Join us at 2p on Saturday November 5th at the Omni Hotel (450 Summer St, Boston) as we let the Jewish National Fund (JNF) know that their colonizer conference will not be tolerated in Boston!
The JNF’s national conference this year will be held at the Omni Hotel in Boston’s Seaport area from November 4-6. Consistent with the JNF’s broader work, it is hosting this conference to amplify its poisonous zionist message and assist illegal settlements in Palestine. As members of the greater Boston Palestinian and Palestine solidarity communities, we are disgusted by this blatant zionist propaganda and refuse to allow this conference to happen quietly in Boston.
Why the JNF? – the JNF has played an active role in the displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in their own lands since 1901. The JNF works hand -in-glove with the Israeli military and conducts greenwashing campaigns to raze Palestinian villages and replace them with parks.
This year’s conference has meetings for several “task forces” for strategic planning to expand illegal settlements on Palestinian land. Follow the Shut Down JNF accounts and stay tuned for more info about the horrific details of this event and how you can show up to disrupt it.
For the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea and the right to return of all Palestinians
To support the Palestinian people, their resistance and their liberation movement
For the release of all Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli, PA, Arab reactionary and imperialist prisons, including the release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, Lebanese struggler for Palestine jailed in France for 38 years.
To end the blockade and siege on Gaza
To demand and implement the total boycott of the Israeli occupation, including kicking Israel out of the United Nations and bringing an end to the “EU-Israel Association Agreement”
To denounce the responsibility of imperialist powers in forming, funding and arming the Zionist colonial regime in Palestine
To demand an end to the listing of resistance organizations and rights defenders as “terrorists” and the repression of Palestinian organizing by the US, EU and others
To confront the collaborationist role of the Palestinian Authority and the so-called “peace process” and the normalization projects being pursued by reactionary Arab regimes under imperialist auspices.
To honour the activists, leaders, strugglers and organizers assassinated by the occupation forces, especially those in Europe
Thousands participated in the March and associated events, with over 100 organizations endorsing the march organized by the Masar Badil, the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, its chapters and affiliate organizations, including Collectif Palestine Vaincra, Samidoun Deutschland, Samidoun Nederland, Samidoun Paris Banlieue and Samidoun Spain, participated widely in the March.
Belgian partner organizations Classe Contre Classe, Secours Rouge and the Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine played a crucial role in organizing the march while EuroPalestine brought multiple buses of participants from France. The photos below give just some glimpses of the enthusiasm, revolutionary optimism and commitment to Palestinian liberation on the streets of Brussels:
The March for Return and Liberation for Palestine filled the streets of Brussels near the European Parliament on Saturday, 29 October, following a week of activities and events leading up to the culmination of the march. The Week of Action for Return and Liberation was organized by a range of organizations, including Classe Contre Classe, Secours Rouge, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and the Masar Badil, the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement.
The week unofficially launched on Saturday, 22 October with the mass march on Lannemezan prison, where Lebanese Communist struggler Georges Ibrahim Abdallah has been jailed by France for over 38 years. The Collectif Palestine Vaincra, a member organization of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, organized buses and carpools from Toulouse that brought over 100 people to join the 1,000 marchers from collectives and organizations throughout France.
Moving to Brussels, on 24 October the week officially began in a packed room without enough seats for all attendees, which would become the standard throughout the week. The presentation by Luk Vervaet and Ahmed Frassini presented the French-language anthology “Sumud,” focusing on Palestinian political prisoners. Frassini spoke about the campaign to return the bodies of detained Palestinian prisoners that continue to be held by the Israeli occupation.
Once again, a Brussels bookshop was filled to overflowing on Tuesday, 25 October with a presentation of the Works of Mohammed Boudia at Météores. Boudia, an Algerian theatre director and fighter for Algerian independence, later joined the Palestinian revolution and fought in the ranks of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He was assassinated by the Israeli Mossad in Paris in 1975.
One day later, Belgian, Arab and Palestinian young people filled the Sacco-Vanzetti space on Wednesday, 26 October as two activists from La Grue collective reported back from their experiences in Palestine, as well as showing films and videos highlighting current developments in the Palestinian cause.
