We live in difficult times. Settlers have committed atrocities against poor and colonized people across the world. But people have fought back not only in response to a global authoritarian turn, but also to build a better world, a world in which many worlds fit. From the inner cities to rural Indian reservations, from Palestine to Turtle Island, our struggles are interwoven. We are not free unless all our relatives are free!
This year’s Native Liberation Conference focuses on global solidarity and decolonization in the heart of empire, bringing together Native, Black, undocumented, and Palestinian organizers. In this time of terrible danger, we must work together to build a better world — the future of the planet is at stake!
Speakers and agenda TBA.
Workshops will focus on:
Protecting the Greater Chaco Landscape
Indigenous Youth Organizing
Extractivism
Palestine Freedom
Black Liberation
No Ban On Stolen Land
The Pueblo Revolt and the Entrada
Police Violence
Indigenous Queer Feminism
Indigenous Peoples and the Left
Anti-Imperialism
Decolonizing Sexuality
And More!
This is an all-ages event open to the public, and no admission fee or registration is required.
The Red Nation is a volunteer-based organization dedicated to the liberation of Indigenous life and land. We rely entirely on volunteer support and donations. If you are able to donate to the event, please do so here: https://therednation.org/support/. Everything counts! Thank you.
As the assault on Gaza continues with innocent children, women, and men are suffering we want to express our desire and solidarity to help those in Gaza by helping and supporting those affected most. KinderUSA, Philly BDS, JVP-Philly, Temple SJP and other local organizations will be setting up an event for Gaza, focusing on the humanitarian needs of the people.
The event is family friendly and will include dinner, musical entertainment, speakers and raffles. Suggested donations of $15.00 is highly encouraged!
KinderUSA is a registered non-profit that works directly with families, children, and individuals on the ground in Gaza.
Israel has just officially announced themselves as an apartheid regime, downgrading and degrading the status of the Palestinians. In the last 3 months, the Israeli Army has massacred over 140 Palestinians who were protesting in Gaza.
As they still march, still stand against the bullets, don’t turn your back on Gaza now. Stand with Gaza and against all UK complicity with these Crimes on the Manchester Streets this Saturday 1pm starting in Piccadilly Gardens.
During the Great Return March in Gaza Israeli snipers have shot and injured thousands of protesters with live ammunition. They have killed clearly-marked journalists like Yaser Murtaja and Medics in Lab coats trying to help the wounded like 21 year old Razan Al Najjar. They’ve killed 25 children during the protests and 3 children in 2 days this week. 15 year old Othman Rami Hilles was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers who fired live bullets at a peaceful protest along the fence in Gaza and a day later best friends Amir al-Nimra who was 15 years old, and Louay Kuhail, who was 16 years old, were bombed while playing on the roof of their house. On Friday Israeli jets and drones devastated Gaza with a mass bombardment not seen since the bombing of Gaza 4 years ago that murdered 2200 people – over 500 children lost their lives in 50 days. The Israeli Regime is threatening an all out attack on Gaza and we in Manchester will stand in the way and we will stand against companies on UK high Streets who are profiting from Israel’s mass murder and imprisonment of the Palestinians. Join us at Piccadilly Gardens at 1pm this Saturday.
Mural on Apartheid Wall honoring Ahed Tamimi by artist Jorit Agoch.
Ahed Tamimi, 17, the Palestinian teen activist whose detention has drawn global outrage and solidarity, and her mother Nariman Tamimi, are scheduled for release from Israeli occupation prisons on Sunday, 29 July. Both are leaders in the indigenous, anti-colonial land defense movement in their village of Nabi Saleh, which faces land confiscation and even the theft of its well from the illegal, Jewish-only colonial settlement of Halamish.
After their release, the Tamimi women are planning to resume their activism immediately, heading directly to the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar, targeted for demolition by Israeli occupation forces for a press conference. Their family eagerly awaits their release; Bassem Tamimi, Ahed’s father and Nariman’s husband, said in an interview with Reuters that “time is an eternity for those who wait, it is mixed feelings. Our home and hearts are open to reunite with her, hopefully we will meet soon.”
Ahed, a globally known activist who has spoken around the world, including in South Africa, Lebanon and throughout Europe, was seized by occupation forces on 19 December 2017 after a video of her slapping a heavily armed Israeli occupation soldier as she demanded he leave her family’s land went “viral” on Facebook. Ahed’s mother, Nariman, was also arrested and charged with livestreaming the video on Facebook. Their case inspired widespread Palestinian, Arab and international solidarity and affirmation of Palestinians’ right to resist occupaition.
