It was the morning after Christmas day, the 26th of December 2019 when I met Jamil, while attending a court session for my beloved husband Ubai Aboudi. He was standing in a cold hall, surrounded by mean-looking occupation guards and soldiers. The air was suffocating with the hatred of the wardens in charge and the merciless loud voices of the soldiers and guards grumbling in Hebrew and shouting in anger.
Jamil Dirawi has been called “the hunchback” for years, since his first injuries under torture during interrogation. He entered the hall with his arched back, but for those who knew him before his imprisonment, he was barely recognizable.
His jaw was broken, displacing his mouth to the left side of his face; he had missing teeth. His eyes were constantly blinking, later shown to be an effect of exposure to electric shocks. In addition, his hands were shaking involuntarily, swinging from side to side uncontrollably. Burn marks from cigarette butts were all over his hands, and were later discovered all over his body. His eyesight was clearly impaired, judging from his squinting – and those were only the physical disfigurements seen by all.
I was in shock at the sight and was unable to fathom the whole scene. Head spinning, I wondered what had happened to him. Was his condition due to beatings by another human being – or maybe a monster? Was it due to the cold and damp facility? Or did Jamil have a neurological dysfunction?
It was only when I learned that Jamil had spent 40 days in interrogation at the Moskobiyeh detention center center, where his ruthless interrogators applied all torture methods known to humanity, that my questions were answered.
I further learned that Jamil was handcuffed for long periods of time, dislocating his wrists. His knees were also snapped out of place due to beatings and being tied in stress positions for hours on end, according to Jamil’s wife, Rawan.
Jamil has been arrested and tortured more than once. The hunch in his back and the dislocated disc in his lower back were injuries suffered under torture during his first arrest, followed by his imprisonment that lasted for 14 years. Jamil’s name means “beautiful” in Arabic. However, the Israelis had ensured that at least his body is no longer Jamil.
Rawan had to hide her pain as she looked at her beloved husband on one of her rare visits to attend a hearing session at the Israeli military court. It was the second time she saw her husband after his most recent disfigurement.
She could only reassure him that their twin girls, Sham and Dalia, are fine and speak of him constantly. Rawan and Jamil also have a third daughter, Shams, who was born on the day Jamil was released from his second arrest. She was given this name, which means “sun,” to represent her father’s freedom. However, Jamil spent only two months with Shams before he was arrested again for the third time.
His family’s suffering continues. Jamil has been denied his prescription eyeglasses, and he has 40% disability due to the electric shocks he was exposed to during torture.
Rawan tried hard to bring a smile to her husband’s face in order to soothe his pain, She exited the court room disheartened and broke down, crying uncontrollably, but pulled herself together quickly for the sake of her children.
There are over 5,500 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails, and Jamil’s story is only one.
Jamil’s nickname is, of course, a reference to Victor Hugo’s hunchback of Notre Dame of Paris, but he is the hunchback in the Moskobiyeh interrogation center in Jerusalem, a city under occupation.
Similar to the hunchback of Paris, he too rings the bells – the bells of freedom, along with his fellow freedom fighters. They are calling on the international community to put a stop to Israel’s brutality, end its occupation, and hold it accountable for its crimes against the Palestinian people.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network recognizes the urgent need to build the strongest possible front to confront Israeli torture internationally through popular struggle, including escalating the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign. We must not allow the Israeli occupation to isolate Palestinian prisoners in solitary confinement or through our silence. Torture has been part and parcel of the Israeli colonial weapons of control for over 70 years, and the impunity of the Israeli state – backed up by U.S., European, Canadian and other imperialist powers’ support – may not be allowed to continue. We urge all to take action.
If you or your organization would like to join the growing campaign against torture, please contact us at samidoun@samidoun.net.
Hind Shraydeh protests for Ubai’s release with their three children, Khaled, Ghassan and Basel.
On the evening of 10 January, a packed hall at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, hosted the third international conference of Scientists for Palestine, a global initiative working to support Palestinian scientists, particularly those inside occupied Palestine. Drawing scientists from around the world, including nine scientists from Palestine – although those in Gaza were barred from leaving the besieged Strip – the conference highlighted the current situation of Palestinian scientists as well as the role of scientists internationally in providing meaningful academic support and solidarity.
The scientists from Gaza were not the only ones forcibly absent from the proceedings, however. Ubai Aboudi, Executive Director of the Bisan Center for Research and Development, one of the convening organizations of the conference, was held in Israeli jails and denied the ability to be part of the conference he worked to organize. He had planned to present his research on the Israeli occupation’s suppression and inhibition of Palestinian scientific development.
Ubai Aboudi, born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana, is a close partner of Scientists for Palestine and a Palestinian American U.S. citizen living in Palestine. In the early morning hours of 13 November 2019, a dozen armed Israeli occupation soldiers invaded his family home in Kufr Aqab, taking him away from his wife and three small children, Khaled (5), Ghassan and Basel (3-year-old twins).
