhere. There are more events and actions still to come as part of the Week of Action for Palestinian prisoners in cities and communities around the world.

In Toulouse, a Palestine Stand for the freedom of Palestinian prisoners

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

On Saturday, 17 April, Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, the Collectif Palestine Vaincra organized a Palestine stand near the exit of the Jean Jaurès metro station in Toulouse, France. This event took place as part of the International Week of Action for Palestinian Prisoners, organized by Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.

For over two hours, the Collectif organized an information booth, distributed hundreds of leaflets on Palestinian prisoners, discussed with passers-by, played Palestinian music and presented several speeches over the loudspeaker explaining how mass incarceration is a colonial weapon in the hands of the Israeli occupation.

At the same time, the stand included a letter-writing workshop in which participants wrote solidarity letters to a number of Palestinian prisoners, a copy of which will be sent to their families by Samidoun Network in occupied Palestine. The collective thanks Mélusine for creating these artistic cards.

The Collectif also displayed several large banners, in support of Palestinian prisoners, for the liberation of Georges Abdallah — Arab struggler for Palestine jailed for over 36 years in France — and promoting the boycott of Israel.

The stand also included a small exhibition of posters, explaining the situation in occupation prisons and highlighting certain prisoners, including Marwan Barghouthi, Ahmad Sa’adat, Khalida Jarrar and Georges Abdallah.

On this occasion, dozens of people took solidarity photos in support of the release of the over 4,450 Palestinian prisoners.

To conclude this solidarity initiative, participants affirmed support for the #AgainstMilitaryCourts campaign by Addameer, opposing the Israeli military courts that condemn over 99% of the Palestinian civilians brought before them:

https://twitter.com/CollectifPV/status/1383457227449663492

Khaled Barakat: Freeing the prisoners requires a new revolutionary path for Palestinian struggle

On Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, 17 April 2021, the Samidoun Arabic website conducted an interview with Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat, below (Arabic at the link):

Question: How do you assess the current state of international solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners’ movement? What are the immediate tasks and priorities for the Palestinian diaspora and exile community regarding the cause of Palestinian prisoners in the occupation prisons?

Barakat: The international solidarity movement with the Palestinian prisoners’ struggle is not separate or isolated from the tasks and reality of the Palestinian and Arab popular mobilization with the Palestinian people in general and their legitimate national rights. However, a direct relationship with the cause of the prisoners specifically requires taking a clear position in support of the Palestinian resistance and its legitimacy. This also means that the focus should be on supporting the struggle and demands of this Palestinian revolutionary contingent, which is intensified and represented by the prisoners’ movement struggling within the occupation prisons, as it defends the cause and rights of the Palestinian people struggling for liberation and return, and, on the other hand, as a solid core of resistance and the front line of defense for the Palestinian people. The prisoners’ movement embodies the concept of freedom and is at the center of the daily and hourly confrontation against the occupation.

The level and state of the Palestinian national consensus and the level of Arab popular mobilization in supporting the prisoners’ movement necessarily affects the reality of the international solidarity movement with the struggle of the Palestinian prisoners in the prisons of the enemy. The primary responsibility is a Palestinian and Arab responsibility.

There is also a state of catastrophic failure witnessed daily by the Palestinian people at the official level of the Palestinian Authority, the role and inaction of the Authority and even complicity with the occupation, the Palestinian embassies largely ignoring the suffering and sacrifice of the prisoners, and there is also a serious failure on the part of the Palestinian factions. Moreover, the presence of a large number of Palestinian human rights institutions, for example inside occupied Palestine in particular, does not necessarily mean that they have an effective role at the international level.

Nevertheless, there is an important role being played by a number of organizations that consider the prisoners a priority and a fundamental task on their agenda, including the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and the Collectif Palestine Vaincra and other groups in France, and leftist and solidarity forces in Ireland, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Canada, the United States, South Africa, Brazil and elsewhere. This role has escalated significantly in recent years, which has caused significant inconvenience to the occupation state such that it has launched counter-campaigns and put in place programs and laws to suppress this movement, reaching the extent of some being included on the so-called “terrorist” list, as is the case with you (Samidoun.)

I think that the direct tasks that must be focused on for the Palestinian diaspora towards the prisoners are: expanding the Palestinian and Arab popular participation in supporting the prisoners’ struggle, engaging in organized work on a consistent rather than a seasonal or symbolic basis, and pushing for revolutionary work that builds true bridges of struggle between our people outside Palestine and our Palestinian people in general inside occupied Palestine, through focused campaigns that expose the crimes of the enemy and reap positive results for the benefit of our people and their prisoners.

The task of liberating prisoners from the prisons remains the major, fundamental task, and this is a condition for building an alternative, new Palestinian revolutionary path. That means building up the Palestinian deterrent force that restrains the occupation and prevents it from violating the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian prisoners with impunity

Building an organized Palestinian popular force that refers to the priorities of the Palestinian people and raises the level of international solidarity and emphasizes core issues (the right of return, the liberation of prisoners and supporting the resistance) remains a burning, urgent issue that should not be postponed or marginalized.

The role of Palestinians in exile in achieving such a revolutionary alternative and in building its leadership, especially in the refugee camps, is a central issue, just as its role in building a movement to boycott the Zionist entity and fight normalization and to link these tasks of struggle to the situation in occupied Palestine, at the heart of which is the struggle of the prisoners and detainees in the occupation prisons.

We must not be satisfied with criticizing the “self-government” Palestinian Authority that has failed our Palestinian people. We must do so while we build a revolutionary alternative that achieves the goals and aspirations of our people. This is an individual and collective mission and responsibility.

Question: We note, for example, the growing role of diaspora organizations and associations, especially in Europe and North America, towards the Palestinian prisoners’ movement and popular mobilization more generally, perhaps more than in the past. Do you agree with this?

Barakat: Yes, this is partially due to the presence of a wider space of “freedom,” by which we specifically mean freedom of movement, expression and organization in these areas. Despite state repression, this context remains outside the Oslo apparatus and the oppression of the Palestinian Authority as a proxy for the occupation and the hegemony of official Arab states that impose conditions upon and besiege our Palestinian people. Also, the occupation feels somewhat helpless in the face of this role of Palestinians in exile and diaspora, because it cannot freely exercise the oppression that it exerts against our people in occupied Palestine. This margin of freedom, despite its limitations, remains important and should not be ignored.

In addition, there are major changes that have occurred at the popular level in Palestinian and Arab communities in recent years, especially in terms of the increase in the number of Palestinians and Arabs in Europe due to displacement, war, imperialism and racism. This inevitably affects the escalation and centralization of the role of the Palestinian diaspora and will affect the growth of movements and forces supporting our peoples’ struggles on the international level.

In particular, we see the presence of a Palestinian vanguard among tens of thousands of Palestinian youth from the refugee camps of Syria, Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, Jordan and elsewhere, leading and organizing the demonstrations in these capitals and cities today, especially those called for by the Samidoun Network. These youth, as Ghassan Kanafani said, “will not learn to calm down.”