Ahed and Nariman are not the only Tamimi family members jailed; indeed, dozens of Tamimis have been arrested and imprisoned for their involvement in the land defense movement. Ahed’s own brother Waed is currently jailed in Ofer prison. Many of the Tamimi family members targeted have been children and teens; they are among over 350 Palestinian children jailed by the Israeli occupation.
In a statement, Saleh Higazi of Amnesty International noted that “Ahed Tamimi’s release must not obscure the familiar and continuing story of the Israeli military using discriminatory policies to lock up Palestinian children. Her unjust imprisonment is a reminder of how the Israeli occupation uses the arbitrary military courts to punish those who challenge the occupation and illegal settlements expansion policies, without any regard to age.”
Ongoing protests around the world have demanded Ahed’s release and that of fellow Palestinian prisoners. In New York, Samidoun activists and others organized protests that drew hundreds of supporters and then joined monthly actions at the “Fearless Girl” statue to highlight the Palestinian fearless girl, Ahed. Over 1.5 million people around the world signed a global petition to demand Ahed’s freedom and numerous organizations campaigned for her release.
A new mural was also created on the Apartheid Wall to honor Ahed Tamimi in advance of her release. Painted by Italian street artist Jorit Agoch, the 13-foot mural rises high in the air with a realistic portrait of the young activist. It borders another mural on the wall honoring slain health worker Razan al-Najjar, shot down by Israeli forces while providing medical support to protesters at the Great Return March in Gaza.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network eagerly awaits the release of Ahed and Nariman Tamimi on Sunday. There are thousands – indeed, millions – of people in Palestine and around the world who have played a role in the campaign to win their freedom. The release of Ahed and Nariman must inspire us to escalate our campaigns to win the freedom of all of the other over 6,000 Palestinian political prisoners behind Israeli bars and to win freedom for the land and people of Palestine.
As even more Palestinian leaders and activists are ordered imprisoned without charge or trial, four Palestinian prisoners are on hunger strike. Hassan Shokeh of Bethlehem has now been on hunger strike for 55 days; he is protesting against his administrative detention.
Shokeh was scheduled to be released in June; upon his arrest in September 2017 – only one month after his release from a prior stint in administrative detention – he launched a hunger strike when he was ordered jailed without charge or trial once again. His case was moved to the military courts and he was sentenced to six more months in Israeli prison. However, when his sentence expired, he was ordered jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention instead of released as scheduled.
Shokeh, 30, is being held in isolation at the Ramle prison clinic, and his father said that he has lost more than 30 kilograms of weight and suffers from continuous pain and serious deterioration in his health condition. Shokeh’s father criticized the insufficiency of support efforts for his freedom, saying that the actions of human rights organizations has not gone beyond the typical solidarity activities of prisoners’ families.
Palestinian lawyer Moataz Shqeirat said that Shokeh must use a wheelchair to move and suffers severe eye pain, headache, fatigue and nausea. The Ofer military court held a hearing yesterday to consider Shokeh’s request for release due to his worsened health condition, but the it was postponed until Tuesday with the statement that full medical records need to be maintained.
Shokeh’s family has been denied visits since his arrest; only his 10-year-old sister was allowed a visit. Since he launched his strike, no family visits have been allowed at all. Shokeh has spent 12 years in Israeli prisons in multiple arrests, eight of those years in prison without charge or trial under administrative detention.
Shokeh’s strike is part of an uprising in the prisons against administrative detention. There are currently nearly 450 Palestinians – out of a total of over 6,100 political prisoners – jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention. Administrative detention orders are issued for one to six months at a time on the basis of “secret evidence,” and they are indefinitely renewable. Palestinians have spent years at a time jailed under administrative detention orders that are repeatedly renewed.
Since February, the administrative detainees have been united in their boycott of the military court hearings to approve their detention orders. They have continued the boycott to demand an end to the practice of imprisonment without charge or trial. At least two minor children are currently held in administrative detention, Laith Abu Kharma from the village of Kafr Ein, and Hussam Khalifa from the village of al-Walaja.
