On 30 March 2019, we commemorate a dual anniversary. It is the 43rd anniversary of Land Day (Yom al-Ard in Arabic), a day when the Israeli occupation forces used deadly repression against Palestiniaan protests against land theft. This is also the first anniversary of the Great Return March, a popular mobilization that has since continued every Friday since 30 March 2018. It has inolved hundreds and thousands of Palestinians in Gaza for the right of return of all Palestinian refugees. Leading activists of the Great Return March are calling on the world to stand with people in Gaza and the entire Palestinian people’s liberation struggle on 30 March!
Slogans of the demonstration: Honor the memory of Land Day! Support the struggle of the Great Return March! Boycott Israel!
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Den 30:e mars i år, 2019, är en dubbel årsdag. Den är den 43:e årsdagen för Jorddagen (“Yom al-Ard” på arabiska), en dag då den israeliska ockupationsmakten svarade med dödlig repression på palestinska protester mot markstölder. Dagen är även den första årsdagen för Stora återvändarmarschen, en folklig massmobilisering som varje fredag sedan den 30:e mars 2018 har involverat hundratals och tusentals palestinier i Gaza som har protesterat för ett sluta på Israels belägring av Gaza och för rätten till alla palestinska flyktingars återvändo. Ledande aktivister och organisatörer i Stora återvändarmarschen kallar på omvärlden för att stå med gazaborna och hela det palestinska folkets befrielsekamp den 30:e mars!
Manifestationens paroller: – Hedra Jorddagens minne! – Stöd de kämpande i Stora återvändarmarschen! – Bojkotta Israel!
Plakat, banderoller och fanor på manifestationen är välkomna, även med organisationssymboler, men endast palestinska nationsflaggor är tillåtna.
Är du med i en organisation som är intresserad av att vara med som medarrangör? Vill du att din organisation representeras av en talare? Hör av dig till oss här på Facebook eller via samidoungbg@gmail.com.
Open discussion with Palestine solidarity activists from across Europe
How is Belgium complicit in the Israeli occupation? What kind of military relations does the Belgian government have with Israeli military and weapon industry? How is our taxpayers’ money being used to support human rights violations by Israel?
Thursday the 21st of March LOCATION: Intal – Chaussée de Haecht 53, Begins at 18h00 Languages: English and French
As a part of the Israeli Apartheid Week, Intal Globalize Solidarity invites you to an event discussing Belgian complicity in Israel’s war crimes against the Palestinian people. The Israeli Apartheid week is an international series of events that seek to raise awareness about Israel’s apartheid regime over the Palestinian people and build support for the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
We will discuss the presence of Israel’s biggest arms company – Elbit – in Belgium and its impact on the Palestinian people.
From 2003, OIP Sensor Systems, located in Oudenaarde, is wholly owned by Elbit. As a key company in the Israeli arms industry, the presence of Elbit’s factories in Belgium should not go unchallenged, its components produced in Belgium are used in attacks on the Palestinian people.
OIP Sensor Systems is currently seeking a major contract to provide the navies of Belgium and the Netherlands with mine warfare vessels, using the slogan “buy Belgian.” The vessels which OIP is offering would include the Elbit-manufactured Seagull system.
At this event you will have an opportunity to meet, discuss with and learn from the experience of activists from across Europe who are involved in organizing campaigns and direct actions challenging their countries’ military relations with Israel.
This event will be the starting point for re-launching the Belgian campaign for a military embargo on Israel.
Speakers:
DAVID CRONIN is a journalist and an associate editor of The Electronic Intifada, a website focused on Palestine. His books include ‘Balfour’s Shadow: A Century of British Support for Zionism and Israel’ and ‘Europe’s Alliance with Israel: Aiding the Occupation’.
EWA JASIEWICZ is an activist in the Palestine solidarity movements since 2002. She was part of the International Solidarity Movement and a coordinator of the Free Gaza Movement that sent siege-breaking boats and flotillas to Gaza. She was a medical rescue volunteer with ambulances during the Israeli attack on Gaza in 2008/9. In the UK, she is part of London Palestine Action and helped organize the hugely successful roof top occupation and shutdown of Elbit’s Shenstone drone engine factory during Israel’s 2014 war on Gaza as well as other BDS actions. In Poland, she co-founded the Polish Campaign of Solidarity with Palestine and wrote ‘Raze Gaza’ which was nominated for the Beata Pawlak award for international literature.