On Thursday, 27 October, Manu Pineda, Member of European Parliament from Spain, convened a special forum on Palestinian refugees and the right to return in the Parliament building, where members of the Masar Badil, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, the Collectif Palestine Vaincra and other organizations addressed European parliamentarians on the need to implement Palestinians’ right to return and put an end to European colonial complicity in Zionist colonialism in Palestine.
They urged a complete boycott of the Israeli occupation and ending gas deals based on the exploitation of stolen Palestinian natural resources, as well as ending the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which gives preferential treatment to the occupation in trade and funding.
On the evening of 27 October, Samidoun organized an international forum in solidarity with Palestinian political prisoners. The event was facilitated by Thomas Hofland of Samidoun Netherlands, who spoke about Samidoun’s work and its goal to form a bridge between the Palestinian resistance strugglers jailed in Zionist prisons and the global movement.
He also discussed the role of Europe’s gas deals with the occupation, emphasizing the importance of campaigning to end the colonial plunder of Palestinian and Lebanese resources at the hands of the occupation for trade with Europe.
Mohammed Khatib, Europe coordinator of Samidoun, launched the event with a political introduction to the Palestinian cause, situating the Palestinian prisoners at the center of resistance to Zionism, imperialism and reactionary forces, including the so-called “Palestinian Authority.”
Charlotte Kates, international coordinator of Samidoun, who had been denied entry to the European Union alongside Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat, the co-founder of the Masar Badil, spoke over video, giving an overview of the situation of Palestinian prisoners today and why it is so urgent to organize for their liberation.
Jaldia Abubakra of Samidoun Spain spoke about internationalism and the prisoners’ struggle, highlighting the need to link struggles against racism, fascism and imperialism in Europe with the liberation of Palestinian political prisoners, while a representative of Samidoun Deutschland spoke about their work organizing, especially, Palestinian and Arab youth and students, confronting various forms of repression and building solidarity with revolutionary movements
Nikola Becaut of the Collectif Palestine Vaincra spoke particularly about the campaign to free Georges Abdallah as a central point for mobilization, highlighting last weekend’s Lannemezan protest as a political gathering point to highlight not only Abdallah’s individual case but the Palestinian revolutionary movement.
On Friday, 28 October, the week continued on the eve of the March for Return and Liberation with a seminar organized by Secours Rouge on Palestine, internationalism and anti-imperialism. Over 200 people filled the hall at DK to hear veteran strugglers who had joined the Palestinian resistance historically. Recalling the influx of internationalist strugglers to the Palestinian revolution in the 1970s, the speakers discussed the lessons of that moment for today. Speakers included Ron Augustin, former member of the Red Army Faction, Ahmad, an Iranian comrade, and Torkil Lauesen, who appeared via video message.
Throughout the week, the Revolutionary Youth of Zurich (RJZ) held an exhibition at La Steka of the posters of revolutionary Swiss artist Marc Rudin, who joined the Palestinian revolution in Beirut and Damascus, creating many of the iconic images and posters of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the PLO and other organizations in the 1980s.
On Saturday morning, before the March, activists once again crowded into the Sacco-Vanzetti space for a meeting on Palestinian women’s organizing led by Jaldia Abubakra of Alkarama Palestinian Women’s Mobilization. Participants spoke about the potential of organizing Palestinian women, particularly in exile and diaspora, linking with global women’s movements and the liberation struggle.
Following the March, on Saturday, 30 October, events of the Week concluded with a youth meeting organized in the Sacco-Vanzetti space, where people discussed student organizing and the organizing of young workers, particularly Palestinian and Arab youth in exile. Finally, Khaled Barakat — denied entry to the EU — spoke in a videoconference lecture in Arabic on the life of Fathi Shiqaqi, the Palestinian doctor, scholar and founder of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, who was assassinated in Malta by occupation forces on 26 October 1995, and who had written and spoke at various times about the need for an “alternative Palestinian revolutionary path.”
The Week of Return and Liberation culminated in the mass march on Saturday, 29 October, endorsed by over 100 organizations and with wide participation from communities and organizations throughout Belgium, France and Europe, including a large delegation from EuroPalestine. The march moved through the streets of Brussels to the European Parliament with widespread popular participation and clear goals: support for the Palestinian resistance, implementation of the Palestinian right to return and the liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea!
