19 January, Duke University: Child Detention in Palestine with Azadeh Shahshahani

15 January 2017

Thursday, 19 January
12:00 pm
Duke University
West Campus
Allen 304
Durham, NC

Azadeh Shahshahani, legal and advocacy director for Project South, will present a discussion of detention of Palestinian children by Israeli security forces, in a free public talk.

Shahshahani formerly served as national security/immigrants’ rights project director with the ACLU of Georgia, and she is a past president of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG). Through the NLG, she participated in international delegations, including a delegation focused on the situation of Palestinian political prisoners. Shahshahani also serves as chair of Georgia Detention Watch, co-chair of the U.S. Human Rights Network Working Group on National Security, and on the Advisory Council of the American Association of Jurists.

Shahshahani has a master’s degree in modern Middle Eastern and North African studies from the University of Michigan, and earned a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School where she was articles editor for the Michigan Journal of International Law.

This event is organized by Duke University Students for Justice in Palestine.

23 January, NYC: Solidarity Rally for Fordham SJP

15 January 2017

Monday, 23 January
1:00 pm
Fordham University
113 W. 60th St
New York, NY
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1181170275336535/

Fordham Students for Justice in Palestine is calling for a solidarity rally at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus at W. 60th St and Columbus Ave on Monday, January 23 at 1 pm.

The school’s administration has vetoed the student government’s vote to approve SJP for club status. Not only does this move violate free speech principles and civil rights protections, but it also disrespects the authority of the student governing body. It is also a direct attack on Palestine solidarity activism.

We are calling on all those who fight for justice to stand with us as we resist this shameful decision by Fordham University. We need your solidarity and support. We cannot allow this attack on student activists. It’s an attack on our entire community.

#DefendFordhamSJP #Fordham175

Here is some media coverage of Fordham’s decision: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/01/18/fordham-denies-student-palestinian-rights-group-approval-being-too-polarizing

Media contact: fordhamsjp@gmail.com

Istanbul vigil demands freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat, Palestinian prisoners

14 January 2017

A demonstration was organized in Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday, 14 January in solidarity with imprisoned PFLP General Secretary and Palestinian leader Ahmad Sa’adat and his fellow Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails at Galatasaray Square, as part of the International Days of Action on 13-15 January.

The event was organized by Tutsaklarla Dayanisma Inisiyatifi, the Solidarity Initiative with the Prisoners. The event came as part of international days of action in support of Sa’adat and Palestinian prisoners, on the 15th anniversary of his arrest by the Palestinian Authority. Today, Sa’adat is serving a 30-year sentence in Israeli prisons.

Dozens of Turkish and Kurdish activists participated in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners in the occupation prisons, the attacks of the occupation against the Palestinian people and prisoners, and the use of isolation, torture, and prevention of family visits against Palestinians, which the organizers labeled “fascist brutality.”

They carried Palestinian flags and signs calling for freedom for Palestinian leader Ahmad Sa’adat. “The fact that Ahmad Sa’adat was arrested by the Palestinian Authority and the participation of multiple parties in his arrest and the kidnapping from Jericho only proves that Palestinians are not only fighting occupation but that multiple forces are aligned and complicit in their oppression,” said Nicola Saafin of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.

Ali Dogan spoke on behalf of the Solidarity Initiative with the Prisoners, saying that 60 organization around the world have echoed the call to free Ahmad Sa’adat and 7,000 Palestinian freedom fighters. He highlighted the ongoing struggle inside Israeli prisons, and stated that “we are gathered in Galatasaray Square today to be the echo of this international call as the initiative of Solidarity with Prisoners, the voice of the revolutionary prisoners in Turkey.”

The statement also condemned Turkish policies of normalization with the Israeli state and urged all institutions in Turkey to support the struggle of Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian prisoners for freedom and against the Zionist occupation and its policies. The vigil ended with chants in support of the Palestinian cause, the Palestinian prisoners and freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat.

