Home Blog Page 227

Toulouse stands in solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat

Photo: Coup Pour Coup 31

On Tuesday, 22 January, activists and supporters of Coup Pour Coup 31, anti-imperialist collective and a member organization of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, held an information stand at Capitole metro station in Toulouse, France.

Photo: Coup Pour Coup 31

The action, which continued for over two hours, came as part of the International Week of Action to Free Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian prisoners. Dozens of events have been organized in international cities highlighting the imprisonment of Palestinian national leader and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Secretary Ahmad Sa’adat.

Photo: Coup Pour Coup 31

The action included the distribution of over 600 leaflets urging Sa’adat’s freedom, signing up 15 new subscribers for Coup Pour Coup’s newsletter, gathering donations and playing Palestinian music while discussing the latest events in Palestine with passersby – including the attacks on recent days inside Ofer prison.

Photo: Coup Pour Coup 31

They also distributed leaflets calling for the boycott of Israel and expanding the boycott,divestment and sanctions campaign as well as material on the case of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, the Lebanese Arab struggler for Palestine imprisoned in France for over 34 years, and Khalida Jarrar, the imprisoned Palestinian parliamentarian, leftist and feminist jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention.

Photo: Coup Pour Coup 31

Palestinian prisoners under attack: Raids in Ofer Prison and prisoners’ resistance

Israeli special units have escalated their repressive tactics against Palestinian political prisoners in the past days,. These attacks have led to an ongoing mass protest inside Ofer prison, called “the battle of unity and dignity” by the prisoners. Repressive forces raided Section 17 of Ofer prison on 20 January, followed by Section 15 and other sections on 21 January. The repression continued as Section 2 in Megiddo prison was also attacked by these repressive forces, who claimed to install jamming devices to prevent mobile phone communications.

These violent raids have involved the use of dogs, batons, tasers, large-scale damage and confiscation of prisoners’ belongings by the heavily armed units. Most concerningly, these armed units (including the Masada, Dror, Yamaz and Yamam units) fired tear gas bombs and rubber-coated metal bullets inside closed prison rooms, endangering prisoners’ health and even their lives. An estimated 150 Palestinian prisoners were injured in these attacks. Some suffered the effects of tear gas, others were bruised and wounded, while still more suffered fractures to the jaw, nose or head. There are between 1,000 and 1,200 Palestinian prisoners held in Ofer, including hundreds of Palestinian children.

Israeli forces put the prison under a complete closure, cancelling legal visits and court appearances. Prisoners have continued their protests in response. The prisoners are returning their meals from the Israel Prison Service and refusing to go out to the recreation yard. On Wednesday, 23 January, several prominent prisoners, including Ziad Bseiso and Mohammed Abu Armaneh, announced a hunger strike, demanding the return of previous conditions prior to the raid in Ofer prison.

Karim Ajwa, a Palestinian lawyer, visited prisoners in Ofer on Wednesday, the first day that legal visits were allowed after the attacks. Ajwa reported that prisoners said that the media reports about conditions in the prison only hint at “1 percent” of the terror imposed by the occupation forces. They also said that 40 members of these repressive units and armed police remain in the prison yard, their sections have been turned into isolation sections, the “canteen” (prison store) closed and the prisoners’ electrical appliances confiscated.

These attacks mark an ongoing escalation against Palestinian prisoners as announced by Gilad Erdan, the Minister of Public Security responsible for the Israel Prison Service. In various pronouncements, Erdan has vowed to escalate repression against the Palestinian prisoners, amid the upcoming Israeli elections in which attacks on Palestinians are being touted as electoral propaganda. Thousands of books have been confiscated, women prisoners were moved en masse after the installation of surveillance cameras and prisoners’ access to water has been cut. Erdan also announced a plan to stop Palestinian prisoners from cooking food for themselves or even buying cooking supplies from the “canteen.”

It should be noted that Erdan is also the Minister of Strategic Affairs in the Israeli regime, charged with attacking Palestine solidarity organizing and the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement around the world.

All of these attacks mark an effort to roll back achievements that have been won by the Palestinian prisoners only through years of hard-fought struggles, hunger strikes and collective action. They are also an attempt to defuse the power of Palestinian political leadership behind Israeli bars.

The invasion of Ofer prison is one of the most severe attacks by repressive forces on Palestinian prisoners since 2007, when a “morale-building operation” for these same forces in Negev Ketziot prison included the murder of Palestinian prisoner Mohammed Ashqar. Invading forces shot Ashqar in the head after prisoners protested the violent invasion at 2 a.m., killing him instantly. One officer of the repressive Masada forces involved in the attack recommended increased prison raids after the killing.