Members of Samidoun Netherlands carried placards, Palestinian flags and signs in solidarity with Palestine and denouncing the refusal of entry to Barakat and Kates. They emphasized that repressive tactics would not hinder or suppress the Palestinian cause, noting that this delegation came as members and supporters of Samidoun Netherlands and the Palestine solidarity movement were planning to go to Brussels on Saturday for the demonstration.
“It is completely unacceptable that Khaled Barakat and Charlotte Kates were denied entry to the EU by the Netherlands for political reasons and subsequently deported,” Thomas Hofland, Samidoun Netherlands coordinator.
Khaled Barakat, a Palestinian native of Jerusalem, is one of the co-founders of the Masar Badil – the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement. Charlotte Kates is the international coordinator of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.
Charlotte Kates said, “The European Union always talks about human rights, but ignores them when it comes to Palestine. Palestine activists in all EU countries face repression. This deportation is therefore not just an attack on Khaled and me, but on the Palestinian movement as a whole.”
“It is ironic that the Netherlands, a co-founder of the European Union, is deporting Charlotte and me as we embark on a week of activities and protests against European complicity in the Zionist colonization of Palestine and the murder of our Palestinian people,” said Khaled Barakat.
Barakat and Kates, who are married, were on their way from Canada to Brussels to take part in the Week of Return and Liberation of Palestine, a week of activities and protests for the Palestinian cause, which concludes on Saturday, October 29 with a big demonstration at the European Parliament in Brussels.
Marchers called for the return of Palestinian refugees, support for the Palestinian resistance, and the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea. Participants denounced Canadian complicity and involvement in the colonization of Palestine, demanding an end to Canadian imperialism in Palestine and everywhere. The march had a strong emphasis on internationalism, emphasizing the need to stand with Indigenous struggles on Turtle Island and to build solidarity with people’s movements confronting imperialism, such as the national democratic movement of the Philippines.
Photos: Michael YC Tseng
In the opening rally at the transit station, Callum of Samidoun Vancouver opened the rally with a strong call to action, highlighting the Palestinian struggle against Zionism, imperialism and reaction and saluting the Palestinian resistance organizing and struggling on the front lines, while leading the crowd in chants: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”
Photos: Michael YC Tseng
Perry Sorio of BAYAN Canada spoke next; a former political prisoner in the jails of the Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines, he focused on the struggle of Palestinian political prisoners fighting back against administrative detention — arbitrary imprisonment without charge or trial — torture, and repression.
Photos: Michael YC Tseng
Finally, Hanna Kawas of the Canada Palestine Association delivered a powerful speech on the long-term role of Canadian imperialism in supporting Zionism, noting that many of the same Canadian right-wing forces who denied entry to Canada for Jewish refugees fleeing Nazism were dedicated advocates of Zionist colonization. He linked the struggle for indigenous liberation on this land to the struggle for Palestinian liberation, emphasizing the urgent need to hold Canadian officials accountable for their hostile position toward Palestine.
Photos: Michael YC Tseng
Participants then took to the street to march down Commercial Drive, led by a banner reading: “Free Palestine: Resistance, Return, Liberation.” Participants carried Palestinian flags, banners, and posters urging freedom for Palestine and for Palestinian political prisoners, as well as for Georges Abdallah, the Lebanese Arab struggler for Palestine jailed in France for over 38 years.
Photos: Michael YC Tseng
Along the route of the march, demonstrators stopped in front of a government-owned BC Liquor Store to demand an end to the sale of “Israeli wines,” including those produced in illegal colonial settlements in the West Bank of occupied Palestine and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
Photos: Michael YC Tseng
Aiyanas Ormond of BDS Vancouver-Coast Salish noted that the sale of these wines implicates British Columbia provincial officials in war crimes, calling for escalated pressure to end this trade. He highlighted the fact that new premier David Eby had previously refused to do anything about this trade in settlement products when he held the portfolio of the liquor stores. “Boycott Israeli Wines!” the participants chanted enthusiastically.
Photos: Michael YC Tseng
At the closing rally at Grandview Park, Natasha of the Vancouver Workers’ Assembly spoke about the link between local and global struggles, highlighting the necessity to confront settler colonialism on this land and stand with Indigenous struggles for sovereignty and self-determination. She emphasized that the battle to fight exploitation, poverty and racism is directly tied to the struggle against imperialism.