20 January, NYC: Palestine Contingent to Stand Against Trump J20 NYC

14 January 2017

Friday, 20 January
4:30 pm
Tweed Courthouse
52 Chambers St, NYC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1814393222182430/

Join us on the steps of the Tweed Courthouse at 4:30pm to join the main protest at 5pm.

FIGHT IMPERIALISM, FREE PALESTINE, FIGHT TRUMP!
#RightToResist

Main event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1683256988651205/

Events around the world for Days of Action for Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian Prisoners – 13-15 January

12 January 2017

Activists around the world are gearing up for international days of action to free imprisoned Palestinian leader Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian prisoners.

Sa’adat, the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, is currently imprisoned in Israeli jails serving a 30-year sentence for “incitement” and membership and leadership of a prohibited organization, his political party. On 15 January 2002, Sa’adat was arrested by Palestinian Authority security forces after attending a private meeting; the PA arrested Sa’adat and his comrades at the behest of Israel, the United States and the UK under the policy of “security cooperation.”

Sa’adat was imprisoned in a Palestinian Authority jail in Jericho until March 2006, when the prison itself was attacked in a violent Israeli occupation military raid and Sa’adat and his comrades abducted.

The call to action was endorsed by over 60 organizations around the world. A series of events and actions are being planned in occupied Palestine and in cities around the world, including New York, London, Manchester, Toulouse, Paris, Berlin, Milan, Padua, Florence, Brussels, Albuquerque, Hilton Head and Copenhagen, as well as events coming up in Canada, Ireland and elsewhere.

Materials and resources for use are available for download.

Original Call from the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat: Read in English | Arabic | French | Italian

We invite your organizations, groups and coalition to endorse this call to action and participate in the events of January 13-15, 2017. Thank you! Please use the form or email samidoun@samidoun.net to sign on.

Events are already being scheduled in cities around the world. Please share your event with us or email samidoun@samidoun.net.

Endorsers | Events

January 13-15, 2017 marks the 15th anniversary of the seizure of Palestinian political leader, General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Ahmad Sa’adat, by the Palestinian Authority under the policy of “security cooperation,” at the behest of Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom. Today, after a 2006 attack on the Jericho prison by Israeli occupation forces, Sa’adat is serving a 30-year sentence in occupation prisons, convicted in a military court of leading a prohibited organization and incitement.

Ahmad Sa’adat is a leader of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement and a leader of the Palestinian national liberation movement, held behind bars with 7,000 fellow leaders of the Palestinian people. There are thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, on the front line of the struggle for freedom. In the past year, over 6,000 Palestinians were arrested by Israeli occupation forces. These Palestinian political prisoners are the leaders of resistance to occupation, targeted for their role in refusing racism, colonialism, apartheid and occupation.

The imprisonment of Ahmad Sa’adat and his fellow Palestinian political prisoners is aided and assisted by the complicity of international states and major corporations. The United States and United Kingdom guarded Sa’adat in a Palestinian Authority prison and cleared the way for an Israeli attack, ensuring Sa’adat and his comrades came under fire. And the political, military and economic support these and other states, including the European Union and Canada, provide to the Israeli occupation allows the continued imprisonment and extrajudicial execution of Palestinians with impunity. Further, corporations like Hewlett Packard (HP) profit from the imprisonment of Palestinians by selling their services to the Israeli Prison Service.

On January 13-15, 2017, we join in a collective call for international action for the freedom of Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian political prisoners. We demand an end to the internationally-mandated policy of Palestinian Authority “security coordination” that undermines the Palestinian struggle for freedom. And we urge the escalation of the campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against the Israeli state and complicit institutions and corporations, including HP, to create, as Sa’adat said, “a real economic cost for the industries of colonization.”

We echo the call to organize events, actions and protests in cities, town squares, campuses and public spaces to break the isolation of the prisoners, and demand freedom now for Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian political prisoners.

