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30 September, Vancouver: “Radiance of Resistance” Film Screening

Sunday, 30 September
7:00 pm
Centre for Socialist Education
706 Clark Drive
Vancouver, BC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1935607186739396/

CELEBRATE AHED TAMIMI’S RELEASE FROM ISRAELI JAIL!

**Left Film Night Presents: Radiance of Resistance**

Sunday, Sept. 30, 7 pm
Centre for Socialist Education, on Unceded Coast Salish Territories
706 Clark Drive, Vancouver (corner of Clark & E. Georgia)

(Directed by Jesse Roberts, 2016, 59 minutes)

The award-winning documentary Radiance of Resistance tells the stories of Janna Ayyad and Ahed Tamimi, who have become global ambassadors for Palestinian human rights. The film is an intimate look at their everyday lives and role as part of the new generation of Palestinian civil rights leaders. Janna has been called “the youngest journalist in Palestine”, and Ahed, now 17, generated international support after being dragged from her home in a predawn raid in December 2017 because she stood up to IDF soldiers who invaded her home and shot her cousin. Imprisoned for eight months in an Israeli jail, Ahed was released on July 29. Radiance of Resistance includes grass roots footage from local Palestinian journalist Bilal Tamimi. Filmmakers Jesse Roberts (PUSH Tunisia) and Jesse Locke (AMZ Productions) did several trips over the course of a year to capture the story.

Left Film Nights are presented by the Centre for Socialist Education, Young Communist League, and the Vancouver East Club of the Communist Party of Canada.

For info, call 604-255-2041, email <pvoice@telus.net>

5 October, Copenhagen: Meeting on the Palestinian Liberation Struggle with Khaled Barakat and Charlotte Kates

Friday, 5 October
5:00 pm
Solidaritetshuset
Griffenfeldsgade 41
Copenhagen, Denmark
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1783676545020072/

The speakers will address:

– The Great March of Return in Gaza
– The present situation in Palestine
– The political prisoners’ situation and their role in the liberation Struggle
– International solidarity work to support Palestine

Khaled Barakat is a Palestinian writer and coordinator of the campaign to Free Ahmed Sa’adat
Charlotte Kates is coordinator of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

Organized by: Internationalt Forum, the Middle East Group
www.internationaltforum.dk

Møde om den palæstinensiske befrielseskamp

Kom til møde i butikken i Solidaritetshuset, Griffenfeldsgade 41, 2200 Nørrebro
Fredag den 5. oktober kl. 17-19

Khaled Barakat og Charlotte Kates vil holde oplæg om:

– The Great March of Return i Gaza
– Den aktuelle situation I Palæstina
– De politiske fangers situation og rolle I befrielseskampen
– Det internationale solidaritetsarbejde i forhold til Palæstina

Efter oplæggene vil der være tid til spørgsmål og debat.

Der kan købes kaffe/the og kager til solidaritetspriser

Khaled Barakat er palæstinensisk forfatter og koordinator for Free Ahmad Sa’adat Kampagnen.
Charlotte Kates er koordinator for Samidoun, netværket for solidaritet med politiske fanger.

Mødet foregår på engelsk.

Arrangør: Internationalt Forums Mellemøstgruppe

28 September, Toronto: Children’s Righs in Reality of Ongoing Global Colonization

Friday, 28 September
2:00 pm
Friends House
60 Lowther Ave
Toronto, Ontario
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1182163618588304/

The United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child: Perceptions and Reality in the Context of Ongoing Global Colonization

This panel brings together academics, international law experts, human rights activists and child & youth professionals to look a:

– the vision of the United Nation’s Convention on the Right of the Child, and
-the reality is for indigenous populations here on Turtle Island, for immigrant and refugees to Canada, along with the role Canada plays internationally related to children.

This is an opportunity to understand realities and consider the real advocate role called for by the child and youth professionals, policy makers, academics, and othe60rs.

Speakers:
– Jonathan Kuttab, International Human Rights Lawyer
– Tori Cress, leader of the Idle No More movement
-Swathi Sekhar, immigration lawyer

3 October, Paris: Presentation of “Revolutionary Suicide” by Huey P. Newton

Wednesday, 3 October
8:15 pm
Quilombo Bookstore
23 rue Voltaire
Paris, France
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/531774523938911/

The publishing house, Editions Premiers matins de novembre, is pleased to invite you to the launch of Huey Newton’s autobiography, “Revolutionary Suicide,” published in 1973. This book will be the first French translation. The event will take place in the presence of Amzat Boukari.