Ubai was ordered to administrative detention without charge or trial and has since been brought before an Israeli military court, which convicts 99.74% of Palestinians on the basis of Israeli military orders. While the Israeli apartheid regime may have wished to isolate him, Ubai’s presence and voice was heard loud and clear at the Scientists for Palestine international conference.
Hind Shraydeh, Ubai’s wife and a human rights defender in her own right, addressed the conference via video. She welcomed the attendees on behalf of her husband and highlighted the situation of Palestinian prisoners, including ongoing severe torture and violations of international law. She discussed how she was forbidden from bringing books to her husband and how the prisoners were denied family visits in retaliation for advocating for their fellow Palestinians denied medical treatment.
“Ubai firmly believes in standing up for justice and solidarity even if it is to his own detriment. Despite everything, Ubai remains in good spirits and optimistic about the future of science in a free Palestine,” she concluded.
Watch the video here:
Many prominent scientists, including Nobel Prize winner George Smith and Noam Chomsky, have signed a statement urging Ubai Aboudi’s release and demanding the U.S. State Department take action to protect this imprisoned Palestinian U.S. citizen. At the Scientists for Palestine organizing meeting on Sunday, participants emphasized the need to continue public advocacy for his freedom.
In the last months of 2019 and early 2020, a growing number of cases of severe physical torture against Palestinian detainees carried out by Israeli Shin Bet interrogators have been documented. While torture and abuse of various kinds have been a mainstay of the Israeli interrogation process, after a 1999 Israeli Supreme Court ruling and amid widespread international attention, torture under interrogation for some years focused on physical and psychological techniques that were less likely to leave physical scars. However, these tactics, including sleep deprivation, extreme heat and cold, solitary confinement and the use of prolonged shackling in painful positions, are often effective in extracting coerced confessions.
Torture: A mainstay of Israeli apartheid and colonialism
Indeed, many of the same techniques were documented as being used by U.S. interrogators holding detainees in Guantanamo, and U.S. and Israeli security agencies have shared information about interrogation and torture techniques. It must be noted that the Israeli Supreme Court never criminalized torture; it continually allowed “exceptions” through the designation of a detainee as a “ticking time bomb.” In practice, Palestinian victims of torture have repeatedly pursued legal accountability for the crimes committed against them, only to find that the Israeli Supreme Court considered their torture to be a permitted form of “extreme interrogation,” justified for the “security of the state” of occupation, colonialism, apartheid and racism.
Torture is unquestionably illegal under international law. The UN Convention Against Torture defines torture as any practice intentionally inflicting severe physical or mental pain on a victim in order to obtain information or a confession, or in order to punish the victim for their conduct or suspected conduct. Torture is also prohibited under the laws of war and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The torture of Samer Arbeed
The case of Samer Arbeed helped to highlight the escalating return of severe physical torture as an official policy of the Israeli Shin Bet. Only days after his arrest, Arbeed was taken to Hadassah hospital unconscious with eleven broken ribs, lung injuries and kidney failure. While in the hospital, an Israeli guard released tear gas into his room, after which Arbeed developed pneumonia. Despite the clear evidence of severe torture and the medical records of his abuse, the Israeli Supreme Court denied Arbeed access to his lawyer for an extended period, while the Palestinian lawyers in the case were repeatedly subjected to gag orders.
Samer Arbeed is not alone. While Israeli Shin Bet spokespeople were smearing Palestinian prisoners in media attacks, these same prisoners have been subjected to severe physical and psychological torture under interrogation. In a December press conference, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association highlighted some of the torture techniques used by Israeli interrogators, including harsh beatings, stress positions like the “frog” or “banana,” sleep deprivation and ongoing threats against family members.
Palestinian lawyers highlight torture and abuse
As Addameer noted, “On 10 September 2019, a gag order was issued on a number of cases under interrogation at al-Mascobiyya interrogation center. Hence, preventing the public, including Addameer the legal representative, from publishing any information regarding these cases. The gag order was issued based on a request from the Israeli intelligence agency and Israeli police and was renewed multiple times. Despite the gag order, Israeli media outlets and the Israeli intelligence agency published information to the public about some of those cases. This inconsistent enforcement of the gag order, where the Israeli sources exercised the freedom to publish, can only be understood as a means to influence public opinion. Most importantly, the issuance of this gag order is an attempt to hide crimes committed against the detainees and prevent the public and the legal representatives from exposing the details of the crimes of torture and ill-treatment that were committed against the detainees in question throughout the past months.”
Walid Hanatsheh: Torture under interrogation
Photo: Walid Hanatsheh after his interrogation.
On 17 January 2020, photos of Walid Hanatsheh, one of the Palestinians detained, were released to the media, with his body showing clear signs of torture under interrogation. Bayan Hanatsheh, Walid’s wife, said in an interview published at Hadf News that the family obtained photos that displayed the bruises on his hands, neck, feet and throughout his body. She noted that he was brought to the military court in a wheelchair after his interrogation and that Walid said in court that he was unable to walk due to severe torture. His lawyer from Addameer demanded that the judge reveal the circumstances in which Hanatsheh was interrogated.