The prisoners originally rejected a meeting with the prison administration; after arriving at a collective consensus and demanding time for a meeting between all of the political organizations in the prison, the prisoners’ representatives put forward their demands in a meeting on Tuesday afternoon. Another “decisive” meeting will follow on Wednesday, 23 January, depending on the administration’s response to the prisoners’ demands.

Prisoners have emphasized the importance of popular support for the struggle inside Israeli jails. Ali al-Maghrabi, a former prisoner, said that “the success of any protest stap carried out inside the prisons of the occupation depends 60 percent on the volume of external support, media coverage and organizations concerned with the issue, and 40 percent on the prisoners’ internal cohesion, determination and unity.”

A wide range of statements have poured in from Palestinian political organizations and figures; the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine urged mobilization for the prisoners on Wednesday, while Archbishop Atallah Hanna urged broad solidarity with their struggle. The National and Islamic Forces in the Gaza Strip held a press conference expressing the urgent need for action and warning of a “revolution” within the prisons.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network expresses its strongest solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners in Ofer and all Zionist jails. We urge all supporters of justice for Palestine to resist these attacks by protesting and organizing in support of the prisoners’ and their struggle for liberation. In particular, we urge the escalation of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaigns for the economic, academic, military and cultural boycott of Israel – especially as the same officials directing the attacks on the prisoners are also trying to stop this growing global movement. Demonstrations, solidarity hunger strikes and call-in campaigns can escalate pressure on international governments to end their complicity with the occupier’s crimes in Palestine.

The prisoners in Ofer prison issued a statement, translated below:

“The Zionist occupier has declared war on the prisoners in its jails and it began this war in Ofer prison. We are facing a new stage of Zionist repression that threatens our lives as prisoners. We have become the strongest issue in the corridors of government and among the Zionist parties in a feverish competition to confiscate our rights and destroy our achievements gained through sacrifice, blood and martys.

“The prison administration, backed by political cover and reinforced with special repressive units (Masada-Dror-Yamaz-Yamam) has been engaged in an operation since Sunday, 20 January 2019, through Monday evening, 21 January: breaking into several sections of Ofer prison, carrying out provocative searches, destroying our possessions and torturing us through strip searches and verbal abuse. We defended our dignity as we could as the prison rooms and sections were turned into a real battlefield, using rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas against us at zero distance. They used dogs, batons and tasers, resulting in the injury of over 100 prisoners, the burning of several rooms, the confiscation of our possessions and closure of all sections. The situation is highly tense and we will take escalating protest steps in the coming hours.

“In face of this unprecedented, bloody escalation, we affirm the following:

1) We call this battle by the name, “the battle of unity and dignity,” a confirmation of our unity and brotherhood and our commitment to preserve our dignity

2) We are the prisoners and in the face of this bloody onslaught, we will stand united to confront this arrogance, armed with the justice of our cause and with the use of all means of legitimate defense against this wave of violence against us.

3) This violent attack on the prisoners comes within the framework of organized state terror and the use of the prisoners’ issue as an outlet for the Israeli government before the public.

4) We warn against using the prisoners’ issue as a lever for the Israeli parties to attract the Israeli voter. We will cause every bet to fail.

5) We call on all international and human rights organizations, especially the International Committee of the Red Cross and international human rights bodies, to uphold their humanitarian, moral and legal responsibilities to stop the crimes committed against us and compel the occupation to abide by international laws and norms that protect our rights.

6) We call on all free media outlets to carry our stories and stay current about ongoing events in the prison, exposing the occupier’s violation of our freedoms and our rights.

Our people are steadfast. Today is a day of fulfillment, we are part of you and you are part of us. We are shortening our years for the sake of our homeland, so do not limit your use of your time for our stolen freedom. We look forward to great public interest and support throughout Palestine, confirming to the occupier that the prisoners are a red line that cannot be crossed.

And victory for us, God willing, as we stand united and confident in the fairness of our cause and our choices.

Your brothers, the prisoners of Ofer prison
Palestinian National Liberation Movement – Fateh
Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas
Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine”

25 January, NYC: Rally to Demand Marzieh Hashemi’s Freedom

Friday, 25 January
5:30 pm
Grand Central Station
New York City
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2293802344235316/

Join the International Action Center and Workers World Party as we demand the freedom of Marzieh Hashemi, a journalist who is being held as a “material witness” by the FBI for an undisclosed investigation, which means she can be held indefinitely without charges.