On the importance of this activity in general, it is clear that the cornerstone remains building the foundations for action and real revolutionary change in the refugee camps and among the popular classes in the countries and areas adjacent to occupied Palestine. This equation, as I see it, does not need a lot of rhetoric or explanation. The more our Palestinian people in diaspora take on their necessary role, regain their strength and bear their responsibilities toward themselves and towards Palestine and restores consideration for fedayee action, the sooner the liberation of Palestine becomes, and the closer the date of return approaches. These are the goals for which people resist the occupation and enter its prisons.

 

Week of Action for Palestinian Prisoners: Events and Actions around the world

People and organizations around the world are preparing to mark Palestinian Prisoners’ Day – April 17 – commemorated each year as a day of struggle for liberation for the Palestinian prisoners, on the front lines of confrontation, and the Palestinian people. Below are many of the actions and events taking place around the world to commemorate Palestinian Prisoners’ Day 2021 and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Week of Action from April 17-23! This page will be updated with further events and actions.

Read the call to action from occupied Palestine in: English  |   Arabic   |   French   |   German  |   Spanish   |   Swedish 

Please contact us via email at samidoun@samidoun.net or via WhatsApp at +32466904397 or over social media to send us your events and actions!

Germany

 Berlin:

Palestinian Prisoners’ Day
Saturday, 17 April
4:30 pm
Rathaus Neukolln, proceed to Hermannplatz
Berlin, Germany
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/250352313469887/

Stuttgart:

Palestinian Prisoners’ Day
Saturday, 17 April
11:00 am
Karlsplatz Flohmarkt
Stuttgart, Germany
Organized by Palästinakomitee Stuttgart

Koblenz:

Palestinian Prisoners’ Day
Saturday, 17 April
3:00 pm
Herz-Jesu-Kirche Vorplatz
Löhrrondell
Koblenz, Germany
More info: http://www.palaestina-koblenz.de/

Köln:

Palestinian Prisoners’ Day
Saturday, 17 April
4:00 pm
Domplatte
Köln, Germany

France

 Toulouse:

Palestine Stand — Freedom for all Palestinian prisoners!
Saturday, 17 April
1:00 PM
Metro Jean-Jaures
Toulouse, France
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/3930442683704788/

Paris:

International Day of Political Prisoners
Saturday, 17 April
2:00 PM
Place de la Reunion (Paris 20e)
Paris, France
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1343504396020068/

Auch:

Rally for Palestinian Prisoners
Saturday, 17 April
10:15 am
Alleys of Etigny
Auch, France

Tarbes:

Rally for Palestinian Prisoners and Georges Abdallah
Saturday, 17 April
10:30 am
Marcadieu Market
Tarbes, France

Grenay:

Gathering for Georges Abdallah and Palestinian Prisoners
Saturday, 17 April
11:00 am
Square de l’Amitie
Grenay, France

 Clermont-Ferrand:

Clermont-Ferrand’s Comédie – Freedom for all Palestinian prisoners !
Monday, 19 April
2:00 PM
La Comédie
Clermont-Ferrand, France
Organized by AFPS 63

Spain

 Madrid:

Freedom for political prisoners!
Saturday, April 17
12:00 pm
Plaza de la Provincia
Madrid, Spain
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/250303323487551

Galiza

 Galiza:

Wednesday, 21 April
12:30 pm
Galiza Parliament
Santiago de Compostela, Galiza

On April 21, at 12:30 p.m. the Palestine.gal Platform, of which Confederación Intersindical Galega is a part, will deliver a letter to the three parliamentary groups of the Galiza Parliament, in Santiago de Compostela, requesting a position condemning the situation of Palestinian prisoners.

Belgium

 Brussels:

Solidarity Rally with Palestinian Prisoners
Saturday, 17 April
3:00 pm
Gare Centrale (Carrefour de l’Europe)
Brussels, Belgium
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/286609239721400/

Britain/UK

 Manchester:

Free Palestinian political prisoners and #killthebill
Saturday, 17 April
1:00 pm
St. Peters Square
Manchester, Britain

 London:

Free Political Prisoners! Break the Chains! Protest
Saturday, 24 April
1:30 pm
Dalton Kingsland Overground
London, England
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/274066907611139/

Palestine

 Al-Arroub Camp:

يوم الأسير الفلسطيني
Saturday, 17 April
9:45 pm
(after Taraweeh prayer)
Al-Arroub camp, al-Khalil, occupied Palestine
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samidoun3/posts/1154434931696523

 Kobar:

اللي يِحبَّك يجيلَك عَ القَدَم ماشي
Sunday, 18 April
3 pm
Kobar, Ramallah, occupied Palestine
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/274066907611139/

 

Online Events and Actions

 Social Media Campaign:

Join Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association for a social media campaign for Palestinian Prisoners’ Day. To participate, post a photo with the following statement:
“On Palestinian Prisoner’s Day, I stand against prosecuting Palestinian civilians in Israeli military courts” and Location (i.e. Jerusalem, Palestine/ NYC, USA/ London, UK, etc.) Addameer asks that you post the photo on your social media platforms on April 17, with the suggested hashtags #PalestinianPrisonersDay, #AgainstIsraeliMilitaryCourts, and tagging Addameer’s account so that we’re able to repost your statement.

Webinars:

#FreeThemAll : In Sumoud and Solidarity from the US to Palestine
Saturday, 17 April
10 am Pacific – 1 pm Eastern – 8 pm Palestine
Livestream: https://youtube.com/user/addameer21
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/448821483078478/
Organized by the AMED Studies program

LOVED ONES: Families of the Incarcerated
Voices from Palestine, Voices from Seattle
a live online Zoom performance
Saturday, April 17
11:00 AM Pacific Time
FREE – REGISTRATION REQUIRED at:  https://dunyaproductionsea.wixsite.com/seattle/events/loved-ones-families-of-the-incarcerated

Online Event: “L’affaire Georges Abdallah” with Said Bouamama
Saturday, 17 April
8 am Pacific – 11 am Eastern – 5 pm France – 6 pm Palestine
AFPS 59/62 Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/AFPS-5962-1646967182194184/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2918551358434327/

لا القيد ولا القضبان تضيع فينا العزيمة والأمل (Shackles and bars will not kill our determination — Arabic language event)
Sunday, 18 April
5 am Pacific – 8 am Eastern – 2 pm Sweden – 3 pm Palestine
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89888938671
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2838583576397665/

Kumi Now Gathering on Administrative Detention
Tuesday, 20 April
8 am Pacific – 11 am Eastern – 6 pm Palestine
Register on Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/94679502800
Charlotte Kates of Samidoun will be speaking.

Take Action: Suggested Action Items

Please join us in taking action of the Week of Struggle! Your local actions are incredibly important in building the movement that is so necessary for the cause. With the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have been forced to organize indoors and online. We encourage activists and organizers to consider public, outdoor actions that you can take that are safe, creative and mobilizing, as well as letter-writing campaigns to support the prisoners. Here are a few action items. Please share yours with us at samidoun@samidoun.net.