JEAN GUY GREILSAMER is an activist and campaigner from BDS France.
in cooperation with ECCP – European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine
Open discussie met activisten solidair met Palestina uit heel Europa.
Hoe is België medeplichtig in de Israëlische bezetting? Welke relaties heeft de Belgische overheid met de Israëlische militaire industrie? Hoe wordt ons belastinggeld gebruikt om de schending van mensenrechten door Israël te steunen?
Donderdag 21 maart LOCATIE: Intal – Haechtsesteenweg 53, Sint-Joost Begint om 18h00 Talen: Engels en Frans
In het kader van de Israeli Apartheid Week, nodigt Intal Globalize Solidarity je uit op een discussie-avond over de Belgische medeplichtigheid in Israel’s oorlogsmisdaden tegen de Palestijnse mensen. De Israeli Apartheid Week is een reeks internationale evenementen met het doel om aandacht te geven aan Israël’s politiek van apartheid ten opzichte van het Palestijnse volk en om de Boycott, Desinvestering en Sancties (BDS) beweging te helpen groeien.
We zullen de aanwezigheid van Israël’s grootste wapenbedrijf – Elbit – in België bespreken en diens impact op de Palestijnse mensen.
Sinds 2003, is OIP Sensor Systems, gesitueerd in Oudenaarde, volledig in de handen van Elbit. Als een hoofdrolspeler in de Israëlische wapenindustrie, mag de aanwezigheid van Elbit’s fabriek in België niet zomaar onbetwist blijven. De onderdelen die in die Belgische fabriek geproduceerd worden, worden gebruikt in de aanvallen op Palestijnse mensen.
OIP Sensor Systems is momenteel in onderhandelingen om een contract binnen te halen om België en Nederland van mijnenjagers te voorzien. Ze gebruiken hierbij de slogan “Koop Belgisch”. De mijnenjagers die OIP aanbiedt, zouden het door Elbit-geproduceerde Seagull systeem bevatten.
Op onze discussie-avond krijg je de kans om Europese activisten te ontmoeten, aan te spreken en van hun ervaring te leren. Onze sprekers zijn activisten met ervaring in het organiseren van verschillende campagnes en directe acties om de militaire relaties tussen hun landen en Israël aan te klagen.
Dit evenement betekent ook het startpunt voor het herlanceren van de Belgische campagne voor een militair embargo tegen Israël.
Sprekers:
DAVID CRONIN is een journalist en editor van The Electronic Intifada, een website die zich focust op Palestina. Hij heeft ook meerdere boeken geschreven, onder andere ‘Balfour’s Shadow: A Century of British Support for Zionism and Israel’ en ‘Europe’s Alliance with Israel: Aiding the Occupation’.
EWA JASIEWICZ is activiste binnen de solidariteitsbewegingen met Palestina sinds 2002. Ze was een deel van de International Solidarity Movement en een coordinator van de Free Gaza Movement die boten en flotillas naar Gaza stuurden in een poging om de blokkade te doorbreken. Ze was een medische vrijwilligster tijdens de Israëlische aanval op Gaza in 2008/9. In het VK, is ze lid van de London Palestine Action groep en ze hielp mee de succesvolle dakbezetting en shutdown van Elbit’s Shenstone dronefabriek organiseren tijdens Israël’s oorlog op Gaza in 2014. In Polen, richtte ze mee de Polish Campaign of Solidarity with Palestine op en ze scheef ‘Raze Gaza’ dat voor de Beata Pawlak award voor internationale literatuur genomineerd werd.