Photo: Walid Hanatsheh after his interrogation.
“After the occupation court lifted the ban on our attendance at the trial, we entered the courtroom for two minutes and saw a man who seemed old and we did not recognize him at first, but he called me by my name,” Bayan said. “I was horrified to see him, his eyes were watering, his beard was patchy and plucked…his only concern was to reassure us because he had been forbidden to communicate with us throughout his interrogation.”
Photo: Walid Hanatsheh after his interrogation.Photo: Walid Hanatsheh after his interrogation.
Bayan also noted that their daughter, Mays, 21, was detained by Israeli occupation forces for three days as a means of extracting a coerced confession from her husband. They told him that his daughter was imprisoned and under threat and also showed him a live feed of Israeli occupation forces storming their family home in Ramallah and taking measurements for its demolition.
Walid Hanatsheh with his daughter Mays, before his arrest.
In Hanatsheh’s case, he was interrogated continuously for 23 hours at a time, with the replacement of interrogators approximately every eight hours. He was shackled in various stress positions and beaten while held there until he fell to the ground. Individual hairs were plucked from his beard and he was hit in the face by multiple interrogators, his lawyers said.
Walid Hanatsheh in his office, before his arrest
“Earth-shattering” crimes demand action
Sahar Francis, the executive director of Addameer, noted of the photos in Hanatsheh’s case that “These pictures are important in proving and documenting torture. Unfortunately, we do not succeed in receiving photos for all of the cases. In other cases, we have medical reports without pictures but a description of the prisoner’s situation, as in the case of Samer Arbeed.”
Former prisoner and long-term hunger striker Khader Adnanspoke out in response to the photos, calling them “earth-shattering.” He urged immediate Palestinian national attention to respond to the escalating crimes of torture, likening the experience of Palestinian prisoners to the infamous images of Abu Ghraib prison under U.S. occupation in Iraq.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine issued a statement in response to the repeated cases of severe torture, noting that “The Front has experienced and confronted the policy of torture for over 50 years and developed a revolutionary school that graduated generations of revolutionaries, who carried and still carry forward the banner in the dungeons and interrogation cells, who cannot be shaken by crimes or policies of torture.
The Front emphasized that the international community and concerned institutions have neglected the crimes taking place in the dungeons of the prisons of the Zionist occupier against the prisoners, indicating once again the complicity of imperialism in these crimes.”
The exposure of the use of torture is not limited to Hanatsheh and Arbeed; severe physical torture was also reportedly used in the cases of Qassam Barghouthi and Karmel Barghouthi, whose mother Widad was also detained as a method of pressure on her sons, and in the cases of Yazan Maghamis and Nizam Mohammed.
Palestinian youth activists face torture
Several other prisoners also experienced extensive physical torture, including beatings and the use of stress positions, including Palestinian youth activist and new graduate Mays Abu Ghosh, whose parents spoke about seeing her after the effects of her torture and interrogation. Rather than being brought for a family visit, Abu Ghosh’s parents were actually brought in a further attempt to extract a false, coerced confession from her.
Palestinian youth activist Tareq Matar has been repeatedly jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention; after his most recent arrest and interrogation in November 2019, Matar is now being brought into court in a wheelchair, despite his previous status of physical health and athleticism after being beaten in stress positions under interrogation.
Jamil Darawi, 37, previously spent 14 years in Israeli prison. He was once again detained in November 2019 when Israeli soldiers stormed their family home near Bethlehem, breaking down the door and confining his wife, Rawan, to a room with their three daughters. Like his fellow Palestinian prisoners, Darawi was severely beaten and tortured under interrogation. Rawan said that when she saw him in court, she thought that he was not present until he called out to her: “I am here, Rawan, I am Jamil!” His jaw had been broken after an Israeli interrogator punched him and stamped on his face after he fell to the ground. He was returned to interrogation after being given painkillers and his face was still disfigured when he was finally brought before the military courts.
Demanding justice
Addameer has announced its intention to raise these cases before international bodies to call for justice for Palestinian torture victims and accountability for the Israeli state, the perpetrator of these crimes. In Gaza, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine called for a protest on Monday outside the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) office to demand international action on institutionalized Israeli torture.
The systematic use of torture in Israeli interrogation not only intends to extract false and coerced confessions from Palestinians under interrogation; it also aims to undermine and prevent their steadfastness, the unwillingness to confess. Palestinian sumoud (steadfastness) under interrogation and the refusal to provide information has been the subject of numerous studies and tributes. The book, “Philosophy of Confrontation Behind Bars,” detailed how prisoners strengthen themselves in order to resist all forms of torture. During over 70 years of Israeli occupation, over 70 Palestinian prisoners have been killed under torture.
In recent decades, however, a vast majority of Palestinian prisoners’ cases have involved plea bargains; Israeli occupation forces will drag out military court sessions, interrogations and denied family visits in order to extract some form of limited confession for a plea agreement. Prisoners who refuse to provide the demanded confession are often transferred to administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial that is indefinitely renewable. Palestinians have spent years at a time jailed under administrative detention.