Joining Shokeh on strike against administrative detention are Mahmoud Ayyad, for 21 days and Anas Shadid, for 7 days. Mohammed Dar Sattouf al-Rimawi has been on hunger strike against his arrest for 6 days. Several fellow administrative detainees have also taken up hunger strikes during Shokeh’s battle, which have been suspended with assurances that their detention orders will no longer be renewed.
Photo: Anas Shadid
Shadid, 21, from the town of Dura near al-Khalil, formerly conducted an 88-day hunger strike against a previous imprisonment without charge or trial. He launched his most recent strike after his detention was renewed again for the third time in June 2018.
Abdel-Majid Shadid, Anas’ brother, said that his brother was seized by occupation forces in June 2017 only two weeks after he won his freedom through the 88-day strike. He has carried out several strikes during this period of detention to demand his freedom.
Rimawi is on strike as he is being held under interrogation at the Ashkelon interrogation center. Palestinian lawyer Khader Daibes of Addameer said that the interrogators shouted at him and threatened him and his family, preventing him from showering and repeatedly searching his cell at night to deprive him of sleep. He was summoned to interrogation at Ofer prison on 19 July and then denied the right to leave, transferred instead to the Ashkelon interrogation center. Rimawi was released six months ago from a three and a half year sentence in Israeli prisons.
Many prominent Palestinian leaders are jailed under administrative detention, including imprisoned parliamentarian, leftist and feminist Khalida Jarrar and French-Palestinian lawyer and advocate Salah Hamouri.
Wasfi Qabha. Photo: Asra Media
As prisoners escalate their struggle against the practice of detention without charge or trial – first introduced to Palestine by the British colonial mandate and taken up thereafter by Zionist colonialism – the Israeli occupation has continued to order more Palestinians to administrative detention. Wasfi Qabha, 56, the former Palestinian minister of prisoners, was ordered to five months in indefinitely-renewable detention after he was seized by occupation forces on 5 July. He was released only five months ago from an 8-month administrative detention period.
Thabet Nassar. Photo: Asra Media
Thabet Nassar, 40, a nurse, was ordered to six months in administrative detention after he was seized from his Nablus home on 28 June, only five months after his release from 20 months in administrative detention. A former hunger striker, he has been detained eight times and spent 14 years in Israeli jails, 9 of them without charge or trial under administrative detention.
Meanwhile, Ayman al-Tabeesh, a former long-term hunger striker who went on a 105-day hunger strike to win his freedom from administrative detention, had his detention order renewed for the sixth consecutive time for another six months. He has spent over 12 years in Israeli prisons, most in administrative detention; he has currently been jailed since 2 August 2016. He was held in isolation for eight months, sparking repeated protests among fellow prisoners, and was only returned to regular prison sections in the past few days.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges the escalation of protests and actions in solidarity with the struggle to end administrative detention. Administrative detention is a colonial weapon used to separate effective leaders from the Palestinian people through arbitrary imprisonment without charge or trial. It is also a form of psychological torture for both prisoners and their families, denying them even the knowledge of when or if they will be released. We urge the immediate end of the practice of administrative detention and the release of all Palestinian prisoners. As the prisoners boycott the military courts, it is our responsibility to escalate boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns to isolate the Israeli state that confiscates Palestinian land, rights and freedom.
Three young Palestinian women and girls successfully passed the secondary school examinations from inside Israeli prisons. Lama Hafez al-Bakri (16), Malak Mohammed Salman (18) and Manar Majdi Shweiki (16) obtained scores of 80%, 91% and 90% respectively.
All three girls were sentenced to lengthy prison terms after they were arrested as minors. Lama is serving a 39-month sentence, accused of possession of a knife, while Manar was sentenced to six years in Israeli prison, accused of attempting to stab Israeli occupation forces. Malak was sentenced to 10 years in Israeli prisons for allegedly stabbing occupation forces at the Damascus gate in Jerusalem.
The lengthy sentences handed out to Malak and Manar parallel a number of other extremely long sentences against Palestinian children from Jerusalem. Nurhan Awad was sentenced to 13 years in Israeli prisons, Ahmed Manasrah to 12 years and Muawiya Alqam to 6 years. In all cases, the children were by far the most severely injured parties; in the cases of Nurhan and Ahmed, both witnessed the killing of their young cousins beside them before being seized by occupation forces.