JEAN GUY GREILSAMER is een activist en campagnevoerder van BDS Frankrijk.
in coöperatie met ECCP – European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine met steun van de VGC
2 pm: Reception 3 pm: Theater “Made in Palestine” by the Croquemitaine Theater 4:30 pm: Dances by Raj’een Dabkeh Group, Mustapha’s troupe 6 pm: Lecture by Léa Tsemel, his Israeli lawyer 8 pm : Meals (by reservation before March 18th at wapi@abp-wb.be) and Palestinian music by Alaa Shublaq, a refugee from Gaza in Belgium Organized by: ABP Wallonie picarde
Programme : -14 h : Accueil -15 h : Théâtre “Made in Palestine” par le théâtre Croquemitaine 16 h 30 : Danses par Raj’een Dabkeh Group, la troupe de Mustapha 18 h : Conférence de Léa Tsemel, son avocate israélienne 20 h : Repas (sur réservation avant le 18 mars à l’adresse wapi@abp-wb.be) et musique palestinienne par d’Alaa Shublaq, réfugié de Gaza en Belgique Organisation : ABP Wallonie picarde
PALESTINE IN OUR HEARTS, PALESTINE A THORN IN THE FLESH OF IMPERIALISM featuring Dr. Nahla Abdo
We are currently living in an unprecedented stage of capitalist imperialism. This is despite, or in fact, because of the decline of the unipolar world power (the US) and the rise of a multipolar one. The monstrosity of this imperialist stage has crossed all human, ethical and international legal conventions. In addition to targeting Venezuela, Palestine is at the core of imperialist intervention in the Middle East, as Dr. Nahla Abdo’s keynote address will explore.
Dr. Nahla Abdo is an Arab Canadian feminist, political activist and Professor of Sociology at Carleton University. She has extensive publications on anti-colonial, anti-imperialist feminism, racism, nationalism and the Settler Colonial State, with specialization in the Middle East. Among her recent publications: An Oral History of the Palestinians during the Nakba. (2018- with Nur Masalha); Captive Revolution: Palestinian Women’s Anti-Colonial Struggle (2014) –this book received the Times Higher Education Book of 2014; Women in Israel: Race, Gender, and Citizenship (2011); Violence in the Name of Honour: Theoretical and Political Challenges, (2004 – with Shahrzad Mojab) and, Women and the Politics of Military Confrontation: Palestinian and Israeli Gendered Narratives of Dislocation,(with Ronit Lentin 2002).
—————————————————– Israeli Apartheid Week 2019: Stop Arming Colonialism University of Toronto, March 19th – March 27th #IsraeliApartheidWeek #StopArmingColonialism
Tues 19 Mar @ 6:30pm – Dr. Ruba Salih: De-colonial and intersectional alliances in the Palestinian struggle for justice with No One Is Illegal @ University College Rm 144 https://www.facebook.com/events/840425602964421/
Tues 26 Mar @ 7pm – Film Screening: A Stone’s Throw from Prison @ Lash Miller Rm 158
Wed 27 Mar @ 6:30pm – Wala3at Indigenous Interactive Musical Dance Performance opened by Sto: Loh Elder Lee Maracle @ Multi-Faith Centre, Main Activity Hall
First launched in Toronto in 2005, Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) has grown to become one of the most important global events in the Palestine solidarity calendar. This year, IAW will take place in more than 150 cities across the globe. This year’s IAW is an international series of events that aims to raise awareness of Israel’s apartheid regime over the Palestinian people and build support for the growing global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. IAW 2019 at UofT is a collaborative effort of the UofT Graduate Student Union BDS Committee, the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 3902 BDS Committee, No One Is Illegal, UofT’s Ontario Public Interest Research Group, UofT’s Students Against Israeli Apartheid, UofT’s Independent Jewish Voices, Faculty for Palestine and the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid. JOIN US on March 19 to 27th, as we continue to build momentum on campus for the main BDS campaign at UofT that calls on the University of Toronto administration to divest from companies which are directly complicit in the violation of Palestinian human rights, and that profit from the illegal occupation of Palestinian land and the construction of the Apartheid Wall. These companies include Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Hewlett Packard — all of which help maintain the Israeli apartheid military infrastructure.
This year’s theme, Stop Arming Colonialism, highlights that ending the arms trade, military aid and cooperation with Israel will undercut financial and military support for its regime of apartheid. It is also an important platform for building the campaign for a military embargo on Israel. The demand for a military embargo on Israel has been reinforced by Israel’s recent violent repression of the Great March of Return in Gaza. Israel is able to maintain its illegal occupation and apartheid regime over Palestinians partly due to its arms sales and the military support it receives from governments across the world. The United States alone is the single largest supplier of arms and military aid to Israel, followed by several European states. These directly sustain Israel’s oppression and human rights violations. In the Global South, Israel has been known to supply weapons to genocidal regimes in Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and elsewhere.