“Revolutionary Suicide” by Huey P. Newton
Prefaces by Ahmad Sa’adat and Amzat Boukari Yabara

An eloquent reflection of the birth and development of a revolutionary, Huey P. Newton’s autobiography is both a captivating manifesto and an intimate portrait of the Black Panther Party organization. From his childhood in poverty on the streets of Oakland to the struggles against American apartheid, from his major role in the Black Panthers to his trial and imprisonment in Alameda County, Revolutionary Suicide is a powerful testimony to the struggle of the people for self-defense and Black liberation.

“I do not think that life will change for the better without an assault on the Establishment, which goes on exploiting the wretched of the earth. This belief lies at the heart of the concept of revolutionary suicide. Thus it is better to oppose the forces that would drive me to self-murder than to endure them. Although I risk the likelihood of death, there is at least the possibility, if not the probability, of changing intolerable conditions. This possibility is important, because much in human existence is based upon hope without any real understanding of the odds. Indeed, we are all—Black and white alike—ill in the same way, mortally ill. But before we die, how shall we live? I say with hope and dignity; and if premature death is the result, that death has a meaning reactionary suicide can never have. It is the price of self-respect.

Revolutionary suicide does not mean that I and my comrades have a death wish; it means just the opposite. We have such a strong desire to live with hope and human dignity that existence without them is impossible. When reactionary forces crush us, we must move against these forces, even at the risk of death. We will have to be driven out with a stick.”
– Huey P. Newton, Revolutionary Suicide

Les éditions Premiers matins de novembre sont heureuses de vous inviter à la présentation de l’autobiographie de Huey Newton ” le suicide révolutionnaire”, publiée en 1973.
Ce livre en est la première traduction française.
Cette rencontre se fera en présence de Amzat Boukari

LE SUICIDE RÉVOLUTIONNAIRE– HUEY P. NEWTON-

-PRÉFACES PAR AHMAD SAADAT ET AMZAT BOUKARI YABARA–

Retraçant de façon éloquente la naissance et la formation d’un révolution­naire, l’autobiographie de Huey P. Newton est à la fois un manifeste captivant et le portrait intime de l’organisation du Black Panther Party. De son enfance pauvre dans les rues d’Oakland aux luttes contre l’apartheid amérikkkain, de son rôle ma­jeur dans les Black Panthers à son jugement et à son emprisonnement au comté d’Alameda, le Suicide Révolutionnaire est un témoignage puissant des luttes popu­laires et politiques pour l ‘auto-défense et la libération du peuple noir.

«Je ne pense pas que la vie changera pour le mieux sans une lutte contre le pouvoir en place qui perpétue l’exploitation des damnés de la terre. Cette croyance est au cœur du concept de suicide révolutionnaire. Alors, il préférable de m’opposer aux forces qui me conduiraient à me tuer moi-même plutôt que de les en­durer.»

«Le suicide révolutionnaire ne signifie pas que mes camarades et moi avons le souhait de mourir, cela signifie justement le contraire. Nous avons un si fort désir de vivre avec espoir et dignité que notre existence sans est impossible. Quand les forces réactionnaires nous écrasent, nous devons réagir contre ces forces, malgré le risque de mort.

29 September, Madrid: Ahed Tamimi at Fiesta Madrid with Samidoun

Saturday, 29 September
6:00 pm
Escenario Trece Rosas
Villa de Vallekas
Madrid, Spain
More details: http://www.fiesta.pce.es/2018/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/379150989269507/

For the end of the occupation of Palestine. Meeting with Ahed Tamimi.
With Ahed Tamimi, Palestinian activist and Charlotte Kates, coordinator of Samidoun (international organization supporting Palestinian prisoners) and Manu Pineda, secretary of International Relations of the Communist Party of Spain.

Por el fin de la ocupación de Palestina. Encuentro con Ahed Tamimi.
Con Ahed Tamimi, activista palestina y Charlotte Kates, coordinadora de Samidoun (organización internacional de apoyo a los presos palestino) y Manu Pineda, secretario de Relaciones Internacionales del PCE.

23 September, Dublin: We Taste Tesco Funding Occupation Vigil

Sunday, 23 September
2:00 pm
Custom House Square
Dublin, Ireland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/256579355192297/

We call on Tesco to respect your customer’s ethical and moral values.