Endorsing organizations:

Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
Handala Center for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners
Palestinian Prisoners’ Committee
Coup Pour Coup 31
International Red Aid / Secours Rouge International
Collectif pour la Libération de Georges Ibrahim Abdallah – Paris
32CSM International Department
ACAT France
Al-Awda: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition (National)
Al-Awda NY: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition
Alternative Information Center
ANPI Torre del Greco
Asociacion Biladi
Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR)
Association Switzerland Palestine
BACBI (Belgian Academic and Cultural Boycott)
Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within (Israeli citizens for BDS)
Canada Palestine Association-Vancouver
Cátedra de Estudios Palestinos “Edward W. Said” – Facultad de Filosofía y Letras- UBA
Communist Party (Sweden)
Corvallis Palestine Solidarity
De-Colonizer
Demokratische Komitees Palästinas – Berlin
éirígí
Exeter PSC
Filipino Refugees in the Netherlands
Freedom Archives
Freedom Road Socialist Organization
Fronte Palestina
Global Campaign for Palestinian Political Prisoners (GCPPP)
Groupe Non-Violent Louis Lecoin
Hilton Head for Peace
ILPS in Canada (Country Chapter)
International Action Center
International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Internationalt Forum – Middle East Group
Invicta Palestina
Izquierda Unida
Jewish Voice for Peace, San Diego
Justice for Palestine Matters
Le Cri Rouge
Mouvement Citoyen Palestine
National Jericho Movement
National Students for a Democratic Society
NYC Students for Justice in Palestine
Palestina Rossa
Pakistan USA Freedom Forum
Partido Comunista de España
Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine
Red Sparks Union
Revolutionary Communist Group
Solidarity with Novorossiya & Antifascists in Ukraine
The New Jewel Movement
Unadikum Association
Union juive française pour la paix (UJFP)
Unione Democratica Arabo Palestina (UDAP) – Italy
United National Antiwar Coalition
Vlaams Socialistische Beweging

Scheduled Events:

New York City – Thursday, January 12, Meeting on anti-inauguration marches, Palestinian political prisoners. 7:00 pm, Solidarity Center, 147 W. 24th St., NYC

New York City – Friday, January 13, Protest to Free Ahmad Sa’adat and Stop HP! 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm, Best Buy Union Square (53 E. 14th St.) , NYC. Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/362798944095466/. Organized by Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

Albuquerque – Friday, January 13, Free Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian Prisoners. 6:00 pm, SouthWest Organizing Project, 211 10th St SW, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1917752155121856/. Organized by Irish Americans for Socialism and Liberation

Brussels – Friday, January 13. Freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat! 7:30 pm, Local Sacco Vanzetti, 54 chaussee de Forest, Brussels 1060. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1334357123293510/. Organized by Secours Rouge and Samidoun, endorsed by Mouvement Citoyen Palestine

Copenhagen – Friday, January 13. Solidarity with Ahmad Sa’adat, PFLP’s general secretary,
and all Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli Prisons. 5 pm, Solidaritetshuset, Griffenfeldsgade 41, Nørrebro (the shop)

Toulouse – Friday, January 13. Table of Information for Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian Prisoners. 6:00 pm, Metro Jean Jaures, 31000 Toulouse, France, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/996856710418892/

Manchester – Saturday, January 14. Boycott Barclays Protest! 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm, Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1279998228726828/. Organized by Manchester Boycott Israel Group

Hilton Head – Saturday January 14. Vigil for Ahmad Sa’adat. 10 am, Highway 278 at HH Library, Hilton Head, South Carolina

London – Saturday, 14 January. Tabling to Free Ahmad Sa’adat and Palestinian Prisoners. 12:00 pm, Court Street, Whitechapel, E1, London. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1750880001895240/ Organized by the East London Revolutionary Communist Group