We thank our generous sponsors and endorsers. IAW 2019 would not be possible without the support of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 1281 and the Association of Part-time Students Association (APUS), CUPE 3903 (UofT), We Are UofT 89.5 FM, Salaam Canada, No More Silence, The Socialist Project, OPIRG UofT, Upping the Anti, Jamhoor, Canadian Friends of Sabeel and Actions4Palestine (A4P).
Please check our Facebook for an updated list of our endorsers.
At an event in June 2017, Jewish-Israeli and Palestinian activists Stavit, Majed and Ronnie interrupted Israeli parliamentarian Aliza Lavie’s speech at Berlin’s Humboldt University and confronted her with her responsibility for war crimes in Gaza and for the apartheid regime of Israel. These non-violent protesters have been taken to court in March 2019. The three activists will talk about the consequences of their case and the attempts to criminalize their commitment to Palestinian rights.
Info- und Diskussionsveranstaltung
Die jüdisch-israelischen und palästinensischen Aktivist*innen Stavit, Majed und Ronnie unterbrachen im Juni 2017 die Rede der israelischen liberalen Parlamentarierin Aliza Lavie an der Berliner Humboldt-Universität und konfrontierten sie mit ihrer Mitverantwortung für die Kriegsverbrechen in Gaza und für das Apartheidregime Israels. Die gewaltfreie Protestaktion wird im März 2019 vor Gericht verhandelt. Die drei Aktivist*innen sprechen über die Folgen ihres Falles und über die Versuche, den Einsatz für die palästinensischen Rechte zu kriminalisieren.
Veranstaltet von bacaia & Diskussionsgruppe Palästina
The Israeli occupation forces have installed electronic “jammers” in section 4 of the Negev prison and section 1 of Ramon prison, in order to constrict and further abuse the rights of the prisoners.
Samidoun Network and the Families of Prisoners in the Naqab, together with the prisoners’ institutions and associations, the student movements at Bir Zeit University (Progressive Democratic Student Pole, Wafaa Islamic Bloc, Student Unity Bloc) and the Union of Secondary Students’ Committees for a protest that rejects all forms of detention and stands together with those who have sacrificed all for Palestine.بعد وضع أجهزة التشويش في كل من القسم (4) في سجن النقب، وقسم (1) في سجن ريمون؛ وذلكللتضيق والتنكيل بحق أسرانا البواسل. تدعوكم شبكة صامدون للدفاع عن الأسرى وأهالي أسرى النقب بالتتشارك مع مؤسسات رعاية الأسرى (مؤسسة الضمير، هيئة شؤون الأسرى) والحركات الطلابية في جامعة بيرزيت (القطب الطلابي الديمقراطي التقدمي، كتلة الوفاء الإسلامية، كتلة الوحدة الطلابية،بالإضافة إلى مجموعة نبض الشبابية ومجموعة شهدا ع الحيطان) واتحاد لجان الطلبة الثانويين، وذلك لوقفة جماهيرية رافضة الاعتقال على كل أشكاله ومتضامنة مع أسرانا الذين قدموا حياتهم فداءاً للوطن. ستكون الوقفة يوم الأربعاء الموافق، بتاريخ 20/3/2019 . في تمام الساعة 4:30 في مدينة رام الله/ دوار المنارة.
“إن كان الموت هو النتيجة الحتمية لنا، فإننا نعلم الجميع أننا سنختار ميتة تليق بنا نحن الأحرار وسنصنع عزنا بأيدينا” – من بيان الحركة الأسيرة.
We invite you to attend a discussion, hosted in collaboration with Aboriginal Students’ Association at York, in recognition of Israeli Apartheid Week on the topic of solidarity from Turtle Island to Palestine.
Location: room 313 of the First Student Centre Time: 6pm to 9pm
Between 18 March and 8 April 2019, the 15th annual Israeli Apartheid Week will take place worldwide under the banner “Stop Arming Colonialism.”
BDS Berlin and Sinema Jazeera will screen the film, “The Lab” by Yotam Feldmann with a discussion following.