By continuing to trade with Apartheid Israel you help fund the Israeli economy and the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine, apartheid and violations of international law.

Tesco, Stop profiting from the murder and oppression of innocent civilians.

Boycott Israeli Goods.
Always check the label.
Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions.

Israeli Occupation forces have murdered over 200 people so far this year.

Israeli snipers have murdered over 160 protesters including paramedics, journalists and dozens of children since March 2018.

Israeli snipers have injured over 18,000 unarmed protesters in Gaza since March 2018.

Israel has murdered over 3,000 children in the past 17 years.

“Those who entertained officials from apartheid SA were on the wrong side of history during the 1980s, and those who are entertaining Israel today will be judged harshly by history.”

COSATU, South Africa’s largest trade union federation.

Apartheid – Wrong in South Africa, Wrong in Palestine.

#FullEconomicSanctionsNow

#OfficiallyRecognisePalestine

#ExpelAllIsraeliDiplomatsfromIreland

#BDSIreland

26 September, Brussels: Free Mustapha Awad! Protest at the Israeli embassy

Wednesday, 26 September
3:00 pm
Sterrewachtlaan 40 Avenue de l’Observatoire
Uccle, Belgium
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/489626281447469/

EN – It has been two months since our dear friend Mustapha Awad, a Belgian citizen of Palestinian origin, was arbitrarily detained by the Israeli authorities.

Mustapha is an artist and co-founder of the Raj’een Dabkeh Group, a human rights defender, a metalworker and a resident of Aalst. This summer, he decided to visit Palestine, the land of his grandparents.

His arbitrary arrest and detention is very disturbing. Mustapha has been subjected to inhuman treatment, amounting to torture, while under interrogation. During these two months of detention, Mustapha has been denied even the opportunity to call his family. On October 2, he will appear for the third time before an Israeli court.

2,668 people have signed the Free Mustapha Committee’s petition in the last month calling for Mustapha’s release. 177 organizations have signed this petition, including 84 Belgian organizations.

Join us to raise our voices for Mustapha’s freedom. Demonstrate in front of the Israeli Embassy, ??Avenue de l’Observatoire 40, 1180 Uccle, on Wednesday, 26 September, from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm.

#FreeMustapha

FR – Aujourd’hui, cela fait deux mois que notre ami Mustapha Awad, Belge, d’origine palestinienne a été arrêté arbitrairement par les autorités israéliennes.

Mustapha est artiste, cofondateur du Raj’een Dabkeh Group, activiste pour les droits humains, ouvrier métallo, habitant d’Alost. Cet été, il avait décidé de visiter la Palestine, la terre de ses grands-parents.

Cette arrestation arbitraire et cette détention sont très inquiétantes. Mustapha a été victime de traitements inhumains, relevant de la torture, au moment des interrogatoires. Mustapha, pendant ces deux mois de détention, n’a toujours pas eu la possibilité de téléphoner à sa famille. Il comparaîtra pour la troisième fois devant une cour israélienne le 2 octobre prochain.

Des amis de Mustapha, les membres de son groupe de danse et des représentants d’organisations pour la Palestine ont formé le Comité Free Mustapha.

Ce comité a récolté en un mois de temps 2.668 signatures pour une pétition réclamant sa libération. 177 organisations ont signé cette pétition, parmi lesquelles 84 organisations belges.

Faites entendre votre voix pour la libération de Mustapha, rejoignez-nous devant l’ambassade israélienne le mercredi 26 septembre de 15h à 16h30, avenueue de l’Observatoire 40, 1180 Uccle.

NL – Vandaag is het precies 2 maand geleden dat onze vriend, Mustapha Awad, Belg van Palestijnse origine, op willekeurige gronden werd gearresteerd door de Israëlische autoriteiten.

Mustapha is artiest, medeoprichter van de Raj’een Dabkeh Group, mensenrechtenactivist, arbeider in de metaalsector en inwoner van Aalst.
Deze zomer besliste hij Palestina, het land van zijn grootouders, te bezoeken.

Deze willekeurige aanhouding en hechtenis zijn zeer verontrustend.
Mustapha onderging onmenselijke behandelingen tijdens zijn ondervragingen.
Ook kon Mustapha gedurende deze twee maanden gevangenschap nog geen enkel contact hebben met zijn familie.
Op 2 oktober verschijnt hij voor de derde keer voor een Israëlische rechtbank.