1. Demonstrations, rallies and street actions – including actions to boycott Israel!

Have a protest or action to free Palestinian prisoners, support the Palestinian struggle for liberation, stand with the Palestinian resistance and boycott Israel and its complicit corporations. There are many different kinds of actions that you can take that are safe while still getting out on the streets – check out the Stand Palestine organized by Collectif Palestine Vaincra in Toulouse, France; or the outdoor informational gatherings in Aachen and Dusseldorf, Germany, organized by Samidoun Deutschland for Land Day and the Free Palestinian Students campaign. With Ramadan approaching, it’s important to highlight the campaign to boycott Israeli dates in particular! Include he Palestinian prisoners in your campaign against the agriculture of apartheid.

You can also check out the civil disobedience actions organized against Elbit, the arms manufacturer, by Palestine Action in the UK for direct actions targeting the apartheid war machine.

2. Letter Writing Actions

Support the steadfastness of Palestinian prisoners by writing letters to them. You can send them directly to Israeli prisons — making clear not only to the prisoners but also to the prison administration that the world is watching and Palestinian prisoners are not isolated. Click here to download one list of addresses for Palestinian prisoners – part of the #FreePalestinianStudents campaign.

In addition, Samidoun Palestine is in touch directly with the families of Palestinian prisoners. Take photos of your letters and send them to us via email at samidoun@samidoun.net or via WhatsApp at +32466904397. You can even send us a voice note to broadcast on the radio stations transmitted to the prisoners. Letter writing actions can be held in person (even outdoors) or virtually/remotely over any meeting solution.

3. Creative Actions

Creative actions are a wonderful way to spread the word and highlight the struggle of the Palestinian prisoners – even when you are engaging in physical distancing and health precautions. The banner hung by Samidoun España in Madrid at the University metro station highlighted the struggle of Palestinian students, while the campaign to symbolically rename streets after Georges Abdallah internationally commemorated his birthday and amplified the demand for his liberation.

These actions only require one, two or a few people. You can even simply poster and sticker around your neighbourhood. Contact us via email at samidoun@samidoun.net or via WhatsApp at +32466904397 if you are looking for image ideas or resources! 

4. Online/Virtual Events and Webinars

We still have plenty to share with each other via online events and webinars, which can enable us to connect easily and freely across borders and barriers. Host a webinar or event — or a cultural gathering with poetry and music — highlighting the struggle of Palestinian prisoners.

Please note: Samidoun has speakers that can participate in your webinars in Arabic, English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish and other languages. Contact us via email at samidoun@samidoun.net or via WhatsApp at +32466904397 to inquire about a Samidoun speaker! 

Endorse or Submit Your Action

Please use the form below — or contact us via email at samidoun@samidoun.net or via WhatsApp at +32466904397 or over social media to send us your events and actions!

Boycott Israeli Dates — Stand with Palestine, Boycott Apartheid!

Boycott Israeli Dates!

Thousands of Palestinian prisoners are marking Ramadan inside Israeli prisons, deprived of their families and loved ones, while their communities and loved ones are kept from these strugglers for freedom by iron bars and prison walls of the occupation. Millions more Palestinians mark the holiday facing home demolitions, land confiscation, systematic racism and apartheid, a killer siege, extrajudicial executions, military occupation, and settler colonialisn. For 72 years, Palestinian refugees have been denied their right to return to their homes, lands and properties by the Zionist occupation.

At the same time, Israeli occupation companies are marketing the products of Palestinian land around the world – medjoul dates. 75% of Medjoul dates around the world are marketed as “products of Israel,” grown on stolen Palestinian land. Of those, the large majority are themselves grown on illegal Israeli settlements inside the West Bank. Up to 80% of all of these illegally settlement-produced dates are exported around the world. Israel is the world’s third-largest date exporter, with exports worth $181 million in 2017.

In most cases, these huge Israeli corporations exploit Palestinian labor as well as Palestinian land to bring these dates to market internationally, while the Palestinians who farm these dates and on whose land these dates are grown are denied access to, control over and the proceeds of their resources by the colonial occupation.

Hear the appeal of Palestinian agricultural workers in Gaza for boycotting Israeli dates:

Israeli settlement date producers often hire Palestinian child labor to produce and package dates in backbreaking, hazardous conditions. For workers of all ages, they often must stay 12 meters above the ground in the date palm trees throughout the day, denied even toilet breaks.

This Ramadan, be sure to not break your fast with apartheid: Boycott Israeli dates! Stand with the Palestinian people.

Keep these tips in mind:

  • Check the label! Products marked “Product of Israel,” “Jordan Valley” or even “West Bank” are likely to be apartheid dates. Unfortunately, labeling regulations may lead legitimate Palestinian products to be labeled as “West Bank” dates in some countries.
  • Checking the label might not be enough. Some Israeli dates are deceptive – for example, some Israeli settlement dates have referred to “Palestinian date trees,” used Arabic-language labelling on their packages or omit their country of origin entirely in order to deceive buyers who want to avoid apartheid products. Because Medjoul dates are considered dried fruits, some countries may exempt them from country of origin labeling laws.
  • Look for known, reputable Palestinian date producers. While Palestinian date products vary from country to country, trusted vendors like Jericho Delights, fair-trade Penny Appeal Palestinian Dates and Zaytoun are known for their authentic Palestinian products supporting Palestinian farmers steadfast on their land.
  • If you don’t have the answer, choose another country of origin! Dates are also available from Tunisia, Algeria, the United States and other countries of origin. In almost all cases, these dates will be labeled with their country of origin to properly identify them.

Many organizations around the world are highlighting campaigns to boycott Israeli dates and support Palestinian producers and farmers’ collectives by purchasing Palestinian dates. Information for several countries is provided below — to make sure your country’s information and campaigns are included on this list, please email us at samidoun@samidoun.net.

United States

Canada

France

Italy

UK/Britain

Denmark

United States

In the United States, American Muslims for Palestine is organizing a campaign to “Break Your Fast with Justice”. Download posters, letters to merchants and more at: https://www.ampalestine.org/dateboycott

AMP noted that Israeli date exports to the U.S. are down in recent years and emphasized the importance of the boycott in cutting down on apartheid dates.

Within Our Lifetime – United For Palestine also provides flyers and information about boycotting Israeli dates. Download materials and learn more about the campaign here: https://wolpalestine.com/campaigns/boycott-isreali-dates/

In the US — Brands to Boycott:

  • Hadiklaim
  • Jordan River
  • King Solomon
  • Jordan Plains
  • Carmel
  • Kalahari
  • Karsten Farms
  • Tamara Barhi
  • Desert Diamond
  • Rapunzel
  • Bomaja
  • Shams
  • Delilah
  • Mehadrin
  • Premium Medjoul
  • Fancy Medjoul
  • Royal Treasure
  • Red Sea
  • Bonbonierra

Authentic Palestinian Dates:
Jericho Delights are authentic Palestinian dates available at many local stores. Online, Penny Appeal sells authentic Palestinian fair trade dates in cooperation with AMP. Ziyad Palestinian Dates markets Palestine Dates and Sultan Dates. This is not a comprehensive list of authentic Palestinian dates in the United States — to make sure ones you know of are added to the list, contact us at samidoun@samidoun.net.