“The Lab” looks at the history of the Israeli arms industry and shows how every Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip and West Bank is also an advertising campaign for Israel’s arms industry.
The director accompanied arms dealers on their business trips abroad, but especially in their everyday life at trade fair visits and conferences in Israel, which is one of the most important armament innovators and exporters in the world.
In his film, Feldman does not focus on the effects of the Israeli occupation, but inquires into those who – worldwide – benefit and maintain the state of war.
An investigative documentary showing how the Israeli military occupation in Palestine has become a business rather than a burden.
Vom 18. März bis zum 8. April 2019 findet weltweit zum 15. Mal die Alljährliche Israelische Apartheidwoche (http://apartheidweek.org/) statt, diesmal unter dem Motto “Stop Arming Colonialism”.
BDS Berlin und Sinema Jazeera zeigen in diesem Rahmen den Film von Yotam Feldmann – The Lab (60 min, Original mit dtsch.UT) am
Dienstag, den 19. März 2019 ab 19:30 Uhr im NewYorck im Bethanien, Mariannenplatz 2 A, 10997 Berlin-Kreuzberg 36
mit anschließender Diskussion.
“THE LAB” befasst sich mit der Geschichte der israelischen Waffenindustrie und zeigt gleichermaßen, dass jede israelische Militäroperation im Gazastreifen und im Westjordanland auch ein Werbefeldzug ist für Israels Waffenindustrie.
Der Regisseur begleitete Waffenhändler auf ihren Geschäftsreisen ins Ausland, vor allem aber in ihrem Alltag bei Messebesuchen und Konferenzen in Israel, das zu den bedeutendsten Rüstungsinnovatoren und -exporteuren der Welt gehört.
In seinem Film konzentriert sich Feldman nicht auf die Auswirkungen der israelischen Besatzung, sondern fragt nach denen, die – weltweit – davon profitieren und den Kriegszustand aufrechterhalten.
Ein investigativer Dokumentarfilm, der zeigt, wie die israelische Militärbesatzung in Palästina zu einem Geschäft und nicht zu einer Belastung geworden ist.
Ab 19.30 Uhr ist der Tresen geöffnet und wieder mit leckeren Häppchen. Eintritt: Spende
#IsraeliApartheidWeek #StopArmingColonialism
BDS Berlin Webseite: http://bdsberlin.org/2019/03/08/filmvorfuehrung-the-lab-zur-politischen-oekonomie-der-israelischen-ruestungsindustrie/
Following a frenzied campaign of harassment by pro-apartheid journalists, the Israeli ambassador and the U.S. ambassador to Germany (infamous for his connection to far-right groups), Berlin officials declared on Friday night, 15 March, that Palestinian former prisoner and renowned activist Rasmea Odeh‘s visa would be cancelled and that she was prohibited from political activity.
International solidarity is critical at this time. Please send statements of support for Rasmea Odeh to samidoun@samidoun.net.
Supporters of the AfD, the most far-right party in Germany, deeply engaged in anti-Muslim, racist rhetoric and with a long history of welcoming Holocaust revisionists, demanded the cancellation of Rasmea’s speech and the revocation of her visa. Of course, the AfD – which aspires to emulate Israeli apartheid – was not alone, but was instead joined by Green politican Volker Beck, who has made his career by attacking Palestinians at the behest of the Israeli apartheid state and various Berlin city officials, including SPD mayor Michael Müller.
An ongoing and severe harassment campaign directed at the venue that had been engaged to host the event. The hall was vandalized and the organization that owns it were subjected to numerous threatening and harassing phone calls and demands.
Despite multiple assurances by police that the event could indeed go forward, Rasmea was pulled aside by police on her way to deliver her speech about Palestinian women in the struggle for liberation.
Hundreds of police surrounded the venue, while around 15 pro-apartheid, Zionist counterprotesters carried Israeli flags. At the same time, around 150 supporters of justice in Palestine gathered outside the venue to hear the planned speeches of Rasmea Odeh and Dareen Tatour.
Photo: Afif El-Ali
Rasmea was surrounded by police and delivered a stack of
documents in German declaring that her visa had been cancelled. These documents
were replete with allegations that had been apparently taken fully from
scurrilous and inaccurate right-wing media reports as a justification to force
her to leave the country.