Vrienden van Mustapha, de leden van zijn dansgezelschap en vertegenwoordigers van Palestina verenigingen richtten het Comité Free Mustapha op.

In één maand tijd haalde dit Comité 2668 handtekeningen op via een petitie voor zijn onmiddellijke vrijlating.
177 organisaties, waaronder 84 Belgische, ondertekenden deze petitie.

Laat je stem horen voor de vrijlating van Mustapha, kom mee betogen op woensdag 26 september van 15u tot 16u30 aan de Israëlische ambassade, Sterrenwachtlaan 40 te 1180 Ukkel.

10 days for action: Demand France pressure Israel to free Salah Hamouri now

Salah Hamouri, the French-Palestinian lawyer held without charge or trial under administrative detention, will see his current detention order expire on 30 September. These expiration dates have come and gone in the past with much sorrow, as his detention has been repeatedly renewed, approved by far-right, racist Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

Dozens of French cities and towns and over 1,700 elected officials have joined the call for the release of Hamouri, who is a French citizen as well as a Palestinian Jerusalemite. However, despite weak requests for Hamouri’s release, the French government inaugurated the “France-Israel season” with a showy joint celebration featuring President Emmanuel Macron and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On 16 September, Elsa Lefort, coordinator of the campaign and Hamouri’s wife – herself barred from Palestine by the Israeli occupation – spoke before the annual Fete de l’Humanite in Paris, urging freedom for Hamouri:

The campaign to free Salah Hamouri has issued a call for urgent messages to French president Emmanuel Macron, demanding action and serious pressure from the French government for Salah’s release, using the hashtag: #LiberezSalah

Sample short message suitable for Twitter, Facebook or Instagram:

La détention administrative est une emprisonnement arbitraire et illégale utilisée par Israël pour opprimer le peuple palestinien. Le président Macron doit exiger la libération immédiate et inconditionnelle de Salah Hamouri avec la plus grande force. #LiberezSalah

Administrative detention is arbitrary and illegal imprisonment used by Israel to oppress the Palestinian people. President Macron must call for the immediate and unconditional release of Salah Hamouri with the greatest strength. #LiberezSalah

Two months of detention for Belgian Mustapha Awad: committee calls for action

The Free Mustapha Committee issued the following press release on 19 September, the two-month anniversary of the detention of Belgian-Palestinian artist and metalworker Mustapha Awad. Samidoun joins the Committee in reiterating its demand for the immediate, unconditional release of Mustapha Awad and for action on the part of the Belgian government to defend its citizen subjected to arbitrary detention, torture and political imprisonment. To sign on to the call to action, visit the campaign form. We urge all to attend the protest next Wednesday in Brussels to demand Mustapha’s freedom! 

Press release, Wednesday, 19 September

Today marks two months since our dear friend Mustapha Awad, a Belgian citizen of Palestinian origin, was arbitrarily detained by the Israeli authorities.

Mustapha is an artist and co-founder of the Raj’een Dabkeh Group, a human rights defender, a metalworker and a resident of Aalst. This summer, he decided to visit Palestine, the land of his grandparents.

His arbitrary arrest and detention is very disturbing. Mustapha has been subjected to inhuman treatment, amounting to torture, while under interrogation. During these two months of detention, Mustapha has been denied even the opportunity to call his family. On October 2, he will appear for the third time before an Israeli court.

Friends of Mustapha, fellow members of his dance troupe and representatives of organizations defending Palestinian rights have come together to form the Free Mustapha Committee.

This committee has collected 2,668 signatures in one month for a petition calling for Mustapha’s release. 177 organizations have signed this petition, including 84 Belgian organizations (see list below).

More than 300 people participated in a photo campaign, including prominent figures such as:: Alain Platel, founder of Ballets C de la B; Anya Topolski, founder of EAJS, Een Andere Joodse Stem (Another Jewish Voice); Robert Vertenueil, President of the FGTB-ABVV; Fatiha Dahmani, union secretary of LBC-NVK; Anne Morelli, retired professor at the Free University of Brussels and Belgian historian; Eyal Sivan, Israeli filmmaker and writer; Josy Dubié, former journalist and senator; Dominique Surleau, General Secretary of Présence et Action Culturelles (PAC) …

The signatories of the petition call on Belgium to assume its responsibilities and protect its citizens.

The Free Mustafa Committee praises the work of the administration and the consul, who met Mustapha several times. The Committee expects that Minister Reynders must address Prime Minister Netanyahu rapidly and that Mustapha, who has been detained for 62 days, must be released as soon as possible.