Canada

The Canadian BDS Coalition offers a guide to boycotting Israeli dates in Canada this Ramadan at: https://bdscoalition.ca/2021/04/01/boycott-israeli-dates-break-fast-with-palestinian-medjoul/

Download a resource flyer that you can distribute in your community at the BDS Coalition’s website!

Date brands to boycott in Canada:

  • Hadiklaim
  • Jordan River
  • Bomaja
  • La Palma
  • Mehadrin
  • King Solomon
  • Prana
  • NBF (unbranded)
  • Any Medjoul dates where the country of origin is not clearly marked

Watch out! Check the label:

  • Golden Valley Dates – Golden Valley Dates has repeatedly marketed Israeli Apartheid Dates in Canada. In 2021, Golden Valley has imported some legitimate Palestiniaan dates from Palestine Gardens/Sinnokrot. There are still unlabeled and unmarked Golden Valley dates in stores. If the origin is in question, do not buy!

Palestinian dates you can buy to support Palestinian farmers:
Jericho Delights, Lara, Green World and Palestine Gardens offer legitimate Palestinian dates that you may find at your local grocery or specialty food store. Palestine Just Trade is marketing legitimate Palestinian dates from Al-Rwad in Jericho, Palestine. As in the U.S., Penny Appeal is marketing legitimate Palestinian dates. Buycott Palestine offers Jericho Delights with pickup locations in various Canadian cities.

France

Collectif Palestine Vaincra offers comprehensive resources on the boycott of Israeli dates in France, including posters and flyers that you can download for your neighborhood or to share with local shops: https://palestinevaincra.com/2021/04/ramadan-2021-boycottons-les-dattes-israeliennes/

CAPJPO-EuroPalestine also offers resources and information on apartheid dates and
the campaign to stop them.

Brands to Boycott:

  • Hadiklaim
  • Mehadrin
  • Mtex
  • Jordan River
  • King Salomon
  • Jordan Plains
  • Carmel
  • Brousse
  • Lidl Deluxe
  • La Favorite

Authentic Palestinian Dates:
Among other sources, Solivr offers fair trade authentic Palestinian dates in France!

Collectif Palestine Vaincra:

Le mois du Ramadan est la période de l’année où les dattes sont le plus consommées. Mais attention, le marché français est le premier marché d’exportation des dattes israéliennes. Israël est l’un des leaders sur le marché mondial. En 2012, elle dépassait l’Arabie saoudite et est désormais le 3ème exportateur mondial de dattes (en termes de dollars) après la Tunisie et l’Iran avec une valeur d’exportation de 181 millions de dollars en 2017.

La vallée du Jourdain est la région la plus fertile de la Cisjordanie. C’est sur cette terre palestinienne que se trouvent de nombreuses fermes israéliennes illégales, y compris des fermes de dattes.
Les dattes Medjool israéliennes ne peuvent être cultivées que dans la vallée du Jourdain et dans quelques régions du Sud d’Israël. Si vous achetez des dattes Medjool cultivées ou emballées dans la vallée du Jourdain ou en Israël, vous soutenez économiquement l’occupation sioniste de la Palestine.
Nous vous appelons en particulier à boycotter ces marques israéliennes : Hadiklaim, Mehadrin, Mtex, Jordan River, King Salomon.

Passons à l’action :

  • Nous vous invitons à déposer dans les commerces de votre quartier cette affichette qui permet de sensibiliser les consommateurs et les consommatrices. N’hésitez pas à nous envoyer vos photos à collectifpalestinevaincra@gmail.com
  • Nous organisons des diffusions de flyers devant différents marchés et commerces afin d’informer sur la présence de dattes de l’apartheid israélien. N’hésitez pas à nous contacter pour y participer ou à en organiser dans votre ville, par exemple avec notre flyer A6 (recto et verso).
  • Nous vous invitons à acheter des dattes palestiniennes afin de soutenir leur économie, par exemple celle-ci.

Italy

Giovani Palestinesi d’Italia (Palestinian Youth in Italy) offer flyers, resources and information about the boycott of Israeli dates in Italy, including posters specifically for Ramadan.

Brands to Boycott:

  • Mehadrin
  • King Solomon
  • Jordan River
  • Hadiklaim
  • Carmel

Giovani Palestinesi d’Italia:
QUESTO RAMADAN NON COMPRARE I DATTERI ISRAELIANI, BOICOTTA I FRUTTI DELL’APARTHEID!
Per questo Ramadan noi Giovani Palestinesi abbiamo bisogno del vostro aiuto.

Come ben sappiamo durante il mese di Ramadan vengono venduti e comprati datteri, un mercato dove israele ha preso pian piano sempre più spazio.

Ora israele è il terzo esportatore di datteri prodotti utilizzando risorse palestinesi rubate come l’acqua e la terra, infatti produce il 70% della “sua” frutta negli insediamenti illegali secondo il diritto internazionale.

  • Non comprarli
  • Spargi la voce, condividiti questo post!
  • Stampa queste locandine a colori, affiggile in moschea o nel centro islamico della tua zona, nelle macelerie halal, nei fruttivendoli e ovunque nella tua città
  • Stampa queste locandine in bianco e nero e distribuiscile durante il Ramadan
  • Taggaci e/o inviaci le tue migliori foto, le più belle verranno postate

United Kingdom/Britain

Inminds Human Rights Campaign has launched Ramadan 2021 resources on the boycott of Israeli dates in Britain. Watch the campaign video:

As in the U.S., Israeli apartheid date exports to the UK are dropping. While the UK was once the third largest export market for Israeli dates, it now comes third, behind the Netherlands and France.

Download resources and information at the Inminds campaign page: http://inminds.co.uk/boycott-israeli-dates.php

Friends of Al-Aqsa also offers resources, an action item and videos in the “Don’t Eat Into Palestine”, Boycott Israeli Dates campaign: https://www.foa.org.uk/campaign/checkthelabel-dates/

Brands to Boycott:

  • Waitrose
  • Tesco
  • Sainsbury
  • Asda
  • Morrisons
  • M&S
  • Hadiklaim
  • Mehadrin
  • MTEX
  • Jordan River
  • Jordan Valley
  • King Solomon
  • Tamara Barhi
  • Desert Diamond
  • Rapunzel
  • Bomaja
  • Shams
  • Star Dates
  • Jordon Plains
  • Premium Medjoul
  • Fancy Medjoul
  • Royal Treasure
  • Red Sea
  • Delilah
  • Bonbonierra
  • Paradise Dates

Inminds warns that Israeli date companies have been found to export settlement dates with a “Made in Palestine” label, and that dates without company details designating the country of origin and the company responsible for production are likely to be apartheid dates.

Legitimate Palestinian Dates:
Among other sources of Palestinian authentic dates are Zaytoun and Yaffa, both of which offer trusted sources of Palestinian produce, recommended by Inminds. Holy Land Dates from Palestine and Al-Ard also offer verified Palestinian dates.

Denmark

Boykot Israel DK offers information and resources on the boycott of Israeli dates, including where apartheid dates have been spotted.