The Palestinian minor girls, held in HaSharon prison, achieved this success despite being repeatedly denied access to teachers. Palestinian parliamentarian, leftist and feminist Khalida Jarrar ran classes for the girls. The prison administration attempted to ban the classes, sparking a protest among the women prisoners, who closed their section and refused meals until the administration relented and promised the return of an external teacher.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes Lama, Malak and Manar on their accomplishments and all of the Palestinian child and youth prisoners who continue to struggle to achieve their right to education denied to them by the Israeli occupation. We demand the release of all Palestinian child prisoners and Palestinian prisoners sentenced as children in Israeli jails, as part of the freedom of all Palestinians imprisoned by the occupation.
Lama Khater says farewell to her son as she is taken away by Israeli occupation forces. Photo distrubuted by the Khater family.
Palestinian writer Lama Khater was arrested by Israeli occupation forces in the early morning hours of 24 July 2018, her family capturing images of her as she hugged her young child before she was taken away by the soldiers who invaded their family home in occupied al-Khalil. Khater, 42 and a mother of five, is a Palestinian activist and writer who has previously been called for interrogation by occupation forces. Her detention was extended for eight more days on Thursday, 26 July.
Lama Khater
Hazem al-Fakhouri, a journalist and Khater’s husband, said that his wife was facing harsh interrogation in the Ashkelon interrogation center, a notorious site for severe pressure on arrested Palestinians. Palestinian lawyer Firas al-Sabbah visited Khater on 24 July. Al-Sabbah said that Khater had been denied sleep, was handcuffed to a chair by interrogators and was cursed and shouted at by occupation forces. Before being taken to Ashkelon prison, she was held for hours at the Kiryat Arba illegal settlement colony.
Fakhouri told the Asra Media Center that occupation forces seized Khater only two days after she was last summoned to interrogation by occupation forces. He said that they told her that if she stopped writing, she would not be arrested and asked about the age of her youngest son, Yahya, who is two years old. They wanted to know if he was still dependent on breastfeeding for nourishment.
Khater’s writing is regularly published on a number of websites and in publications; she has been questioned by Palestinian Authority security forces in the past as well. Fakhouri, her husband, has also been seized by occupation forces and the PA on multiple occasions.
Four women arrested in al-Khalil in the last month and a half Image via Asra Media.
She is one of four women who have been seized by occupation forces from the city of al-Khalil, including city council member Suzan Owawi and fellow prisoners Safaa Akram Abu Hussein – whose detention was extended on Thursday alongside Khater’s – and Dina Said al-Karmi. Oweiwi, 39, has been jailed since 5 June; her detention has been repeatedly extended after a lengthy interrogation in Ashkelon. Oweiwi is well-known for her work in support of Palestinian prisoners.
Abu Hussein, 32, runs a society called Happy Homes and has been jailed since 18 June, when occupation forces invaded Al-Fawwar refugee camp. Dina al-Karmi, 38, has been imprisoned since 3 July. Oweiwi is the mother of four, Abu Hussein the mother of four and al-Karmi the mother of one.
In the cases of other women prisoners, the trial of Areej Hoshiya, 19, from the village of Qatana north of Jerusalem, was continued until 8 August 2018. She has been jailed since 28 December 2017 when she was crossing Qalandiya with her sister who has Down syndrome; she was attacked by occupation soldiers for allegedly crossing in the wrong lane and accused of attempting to attack occupation soldiers. Her trial has been postponed 12 times.
Palestinian prisoner Yasmin Abu Srour, 21, was released on 26 July after 6 months in prison; she was seized by occupation forces on 17 January 2018. A Palestinian refugee from Aida camp in Bethlehem, she was jailed for “incitement” for posting political comments on social media.
An Israeli appeals court rejected the application for early release for Palestinian prisoner Ibtisam Mousa, 59, from Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. Mousa was seized as she came to the Beit Hanoun/Erez crossing with her sister, going to the West Bank for treatment for cancer. Jailed since 19 April 2017, she was accused of planning to support the Palestinian resistance in the West Bank. She has served 15 months of her 24-month sentence and suffers from several illnesses.
Palestinian graphic illustrating the prisoner leaders who have joined the strike and their political affiliations.
The Lift the Sanctions movement is echoing inside Israeli jails, as several leading Palestinian prisoners announced the launch of an open hunger strike on 25 July 2018 against PA sanctions policies against prisoners from Gaa. Representing a united front of all major Palestinian political parties within Israeli jails, the hunger strikers are demanding the reinstatement of aid and social support to Palestinian prisoners and their families from the Gaza Strip.