In the meantime, the Free Mustapha Committee is calling for a demonstration in front of the Israeli Embassy, ​​Avenue de l’Observatoire 40, 1180 Uccle, on Wednesday, 26 September, from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm.

The Free Mustapha Committee

Belgian and International Endorsing Organizations: (visit the campaign form to add your group today)

  • ACV-CSC Brussel-halle-vilvoorde internationaal verantwoordelijke
  • Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS)
  • AFPS 63
  • AFPS Nord-Pas de Calais
  • AFPS Paris-Sud
  • Al Arte
  • Al-Awda, Palestine Right to Return Coalition – NY
  • American Muslims for Palestine – NY
  • Amitié Sans Frontières,  Vriendschap Zonder Grenzen
  • Anakbayan EU
  • Antwerp for Palestine
  • Article 1 Collective
  • Artistes contre le mur
  • Asbl Aljabal
  • Asociacion Biladi
  • Association Belgo-Palestinienne
  • Association Charente Palestine Solidarite
  • Association des Universitaires pour le Respect du Droit International en Palestine (AURDIP)
  • Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), India
  • Association Marocaine des Droits Humains
  • Bacbi: Belgian Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
  • BADIL
  • BDS Berlin
  • BDS ULB
  • Be Pa
  • Black4Palestine
  • BRussells Tribunal
  • Bruxelles Panthères
  • Canada Palestine Association-Vancouver
  • Casa del Mundo Aalst
  • Centre Culturel Arabe en Pays de Liège
  • Cercle des Étudiants Arabo-Européens de l’ULB
  • Change asbl
  • Christian Peacemaker Teams
  • Climaxi
  • Comité BDS Bruxelles
  • Comité de Vigilance pour la Démocratie en Tunisie
  • Comité pour une Paix Juste au Proche-Orient
  • CPJPO, Luxembourg
  • Comité Unité
  • Comite Verviers Palestine
  • Communauté Palestinienne en Belgique
  • Communist Party of Belgium
  • Communist Party (Sweden)
  • Coup Pour Coup 31
  • CSC Charleroi-Sambre & Meuse
  • Cubanismo
  • Dar al Janub – Union for antiracism and peace policy
  • Diensten en Onderzoek Centrum Palestina (docP)
  • ECCP  – European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine
  • ECOLO J
  • Een Andere Joodse Stem / Another Jewish Voice
  • Eglise Protestante Baptise La Fraternité
  • Entraide et Fraternité/Vivre Ensemble
  • EuroPalestine
  • Familles de prisonniers pour la justice (Belgique)
  • FGTB
  • FGTB Métal Charleroi
  • FGTB Charleroi Centrale Générale
  • FGTB Wallonie
  • Filipino Refugees in the Netherlands (FREN)
  • Freedom Archives
  • Free Palestine Movement
  • French Friends of the Freedom Theatre in Jenin
  • Front Uni des Immigrations et des quartiers populaires (FUIQP)
  • Gaffi asbl
  • GAPP (Gents ActiePlatform Palestina)
  • GVHV / MPLP
  • Greek Front of Resistance and Solidarity with Palestine “Ghassan Kanafani”
  • Groupe Non-Violent LOUIS LECOIN
  • GUPS Aix-Marseille
  • Hand in Hand
  • Hannah vzw
  • Honduraswerkgroep
  • Independent Jewish Voices – Canada
  • Inminds Human Rights Group
  • Intal
  • International Action Center
  • IJAN, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network
  • International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS)
  • Internationalt forum – Middle East group
  • Investig’Action
  • Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign
  • ISM-Northern California
  • Jacksonville Community Action Committee
  • Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network
  • Jews for Palestinian Right of Return