WHEN: Friday, January 25 @ 5:30pm
WHERE: Grand Central Station

Sign the petition here: https://tinyurl.com/y7cbcf44

Demand Hashemi’s freedom on social media with hashtag #FreeMarziehHashemi

MORE INFO ON HASHEMI AND HER ARREST:

Marzieh Hashemi has been in prison since January 13th, when she was arrested by the FBI at St. Louis International Airport while on her way to visit her sick brother in Denver. She is being held as a “material witness” for an undisclosed investigation, which means she can be held indefinitely without charges. Her children have been subpenoed by the U.S. Justice Department to appear in front of a grand jury. Marzieh’s crime? She’s a journalist who was born in New Orleans, moved to Iran, and began reporting on racism in the U.S. Her most recent reporting was on the Black Lives Matter struggle. Like so many other Black women and Muslim women in U.S. prisons, she is being held in the most humiliating and inhumane conditions. Her arrest and detention is part of Trump’s war against the Middle East. We demand her immediate release and full restitution!
See Less

Copenhagen activists call for freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat, liberation for Palestine

Photo: Internationalt Forum Middle East Group

The Internationalt Forum Middle East Group organized an information sharing action in Copenhagen on Monday, 21 January as part of the International Week of Action to Free Ahmad Sa’adat. Following on an earlier event raising funds to support Palestinian prisoners’ advocacy, the event included the distribution of flyers and literature about the case of Ahmad Sa’adat, the imprisoned General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and his fellow nearly-6,000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails.

The participants distributed hundreds of flyers to passers-by amid a rainy, snowy evening. Despite the winter weather, activists reported that the information was very well-received by people on the streets, especially on Blågårdsgade, where the participants gathered.

Photo: Internationalt Forum Middle East Group

They also distributed information about the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign and the boycott of Israel. One campaign involving many activists in Denmark and across Europe is the campaign to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest so long as its finals continue to be scheduled in apartheid Israel. Organizers across the continent are participating in creative actions, petition campaigns and protests, urging that the final series be moved.

A number of prominent artists have pledged to boycott the contest so long as it continues its complicity with colonialism in occupied Palestine. On Sunday evening, 20 January, activists in France took action on stage on France 2, amid a “Destination Eurovision” promotional program, urging boycott of the event:

After distributing flyers, they lit torches and marched through the streets of the Nørrebro area of Copenhagen with signs reading “Free Ahmad Sa’adat” and sharing slogans: “Fight imperialism and Zionism, Boycott Israel, Free Palestine!”

Photo: Internationalt Forum Middle East Group

The protest came as part of the international events marking the 17th anniversary of the political leader’s arrest by deception by the Palestinian Authority on 15 January 2002. He was imprisoned by the PA for four years under U.S. and British guard, part of its security coordination with the Israeli occupation. In March 2006, shortly before newly elected PA officials were to be sworn in, Israeli occupation forces violently attacked the PA’s Jericho prison where Sa’adat and his comrades were held; the U.S. and British guards moved aside in advance to support the attack, in which two Palestinians were killed by the Israeli forces. Today, Sa’adat is serving a 30-year sentence in Israeli occupation prisons.

As Israeli elections approach, politicians have competed with one another to urge harsher repression and violations against the prisoners. Gilad Erdan, the Israeli minister over the Israel Prison Service – who also is responsible for the apartheid colonial state’s global anti-BDS campaign – has launched a string of attacks on the prisoners, cutting their water supply and confiscating thousands of books.

The Week of Action is continuing with upcoming events in Sao Paulo, Athens, Alicante, Toulouse, New York, Paris and Milan, highlighting the struggle of Palestinian prisoners and Sa’adat’s case in particular.

2 February, Amsterdam: Free Mustapha – Free all Political Prisoners

Saturday, 2 February
6:00 pm
Pieter Nieuwlandstraat 93A
1093 XN Amsterdam
Netherlands
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/818961785122043/

Join us for a solidarity evening with our friend Mustapha Awad, Belgian-Palestinian political prisoner in Israel. We will be joined by the Free Mustapha Committee from Belgium. They will speak about Mustapha’s person, his legal case and how we can contribute to the campaign to free Mustapha and all Palestinian political prisoners.

There will also be presentations about political prisoners in Europe/the Netherlands. European states are stretching the boundaries of the judicial system, criminalizing activism. Long time immigration activist Joke Kaviaar has been senenced to 2,5 months in prison. The state deems her writings against the repressive immigration ‘service’ as sedition. And Peike, a Dutch youth activist, was imprisoned in Germany for participating in the G20 protests. He will hear his final verdict on Monday 21 January.