Milan – Saturday, 14 January. Vigil under the prison of Opera, in solidarity with all prisoners, against isolation (in Italy named 41 Bis), for the liberation of Comrade Ahmad Sa’adat and all Palestinian prisoners. Organized by Fronte Palestina – Details to come

Florence – Saturday, 14 January. Campi Bisenzio – leafleting for the release of Palestinian prisoners and Ahmad Sa’adat, during the vigil to remember Operation Cast Lead. Organized by Fronte Palestina – Details to come

Padova – Saturday, 14 January. display of banners in the city and a radio broadcast about the Palestinian prisoners situation and Comrade Ahmad Sa’adat in the evening broadcast of Radiazione Web radio. Organized by Fronte Palestina – Details to come

Berlin – Sunday, January 15. Palestinian Contingent in the Liebknecht-Luxemburg-Lenin March. 9:30 am, gather at U-Bahnhof Frankfurter Tor. Organized by the Democratic Palestine Committees-Berlin.

Paris – Sunday, January 15. Protest gathering for freedom for Ahmad Sa’adat. 3:00 pm,
Ménilmontant (Paris Métro), 75020 Paris, France, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/252049355226418/

MORE EVENTS TBA in Italy – Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1739069739753137/, Ireland, and more. We urge you to organize events and please share your event with us or email samidoun@samidoun.net.

Israeli charges against Palestinian aid workers al-Halabi and Bursh disintegrate as international funds remain frozen

12 January 2017

The sensationalized cases against Palestinian NGO staff have rapidly disintegrated yet more charges are continually being added, apparently in retaliation for the refusal of a plea agreement, according to his lawyers in a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

When Mohammed al-Halabi, the manager of World Vision’s Gaza operations was arrested in August 2016, the Israeli state embarked on a massive international propaganda campaign declaring that he had diverted $43 million in charitable funds to the Palestinian resistance, including a video from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accusing Palestinians of not caring about their people. Despite the unrealistic figures that far exceeded the total budgets of the charity and the complete lack of evidence provided for the charges, international governments such as the Australian and German governments cut off their funding to World Vision. The charity froze its operations in Gaza and over 100 Palestinian local staff were laid off from their jobs.

Now, however, al-Halabi rejected a plea bargain agreement that would have seen him imprisoned for three years – a strikingly short sentence that indicates charges far below the original, sensationalized media releases. Al-Halabi’s trial is closed to the public, diplomats and journalists, although an open hearing is scheduled to take place today. In apparent retaliation, al-Halabi is now being charged with “passing information to the enemy” and of “aiding and abetting the enemy in a time of war,” with the enemy in question being Palestinians in Gaza. Al-Halabi is, himself, of course, a Palestinian living under occupation in Gaza.

ABC reported that:

“But five months since El Halabi’s trial began, his legal team say they still have not been given the full evidence file against him.

Despite the seriousness of the initial allegations, the ABC has learnt that Israeli authorities recently offered El Halabi a three-year plea deal.

However, the World Vision official rejected the deal and his legal team said he was planning on pleading not guilty.

A source close to El Halabi’s legal team told the ABC the new charges were the result of the Israeli authorities failing to ‘pressure’ him into accepting a plea deal.”

Meanwhile, fellow Palestinian NGO worker, Waheed Bursh of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), whose arrest was also hailed with a similar media display, was recently sentenced to seven months in Israeli prison and was in fact released today – a sentence that clearly indicates a lack of serious or severe charges. The original charges against Bursh accused him of in some way mishandling the rubble left behind by the massive Israeli bombing of Gaza in 2014 for the benefit of the Palestinian resistance. The UNDP itself reaffirmed that the rubble in question was directed as agreed to a civilian area and there “was no diversion.”

Bursh is listed on the Israeli prosecution’s list of witnesses against el-Halabi, even though he insists that he has no knowledge of any wrongdoing whatsoever by the World Vision official. “Al Bursh has already given testimony to police that he has no evidence of El Halabi committing any crimes, a point he reiterated in a special court hearing yesterday,” reported ABC.