  • Jeunes Organisés et Combatifs – JOC
  • Justice Sans Frontières JSF Belgium
  • KARAPATAN
  • Käthe Kollwitz Vredesloop
  • Labor for Palestine
  • LBC-NVK
  • Le Space
  • Leuvense Actiegroep Palestina
  • Ligue des Droits de l’Homme de Liege
  • Links Ecologisch Forum/Forum Gauche Ecologie
  • London Palestine Action
  • Manchester Boycott Israel Group
  • Maramya ASBL
  • Mouvement Chrétien pour la Paix
  • MOC de Charleroi-Thuin
  • Mouvement Citoyen Palestine
  • Mouvement ouvrier chrétien (MOC)
  • NAIS/SAF/Vrouwen tegen fascism-racism
  • National Democratic Front of the Philippines
  • National Lawyers Guild Palestine Subcommittee
  • Nederlands Palestina Komitee
  • NPPF Belgium
  • NY4Palestine
  • NZ Palestine Solidarity Network (New Zealand)
  • OCML VP
  • Paix Juste au Proche-Orient Ittre
  • Palestina Solidariteit
  • Palestina Solidariteit Herent / 11.11.11-Herent
  • Palestina Solidariteit Wetteren
  • Palestine Solidarity Committee – Austin, Texas
  • Palestine Democratic Forum
  • Palestinian Rights committee, Albany New York USA
  • Parallelo Palestina
  • Partido Communista de Espana
  • Partij van de Arbeid (PVDA) / Parti du Travail de Belgique (PTB)
  • Party for Socialism and Liberation
  • Peoples Video Network
  • Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Committee
  • Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine
  • Plateforme Palestine Watermael-Boitsfort
  • Porte-parole du Collectif Judéo Arabe et Citoyen pour la Palestine
  • Presence et Action Culturelles
  • Project South: Institute for the Elimination of Poverty and Genocide
  • PVDA Antwerpen
  • Raad voor Internationale Samenwerking Aalst
  • Raj’een Dabkeh Group
  • Refuchances
  • Rise Up
  • Rojava Solidarity
  • SAIA York (Students Against Israeli Apartheid, York University)
  • Samidoun Göteborg
  • Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
  • Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign
  • Secours Rouge Canada
  • Secours Rouge de Belgique
  • Solidaris – Union Nationale des Mutualités Socialistes
  • Solidaris Namur
  • Solidarité Maroc05
  • Solidarity4All
  • Studenten voor Rechtvaardigheid in Palestina – Amsterdam
  • Students for Justice in Palestine Houston
  • Students for Justice in Palestine, Temple University
  • Students for Justice in Palestine UCSB
  • Students for Justice in Palestine VUB
  • Students for Justice in Palestine, University of South Carolina
  • SUD Solidaires
  • The Rights Forum
  • Unadikum
  • Union générale des femmes palestiniennes en Belgique et au Luxembourg
  • UJFP – Union juive française pour la paix
  • Union of Palestinian Communities and Institutions – Europe
  • Union syndicale étudiante (USE)
  • UPB (Ugnayang Pilipino Belgium)
  • UPJB | Union des Progressistes Juifs de Belgique
  • US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
  • Via Velo Palestina
  • Victoria Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid
  • Victory to the Intifada (Manchester)
  • Vie Féminine
  • Viva Salud (Belgian NGO, formerly G3W/M3M)
  • Vrede vzw
  • Vriendschap صداقة  
  • Vrouwen in het Zwart, Vrouwen voor Vrede
  • Vrouwen in het Zwart, Maastricht
  • V-SB (Flemish Socialist Movement)
  • vzw Victoria Deluxe
  • WALPURGIS
  • Werkgroep Vluchtelingen Gent vzw
  • Werkgroep Vrede en Ontwikkeling Watermaal-Bosvoorde
  • WESPAC Foundation
  • Women in Black (Vienna)