Brands to Boycott:

  • King Solomon
  • Jordan River
  • Medjoul Dates (unbranded)

Boykot Medjoul dadler fra Israel

Juletiden er dadel-tid. I øjeblikket sælges israelske Medjoul dadler i både Coop Danmarks og Dansk Supermarkeds butikker og i Magasin på Kgs. Nytorv i København. IMG_1123

Besættelsesmagten Israel producerer halvdelen af verdens Medjoul dadler, 60 % af disse produceres i ulovlige bosættelser på Vestbredden, bl.a. i den frugtbare Jordan-dal hvor besættelsesmagten pt er i gang med en etnisk udrensning af palæstinenserne. De israelske dadler sælges under følgende brands: King Solomon Dates, Jordan River eller blot Medjoul Dates. Der står ALDRIG på dadel-kasserne at dadlerne er produceret i en bosættelse. Der står som regel Israel som oprindelsesland – eller der mangler oprindelsesland! Ifølge dansk lovgivning er det obligatorisk at mærke frugt og grønt med oprindelsesland.

Boykot Israel opfordrer til at boykotte Medjoul-dadler – og alt andet fra besættelsesmagten Israel! Henvend jer til personalet i butikker hvor de sælger israelske Medjoul dadler og fortæl at ved at sælge israelske produkter støtter man apartheid-staten Israel! Klag hvis der mangler oprindelsesland! Send gerne små rapporter (og fotos) ind om butikkerne hvor man sælger Medjoul dadler til: Boykot Israel Kampagnens facebook: facebook.com/boykotisrael.dk.

Boykot alt fra Israel så længe der er israelsk besættelse og apartheid – Frit Palæstina”

Yemeni Liberation Movement: Hunger Strike for Yemen Actions this Week

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network supports the work of the Yemeni Liberation Movement, who have been on hunger strike for over 2 weeks in Washington, D.C, against U.S. support for the Saudi blockade of Yemen. Please take action to support this important, brave effort! The following updates come from the Yemeni Liberation movement – follow them on Twitter and Instagram! 

After 15 days of hunger striking, we have mounted significant pressure on the Biden Administration and the US government to hear our demands.

1. Publicly speak out against the blockade
2. End US support for the Saudi-led blockade.

On Tuesday, April 13, U.S. Representatives and grassroots organizations will be joining 26 year-old Iman Saleh for a vigil on Tuesday, April 13th at 5:30pm at the Black Lives Matter Plaza to commemorate all the Yemeni lives lost in the ongoing war.  

Saleh, and her sister Muna, 23, of the Yemeni Liberation Movement have been on a hunger strike in Washington, DC, since March 29th. Their health is slowly deteriorating.  The sisters, as leaders of the Yemeni Liberation Movement, are calling on President Biden to end all U.S. support — financial and military — to the Saudi-led blockade on Yemen which has led to mass starvation and famine, killing hundreds of thousands. 

Earlier this week, 76 Congressional representatives, led by Ro Khanna, Mark Pocan, and Debbie Dingell, sent a letter to President Biden in which they demanded that he take steps to publicly pressure the Saudi government to lift the blockade “immediately, unilaterally, and comprehensively.”

The Yemeni community and organizers all over the U.S. and Canada are using the hashtags #EndTheBlockade, #YemenCantWait, and #HungerStrike4Yemen to bring attention to this critical action. 

The hunger strike has been endorsed by dozens of grassroots organizations and has received immense support from the international community.  Celebrities like Mark Ruffalo and Noname, and public figures including Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Marianne Williamson have all tweeted their support to the strikers’ campaign. As the hunger strike continues, pressure is mounting on the Biden administration to respond and act swiftly as American media outlets like Insider and Democracy Now! cover developments related to the action and the hunger strikers health continues to wane.  

This clip from the YLM recaps the first week of the hunger strike, covering its mission  and how detrimental the situation in Yemen has become.

Take action:

Open letter on the assassination of labour and Indigenous activists in the Philippines

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network joined with the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) Canada and 64 more organizations and individuals in response to “Bloody Sunday,” the assassination of 9 labour and Indigenous leaders in the Philippines by the Philippines National Army on 4-7 March 2021. 

Sixty-five organizations (including churches, trade unions and Filipino associations) and prominent individuals based in Canada have jointly sent a letter calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to publicly condemn the state-sponsored terror perpetrated by the government of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte against the Filipino people.

The human rights situation in the Philippines is a matter of utmost urgency, says the March 16th letter to the Prime Minister.  A series of military operations during the weekend of March 4-7, 2021 killed 9 labour and indigenous leaders and human rights activists. Now known as “Bloody Sunday”, the deadly military operations are part of President Duterte’s increasingly brutal implementation of the government’s counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism wars. Since Duterte came to power in 2016, “tens of thousands have died in Duterte’s so-called ‘War on Drugs’, 300 farmers, indigenous peoples, human rights defenders, including 55 lawyers and judges have been killed.”

Citing Canada’s “Voices at Risk: Canada’s guidelines on supporting human rights defenders”, the letter urges Prime Minister Trudeau to follow through on Canada’s commitment to protect and promote human rights and end its policy of quiet diplomacy.  It calls for the ending of Canada’s military trade, aid and cooperation with the Philippine Government.

The letter is here reproduced in full, along with the original list of signatories.

Visit the ICHRP Canada website to add your name!

Download the letter PDF

Concern re: Massacre of Nine Human Rights Defenders in the Philippines

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau:

We are writing to you on a matter of utmost urgency. We are profoundly concerned about the deteriorating human rights situation in the Philippines. In recent weeks, Lumad (Indigenous groups in Mindanao) school children have been arrested, and the Tumandok (Indigenous group in Panay island) land defenders experienced a massacre. Human rights defenders and Indigenous leaders were arrested on fabricated charges, including Windel Bolinget (Indigenous leader in the Cordillera region).

We are horrified by the recent circulation of ‘Kill Lists’ (i.e. tantamount to an order to kill) by the Philippine military against Indigenous organizations in the Northern Philippines. Over the weekend of March 4-7, 2021, in a military operation known as ‘Bloody Sunday’, a state-sanctioned massacre left 9 dead. This targeted attack, which included raids, arrests, and executions, were directed at several Philippines based partner organizations of Canadian labour and faith-based organizations.

The ‘Bloody Sunday’ killings are clearly part of the implementation of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called, and increasingly brutal, counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism campaigns. International and local human rights groups, as well as United Nations experts, have warned that these campaigns no longer make any distinction between armed rebels and non-combatants activists, labour leaders, and human rights defenders.

All dissidents or critics of Duterte have been routinely accused of being members of the Communist Party of the Philippines and labelled terrorists under the Anti-Terrorism Law. This government sponsored red-tagging of activists has deadly consequences.

During a speech on March 5, 2021 at an event of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTC-ELCAC), Duterte’s own direction was “Kill, kill them all. Finish them. Don’t mind human rights,” precipitating the blood bath two days later. The ‘Bloody Sunday’ raids were implemented by General Antonio Parlade Jr., who was appointed by Duterte to head the NTC-ELCAC.