Attacks on Palestinian prisoners tied to attacks on global movement
The so-called “Erdan Commission,” named for Israeli Minister of Public Security (over the Israel Prison Service) Gilad Erdan – who also serves as the Minister of Strategic Affairs, responsible for attacking Palestine solidarity and boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaigns around the world – has announced an effort to roll back the gains won by Palestinian prisoners through years of struggle. Thus, women prisoners are denied access to a library or to goods for embroidery and crafts; child prisoners are transferred without their representatives; access to food and water is being cut; conditions of living are barely tolerable.
The reassertion of overt reliance on severe physical torture comes hand in hand with this overall policy of outright Israeli war against Palestinian prisoners. It also comes hand in hand with the escalating attacks internationally against Palestinian human rights organizations and global campaigners for Palestinian rights, smeared by Erdan’s ministry with allegations based on tortured, coerced confessions or direct Israeli military propaganda.
Erdan has attempted to get Palestinian human rights organizations that focus on Palestinian prisoners defunded. His ministry has also attempted – and failed – to have Samidoun activists and Palestinian leftists like Khaled Barakat blocked from speaking in the European Parliament about Israeli repression.
Need for action
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network recognizes the urgent need to build the strongest possible front to confront Israeli torture internationally through popular struggle, including escalating the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign. We must not allow the Israeli occupation to isolate Palestinian prisoners in solitary confinement or through our silence. Torture has been part and parcel of the Israeli colonial weapons of control for over 70 years, and the impunity of the Israeli state – backed up by U.S., European, Canadian and other imperialist powers’ support – may not be allowed to continue. We urge all to take action.
If you or your organization would like to join the growing campaign against torture, please contact us at samidoun@samidoun.net.
As the Weeks of Action to Free Ahmad Sa’adat continue, organizers in a growing number of cities are highlighting the cases of Palestinian prisoners, particularly imprisoned Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Secretary Ahmad Sa’adat and Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, Arab communist struggler for Palestine imprisoned in France for over 35 years. The actions come as part of a call to action by the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and other organizations.
On Saturday, 18 January, activists of the Red Help Zurich in Switzerland participated in the No World Economic Forum (No WEF) Demo 2020, marching against the global domination of capitalism and imperialism. Over 2,000 people joined in the march through Bern city center, which highlighted indigenous struggles in Latin America and the complicity of large banks, including Credit Suisse and UBS, in global crimes and the propagation of war. Marchers also highlighted gentrification, rising rents and real estate speculation inside the city as part of the global struggle against capitalism.
Photo: Red Help Zurich
They ensured that Palestinian prisoners and the struggle in Palestine were represented at the march, carrying posters demanding freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat, Georges Abdallah and all Palestinian prisoners. The protests will continue as the WEF approaches, with ongoing protests in Lucerne, Winterthur, Landquart and a mass march on Wednesday in Zurich.
Anti-Imperialist Action Ireland comrades in Arklow County Wicklow, Ireland, held a commemoration at the site of the first battle of the United Irishmen in Arklow during the 1798 uprising, expressing their solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian strugglers today. “From Ireland to Palestine, one struggle against Imperialism!” they concluded.
In Toulouse, Collectif Palestine Vaincra, a member of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, continued its activities for the Weeks of Action one day after a successful Palestine stand in the city center. They put up posters and signs calling for freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat and Georges Ibrahim Abdallah in the Bagatelle district, highlighting the call for the boycott of Israel.
Further activities are being organized for the Week of Action, including events in Gothenburg, Brussels, Paris, Vancouver, Ann Arbor and more. To add your own event, use this form or email samidoun@samidoun.net. Let us know – whether you’re including this campaign in a larger action or organizing your own action, we want to make sure to spread the word!
Actions for the 15-22 January Call to Free Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian Prisoners
Please let us know about your events! Use this form or email samidoun@samidoun.net. Let us know – whether you’re including this campaign in a larger action or organizing your own action, we want to make sure to spread the word!
Ann Arbor, Michigan – Saturday and Sunday, 25 and 26 January. Youth for Palestine ConferenceThis conference is organized by Midwest SJP and the Palestinian Youth Movement. Samidoun members will be attending and presenting here and we encourage all to join. University of Michigan -Ann Arbor More info: https://www.youth4palestine.com/
We urge all supporters of Palestine and defenders of freedom for the Palestinian people to join us between 15 and 29 January 2020 in weeks of action to free Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Participants in the Women’s March in New York City highlighted the case of imprisoned Palestinian leftist, feminist and parliamentarian Khalida Jarrar on Saturday, 18 January. Members of Samidoun New York and the International Action Center carried signs and distributed materials highlighting the struggles of Palestinian women prisoners in Israeli jails.
Photo: Fatima, Samidoun New York/SanctionsKill
Marchers braved the bitter cold and impending snow to join the march along with a contingent of groups supporting internationalist and anti-imperialist struggles. The Campaign against Sanctions and Economic War (Sanctions Kill) carried signs and banners raising the impact of U.S. wars on people around the world, especially women – including Palestinian women, women in the Philippines and women affected by U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, Syria and elsewhere..