 

Free Raja Eghbarieh! Abnaa el-Balad movement leader targeted for Israeli persecution

Palestinian leader Raja Eghbarieh, a longtime leader of the leftist Palestinian Abna’a el-Balad movement in occupied Palestine ’48, was seized by Israeli forces from his home in Umm el-Fahm on the morning of Tuesday, 11 September. His detention has been extended on several occasions and he will be once again brought before an Israeli court on Thursday, 20 September.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network expresses our strongest solidarity with Raja Eghbarieh, and we demand the release of this Palestinian national leader. His imprisonment highlights the reality that all Palestinians face a systematic settler colonial system of racist oppression and political persecution and imprisonment. We urge friends and supporters of Palestine around the world to take up the call and join the campaign to free Raja Eghbarieh!

Israeli “anti-crime” police stormed the family home in Umm al-Fahm while Eghbarieh’s wife, Ilham Odeh, and daughter Anat were still wearing pajamas. Police seized three computers in the house, including those that belonged to Anat and Ilham. They did not confirm where he was being held until the following day after he was taken from his family home.

Upon his arrest, he was interrogated for seven hours in Megiddo prison before being transferred to solitary confinement. Eghbarieh, 67, was not allowed to receive his medications to treat breathing problems; three days into his isolation, his lawyers filed an objection to the inhuman and degrading treatment to which he was being subjected. He has been denied family visits until the present day.

Photo: Raja Eghbarieh taken to Israeli court

The Israeli occupation is accusing Eghbarieh of “incitement to terrorism and violence” for giving public political speeches and writing on social media about the struggle of the Palestinian people for liberation. Al-Akhbar newspaper reported that the Israeli forces’ interrogation of Eghbarieh focused on his political activities, the work of Abna’a el-Balad and the meaning of his position in the movement. The founding general secretary of the movement elected at its national conference in 1990, he today serves as a member of its political bureau.

This is not the first time he was detained; he and 10 other leaders of the Abnaa el-Balad movement were held without charge or trial under administrative detention in 1987 after playing a leading role in a general strike within Palestine ’48 as part of the first Intifada. He has been arrested on multiple occasions by Israeli forces over his years of struggle.

Israeli prosecutors are allegedly labeling him a “danger to the state” for his words of struggle and justice for Palestine, illustrating the reality that the settler-colonial Zionist state built on the dispossession of the indigenous people of the land is “endangered” by Palestinian truth and reality.

Photo: Raja Eghbarieh speaks at a public event

Palestinian political leaders also noted that Eghbarieh’s arrest comes in the context of ongoing discussions throughout the Palestinian liberation movement and especially those inside occupied Palestine ’48 about new steps of unity and confrontation of the Zionist state. These discussions have escalated after the passage of the “nation-state law” and the growing disillusionment with participation in the Knesset as a means of fighting for Palestinian rights. In Al-Akhbar, they noted that the arrest of Eghbarieh appears to be another attempt to block a promising Palestinian political project from coming to fruition.

“The occupation is disturbed by every political or national activity carried out by any Palestinian on the ground….the nation-state law did not surprise us, the state’s ideology and racism do not need the enactment of new laws. What it fears most is our political unity,” said Ilham Odeh, Eghbarieh’s wife and comrade. “The Israeli occupation authorities do not intimidate us with their arrests or their failed attempts to destroy the Abnaa el-Balad movement…We are absolutely certain that all of this is part of the political persecution of the movement, its leaders and the Palestinian leadership within the occupied homeland,” she said.

Protesters call for Raja Eghbarieh’s freedom on 16 September.

Supporters of Eghbarieh, the Abnaa el-Balad movement and Palestinian liberation protested outside the Hadera court on 16 September as Eghbarieh’s detention was extended once again. Throughout the proceedings, his lawyers have continued to insist that his words are public and he stands behind them with pride in commitment to the struggle for the liberation of the Palestinian people. Nevertheless, the Israeli prosecution read out lists of names of people – all Palestinian Arabs in occupied Palestine ’48 – prosecuted for posting about politics on Facebook. The Free Haifa blog also noted that the police spokesperson noted that Eghbarieh “writes many posts and receives many likes and shares” as a justification for his continued detention.

Perhaps the best-known such case is that of Dareen Tatour, the Palestinian poet currently serving out the final two months of her prison sentence after three years under house arrest for publicly posting about politics and sharing her poetry on Facebook and Youtube. Another key case in the ongoing repression of Palestinians in occupied Palestine ’48 has been that of Sheikh Raed Salah, repeatedly arrested, imprisoned and subject to solitary confinement.

TAKE ACTION! 

Palestinians in occupied Palestine ’48 – like their sisters and brothers throughout Palestine and internationally – are under attack. Take action to defend Raja Eghbarieh and demand his freedom! 

  1. Join the social media campaign! Like and share the Free Raja Eghbarieh facebook page. Take a photo with our Free Raja Eghbarieh poster – either a selfie or a group photo – and share it on Facebook, Instagram or your favorite social platform.
  2.  Organize or participate in a protest, demonstration or other gathering or event to free Raja Eghbarieh and free Palestine!  Bring posters and organize or attend a protest for Palestine. Hold a community event or discussion.  Find your nearest Israeli embassy here:  https://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-of/israel – or hold an activity in a popular area of town. Write to us at samidoun@samidoun.net or contact us on Facebook to let us know about your action! 
  3. . Boycott, Divest and Sanction. Hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law. Don’t buy Israeli goods, and campaign to end investments in corporations that profit from the occupation. Learn more at bdsmovement.net.