The new charges against el-Halabi introduce financial allegations; however, far from the millions of dollars originally publicized belonging to World Vision, the new charges accuse him of donating several hundred dollars of his own money to local charities and mosques in Gaza.

ABC notes that “One incident detailed accuses El Halabi of allegedly giving ‘300 Israeli shekels on a monthly base to a charity managed by Hamas’…Another says the defendant transferred ‘hundreds of shekels during 2015-2016 to a mosque managed by Hamas’…No details are given of the ‘millions’ of dollars Israeli intelligence officials initially accused El Halabi of diverting.” 100 NIS is approximately $26 USD.

Despite the clear disintegration of the Israeli charges against el-Halabi, Bursh and international NGOs in Palestine, the Israeli government has not retracted any of its public charges, nor have international governments, including those of Australia and Germany, restored their funding to the charity. Dozens of Palestinian workers in the already-devastated Gaza Strip remain jobless.

*Updated to note Waheed Bursh was released today.

Palestinian child prisoner Natalie Shokha, 15, denied family visits once again

12 January 2017

Palestinian child prisoner Natalie Shokha, 15, was once again denied family visits under the pretext of unspecified “security reasons” on Thursday, 11 January. Natalie, injured when she was shot by live bullets by Israeli occupation soldiers on 28 April 2016, has been consistently denied family visits since her arrest.

Natalie was recently sentenced to one and one-half years in Israeli prison; she is held in HaSharon prison with other women prisoners and minor girls. Her father said that he had only been allowed one visit with Natalie since her imprisonment. She was seized together with fellow child prisoner Tasneem Halabi, who was also sentenced to one and one-half years in prison just days ago.

Samidoun in New York recently highlighted Natalie’s case in a protest building the campaign to boycott Hewlett-Packard for the company’s role in profiteering from the occupation, oppression and imprisonment of Palestinians.

A letter from Natalie to her mother was widely distributed internationally:

My greetings to all of the generous people of my beloved village, Rammun. My greetings to the council of the village and to everyone who supports its development.

Mother, I am in now in prison a member of the cultural committee. I have also become a member of the magazine. I discuss novels and I am the fourth in reading. 🙁 Thank God at any rate.

Mom, Dad, everyone here is proud of your raising of me. Have your head held high. And I am living in the room with six other girls. We are the twelve flowers (security prisoners who are minor girls). We live together through bad and good times. Mom, please say hello to all and tell them I miss them so much and that I am sorry if I forgot anyone. May God bring us together, united, soon. God, bring us freedom now!

They will not imprison the scent of jasmine in a flower!

The prisoner Natalie Shokha
HaSharon Prison
Division 14

Natalie is one of over 300 Palestinian children imprisoned in Israeli prisons. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges the immediate release of Natalie and all Palestinian child prisoners.

Nael Barghouthi, longest-held Palestinian prisoner, transferred to Gilboa prison

12 January 2017

Nael Barghouthi, the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner, was transferred on Tuesday, 10 January from Ramon prison to Gilboa prison. This marks the fourth consecutive time that Barghouthi has been transferred recently.

Barghouthi has spent a total of nearly 36 years in Israeli prisons. Arrested in 1978 and sentenced to a life sentence for his involvement in the Palestinian resistance, he was released with over 1,000 fellow prisoners in the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner exchange in 2011.

While he married after his release and returned to his life in the village of Kobar outside Ramallah, in 2014, he was swept up with other former prisoners in a series of arrests. Under Israeli military order 1651 – violating the release agreement – re-arrested prisoners can have their former sentences reimposed upon them by a military committee on the basis of secret evidence. This secret evidence is denied to both the prisoner and their lawyer.

Even with this secret evidence, Barghouthi was ordered to 30 months in prison, a sentence that ended on 17 December 2016. However, he was not released, because in 2015, the Israeli military prosecution appealed the sentence, demanding his original life sentence be re-imposed. No decision has yet been made in the case by the committee.