Photo: Fatima, Samidoun New York/SanctionsKill
Jarrar has been imprisoned since 31 October, when over 70 armed Israeli occupation soldiers invaded her home, the internationally known political leader and advocate for Palestinian rights is being charged with “holding a position in a prohibited organization,” the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Like all major Palestinian political parties, the leftist PFLP is labeled a “prohibited organization” by the Israeli occupation.
Photo: Fatima, Samidoun New York/SanctionsKill
Jarrar’s case was highlighted in a report issued by Human Rights Watch, Born Without Civil Rights: Israel’s Use of Draconian Military Orders to Repress Palestinians in the West Bank. The report, which also covers the case of artist Hafez Omar and human rights worker Najwan Odeh, reviews the long and ongoing history of Jarrar’s persecution by the Israeli occupation state.
Jarrar’s most recent arrest comes only eight months after her release from 20 months in Israeli imprisonment without charge or trial under administrative detention after being seized by occupation forces in 2017. While imprisoned, she played a leading role in supporting the education of fellow Palestinians jailed with her, especially minor girls preparing for their high school examinations and frequently denied a teacher. She organized classes for her fellow women prisoners on the principles of international human rights law. Over 275 organizations signed onto an international call for her release.
Photo: Fatima, Samidoun New York/SanctionsKill
In 2014, she resisted – and defeated – an Israeli attempt to forcibly displace her from her family home in el-Bireh to Jericho. Only nine months later, in April 2015, she was seized by Israeli occupation forces and ordered to administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial. After a global outcry, she was brought before Israeli military courts and faced 12 charges based on her political activity, from giving speeches to attending events in support of Palestinian prisoners. She served 15 months in Israeli prison – and was then free for only 13 months before her 2017 arrest.
Photo: Fatima, Samidoun New York/SanctionsKill
Jarrar is a longtime advocate for the freedom of Palestinian prisoners and has served as the former Vice-Chair and Executive Director of Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association. A member of the Palestinian Legislative Council elected as part of the leftist Abu Ali Mustafa Bloc, associated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, she chaired the PLC’s Prisoners Committee.
The contingent at the Women’s March also came as part of the International Weeks of Action to Free Ahmad Sa’adat and all political prisoners, with ongoing events being organized in France, Ireland, Canada, Palestine and elsewhere to demand freedom for over 5,000 imprisoned Palestinians.
Join AFPS 44 for a screening of the film “Mafak” with a discussion with Salah Hamouri, French-Palestinian lawyer and former political prisoner held in Israeli jails.
Projection du film “Mafak” et rencontre avec Salah Hamouri avocat et ancien prisonnier politique palestinien.
8On January 25 the people of the world will stand up to oppose yet another catastrophic war in the Middle East! Now is the time to take action. Join us!
Initiators for this call include the ANSWER Coalition, CODEPINK, Popular Resistance, Black Alliance for Peace, National Iranian-American Council (NIAC), Veterans For Peace, US Labor Against the War (USLAW), Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), United National Anti-War Committee, Pastors for Peace/Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization, International Action Center, United For Peace and Justice, Alliance For Global Justice (AFGJ), December 12th Movement, World Beyond War, Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, About Face: Veterans Against The War, Dominican Sisters/ICAN, Nonviolence International, Food Not Bombs and many other anti-war and peace organizations. To add your name as an endorser click here.
Join a protest organized in your city:
Washington D.C. 12 Noon at The White House RSVP here!
Los Angeles, CA 1:00pm at Los Angeles City Hall RSVP here!
New York City, NY
12 Noon at Columbus Circle RSVP here!
San Francisco, CA 12 Noon at Powell + Market Street RSVP here!
Boston, MA
1:00pm at Massachusetts State House RSVP here!
Tampa, FL
1:00pm at Lykes Gaslight Square Park RSVP here!
Join the rally at German Bundestag on Friday, 31.01.2020 at 4pm – Call from BDS Berlin
To the German Bundestag:
Stop criminalizing the BDS movement!
More than half a year after German Bundestag declared its intention against the international BDS movement, we again call on the members of the German Bundestag to protect the freedom of speech and assembly in accordance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, also with regard to BDS actions, and to repeal the anti-BDS resolution of May 2019.
BDS Berlin commented on the anti-BDS decision of the German Bundestag as follows:
May 17th, 2019 was a dark day for freedom of expression in Germany and a stain in the history of the Bundestag. All political parties of the house of representatives have submitted motions which attempt to legitimize the crimes practiced by the State of Israel, including the Crime of Apartheid -a crime against humanity. It is even more preposterous to use the struggle against antisemitism to justify that.
The Palestinian-led BDS campaign, which these motions were directed against, is rooted in international law and universal principles of human rights. It demands freedom for the Palestinians living under military occupation, equality forPalestinians under Israeli apartheid, and justice for the Palestinian refugees who have been in forced exile for the past seven decades.
These demands for equality, freedom and justice are the basis of any free society. It is therefore troubling that the entirety of the German Bundestag chose to distance itself from such values and cast them as illegitimate.