After the presentations and discussion, we will write letters to Mustapha and other prisoners, and collect money for their legal costs.

18:00 – Vegan dinner (donation based)
19:00 – Presentation and Q&A Free Mustapha Committee
19:45 – Presentation and discussion about European/Dutch political prisoners
20:30 – Letter writing



Who is Mustapha Awad?

Mustapha Awad, 36, has been imprisoned by the Israeli occupation since 19 July 2018. A Belgian citizen of Palestinian descent, born in Ain el-Helweh camp in Lebanon, he is a well-known defender of Palestinian human rights, a metal worker and the founder of Raj’een dabkeh troupe in Brussels, which has performed across Belgium and throughout Europe. He was seized by Israeli occupation armed forces when he attempted to visit Palestine for the first time in his life. After Mustapha’s arrest at the Jordanian-Palestinian border, he was interrogated for nearly a month, sometimes under severe pressure and reportedly up to 20 hours a day.

On 28 November, Mustapha was sentenced by an Israeli court to one year in prison. Like the vast majority of so-called “security” or political cases in Israeli courts (military or “civil”) against Palestinians, the case concluded in a plea agreement. Mustapha was accused of “membership in an illegal organization,” allegedly the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Mustapha’s case may well be used in the future to arrest and sentence more Palestinians trying to visit their homeland. It is therefore important that we raise our voices for Mustapha and all the other political prisoners!



2 February 2019
Nieuwland, Amsterdam
Pieter Nieuwlandstraat 93-95



More info
Free Mustapha Committee http://www.freemustapha.be/

Free Peike https://freepeike.noblogs.org/

Steungroep 13 September, Joke Kaviaar https://13-september.nl/

On the 26th of February Steungroep 13 September are organizing an information meeting about Joke Kaviaar in Nieuwland! Make sure to be there if you want the latest updates on her case. For more info meetings, check https://13-september.nl/

Make sure to check out all other events at Nieuwland, a great social space in Amsterdam https://radar.squat.net/en/amsterdam/nieuwland

This event is organized by Revolutionaire Eenheid. We spread information about injustice, inequality and oppression. We try to unite different struggles and people to strengthen our collective power. Check out our website for more information https://revolutionaireeenheid.nl

Samidoun joins NY Women’s March, calls for freedom for Khalida Jarrar

Photo: Bud Korotzer/Desertpeace

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network joined with other advocates for Palestine to organize a bloc in the Women’s March in New York City in solidarity with Khalida Jarrar and Palestinian women prisoners in Israeli jails. The Samidoun bloc joined the Women’s Unity Rally at Foley Square on Saturday, 19 January, carrying signs urging freedom for Jarrar, the imprisoned Palestinian parliamentarian, leftist, feminist and political leader, held without charge or trial under administrative detention.

The Women’s March had been attacked in previous months, especially by Zionist groups. While they ostensibly raised concerns about antisemitism, the most prominent issue at hand seemed to be criticism of Israel, opposition to Zionism and inclusion of Palestinian women. An “astroturf” group called “Zioness” demanded the inclusion of Zionism in the Women’s Marches and the feminist movement, while Black leaders of the march were attacked and accused of anti-Semitism. While allegations of support for Min. Louis Farrakhan were often invoked in these charges, the real issue seemed once again to boil down to support for Palestinian struggles. This echoed simultaneous attacks on Marc Lamont Hill, fired from CNN for defending Palestinian rights, and Angela Davis, stripped of a civil rights award after Zionist groups denounced her solidarity with Palestine.

Photo: Bud Korotzer/Desertpeace

In New York, an organization calling itself the Women’s March Alliance yet separate from the national Women’s March and its leadership secured the parade permit, but refused to include national organizers or other city activists. The organizers of this event in Central Park affiliated themselves with Zioness and encouraged people to carry Israeli flags in the march.

Photo: Bud Korotzer/Desertpeace

On the other hand, the Women’s Unity Rally in Foley Square worked with the national organizers under attack as well as the New York Immigration Coalition and a range of labor and social justice groups. The Foley Square march also included a Jewish contingent that included Jewish Voice for Peace and a Jews of Color bloc, as well as Gabriela New York, the Filipina women’s movement organization.

Palestinian women prisoners, including Jarrar, have been on the front lines resisting elevated repression inside Israeli jails. Israeli minister Gilad Erdan, also responsible for the government’s global anti-BDS campaigns under the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, some of which were detailed in Al-Jazeera’s unaired series “The Lobby,” has sought to roll back achievements won through years of struggle in Israeli prisons. This has included cutting prisoners’ access to water, denying them family visits and installing surveillance cameras in the women prisoners’ recreation yard. Erdan and others have been using attacks on the prisoners as a method of campaigning for votes in the upcoming Israeli elections.