According to your government’s Voices at Risk: Guidelines on Supporting Human Rights Defenders, promoting respect for human rights is at the heart of Canada’s international policies and engagement. The guidelines specifically mention women, Indigenous Peoples, human rights, and land defenders as vulnerable groups that the Canadian government engages to protect. And yet, to date, Canadian officials in Ottawa and Manila have been deafeningly silent on the question of human rights in the Philippines. Since your public statement of concern regarding the human rights situation in the Philippines in 2017, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) officials have indicated a preference for quiet diplomacy. The time for quiet diplomacy with the Duterte Regime is over. Tens of thousands have died in Duterte’s so-called ‘War on Drugs’, and at least 300 farmers, indigenous peoples, human rights defenders, including 55 lawyers and judges, have been killed since Duterte came to power in 2016.

We call on the Canadian Government to publicly condemn this state-sponsored terror against the Filipino people. We further call on the Canadian government to end all support to, and cooperation with, the Philippine military and police. This includes withdrawal and ending of financial assistance for anti-terrorism and training provided directly to the Philippine government or through other entities such as the ASEAN and Interpol.

We urge you to follow through on your commitment to protect and promote human rights and to use this commitment as a lens for any ongoing and planned Canadian cooperation with the Duterte government.

Sincerely,

Original signatories:

Anakbayan Canada (Youth of the Philippine Nation)
Anglican Church of Canada
BAYAN Canada (New Patriotic Alliance)
Canadian Foreign Policy Institute
Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)
Canada Palestine Association
Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
FILCASA – Filipino Canadian Student Association (in 27 member schools)
Global Pinoy Diaspora-Canada (GPDC)
International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines
KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
Malaya Movement in Canada
MIGRANTE Canada
Mining Justice Alliance (MJA)
MiningWatch Canada
National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE)
Partera International
Public Service Alliance of Canada – Alliance de la Fonction publique du Canada
SAMIDOUN (Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network)
United Church of Canada/L’Église Unie du Canada
Unifor

Regional and Local Organizations

Alliance for People’s Health (APH)
Association des Parents d’origine Philippine (Filipino Parents Association in Quebec)
Bayanihan Empowerment (Toronto)
Beaconsfield Initiative (Quebec)
Campaign to Defend People’s Struggle in Iran
Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights (CPSHR)
Canada-Philippines Solidarity Organization – CPSO
Centre d’appui aux Philippines/Centre for Philippine Concerns
Criminalization and Punishment Education Program (CPEP)
East Indian Defense Committee (EIDC)
ECTASE- Études contemporaines et transdisciplinaires sur l’Asie du Sud-Est, Univ. de Montréal
Église unie Saint-James, Montréal, QC
Iglesia Filipina Independiente, Eastern Canada Deanery (Philippine Independent Church, Eastern Canada Deanery)
International Indigenous Youth Conference (IIYC2005)
Homes not Bombs
Makulay Atbp (Filipino LGBTQ+ collective in Toronto)
Nowar-Paix
Ontario Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (OCHRP)
Ottawa Raging Grannies
Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)
Palestinian Youth Movement
Peace and Social Concerns Committee of Ottawa Quaker Meeting
People’s Defence
Pinay
Pinoy Pride Vancouver Society
Solidarity Notes Labour Choir (SNLC)
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights – University of British Columbia
South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD)
Sulong University of British Columbia
Toronto Urban Native Ministry
Tulayan Filipino Diaspora Society
Vancouver and District Labour Council (VDLC)

Prominent Community Members and Individuals

Flor Marcelino, Former Leader of the Opposition (NDP), The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
Malaya Marcelino, Member of The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (Notre Dame)
Enrique (Ricky) Castelvi, President of the National Congress of Filipino-Canadian Associations
Rhea Gamana, Host and Producer, Radyo Migrante
Marissa Corpus, Columnist, Atin Ito (Filipino community newspaper)
Aimee Beboso, Host, Talakayang Bayan, 93.1 CKCU FM (Canada)
Guy Camacho, University of the Philippines Alumni Association in Toronto – UPAAT
Olivia Camacho, University of the Philippines Alumni Association in Toronto – UPAAT
Dr. Leonora Angeles, Associate Professor, University of British Columbia (UBC)
Dr. Valerie Raoul, Professor Emerita, University of British Columbia (UBC)
The Very Rev. The Hon. Lois Wilson, CC (Retired Member of the Senate of Canada)
Rev. Dr. Chris Ferguson, General Secretary, World Communion of Reformed Churches

C.C.’d on our letter:
Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Rob Oliphant, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
The Honourable Michael Chong, Official Opposition, Foreign Affairs Critic
MP Jack Harris, NDP Foreign Affairs Critic
MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc Québécois
MP Elisabeth May, Green Party
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development
Subcommittee on International Human Rights
Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights
Kevin Lamoureux, Chair of the Canada-Philippines Interparliamentary Group
H.E. Rudolfo D. Robles, Philippines Ambassador to Canada
Peter MacArthur, Ambassador of Canada to the Philippines

Video: Defending Palestine, Fighting Repression – international webinar

On Friday, 9 April, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network organized an international webinar on “Defending Palestine, Fighting Repression.” Inspired by a number of recent attacks on the Palestinian and Palestine solidarity movement internationally, including the labeling of Samidoun as a “terrorist organization” by Israeli Defense Minister and war criminal Benny Gantz; the demand by a member of the French national assembly to dissolve Collectif Palestine Vaincra, and ongoing repression of Palestine organizing in Germany, the event brought together activists engaged in resisting repression and building solidarity with Palestine.

Watch the full video of the event above, also on YouTube and Facebook.

The event was moderated by Hadeel Shatara of Samidoun Network in occupied Palestine, who noted the anniversaries of the birth of Ghassan Kanafani and the Deir Yassin massacre, while urging people to get involved with the calls to action for Palestinian Prisoners’ Week from 17-23 April and the Week of Palestinian Struggle between 15-22 May.

The speakers at the webinar were:

  • Charlotte Kates,  the international coordinator of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. She is based in Canada and also works with the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, Al-Awda and the National Lawyers Guild.
  • Collectif Palestine Vaincra is a committed organization working for Palestine based in Toulouse, France. They are actively involved in building the campaign to free Georges Abdallah, imprisoned in French jails for over 36 years.
  • The Anti-Zionists on trial in Milan, Italy are facing trial and charges against them because they challenged the presence of Zionist organizations and the Israeli flag at the annual anti-fascist rally commemorating the liberation of Italy.
  • Ryan of Palestine Antikolonial in Muenster, Germany, an organization dedicated to taking an anti-colonial approach to the Palestinian struggle. They have repeatedly faced attacks from student government bodies and others in order to repress their work.
  • Liliana Cordova Kazcerginski, the co-founder of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN). She was recently part of an important legal victory in Valencia, Spain over an attempt to silence the movement for the boycott of Israel.

Below is the English text of the intervention made by the Collectif Palestine Vaincra of Toulouse, France, a member organization of the Samidoun Network:

Intervention of the Palestine Vaincra Collective
Webinar “Defending Palestine, fighting repression”

Good morning to all of you,

I am speaking on behalf of the Collectif Palestine Vaincra, a member organization of the international network Samidoun in Toulouse, France. Since our founding in March 2019, we have been the target of a series of intimidations, threats and attacks by organizations defending Israeli apartheid. But all this is part of a much older political tradition of the French bourgeoisie.