Standing for equality, freedom and justice the BDS campaign is strictly opposed to all forms of racism, including that of antisemitism. Claiming thatonly one group of people deserves to be free and equal while another one, in this case Palestinians, are doomed to be oppressed and subjugated is the very essence of racism or group focused enmity.
It is not too late for German parties and institutions to respect the tenants of European and International law, protect freedom of expression -what they tirelessly pretend to do so.
BDS Berlin, May 27, 2019
After the first big rally on June 28, 2019, we are again in front of the Bundestag not only to remind the elected MPs that they too are obliged to international law and universal human rights, but also that Palestinians have the same rights like everyone else.
Please join the rally on Friday, January 31, 2020 at 4:00 pm!
BDS Berlin ruft auf zur Kundgebung vor dem Deutschen Bundestag am Freitag, den 31.01.2020 um 16:00 Uhr
An den Deutschen Bundestag:
Schluss mit der Kriminalisierung der BDS-Bewegung!
Mehr als ein halbes Jahr nach der Willensbekundung des Deutschen Bundestags gegen die internationale BDS-Bewegung fordern wir die Abgeordneten des Deutschen Bundestages erneut auf, die Meinungs- und Versammlungsfreiheit in Übereinstimmung mit der Charta der Grundrechte der Europäischen Union auch im Hinblick auf BDS-Aktionen zu schützen und den Anti-BDS-Beschluss vom Mai 2019 aufzuheben.
BDS Berlin äußerte sich zum Anti-BDS-Beschluss des deutschen Bundestages folgendermaßen:
“Der 17. Mai 2019 war ein dunkler Tag für die Meinungsfreiheit in Deutschland und bedeutet für den deutschen Bundestag ein historisches Tief. Alle politischen Parteien des Parlaments haben Absichtserklärungen eingebracht, mit denen der Versuch unternommen wird, die vom Staat Israel begangenen Verbrechen zu legitimieren, darunter auch das der Apartheid – ein Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit. Ganz besonders unsäglich ist der Umstand, dass dabei zur Rechtfertigung der „Kampf gegen Antisemitismus“ bemüht wird.
Die palästinensisch geführte BDS-Kampagne, gegen die sich die Erklärungen richten, hat das Internationale Recht und die universellen Prinzipien der Menschenrechte zur Grundlage. Sie fordert Freiheit für die Palästinenser*innen, die unter militärischer Besatzung leben, Gleichheit für die Palästinenser*innen unter dem israelischen Apartheidregime und Gerechtigkeit für die palästinensischen Flüchtlinge, die seit siebzig Jahren im erzwungenen Exil leben.
Diese Forderungen nach Gleichheit, Freiheit und Gerechtigkeit sind die Grundlage jedes gesellschaftlichen Zusammenlebens. Insofern ist es bestürzend zu erleben, dass der gesamte Deutsche Bundestag sich von diesen Werten distanziert und sie für illegitim erklärt hat.
Als Kampagne, die für Gleichheit, Freiheit und Gerechtigkeit einsteht, richtet sich BDS unbedingt gegen alle Formen des Rassismus einschließlich des Antisemitismus. Die Vorstellung, dass es nur eine Gruppe von Menschen verdient, als freie und gleiche zu leben, während eine andere, in diesem Fall die Palästinenser*innen, dazu verurteilt sind, ihre Leben im Zustand der Unterdrückung und Rechtlosigkeit zu fristen – das ist der Inbegriff von Rassismus oder gruppenbezogener Menschenfeindlichkeit.
Es ist für die deutschen Parteien und Institutionen nicht zu spät, was sie nicht müde werden als ihr Anliegen zu proklamieren, auch tatsächlich zu tun: die Grundsätze des Internationalen Rechts anerkennen und die Meinungsfreiheit schützen.
BDS Berlin, 27. Mai 2019
Nach der ersten großen Kundgebung am 28. Juni 2019 stehen wir heute wieder vor dem Bundestag, um die gewählten Abgeordneten nicht nur daran zu erinnern, dass auch sie internationalem Recht und den universellen Menschenrechte verpflichtet sind, sondern auch daran, dass Palästinenser*innen die gleichen Rechte zustehen wie allen anderen Menschen auch.
Kommt zahlreich zur Kundgebung am Freitag, den 31. Januar 2020 um 16:00 Uhr vor dem Deutschen Bundestag!
Stand Palestine in solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners, 18 January 2020. Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
On Saturday, 18 January, activists and supporters of the Collectif Palestine Vaincra, an affiliate of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, gathered for a Palestine stand for over two hours near the entrance to Metro Capitole in Toulouse, France. The stand came as part of the international weeks of action to Free Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian prisoners, taking place from 15 to 29 January 2020 and marking the anniversary of the imprisonment of the general secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in 2002 – first by the Palestinian Authority under U.S. and British guard, and now by the Israeli occupation.