Photos: Michael YC Tseng
Next, Caesar and Sean of Anakbayan BC and Sulong UBC delivered a powerful message of solidarity to the Palestinian people and their resistance, led by Palestinian youth. They highlighted the struggle of the people of the Philippines to confront imperialism, fascism and dictatorship, emphasizing the connection between the national democratic movement of the Philippines and the Palestinian liberation struggle.
Photos: Michael YC Tseng
Trevor, a member of the national coordinating committee of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle – Canada, spoke about the urgent need for international solidarity with Palestine. He emphasized the connection between struggles for justice confronting imperialism and focused on the importance of confronting the criminalization of revolutionary movements for justice, in particular the use of the “terrorist” label to stigmatize movements resisting oppression and fighting for liberation.
The rally was closed with comments by Charlotte Kates, international coordinator of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. She spoke about the denial of entry that she and Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat, co-founder of the Masar Badil, faced when they attempted to enter Europe at Amsterdam airport to attend the Brussels events for the Week of Return and Liberation. She emphasized that this was a political action in line with European support for the colonization of Palestine, linking this with Canadian support for the colonization of Palestine. She saluted the Palestinian resistance as defenders of humanity and strugglers for liberation and emphasized that our struggle and organizing must continue until victory and freedom.
Photos: Michael YC Tseng
The march was part of a global action organized by the Masar Badil, the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement. Thousands of people marched in Brussels to the European Parliament to confront EU responsibility for Zionist war crimes in Palestine, while Palestinians in Gaza gathered at the colonial borders to demand an end to the siege. This Vancouver action embraced the demands and principles of these marches with global solidarity for Palestinian liberation.
The month of October 2022 marked a month of international mobilization for the immediate release of Georges Abdallah, a Lebanese Communist resistance fighter for Palestine imprisoned in France since 24 October 1984. Gathered around an international appeal initiated by the Unitary Campaign for the Liberation of Georges Abdallah and supported by many organizations, including Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and the Collectif Palestine Vaincra, various support committees organized rallies, solidarity stands, screenings of the film “Fedayin: Georges Abdallah’s Fight” , displays and distribution of leaflets, as well as other actions in support of the longest-held political prisoner in Europe. On Saturday October 22 in front of Lannemezan prison, this month culminated in the national demonstration for the release of the Lebanese communist struggler which brought together more than 1,000 people to demand his freedom.
Below are just some of the actions throughout France and internationally during the month, as gathered by the Collectif Palestine Vaincra:
FRANCE Paris/Paris region
The Unitary Campaign for the Liberation of Georges Abdallah organized many initiatives during this month of October, in particular the organization of a Parisian bus for the Lannemezan demonstration. For the launch of the campaign, they organized a support meal on September 23 at the UL CGT trade union building in the 18th arrondissement, which brought together many people.
In addition, they organized other initiatives, including press tables at universities and during other events, as well as several gatherings in Ménilmontant and Château Rouge on 30 September and 7 and 14 October.
Samidoun Paris Banlieue organized several initiatives as part of the month of mobilization for the release of Georges Abdallah.
In particular, these activists organized a solidarity stand in Aubervilliers, a campaign of displays and distribution of flyers in different places in the Paris region as well as a presence in support of Palestine and Georges Abdallah in several demonstrations.
During Ivry Decolonial Week, Kathy Peltier expressed her support for the release of Georges Abdallah. She is the daughter of Léonard Peltier, activist of the American Indian Movement unjustly imprisoned in the United States since 1976.
🤝 Hier à la Semaine décoloniale d'Ivry, Kathy Peltier exprime son soutien à la libération de Georges Abdallah. Elle est la fille de Léonard Peltier, militant de l'American Indian Movement injustement emprisonné aux 🇺🇸 depuis 1976.#FreeLeonardPeltier#FreeGeorgesAbdallahpic.twitter.com/65OPA9siBj
During a rally organized by CAPJPO-EuroPalestine on 24 September, several speakers called for the release of Georges Abdallah.
On 10 October, the Collectif Boycott Apartheid Israel Paris-Banlieue and the AFPS Paris-Sud organized an information table in support of Georges Abdallah and the Palestinian prisoners on the campus of the University of Paris-Cité (Diderot).