Indeed, France sells an image of itself in the world as “the country of human rights”, of republican universalism, of liberty – equality – fraternity but the reality is quite different. France is a former colonial power and one of the main imperialist powers in the world.
In this context, it has always supported the Israeli occupation which is a real outpost for the imperialists in this region of the world. As early as 1947, France voted for the partition plan and legitimized the Nakba of 1948. In the 1960s, France supplied nuclear power to the Zionist state. Today, it develops important trade agreements while promoting “peace processes”, the “two-state solution” and other tools that ultimately serve to preserve the interests and existence of the Zionist state.

This position translates into a real policy of criminalizing the solidarity movement with Palestine. Obviously the most symbolic is the fate reserved for Georges Abdallah, a Lebanese communist and fighter for the Palestinian resistance, who has been imprisoned in France since 1984 although he has been eligible for release since 1999. Having become the oldest political prisoner in Europe, Georges Abdallah is kept in prison because he is a threat to the strategic interests of French imperialism in Lebanon, as a French intelligence report in the early 2000s pointed out.

Another element of this policy of criminalization is obviously the French government’s policy on the boycott of Israel and the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) campaign. Since its development in the mid-2000s, the various French governments (of both the right and the left) have constantly sought to criminalize this anti-racist and anti-colonial campaign. Various circulars (such as those issued by the Ministers of Justice Alliot-Marie or Dupont-Moretti) have encouraged the prosecution of activists who call for the boycott of Israeli products. However, no law in France currently prohibits the boycott of Israel, but the pro-Israel lobby uses a legal guerrilla warfare, manipulating the facts, in order to fight this campaign. Activists of the BDS Campaign have been prosecuted many times: in Bordeaux, Montpellier, Toulouse, in the Paris region, etc. Recently, the president of EuroPalestine, Olivia Zémor, went on trial in Lyon for having supported calls for a boycott of Teva, the Israeli pharmaceutical company. The trial will take place in mid-May.

In June 2020, the European Court of Human Rights condemned France for “hindering freedom of expression” after it convicted activists who called for a boycott of Israeli products. This shows that this policy of criminalization is far from being a consensus, even among the highest European authorities. But regardless of whether it is legal or not, we affirm that the boycott of Israel is legitimate and must be supported!

Another aspect of French policy in defense of Israeli apartheid is the strategy of equating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. This strategy is coordinated internationally by the supporters of the Zionist occupation in order to combat the growing movement to legitimize the Zionist state. For example, President Emmanuel Macron announced at a meeting of France’s leading Zionist organization that “anti-Zionism is the new anti-Semitism.” The IHRA’s definition of anti-Semitism, and especially its reactionary examples, have been adopted in the National Assembly, in the cities of Nice and Paris etc. But each time, this is done in a non-binding way and the vote in the French parliament took place with difficulty, including in the presidential majority. Better still, the city of Strasbourg rejected the adoption of this definition, recognizing that it was a dangerous attempt at instrumentalization.

It is therefore within this general framework that the activities of the Collectif Palestine Vaincra fall. Since our foundation in March 2019 after a work of 10 years on the city around Palestine and George Abdallah, we are the target of regular attacks from defenders of this racist, colonial and apartheid state. They have taken different forms: insults, threats, intimidation, filing of complaints, calls for dissolution, etc. And it is something logical, it shows that our work meets a certain echo. A work that we carry out on two levels. Firstly, a field work on the city with multiple actions and initiatives in support of the Palestinian people. But also an in-depth work of explanation and promotion of the historical positions of the Palestinian resistance: the defense of a free Palestine from the sea to the Jordan River, the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners, the right of return of all Palestinian refugees, the right to a total boycott of the Zionist state, the defense of the legitimacy of the resistance (including armed resistance) against colonialism, etc.

Since the designation of the Samidoun network as a “terrorist” organization by the Israeli war criminals, the attacks have redoubled in several countries, including France. The extreme right-wing NGO Monitor is leading a campaign with the French authorities to ask for our dissolution, obviously using a deeply false argument. Moreover, a parliamentarian of the presidential majority has made an official request to the Ministry of the Interior to dissolve us.

Faced with the multiplication and intensification of these attacks, a broad movement of solidarity has been expressed. Sections of the BDS France campaign, the AFPS (Association France Palestine Solidarité), organizations such as the French Jewish Union for Peace, Europalestine etc., but also the National Collective for a just and lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis which brings together the main left-wing organizations ( PCF, PG, EELV, NPA ), unions ( UNEF, CGT, Solidaires, FSU ), associations (Attac, ATMF, FTCR, Mouvement de la Paix ). And this is something extremely important. Because behind these attacks against the collective, it is the whole movement of solidarity with Palestine that is attacked. It is therefore more necessary than ever, regardless of tactical or strategic disagreements, to reject and fight these attacks which concern all anti-colonialist and anti-racist activists.

All the more so as they are part of a deeply reactionary dynamic in France around the intensification of racist policies, in particular Islamophobic ones, dissolutions or threats of dissolutions against anti-racist organizations, Muslim associations or student unions.

And the best response is to continue our solidarity with the Palestinian resistance and to build the necessary links between the different organizations, in France and in the world. This webinar is an important response. We must continue this work in this direction.

Action call from Occupied Palestine: Palestinian Prisoners’ Week – 17-23 April 2021

Call to Action  |   Take Action: Suggested Action Items  |   Endorse the Week or Submit Your Action

The Call for Liberation and Steadfastness

17-23 April 2021

A week of action to support the steadfastness of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement and to liberate the detainees from Israeli occupation prisons

We, in the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network in Occupied Palestine, today call upon all the democratic and progressive forces of the world and all friends of the Palestinian people, liberation movements, solidarity organizations and movements, to join us in this call for rights and justice. We call upon you today with a free Palestinian cry to the global conscience to stand firmly and clearly with the Palestinian people’s struggle and their legitimate and continuous resistance until victory and liberation. 

This is the call of the prisoners of freedom in the prisons of Zionist colonialism, the first line of the Palestinian resistance in occupied Palestine. The prisoners and detainees are a revolutionary corps engaged in the struggle on the front lines, every day, every hour, minute, and second, confronting with their bodies and their voices the Israeli brutality and Zionist crimes that are fully supported by the United States and its imperialist allies. 

Nevertheless, the Palestinian prisoners continue to struggle with exceptional determination and steadfastness, despite the siege, isolation and military force of colonialism. This is a call to support the steadfastness and leadership of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, stand with the Palestinian struggle within the prisons of the occupation, and urge the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners. We urge all to organize the widest international popular movement to stand with the Palestinian people, the Palestinian prisoners and their valiant resistance on Palestinian Prisoners’ Week, which takes place between 17 and 23 April each year. 

We, with our comrades in Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network inside and outside occupied Palestine, carry the message of the prisoners’ movement inside the Israeli occupation prisons, and call upon you to participate and join with us in organizing a week of popular and solidarity activities, campaigns, actions and movements in support of the Palestinian prisoners and their just struggle for freedom and liberation. We call upon you to expose the daily Zionist crimes to which they are constantly subjected, including the policies of repression, isolation, collective punishment and deprivation practiced by the prison administration against them. 