Stand Palestine in solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners, 18 January 2020. Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
Collectif Palestine Vaincra has been hosting these outdoor stalls on a monthly basis and finding a warm reception among passersby in the city center. Participants distributed over 600 flyers and sold t-shirts, tote bags and calendars supporting Palestinian liberation.
Stand Palestine in solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners, 18 January 2020. Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
Stand Palestine in solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners, 18 January 2020. Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
Participants in the stand launched dozens of discussions about the situation of Ahmad Sa’adat and took photos of solidarity with the imprisoned Palestinian leftists. Passersby also wrote about 30 cards and letters to Sa’adat and various Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Stand Palestine in solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners, 18 January 2020. Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
The organizers also set up a display with cards highlighting the situation of Palestinian prisoners, the escalating use of torture, the imprisonment of children, administrative detention (imprisonment without charge or trial) and the targeting of Palestinian political leaders by the Israeli occupation, including the detention of Khalida Jarrar and Marwan Barghouti.
Stand Palestine in solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners, 18 January 2020. Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
Many people stopped to read the explanatory panels and learn more about a situation that is still poorly understood and often distorted in France.
Stand Palestine in solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners, 18 January 2020. Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
The stall also displayed a large banner highlighting the history of Zionist colonization of Palestine over the years, attracting much attention from passers-by.
Stand Palestine in solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners, 18 January 2020. Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
Participants also live-painted graffiti images on large sheets of plastic stretched out in the area, highlighting the slogans: “Free Ahmad Sa’adat! Free Georges Abdallah! Freedom for all Palestinian prisoners!”
Further activities are being organized for the Week of Action, including events in Gothenburg, Brussels, Paris, Vancouver, Ann Arbor and more. To add your own event, use this form or email samidoun@samidoun.net. Let us know – whether you’re including this campaign in a larger action or organizing your own action, we want to make sure to spread the word!
Stand Palestine in solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners, 18 January 2020. Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
Stand Palestine in solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners, 18 January 2020. Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
Gathering on Sunday, 26 January 2020 from 3 pm to 5 pm to demand the release of Ahmad Sa’adat, Georges Abdallah and all the Palestinian prisoners.
Rassemblement samedi dimanche 26 janvier 2020, de 15h à 17h, pour exiger la libération d’Ahmad Sa’adat, de Georges Abdallah et de tous les prisonniers palestiniens.
Appel à l’action du 15 au 29 janvier 2020 : liberté pour Ahmad Sa’adat et pour tous les prisonniers palestiniens !
Nous appelons tous les partisans de la Palestine et les défenseurs de la liberté du peuple palestinien à nous rejoindre entre le 15 et le 29 janvier 2020 dans des semaines d’actions pour la libération d’Ahmad Sa’adat et de tous les prisonniers palestiniens détenus dans les prisons israéliennes.
Ahmad Sa’adat est le secrétaire général emprisonné du Front Populaire pour la Libération de la Palestine, un leader du mouvement de libération nationale palestinien et un symbole de la gauche internationale et des mouvements révolutionnaires. Il a été condamné à 30 ans de prison israélienne le 25 décembre 2008, accusé de diriger une organisation interdite et « d’incitation ». Le FPLP, comme tous les partis politiques palestiniens et les organisations de résistance, est qualifié « d’organisation interdite » par les autorités d’occupation israéliennes.
Nous appelons à une action internationale pour la libération de Sa’adat, de ses camarades et de tous les prisonniers palestiniens, car leur emprisonnement est une affaire internationale. Dans le cas de Sa’adat et de ses camarades, cette année marque le 18e anniversaire de leur emprisonnement par l’Autorité Palestinienne (AP) dans le cadre de la « coordination sécuritaire » avec l’occupation israélienne, une pratique qui se poursuit à ce jour – au détriment des étudiants palestiniens et des organisateurs de la résistance, dont l’emprisonnement dans les prisons de l’AP marche main dans la main avec l’occupation israélienne.
Alors qu’ils étaient emprisonnés dans la prison de Jéricho de l’Autorité palestinienne, Sa’adat et ses camarades étaient détenus par des gardes américains et britanniques, ce qui montre clairement que cet emprisonnement était tout sauf un exercice de la souveraineté palestinienne. En effet, certains de ces mêmes gardes britanniques servaient auparavant à garder des prisonniers républicains irlandais dans le nord de l’Irlande occupée.
Le 13 mars 2006 – à la suite des élections au Conseil Législatif Palestinien au cours desquelles Sa’adat lui-même a été élu au CLP et les partisans de la « coordination sécuritaire » ont subi des pertes importantes, tandis que le bloc du Changement et de la Réforme s’est engagé à libérer les prisonniers politiques de l’AP – les forces d’occupation israéliennes ont violemment attaqué la prison de Jéricho. Les gardes américains et britanniques sont préalablement partis en accord avec les forces d’occupation – mais les forces d’occupation ont tué deux gardes palestiniens.