Jarrar, the former Executive Director of Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, has been imprisoned since July 2017 without charge or trial. Her administrative detention has been repeatedly renewed on the basis of so-called “secret evidence.” The contingent in the Women’s March highlighted her case as a critical example for international support and solidarity to demand her immediate release and the end of her administrative detention. Protesters emphasized the importance of supporting Palestinian women’s struggle and the liberation of all of Palestine.

Photo: Bud Korotzer/Desertpeace

The contingent was also part of the Week of Action to Free Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian prisoners, with events taking place on Saturday in Berlin, Manchester and Nottingham. Another forum on solidarity with Sa’adat and the Palestinian prisoners will take place on Thursday, 24 January in New York.

Berlin protest denounces escalated attacks on Palestinian prisoners

Photo: Afif El-Ali

Protesters in Berlin gathered at Potsdamer Platz on Saturday, 19 January to stand in solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Palestinian and Arab community groups and solidarity activists came together with signs, banners and information about the situation facing Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Photo: Afif El-Ali

Israeli Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan, also charged with leading the government’s global anti-BDS campaign aimed at suppressing international solidarity with Palestine, has launched a series of attacks on the rights of Palestinian prisoners obtained through years of struggle.

Instead, Palestinian prisoners are being treated as imprisoned pawns in the upcoming Israeli elections, with various candidates touting their willingness and eagerness to intensify the brutal nature of the treatment that they face behind Israeli bars.

Photo: Abed Khattar

Erdan has directed the confiscation of thousands of books from Israeli prisoners as well as sharp limitations on water, prohibitions on family visits and various attempts to block Palestinian political organizing inside prison. Of course, Erdan is not alone in this regard; his actions reflect only the latest aspect of Israeli repression of Palestinian political prisoners, a consistent policy for over 70 years of occupation.

Photo: Abed Khattar

Palestinian community groups in Berlin involved in the Palestinian Democratic Assembly, including the Democratic Palestine Committees, Palestinian Community in Germany (PGD), Palestinian Women’s Association (PFD), FOR-Palestine, Palestine House and others, came together to call for a demonstration on 19 January in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners, part of the Week of Action to Free Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian Prisoners. It came in response not only to Erdan’s threats but to a series of racist laws introduced in the Knesset, including bills to prevent the early release of Palestinian prisoners, promote the use of the death penalty and bill prisoners for already inadequate, neglectful healthcare.

Photo: Abed Khattar

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network participated in the demonstration, distributing information about the case of Ahmad Sa’adat and other Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails. International coordinator Charlotte Kates spoke at the event, urging escalation of the movement to boycott Israel.

Photo: Abed Khattar

She noted that Erdan is engaged in attacking the prisoners at the same time that his Ministry of Strategic Affairs is attacking Palestine solidarity and BDS campaigns around the world. Efforts backed by the ministry have aimed to block solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners in particular. She noted that contrary to the allegations of supporters of Israeli apartheid, the BDS campaign and Palestinian liberation are critical anti-racist movements on the front lines of social justice struggles not only in Palestine but in Germany and around the world.

Photo: Abed Khattar

Speakers from FOR-Palestine and the Palestinian Democratic Assembly spoke in German and in Arabic about the situation facing Palestinian prisoners and the urgent need to defend the prisoners. They highlighted the situation of women prisoners, who have been targeted for particular repression, as well as the hundreds of Palestinian children in Israeli jails.

Photo: Abed Khattar

Protests to support the Palestinian prisoners also took place in Manchester, Nottingham and New York, as part of the over two dozen events organized during the Week of Action to Free Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian prisoners. Events will continue in the coming days in Copenhagen, Sao Paulo, Alicante, Athens, Toulouse, New York and Milan.

Photo: Abed Khattar

Ahmad Sa’adat: An exceptional revolutionary leader in challenging times by Khaled Barakat

The following article, by Khaled Barakat, was originally published in Arabic at Quds News Network on 18 January 2019. Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat is the international coordinator of the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat.

The leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Ahmad Sa’adat, does not cry out from prison to complain about his own conditions. He asks nothing for himself except books and some pictures of his family. But we, his friends, comrades and supporters, can and must shout for him, at the very least. This could be described as a challenging time for the Palestinian liberation movement, when the cause and its solid revolutionary core (the Palestinian prisoners’ movement) are subject to escalating Zionist attacks, backed to the hilt by an unparalleled American alliance with Arab reactionary regimes. The Palestinian people and their strugglers in the Gaza Strip are confronting with all forms of resistance the most well-armed force in the region.