As part of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah’s sanctions on Gaza, which have included cuts to social benefits, delays in approval of medical treatment, cuts to electricity payments and other key issues that have affected the popular classes in the Strip, prisoners’ allowances, which are used to purchase goods at the “canteen” or prison store were also slashed or eliminated for Palestinian prisoners from Gaza, as were family support funds. Research has shown that prisoners are economically exploited and pay artificially high prices for food and other items. Palestinian prisoners’ families also rely on these social benefits, as their imprisoned family members are denied the opportunity to work to support their wives, children and parents.
The Palestinian prisoners’ movement is a moral and political beacon for the Palestinian liberation struggle, and attacks on the well-being of Palestinian prisoners are particularly appalling in this context. It should also be noted that the severance of such payments is a key demand of Israel and the United States, and supporters of Israeli colonization and apartheid have engaged in heavy lobbying on an international level in an attempt to cut all support for Palestinian prisoners.
Of course, the particular targeting of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza, at the same time that PA officials swear to uphold support for prisoners and their families, comes hand in hand with the intensified Israeli siege on Gaza and the daily bombing of the Strip. The PA sanctions have tightened even as over 136 Palestinians from Gaza have been killed in peaceful, popular protests for the right of return and the breaking of the siege under the banner of the Great March of Return. In addition, the PA sanctions on Gaza cannot be separated from the policy of security coordination that sees it turn over information on Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation and imprison, interrogate and harass Palestinian community organizers.
In cities throughout occupied Palestine, protesters have taken the streets to demand the lifting of PA sanctions, especially amid the worsening Israeli siege on Gaza. During those protests, they have faced at times violent repression from PA security forces.
The policies have sparked anger especially as they coincide with intensified Israeli attacks. Fishermen’s fishing zone has been reduced once again to three nautical miles, commercial and trade crossings have been closed and the attempts to suppress Palestinian resistance through starvation and siege have only intensified. It is in this context that Palestinian protesters have made clear that the PA’s sanctions serve only to perpetuate and intensify the siege, in line with Israeli and U.S. policies.
Against this framework and de facto alliance, the prisoners have launched a historic and unprecedented strike inside Israeli occupation prisons against the policies of the Palestinian Authority that work in cooperation with the Israeli occupation. The prisoners who have launched the hunger strike are among the most prominent leaders of the prisoners’ struggle and the national liberation movement as a whole:
From the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Kamil Abu Hanish, leader of the Front’s branch in occupation prisons
From Islamic Jihad, Zaid Bseiso, chair of the leadership committee of the Islamic Jihad prisoners in occupation prisons
From Hamas, Mohammed Arman, the chair of the leadership committee of the Hamas prisoners in occupation prisons
From Fateh, Nasser Oweis and Majid Masri, coordinators of the preparatory committee of their organization in occupation prisons
From the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Mohammed al-Maleh of the DFLP’s prison branch
The prisoners’ movement issued a statement, noting that more prisoners will be joining the struggle in the coming days. The launch of the hunger strike came as imprisoned PFLP General Secretary Ahmad Sa’adat issued a call for unity from Ramon prison, calling for “popular unity and democracy” in the Palestine Liberation Organization, so that it can act as the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people in all their political and social colors and in all locations.” He emphasized the need to activate the interim leadership of the PLO to plan for its reconstruction and a democratic election process as essential to reconciliation and national unity.
Sa’adat demanded “the cessation of all punitive measures against the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip…in order to confront all of the external pressures of the U.S. and Israel.” In addition, he urged the implementation of the striking prisoners’ demands, noting that these prisoners whose families are suffering “have sacrificed their freedom to defend the fundamentals of the Palestinian national cause.”
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network stands with the hunger strikers and demands the lifting of the PA’s sanctions on Gaza and Palestinians from Gaza, inside and outside Israeli jails. We join with the Palestinian, Arab and international movement to break the siege on Gaza, from the Great Return Marches to the Freedom Flotilla sailing for justice for Palestine.
The statement of the prisoners is republished below:
Statement issued by the prisoners’ movement in the jails of the Zionist occupation
After months of efforts to return the social support funds to the families of the Palestinian political prisoners from the Gaza Strip held in Israeli occupation prisons, and after we have seen that the only answer is to increase the injustice against these families, we are moving forward in the framework of progressive steps of protest. This includes the open hunger strike by a number of prisoners.