Ahmad Sa’adat est un symbole palestinien, arabe et international de la résistance au capitalisme, au racisme, à l’apartheid et à la colonisation. Ciblé pour son rôle politique et sa vision claire, il reste un leader du mouvement des prisonniers palestiniens et de la lutte de libération nationale derrière les barreaux, incapable de se taire malgré l’oppression qui lui a été imposée ainsi qu’aux 5 000 autres prisonniers politiques palestiniens. Il appelle les partisans de la justice pour la Palestine dans le monde à boycotter Israël.
Son cas met en évidence le rôle de l’impérialisme américain et britannique dans l’assujettissement du peuple palestinien et le vol de terres palestiniennes ainsi que le rôle subalterne de l’Autorité Palestinienne qui poursuit la « coordination sécuritaire » avec l’occupation israélienne qui vole des terres et des ressources palestiniennes quotidiennement. Nous notons également que les prisonniers du mouvement de libération palestinien continuent également d’être détenus dans des prisons internationales, en particulier Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, emprisonné en France depuis 35 ans alors qu’il est libérable depuis 1999, et nous nous joignons à l’appel pour leur libération.
L’attaque contre le peuple palestinien se poursuit et s’intensifie. Les Palestiniens de Gaza se battent pour briser le siège, les réfugiés palestiniens luttent pour leur droit au retour et tous les Palestiniens sont confrontés à la confiscation des terres, à la criminalisation, aux démolitions de maisons, à l’emprisonnement de masse et aux exécutions extrajudiciaires. L’impunité israélienne est annoncée par les politiciens impérialistes des États-Unis au Canada en passant par l’Allemagne, la France, l’Australie et au-delà.
Ahmad Sa’adat et les 5 000 prisonniers politiques palestiniens sont détenus en captivité dans les prisons israéliennes avec le plein soutien et la complicité de ces gouvernements. Nous savons qu’il est essentiel d’internationaliser la lutte pour leur libération : lutter pour libérer les prisonniers palestiniens, pour construire la campagne de Boycott, Désinvestissement et Sanctions d’Israël, et pour mettre fin à l’aide et au soutien en cours qui favorisent et dynamisent Israël dans ses crimes contre le peuple palestinien depuis plus de 70 ans.
Rejoignez-nous pour la semaine d’action ! Organisez un événement, une manifestation, une table d’information ou une discussion dans votre ville, campus, quartier ou communauté. Nous savons que l’État sioniste veut isoler ces prisonniers palestiniens et faire taire leurs voix – ensemble, nous pouvons aider à briser cet isolement.
Campagne pour la libération d’Ahmad Sa’adat
Samidoun – réseau de soutien aux prisonniers palestiniens
Le 25 décembre 2019 – Traduction : Collectif Palestine Vaincra
IL EST DE NOS LUTTES, NOUS SOMMES DE SON COMBAT !
LIBERTÉ POUR GEORGES ABDALLAH !
Georges Abdallah, militant communiste libanais, combattant pour la lutte de libération nationale de la Palestine, est incarcéré dans les geôles de l’État français depuis plus de 35 ans. Condamné à perpétuité pour complicité dans des actes de résistance revendiqués par les Fractions armées révolutionnaires libanaises, alors que son pays le Liban, était envahi par les troupes sionistes, il est libérable depuis 1999. Malgré deux libérations prononcées par le tribunal d’application des peines, Georges Abdallah est maintenu en prison : la justice française, aux ordres d’un gouvernement soucieux de préserver les intérêts impérialistes français au Moyen-Orient, maintient Georges Ibrahim Abdallah en prison. Le 24 octobre 2019, il est entré dans sa 36ème année de détention. Aujourd’hui, il est le plus ancien prisonnier politique en Europe.
Georges Ibrahim Abdallah est un prisonnier politique qui n’a ni regrets ni remords pour le combat qu’il a toujours mené et qu’il poursuit aujourd’hui pour la justice, la liberté et l’émancipation des peuples opprimés. Ce combat s’inscrit pleinement sur le terreau des luttes actuelles. C’est le combat des révoltes justes et légitimes de celles et ceux qui s’opposent à l’offensive capitaliste et à ses guerres impérialistes de pillage. C’est le combat de toutes celles et ceux qui font face à la violence répressive d’Etat, qui s’abat sur eux pour tenter de les bâillonner, que ce soit dans la rue, dans les quartiers populaires ou pour les militants politiques et syndicaux. Ce combat de toute une vie est aussi le nôtre !
Il est de nos luttes, nous sommes de son combat ! C’est pourquoi nous appelons toutes celles et ceux qui comme nous, sont aux côtés des peuples en lutte, au côté de la résistance Palestinienne, qui combattent le capitalisme, l’impérialisme, le sionisme, le colonialisme et les États réactionnaires arabes, à se joindre à nous pour constituer un rapport de force seul capable d’imposer la libération de Georges Abdallah.
Campagne unitaire pour la libération de Georges Abdallah
Join AFPS 44 for a screening of the film “Mafak” with a discussion with Salah Hamouri, French-Palestinian lawyer and former political prisoner held in Israeli jails.
8On January 25 the people of the world will stand up to oppose yet another catastrophic war in the Middle East! Now is the time to take action. Join us! 