At this time, movements of solidarity with the Palestinian people are active in many countries of the world. On this occasion, they are organizing the International Week of Solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat, for the freedom of this imprisoned national leader. He resembles his people and their exceptional strugglers; he brings to mind the pain of the forgotten, suppressed refugee camps, the voices of the Palestinian popular majority, forced under the wheel of occupation and colonialism and into the fires of a regime of total oppression.

The true character of a person can become clear at the most severe moments of challenge. In the case of Ahmad Sa’adat, he has faced a daily test in interrogation rooms and torture cells since 1969, when he was first arrested as a rebellious Palestinian boy on the streets of Ramallah and its camps. Since then, Ahmad Sa’adat, a student at the school of Al-Hakim (George Habash), has always stood firm in each stage of challenge, succeeding in passing the tests – and revealing the essence and meaning of the freedom fighter.

This true character is apparent under the sun, in the time of isolation, exhaustion and retreat, not in the moments of progress, advancement and forward movement. It appears at a time when the situation degenerates, the leadership has no political compas, and there is instead much talk of “peace”, “reconcilation,” and adaptation to the conditions of Zionism and colonialism. In these periods, the intellectuals of the defeated authority also strive, without being pursued or imprisoned by the enemy, to convince the people that they see a rose garden ahead when the Palestinian people know that there is only a dustbin ahead.

The real nature of the revolutionary fighter is shown when their ideas and will are tested on the harsh rocks of reality, which does not lie and is only biased toward the truth. These are important moments in the history of the peopl, the party and the national liberation movement.

“I do not have the right to forget or be tired. I do not have the right to complain,” Ahmad Sa’adat told us in a private message.

And Ahmad is not forgotten

Forgetting, in the Palestinian situation, is more than an error or a lack of follow-through. It is the equivalent of death, acceptance of defeat, submission and its conditions, a betrayal of the very fundamental questions of Palestinian existence. Forgetting is the secret scourge of those who submit and collude with the occupier – and an active and public participation in its crimes. It is the poison of the enemy and its daily weapon, providing the arguments and pretexts for surrender.

Perhaps this is why you find a phrase on the walls of poor Palestinians, in the camps, in the village and in the prisons: We will not forgive and we will not forget.

This stubborn insistence on preserving and protecting Palestinian collective memory and popular consciousness, this steadfastness in defending the cause, is the inspiration to a fighter in a difficult time. And it is a humanitarian and revolutionary value that confirms the meaning of loyalty and commitment to the path of the martyrs, the comrades and the captives who came before, who lived, who will be born, some of whom will never be known. How can his comrades forget Mohammed al-Khawaja, when he remained firm on his last cold night, declaring “confession is treason?” How can Ibrahim al-Rai be forgotten, when he went to death smiling to protect the secrets of his comrades? And Khalil Abu Khadija, Mustafa al-Akkawi, and hundreds of comrades who refused the shackles on their wrists and would not adapt to their conditions. They said: “No.” In a difficult times, without greatness or clarity, how could we forget the leader or the human, or grow tired of the struggle?

Comrade Ahmad Sa’adat shows us the experience of true leaders, the existence of a revolutionary and alternative Palestinian leadership of a different type inside the Zionist prisons. A national leadership born from the womb of the people, born of revolution, intifada and experiences of struggle, a leadership that looks like the Palestinian people – and not like the “brigadier general,” “the colonel,” “the president,” “the minister” or “the ambassador.” A leadership elected through struggle and suffering that derives its legitimacy from higher and more important ethical sources than the Authority’s elections and its confiscated insitutions. Yet, shamefully, those without true political authority, occupy the Authority with authoritarian practices from the palaces of Ramallah.

Ignoring this bitter Palestinian reality or abandoning it in difficult times is a disgrace, as it provides all authority to palaces, bank owners and corporations, while it deprives the camps, subjecting them to punishment and liquidation. There is a close relationship between the camp and the prison; there is also a close relationship between the palace and the treasonous authority.

In the experience of struggle, we recognize some important facts:

The leaders of the national liberation struggle, with revolutionary conviction and steadfastness in the face of the Zionist enemy, also show the highest levels of democracy, flexibility and compassion in dealing with internal issues, in understanding of people’s conditions and situations. On the other hand, you can find that most of the leaders of normalization and security coordination with the enemy are the most harsh and dictatorial in their relations with the masses, within their parties and even inside their homes.