A few days earlier, on 25 September, they had carried out an awareness and information campaign in Paris 13th arrondissement, highlighting these same issues.
On the occasion of the march against the high cost of living and climate inaction organized by the NUPES on 16 October, members of the Collectif 65 for the release of Georges Abdallah were present and visible to challenge the various left-wing parties and parliamentarians present on the case.
In Val-de-Marne, the Ligue de la Jeunesse Révolutionnaire reported that a banner had been posted demanding Abdallah’s freedom on the offices of the local council.
Toulouse
The Collectif Palestine Vaincra, a member organization of the international Samidoun network and a leading force in the campaign to free Georges Abdallah, organized numerous stands in the city center of Toulouse and in the working-class district of Bagatelle and at the University of Mirail, distributing more than 12,000 flyers. Despite the attempted intimidation by the municipal police, the numerous distributions of flyers made it possible to reach thousands of people.
During the mass labor union demonstration on 29 September, the Collectif unfurled a large banner above the demonstration attracting the attention of thousands of people.
At the same time, the CPV initiated a united local appeal for the release of Georges Abdallah which was signed by more than 30 local organizations. Finally, more than a hundred people from Toulouse took part in the demonstration on 22 October with the organization of a bus, a mini-bus and carpooling.
On the eve of the Lannemezan march on 21 October, the Collectif organized a closing event of the month of mobilization that brought together more than a hundred people in the Toulouse Bourse du Travail, which displayed for the occasion a large banner.
Comminges
In this region south of Toulouse, a new support committee for Georges Abdallah was founded thanks to the support of several unions and organizations (particularly LFI , the PCF and the Union Syndicale Solidaires). The latter organized several actions, in particular screenings of “Fedayin: Georges Abdallah’s Fight” in Soueich on October 13 and in Valentine on October 21. In addition, they organized several carpools from Saint-Gaudens and Cazère to participate in the demonstration on Saturday October 22 in Lannemezan.
Tarbes
Throughout the month of mobilization, the Collectif 65 for the release of Georges Abdallah organized multiple actions for the freedom of Georges Abdallah. For example, they held a solidarity stand for the release of Georges Abdallah at the Fête de l’Humanité 65 on 1 October in Tarbes.
Auch
Collectif 32 for the release of Georges Abdallah postered for the release of Georges Abdallah throughout the month of mobilization and participated in several demonstrations with signs and banners.
Toulon
On 17 October in Toulon, the association “Les Varois pour la paix et la justice en Méditerranée” (VPJM) and several groups organized a rally to demand the immediate release of Georges Abdallah.
The Collectif Libérons Georges 33 participated in the mobilization through the organization of its annual bus for the Lannemezan demonstration as well as through solidarity actions for Georges Abdallah, in particular on 18 October during a trade union demonstration and during of a Trio Joubran concert on 20 October. In addition, the UJFP Aquitaine devoted its radio program “Histoire(s) de Palestine” on 17 October to the subject of Georges Abdallah.
Clermont Ferrand
On 18 October, the AFPS 63 organized a distribution of leaflets during the trade union demonstration as well as a solidarity stand in the city calling for the immediate release of Georges Abdallah.
Niort
On Saturday October 22 in Niort, Action Antifasciste Deux-Sèvres and several organizations gathered to demand the immediate release of Georges Abdallah.
Annecy
The Collective for the Liberation of Georges Abdallah 74 mobilized on several occasions in Annecy, in particular during the one-day strike of 18 October by displaying a banner and flags of support in the trade union demonstration.
Marseille
In Marseille, several associations, political organizations and solidarity activists organized activities during this month of mobilization, in addition to the bus trip for the Lannemezan demonstration. For example, the Young Communists 13 organized a screening of a film on Palestine, as did the ANC, which again screened “Fedayin: Georges Abdallah’s Fight” in its office. A poster campaign also took place in many streets of Marseille, in addition to the growing solidarity of the UD CGT 13 which renewed its support for Georges Abdallah during its congress and during a rally.
On Friday, 14 October, in front of the Palace of Justice, the Collective 69 in support of the Palestinian people organized a rally in support of Georges Abdallah bringing together several dozen people. On the outskirts of the demonstration, people in solidarity were attacked by far-right thugs, underscoring their strategic alliance with supporters of the Zionist colonization of Palestine.