Because those who are in the position of responsibility must be at the forefront of the struggle and put their flesh and blood on the line for those who have entrusted them with the duties of leadership, so we take action in the prisoners’ movement today to strengthen our protest steps and raise the call for justice and confront the falsehoods about how these benefits have been prevented from reaching families.
Today, we announce the launching of an open hunger strike by the leaders, officials and coordinators of the organizations of the national Palestinian prisoners’ movement in the occupation prisons. These are the brothers, comrades and mujahideen, as follows:
For the Palestinian National Liberation Movement – Fateh: Coordinators of the preparatory committee for the organization in the prisons of the occupation, Nasser Oweis and Majid Masri
For the Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas: Chairman of the supreme leadership council of the Hamas prisoners in the occupation prisons, Mohammed Arman
For the Islamic Jihad Movement: Chairman of the supreme leadership council of the Islamic Jihad movement in the occupation prisons, Zaid Bseiso
For the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine: Leader of the PFLP Prison Branch, Kamil Abu Hanish
For the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine: Mohammed al-Maleh
We in the prisoners’ movement affirm this escalation of our protest steps and vow that a greater number of prisoners will join the strike in the coming days if these rights are not returned to our families. This is, above all, a legitimate, legal and moral right and attempts to undermine it are an attack on the values of our Palestinian people and their unified consensus.
We trust you, our people, that you will be our throats that will cry out on behalf of our absent voices.
You will not perish, and your victories and struggles continue.
Your brothers in the prisoners’ movement in the occupation prisons
Wednesday, 25 July 2018
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network strongly supports the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza and the international campaign to break the siege. We salute the latest Flotilla on its launch and will be sharing news, information and updates about the progress of this global popular effort to break the siege on Gaza that has been imposed by the Israeli colonial occupation with the full support and complicity of the United States, the European Union and reactionary Arab regimes. This effort is one that is mobilized arm in arm with organizations in Palestine, including the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, the alliance of land defenders, farmers and fishermen that works to organize the agricultural workers who face daily fire from occupation forces in the so-called “buffer zone” while farming their land or in the sea around Gaza while attempting to ply their historic trade of fishery. The fishing boat that is part of this year’s flotilla will remain behind for Palestinian fishers.
The report of the Flotilla’s launch is reprinted below:
Three boats are sailing with boxes of medical supplies: Al Awda (The Return), a large converted fishing vessel; Freedom to Gaza, a large sailing vessel; and Falestine, a smaller sailing vessel. A fourth boat, Mairead, will not sail at this time. Another Sicilian port, Messina, opened its open civil society arms as usual with a series of wonderful community events, and we are grateful for their solidarity.
All three boats making their way to Gaza will be donated to the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, that includes a fisherman’s union that will use the boats to fish in order to feed their families.
Spokesperson for the Swedish Ship to Gaza campaign, Jeannette Escanilla, said the boats would provide important economic and training opportunities for Palestinians trapped in Gaza.
“The illegal Israeli naval blockade has devastated the Palestinian economy, and in particular has hurt the fishing industry in Gaza so these boats will provide important economic opportunities for Palestinians in Gaza, and also training opportunities in sailing, to enable them to gain better qualifications. Currently, the Israeli Occupying Force prevent Palestinians in Gaza from sailing more than a few nautical miles from shore, and routinely attack fishing and other boats from Gaza.”
The following petition was launched by Jews for Palestinian Right of Return. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network supports the petition and encourages supporters of Palestine, especially in New York and throughout the U.S., to sign on:
Supporters of justice around the world were heartened when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently won the Queens Democratic congressional primaries with a grassroots campaign that included a forceful condemnation of the ongoing Israeli massacre of Palestinian Great Return March protesters in Gaza.
Now, under intense Zionist backlash, she has “walked back” her stand, saying she had not used “the right words” in calling out Israeli occupation, and endorsing Israel’s “right to exist.”
We fully embrace Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ original defense of Palestinian rights, and reiterate these essential facts:
The Great Return March demands an end to Israel’s genocidal siege on Gaza, as well as refugees’ right, enshrined in UN Resolution 194, to return to homes from which they were expelled during the 1948 Nakba (Catastrophe) that created that Israeli state.
Alexandria, your campaign is only as strong as its principles. Just as you speak truth to power for Abolish ICE, Standing Rock, Black Lives Matter, and Puerto Rico, stand firm with justice for Palestine!