As Palestinians we say: they are soft doves in front of the enemy, and a lion in front of you!

The national leader Ahmad Sa’adat and dozens of his fellow leaders and strugglers in the occupation prisons represent a unique and important model in this Palestinian context. They are imprisoned because the colonizer fears them. This is a fact that must not be forgotten. The issue is not simply that of a person. Instead, the occupier knows that the prsence of these people outside the walls of the prisons, leading the daily struggle, means a change in reality, their noble principles becoming the rule rather than the exception. It is always in the interests of the enemy to deal with a corrupt, ineffective “leadership,” always prepared to fight for its small privileges and crumbs from the rulers of oil and capital.

The reader may ask:

Why do we not see mass popular demonstrations in occupied Palestine and the Arab homeland against the Zionist onslaught on the prisoners’ movement? Or on the anniversary of the kidnapping of the leader Sa’adat and his comrades, which passed without such any action?

This is a burning, logical and legitimate question, yes. But it is also a collective question, and the answer requires work, not mere words or excuses. This is a question for the entire Palestinian national movement, and at the heart of it, the comrades of Ahmad Sa’adat, first and foremost.

Take Action: Free Marzieh Hashemi! #FreeMarziehHashemi

Marzieh Hashemi, an anchor with Press TV and a U.S. citizen, was suddenly detained by U.S. officials in St. Louis airport on Sunday, 13 January while visiting her birth country to visit family and gather information for a documentary project on the Black Lives Matter movement. Hashemi, 59, is a Press TV anchor who has interviewed a number of Palestine solidarity activists and organizers for programs on the Iranian English-language channel highlighting struggles in occupied Palestine. Learn more about the #FreeMarziehHashemi TwitterStorm on Sunday, 20 January.

She is a mother of three and a grandmother of three. Initial reports indicated that Hashemi, who has lived between Iran and Colorado since 2009, was initially forcibly stripped of her hijab and denied access to halal food by her captors. Others have noted that she could be detained in an attempt at some form of leverage by the U.S. government regarding Americans imprisoned in Iran, often on espionage charges. Hashemi had not been contacted by government agencies or questioned prior to her sudden detention, although her family members noted that she is frequently harassed, searched and questioned at length when traveling through American airports.

Hashemi was held incommunicado for two days before finally contacting her family on Tuesday night, 15 January. Reports later indicated that Hashemi was being held as a material witness for an unspecified grand jury hearing taking place in Washington, D.C. The material witness statute gives government officials extensive powers to detain and imprison people who are neither suspected nor charged of committing any crime, as in Hashemi’s case. Of course, grand juries are often used as a means of investigating and extracting information about social movements, because there are fewer restrictions on grand jury procedures in comparison to traditional trials. In addition, people may be granted immunity (even against their will) and compelled to testify before a grand jury at the risk of being imprisoned for contempt of court if they refuse.

Abuse of the grand jury system has been used on multiple occasions to attack Palestinian and solidarity organizers in the United States. For example, 23 activists were subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury in the “Midwest 23” case. Homes of multiple activists were raided, their papers confiscated, their computers seized, in these attacks targeting Palestine solidarity and anti-war activists across the country. All 23 activists refused to appear before the grand jury, and no charges were ever filed in the case; however, the infiltration and attacks were later connected to the deportation of Rasmea Odeh, longtime Palestinian community leader in Chicago, former political prisoner and torture survivor.

In addition, several of the most infamous cases of repression against the Palestinian community also centered on grand jury investigations. Muhammad Salah, a former Palestinian political prisoner living in Chicago, won a major political and legal victory over attempts to name him as a “Specially Designated Terrorist” despite the fact that he was a U.S. citizen. The attack on Salah continued, however, including attempts to imprison him and force him to testify before a grand jury investigating Palestinian and Muslim community organizing. Dr. Abdelhaleem Ashqar was acquitted of substantive charges against him, but served 11 years in prison for refusing to testify before a grand jury similarly digging into community groups.

Sami al-Arian also won a major political and legal victory in his case, when he and several others were accused of “material support for terrorism” – ie, Palestinian liberation. Several co-defendants were acquitted, while Al-Arian was acquitted on 8 of 17, facing a hung jury on the other counts, strongly favoring acquittal. However, Al-Arian’s persecution did not end there. He agreed to a guilty plea to one count to end the case; after being sentenced to 57 months in prison, he then was subpoenaed to four separate grand juries investigating community activism. He was held under house arrest even after his released and threatened with lengthy sentences for contempt of court. Al-Arian was finally deported to Turkey in 2015 after nearly two decades of surveillance, investigations, trials and imprisonment.