Saint-Etienne
On Saturday 22 October, several associations and organizations in the city (BDS 42 , JC de la Loire, LJR ) organized a support rally bringing together dozens of people. Several posters also demanded the immediate release of Salah Hamouri, a French-Palestinian lawyer imprisoned by the Israeli occupation since March 7.
On 2 October, the Young Communists of the Loire organized a new screening of “Fedayin: Georges Abdallah’s Fight” in front of an attentive public eager to better understand the political and judicial history of this case. This film was also screened on 24 September at the closing night of the Mahmoud Darwish fortnight.
On Friday 21 October, the Communist Party of France of Divion and Houdain organized a meeting in solidarity with Georges Abdallah in the presence of activists from various trade union and political organizations.
In Chaumont and Langres in Haute-Marne, two screenings of “Fedayin: Georges Abdallah’s Fight” were organized on 29 and 30 September by the Palestine 52 Association in the presence of the Collectif Vacarme(s) Films and the Collectif Palestine Vaincra.
Rennes
In Rennes on 22 October, the Jeunes Revolutionnaires organized a screening of “Fedayin” in order to reaffirm their solidarity with the man who has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance.
Brest & Guingamp
Posters were displayed in these two Breton cities in support of the release of Georges Abdallah during this month of mobilization.
Lanester
During the Fête de l’Humanité in Brittany on October 22 and 23, displays on various stands called for the release of Georges Abdallah.
Limoges
The Student Union Federation and several associations organized a rally for the release of Georges Abdallah on 15 October.
LEBANON
Saida & Beirut
On October 22 and 23 in Saïda and Beirut, Lebanon, several rallies were organized for the release of the Lebanese communist Georges Abdallah, imprisoned in France since 1984.
These rallies were organized by groups including the Lebanese Campaign to Free Georges Abdallah and the Democratic Popular Party.
Many Palestinian and Lebanese organizations were present alongside the family of Georges Abdallah to denounce the continued detention of the longest-held political prisoner in Europe. Former prisoner and leader of the Lebanese resistance Anwar Yassine was also present in Saida.
On the occasion of a screening of “Fedayin: Georges Abdallah’s Fight” organized by Samidoun Vancouver on October 18, supporters took a solidarity photo calling for Abdallah’s liberation.
Toronto & Montreal
The Palestinian Youth Movement – PYM, Palestinian and Jewish Unity, SPHR McGill, the Arab Left Forum, Actions 4 Palestine and various organizations organized rallies in support of Georges Abdallah on October 22 in Toronto and Montreal.
GERMANY
Berlin
During October, Samidoun Deutschlandorganized several information stands in the streets of the German capital, highlighting its support for the release of Georges Abdallah.
Hamburg
On October 7, Bündnis gegen imperialistische Aggression (BgiA) in Hamburg organized a rally with Samidoun Deutschlandin a popular district of the city in support of Georges Abdallah.
The evening before, the Network for Freedom for all Political Prisoners organized an evening of information and discussion in solidarity with Georges Ibrahim Abdallah. A representative of Samidoun and a representative of Ak Palestine intervened at the event.
During an anti-colonial demonstration on 12 October in Madrid, the contingent of Samidoun España displayed several banners in support of Palestine and posters for the release of Ahmad Sa’adat and Georges Abdallah. In addition, Samidoun Spain also organized a new Madrid screening of “Fedayin: Georges Abdallah’s Fight”on 8 October with CGT Metal, the metalworkers trade union.
NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam
At the end of a screening of “Fedayin” on 14 October in solidarity with Georges Abdallah, supporters of Samidoun Nederlandtook a photo to reaffirm their solidarity with the Lebanese communist activist unjustly imprisoned in France.
During an event of the Anarchist Federation of Belgium, solidarity with Georges Abdallah was displayed.
SWITZERLAND
Zürich
The Revolutionary Youth of Zurich – RJZ produced a mural calling for the release of Georges Abdallah as part of the month of international mobilization.
Geneva
On October 11, during a conference organized by Secours Rouge Geneva with Mohammed Khatib, the European coordinator of Samidoun , solidarity with Georges Abdallah was reaffirmed as part of the international mobilization of October 2022.