These systematic policies include the denial of family visits, denial of visits and communication with lawyers, isolation and solitary confinement, collective punishment, torture, administrative detention without charge or trial, violent raids of prisoners’ rooms, confiscation of books, and the continued detention of children and ill patients, a situation that has been intensified in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the threat it poses to the lives of all Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons. 

At the same time, the Palestinian people in occupied Jerusalem are continuing their popular struggle and steadfastness, confronting the bulldozers of the occupation and the policy of comprehensive ethnic cleansing, uprooting and systematic dispossession of the Palestinian people. This is an official, declared Zionist policy taking place before the eyes of the world since 1947 that has not ceased for one day. Entire Arab residential neigbourhoods are being targeted for displacement, as is the case in Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan, Suhafat, Issawiya, and the neighborhoods and areas of the Palestinian people throughout occupied Jerusalem. At the same time, the occupation forces continue their policy of repression, persecution and arbitrary arrests throughout occupied Jerusalem. Hardly a day passes without violent nighttime arrests and raids that target women, men, students, workers and even children. 

It is clear that the policy of arrests practiced by the Zionist colonial authority targets the Palestinian people throughout occupied Palestine, in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and occupied Palestine ’48, and in the besieged Gaza Strip, where aggression, siege and arrests target even fishermen and farmers in Gaza. This reality confirms that the Zionist occupation has encroached upon our entire Palestinian land, from the river to the sea, and targets our entire Palestinian people, every man, woman, youth, elder and child throughout our occupied homeland. And that is why our Palestinian people, inside occupied Palestine and in exile and diaspora, stand firmly with the struggling prisoners’ movement that fights and sacrifices for their rights, because it is a true national leadership that reflects the essence and goal of the Palestinian struggle and the meanings and values of resistance, liberation, equality, self-sacrifice and dedication. 

Confronting the silence and inaction of the so-called “international community,” which is well-aware of these facts and the documented details of the crimes committed against our Palestinian people and their liberation movement, and in light of the unprecedented levels of oppression and Israeli occupation crimes, and the collusion of institutions and reactionary states in the region and beyond in seeking normalization and alliance with Israel, we make this global appeal to our friends and comrades, the democratic forces and free people of the world everywhere, to be part of this freedom struggle waged by the Palestinian people and to stand with the spearhead of Palestinian resistance, the struggling prisoners’ movement, confronting imperialism, racism and reactionary forces and their proxies in occupied Palestine and throughout the region. 

We carry to you today the message of the prisoners struggling inside the prisons of the Zionist occupation. We extend our salutes to all of the activists, strugglers and freedom fighters detained in the prisons of the world. We stand with their just and legitimate struggles to achieve their goals and salute their sacrifices. We remind ourselves and the world of the suffering of our fellow political prisoners in the prisons of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Greece, the Philippines, Colombia, the United States and elsewhere, and we call for support for their resistance and liberation This week of solidarity with our Palestinian prisoners is also a week of solidarity with every prisoner fighting for liberation, social justice and victory over the systems of oppression, exploitation and persecution wherever they are. 

On this day, we send our deepest greetings of steadfastness and honour to comrade Georges Ibrahim Abdallah in French prisons. He is an exceptional revolutionary figure, one of the symbols of our resistance and a leader of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement. We also demand the liberation of all political detainees in US prisons, including the veteran leaders of the Black Panther movement, and we affirm the depth of the relationship of joint struggle between our Palestinian people and the Black Liberation Movement in the United States. The distance between us does not undermine the realities of our joint struggle, shared goals and common enemy.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Week between 17-23 April 2021 must be a global occasion for joint struggle confronting colonialism, racism, Zionism, exploitation and imperialism, for a better world, a humane society and an alternative directed by the values of solidarity, collective good and popular liberation. 

Long live the Palestinian people’s struggle for liberation and return! 

Long live the struggle of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement! 

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! 

Take Action: Suggested Action Items

Please join us in taking action of the Week of Struggle! Your local actions are incredibly important in building the movement that is so necessary for the cause. With the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have been forced to organize indoors and online. We encourage activists and organizers to consider public, outdoor actions that you can take that are safe, creative and mobilizing, as well as letter-writing campaigns to support the prisoners. Here are a few action items. Please share yours with us at samidoun@samidoun.net.

1. Demonstrations, rallies and street actions – including actions to boycott Israel!

Have a protest or action to free Palestinian prisoners, support the Palestinian struggle for liberation, stand with the Palestinian resistance and boycott Israel and its complicit corporations. There are many different kinds of actions that you can take that are safe while still getting out on the streets – check out the Stand Palestine organized by Collectif Palestine Vaincra in Toulouse, France; or the outdoor informational gatherings in Aachen and Dusseldorf, Germany, organized by Samidoun Deutschland for Land Day and the Free Palestinian Students campaign. With Ramadan approaching, it’s important to highlight the campaign to boycott Israeli dates in particular! Include he Palestinian prisoners in your campaign against the agriculture of apartheid.

You can also check out the civil disobedience actions organized against Elbit, the arms manufacturer, by Palestine Action in the UK for direct actions targeting the apartheid war machine.

2. Letter Writing Actions

Support the steadfastness of Palestinian prisoners by writing letters to them. You can send them directly to Israeli prisons — making clear not only to the prisoners but also to the prison administration that the world is watching and Palestinian prisoners are not isolated. Click here to download one list of addresses for Palestinian prisoners – part of the #FreePalestinianStudents campaign.

In addition, Samidoun Palestine is in touch directly with the families of Palestinian prisoners. Take photos of your letters and send them to us via email at samidoun@samidoun.net or via WhatsApp at +32466904397. You can even send us a voice note to broadcast on the radio stations transmitted to the prisoners. Letter writing actions can be held in person (even outdoors) or virtually/remotely over any meeting solution.

3. Creative Actions

Creative actions are a wonderful way to spread the word and highlight the struggle of the Palestinian prisoners – even when you are engaging in physical distancing and health precautions. The banner hung by Samidoun España in Madrid at the University metro station highlighted the struggle of Palestinian students, while the campaign to symbolically rename streets after Georges Abdallah internationally commemorated his birthday and amplified the demand for his liberation.

These actions only require one, two or a few people. You can even simply poster and sticker around your neighbourhood. Contact us via email at samidoun@samidoun.net or via WhatsApp at +32466904397 if you are looking for image ideas or resources! 

4. Online/Virtual Events and Webinars

We still have plenty to share with each other via online events and webinars, which can enable us to connect easily and freely across borders and barriers. Host a webinar or event — or a cultural gathering with poetry and music — highlighting the struggle of Palestinian prisoners.

Please note: Samidoun has speakers that can participate in your webinars in Arabic, English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish and other languages. Contact us via email at samidoun@samidoun.net or via WhatsApp at +32466904397 to inquire about a Samidoun speaker! 

Endorse or Submit Your Action

Please use the form below — or contact us via email at samidoun@samidoun.net or via WhatsApp at +32466904397 or over social media to send us your events and actions!

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Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
Contact us: samidoun@samidoun.net
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