Hashemi’s children have launched a Facebook page to advocate for their mother’s immediate release. They issued a statement urging not only support for their mother, but challenging the laws that make her detention possible:

“Alhamdulillah our mother has access and exposure, but there are unfortunately many Muslims in American prisons who need similar accommodations that are never arranged for them. Many Muslims in American prisons who do not, and cannot afford the most qualified legal teams. Our main worry should be with them.

They are invisible, and may go years without their religious requests taken seriously by anyone. Perhaps our mother’s imprisonment will bring exposure to these less known members of our community, and encourage on the ground activism to ensure the rights of these brothers and sisters.

We are all responsible for their wellbeing. These are the people that our mother speaks to us about most often, and tells us not to forget them, not to ignore them.

For us; Hossein, Sarah, and Reza Hashemi, this is not just about our mother. Her case highlights a larger constitutionally legitimized process by way of which people who have not committed a crime can be put in prison through legal means. They can be kept in prison for an indefinite period of time, and all of this is deemed legal and legitimate under U.S. law. This is highly problematic and can effect any one of us at any time.

We believe that it is imperative, especially for marginalized people in the United States of America to understand these controversial laws pertaining to being a “material witness” and other laws that can lead to our detention even if we have done nothing wrong.

We echo the voice of many legal and rights advocacy groups in the United States that find the constitutionality of these laws highly problematic, and, moving forward, we intend to assist organizations that are challenging this legal loophole.”

Hashemi’s family has called for a Twitter storm on Sunday, 20 January. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges people to participate in the social media action (below) and take action to free Marzieh Hashemi. We will continue to update and share actions in support of Marzieh Hashemi and other political prisoners in U.S. jails.

From the Facebook page for the action: Sunday, January 20th at 12pm (EST) to call for the release of Ms. Marzieh Hashemi.

Marzieh Hashemi is a grandmother, mother, an African-American Muslim journalist who has been in the United States, visiting family including her ailing brother and her grandchildren.

On Sunday 13th January she was taking an internal flight from St Louis airport to Denver when she was unjustly detained and transferred to a Washington DC facility by the FBI. She hasn’t been charged of anything and the reason for her detainment hasn’t been made clear.

Marzieh was born in the United States and is an American citizen. She is a Journalism graduate from Louisiana State University. She has been a journalist for several decades. In recent years she has been living in Iran for work as a journalist and often travels home to the United States to visit family and friends.

A phone call to a family member on Tuesday 15th January, Marzieh described that her hijab was removed against her will and she was forced to take a mug shot without her hijab on. She was given short-sleeved clothing that does not comply with her religious dress code and she was forced to wrap a t-shirt on her hair as a temporary head-covering. The police had refused to give her halal or vegetarian meals, effectively denying her food and meaning she has only been able to eat a little bread since being detained.

THESE ARE HUMAN RIGHT ABUSES. WE CAN NOT ALLOW THE FBI OR ANY GOVERNMENT BODY TO INFRINGE ON ANY ONE PERSON INDIVIDUALS HUMAN RIGHTS.

THIS IS INJUSTICE AND WE CALL ACTION AGAINST IT.

We believe in the POWER OF THE PEOPLE. Help up create a Twitter Storm using the hashtag #FreeMarziehHashemi this Sunday at 12 PM (EST)

Today it is Ms. Marzieh who is being unjustly detained and violated, tomorrow it could be you or someone you love.

The #FreeMarziehHashemi Team

24 January, NYC: Free Ahmad Sa’adat – A political forum and discussion

Thursday, 24 January
6:30 pm
Workers World Party
147 W. 24th St
NYC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/652213828528474/

Join International Action Center and Workers World Party for a political forum and discussion featuring Khaled Barakat, International Coordinator of the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat!

WHEN: Thursday, January 24 @ 6:30PM
WHERE: Solidarity Center, 147 W. 24th St, 2nd Floor

MORE INFO ON THE CAMPAIGN TO FREE AHMAD SA’ADAT (taken from http://freeahmadsaadat.org/):

Ahmad Sa’adat, General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, is one of nearly 5,000 Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli jails. These political prisoners, men, women and children, are activists, organizers and political leaders of the Palestinian people.

Sa’adat, with five other Palestinian prisoners, was kidnapped by the Israeli military on March 14, 2006 after a siege upon the prison in Jericho, where he was being held under a U.S. and British guard at a Palestinian Authority prison.

This is a campaign of human rights activists and concerned people from around the world, coming together to address the travesty of justice taking place, and calling for justice and freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian political prisoners.