His lawyers appealed for his release, but on Wednesday, 4 January, it was denied by an Israeli military court. His family have emphasized their commitment to appeal the case.

Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association and Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network are joining in this urgent call for action to pressure Israel to release Nael Barghouthi, being held as a political hostage by the Israeli government.

TAKE ACTION:

Sign and share the Change.org petition to urge international officials to take action for Nael Barghouthi’s release: https://www.change.org/p/international-officials-pressure-israel-to-free-nael-barghouthi

Organize a protest, demonstration, speaking event or banner drop in your city, community or campus calling for freedom for Nael Barghouthi and his fellow Palestinian prisoners.

Write to Israeli officials to demand Nael Barghouthi’s release. Write a message and email or fax it to the officials. Details available here: https://samidoun.net/2017/01/take-action-urgent-call-to-free-nael-barghouthi-longest-held-palestinian-prisoner/

Omar Nayef Zayed’s family wins re-opening of investigation into his death

12 January 2017

The Bulgarian Court of Cassation ordered a new investigation into the death of Omar Nayef Zayed and the formation of a new investigatory team in a decision on Wednesday, 11 January.

The family of Omar Nayef Zayed appealed the report of the coroner which argued that Nayef Zayed was responsible for his own death in the Palestinian Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria on 26 February 2016. Nayef Zayed had taken refuge inside the embassy after he was pursued for extradition by the Israeli state.

Israel and Bulgaria have an extradition treaty, and the Israeli embassy sought Nayef Zayed’s arrest and extradition on the basis that he had escaped from Israeli imprisonment over 25 years before. He was convicted of participating in a Palestinian armed resistance action and ordered to a life sentence; following a 40-day hunger strike, Nayef Zayed escaped from a psychiatric hospital and, after four years in hiding, moved to Bulgaria, where he married and had children, and was a visible figure in the Palestinian community in Sofia.

Samidoun organized an international campaign against the extradition of Nayef Zayed, demanding the Bulgarian government reject the extradition request.

While he was in the embassy, he was subject to pressure from Palestinian Authority representatives about his ongoing situation. On 26 February, he was suddenly found dead outside the embassy, having fallen to the ground from a height.

In late 2016, the Bulgarian coroner released a report on the case stating that the cause of death was suicide; however, the family appealed the report and raised evidence that was not included in the final report, prompting the court to order a new investigation of the case.

Palestinian cancer patient Moatassem Raddad enters 11th year in prison with worsening health

12 January 2017

As imprisoned Palestinian cancer patient Moatassem Raddad, 34, enters his 11th year in Israeli prisons, his health condition has continued to worsen.

Raddad, from the city of Tulkarem, is held in the Ramleh prison clinic where he suffers from bowel cancer. His family have noted that he is a victim of medical neglect and years of delay in treatment after he originally reported severe pain in his abdomen. Raddad takes more than 17 daily medications, including chemotherapy drugs.

Raddad’s brother said on Thursday, 12 January, the 11th anniversary of Moatassem’s seizure by occupation forces, that his health condition is very serious and he continues to suffer from severe intestinal bleeding, high blood pressure, severe pain and neuropathy. He further emphasized that his brother has not received full information about his own medical care and his medications or access to the results of his medical tests, noting that the entry of an independent Palestinian medical team was rejected by the Israeli prison administration.

His brother demanded Raddad’s immediate release, saying that he needs treatment in an advanced civilian hospital, not a military prison clinic. He has previously been denied early release despite his severely ill health.

Raddad was arrested from Jenin refugee camp in 2006 and accused of resisting the Israeli occupation’s invasion of the camp with the Al-Quds Brigades, in which he was injured. Sentenced to 20 years in Israeli prisons, he has been forbidden visits from his 70-year-old mother on the grounds of “security.”

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