Police then followed Rasmea kilometers away, demanding that
she move down the street, leave another cafe in pouring rain, threatening her
with arrest if she did not continue to move toward the east side of the city,
even long after she had already left the venue for the event.
Photo: Afif El-Ali
Pressure tactics, intimidation and repression have been used to compel multiple venues to cancel events featuring Palestinian speakers, most notably officially-supported threats to cut the funding of an Iranian community center if it allowed an event with Manal Tamimi to move forward in September 2018. However, this comes hand in hand with cancellation of musical events for bands that support BDS, censorship of DJs for Palestine and pressure on venues and universities to cancel lectures and events about any aspect of Palestinian rights and existence.
Photo: Afif El-Ali
Palestinian and non-Palestinian women who participated in the Women’s March in Berlin were vilified in person and on social media for carrying signs recognizing that Palestine is a feminist issue.
Rasmea Odeh was subjected to repeated and unsubstantiated allegations of “anti-Semitism,” which media organizations did not even attempt to justify except through the use of the “terrorist” label. Not one of the articles using this label could point to a single anti-Semitic statement, message or belief on Rasmea’s part; her commitment to the liberation of Palestine was deemed sufficient to make this allegation.
Photo: Afif El-Ali
This was clearly a racist attack on the right of a
Palestinian woman to speak and the right of her audience to hear her. Through
her life, she has been subject to intense state violence: sexual assault,
torture, imprisonment, imprisonment again, deportation. The stripping of her
visa is only the latest example of state violence directed against Rasmea Odeh
in an attempt to block her message from being heard, a message that has garnered
her support from Angela Davis, Jewish Voice for Peace (US) and countless
supporters of justice worldwide.
Photo: Afif El-Ali
It should be noted that following the demonstration, which
was enthusiastic, well-attended and led by women and youth, participants –
particularly young Palestinians – were later followed by police and questioned
about chants at the demonstration (particularly those challenging German
foreign policy) and their relationship with Rasmea, even hours after the event
had ended. This is an attempt to intimidate young people from being involved in
the movement for justice in Palestine.
Photo: Afif El-Ali
We urge people of conscience around the world to support justice for Rasmea Odeh and justice for Palestine. We will be issuing urgent calls for additional actions in the coming days. Your solidarity statements and messages are important in making clear that the world rejects the actions of the German, U.S. and Israeli governments to silence Rasmea Odeh and instead stands with Palestinian women and the Palestinian people in their quest for liberation.
For people in Berlin: we urge all to attend today’s demonstration, Saturday, 16 March at 3 pm at Hermannplatz in support of all revolutionary prisoners – including Palestinian prisoners struggling for freedom.
On Friday, 15 March, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and HIRAK (the Palestinian Youth Mobilization in Germany) will host “Palestinian Women in the Liberation Struggle,” a celebration of Palestinian struggle and International Women’s Day, at 6:00 pm at Waterloo-Ufer 5-7 in Berlin, Germany. This event will feature keynote speeches from two Palestinian women strugglers who have faced imprisonment and repression for their involvement in struggle: Rasmea Odeh and Dareen Tatour.
The event is moving forward and will take place despite repeated attempts to cancel it and even bar the speakers from the country. We encourage all friends of Palestine and the Palestinian and Arab communities in Berlin to attend tonight’s event and stand with these courageous Palestinian women against racist and colonialist attacks.
This event has come under a vicious and sustained attack from every source of power that seeks to prevent the voices of these women from being heard. The Israeli Ambassador to Germany has been joined by Trump’s U.S. Ambassador to Germany in demanding that Rasmea Odeh not be allowed entry into the country and be prohibited from speaking. This has been accompanied by a vicious media campaign making use of the “terrorist” label in an attempt to incite against these two women and what they have to say about the experiences and struggles of Palestinian women prisoners – and all Palestinian women.
On a day when at least 49 people – Muslims at Friday prayers – in Christchurch, New Zealand, have had their lives stolen from them by right-wing, fascist terror; on a day when 100 sites in Gaza were bombed by the Israeli occupation army, it is clear more than ever that the use of the term “terrorist” by these forces is a racist, colonial attempt to silence the victims and the survivors of their state-sponsored violence.
U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell joined the campaign to block the event from taking place in Germany, claiming that the event “legitimizes anti-Semitism.” However, Grenell has become infamous in Germany for his constant attempts to promote far-right political forces inside Germany as well as to interfere in German political decisions in the interest of the U.S. ruling class. Grenell has become infamous for attempting to disrupt pipeline negotiations with Russia, interfere in technology trade with China and promote a war footing and sanctions on Iran in Germany. His attack on Rasmea Odeh is part of the same attempt to carry the most right-wing policies of the United States around the world.
He has joined with far-right forces in supporting anti-migrant rhetoric in Germany, including allying with the Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party, widely denounced for its affinity to actual anti-Semitism and racism. It is infamous for maintaining racist, extremist members including Holocaust revisionists – a subject about which Grenell apparently shows little concern, despite his eagerness to accuse Palestinian women of “anti-Semitism.”
It should be noted, of course, that the AfD’s ongoing appeals to fascist and racist rhetoric are combined with full-scale anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab racism and thus, support for the Israeli state. Indeed, AfD politicians have declared Israel to be a “model for Germany” due to its exclusionary, apartheid nature. This reflects the developing alliance of the far right and the Israeli state: the same alliance that is attempting to smear Rasmea Odeh and block her speech and that of Dareen Tatour.
Meanwhile, the Israeli state also joined in the attack on Rasmea Odeh, as its ambassador, Jeremy Issacharoff claimed to be “shocked” and “dismayed” that Rasmea Odeh was able to enter the country and deliver a speech.
An assortment of anti-Palestinian, right-wing and racist politicians and political organizations have joined in the attack on Rasmea Odeh and Dareen Tatour. They attempted to intimidate the venue into cancelling its agreement with the organizers to host this important event and are now claiming that they plan to demonstrate outside the event. These include Volker Beck, the Green Party politician (who is a shame to the Green movement internationally) who has made a career out of anti-Palestinian, pro-apartheid incitement. For years and years, Beck has attempted to have nearly every demonstration, conference and event in support of the Palestinian people in Berlin cancelled, demanding that security agencies, venues and police block the organizing of the large and growing Palestinian community as well as the Palestine solidarity movement.
They also include the “Jewish Forum for Democracy and Against Anti-Semitism,” which, despite its name, repeatedly engages in attempts to shut down events or ban BDS campaigns, as well as attacking Jewish individuals and organizations who support Palestinian rights. Despite its claim to support “democracy,” the organization has been a leading propagandist supporting the prosecution of three activists, known as the Humboldt 3, for interrupting an Israeli member of Knesset in a speech in Berlin. The three activists include a Palestinian from Gaza and two Israeli Jews.
All of these entities want to stop Rasmea Odeh and Dareen Tatour from speaking because they do not want the stories, struggles and experiences of Palestinian women to be heard. The Israeli apartheid state and U.S. imperialists do not want their state-sppnsored crimes to be revealed. Defenders of apartheid, occupation and racism do not want these women to present their creative visions and clear political analysis. By silencing the voices of Rasmea Odeh and Dareen Tatour, they seek to ay the basis for enabling yet more colonial war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Rasmea Odeh is a lifelong struggler: a survivor of sexual assault and brutal torture by the Israeli occupation forces, who was sentenced and imprisoned on the basis of that torture. She is a former political prisoner and a true leader who never stopped struggling, who organized women to uphold their rights and struggle for their liberation from Palestine to Chicago and beyond.
Dareen Tatour is a poet who was imprisoned for her poetry and her words, locked behind bars and held for years under house arrest because of her creative voice for Palestine.
They will speak tonight, 15 March, at 6 pm, at Waterloo-Ufer 5-7 in Berlin. They will not be silenced. And it is incredibly important that all people of conscience, all defenders of Palestinian rights, join us tonight to hear what they have to say and to make it clear that despite military might and imperial power, the voices, the struggle and the resistance of the Palestinian people – and specifically of Palestinian women – will not be defeated and will not be silenced.
Please also join us on Saturday, 16 March in Hermannplatz at 3:00 pm for a demonstration for freedom for all revolutionary prisoners around the world – including Palestinian women prisoners like Rasmea and Dareen still fighting for their liberation.