ITALY
Bologna
Giovani Palestinesi d’Italia organized a contingent for the release of all Palestinian prisoners during a demonstration in Bologna on 21 October. On this occasion, posters for the release of Georges Abdallah were displayed along the route as part of their participation in theInternational Week of Support for Palestinian Prisonersinitiated by the Palestinian Youth Movement.
GREECE
Athens
During the month of international mobilization for the release of Georges Abdallah, several initiatives were organized in Athens. On September 22, the organization Action Populaire unfurled several banners in support of the Lebanese communist in the Greek capital.
On October 7, the Anti-Imperialist Front organized a screening of “Fedayin” in the presence of Mohammed Khatib from Samidoun and Jalil Muntaqim, a former political prisoner of the Black Panther Party for 49 years, bringing together more than 170 people.
The next day, Friday October 20, a rally was organized in front of the French Embassy in Athens with the support of many organizations. This brought together over 100 people who chanted slogans in Greek and French to free Georges Abdallah, who has become a symbol of the anti-imperialist struggle in the world.
IRELAND
Arklow
Irish socialists from the town of Arklow took a solidarity photo for the release of Ahmad Sa’adat and Georges Abdallah.
The Friends of Palestine Against Imperialism and Zionism organized a screening of “Fedayin” in the premises of the DIP in Istanbul on 22 October. On this occasion, the participants wrote several support cards and took a photo to underline their commitment to the liberation of the Lebanese communist.
This overview of actions and initiatives for the release of Georges Abdallah during this month of October 2022 is certainly incomplete. Nevertheless, it shows the immense diversity of support for the Lebanese communist struggler for Palestine throughout the world. The month of international mobilization for his release is coming to an end but the initiatives will multiply until his release, including in Brussels on 29 October, where thousands marched through the European capital to support the Palestinian resistance and its imprisoned fighters, including Georges Abdallah!
The following message by Georges Ibrahim Abdallah was read out to the march at Lannemezan prison demanding his liberation on 22 October 2022 by Suzanne LeManceau, longtime activist for his liberation. The annual protest drew over 1,000 people to call for the freedom of the Lebanese Arab Communist struggler for Palestine imprisoned in France for over 38 years:
Dear comrades and friends,
At the dawn of this 39th year of captivity, knowing that you are gathered here brings me a lot of strength and warms my heart. No matter what those who are watching and spying on this gathering think, the warmth of your mobilization and the enthusiasm of your commitment make light of these abominable walls, this barbed wire and the watchtowers; they collide with the deadly everydayness of the cells and allow us to glimpse glimmers of victories taking shape on the horizon.
Comrades and friends, your various solidarity initiatives that you have developed in this international month of action, bring a scathing refutation to those who bet on the breathlessness of your mobilization.
Certainly in this international campaign, “Ofer” and the other Zionist jails have your full attention and the expression of your active solidarity is always even more invigorating for those who have been imprisoned for so many years.
Dear Comrades, dear friends, the inter-imperialist contradictions occupy the forefront of the international scene, against the background of the global crisis of the world capitalist system. They are exacerbated more and more and are spreading on a planetary level, and as always in such circumstances, imperialist propaganda is in full swing. It seems pointless to dwell at length on the pseudo-arguments about the wicked aggressors and the poor victims. But comrades, let’s not lose sight of the fact that imperialist and inter-imperialist wars are inscribed somehow in the genetic code of capitalism. That is why, in the space of a century, capitalism is pushing humanity to the brink of world war for the third time. The crisis of this moribund capitalism in its phase of advanced putrefaction is the crisis of truly existing globalized capitalism, and its agony will only end in a victory for communism…
Comrades, certainly there is room for other futures than submission to the criminal dictates of capitalism and the barbarity of imperialist and inter-imperialist wars.
Dear comrades, dear friends, let’s not allow the imperialist propaganda unleashed these days to obscure what is happening in Palestine in full view of everyone. Faced with the emergence and affirmation of a new generation of Resistance fighters, particularly in the West Bank, the Zionist military indulges in the worst excesses, killing young and old alike every day, destroying homes, confiscating new lands under false pretenses, and lately encircling towns with a complete blockade. The Resistance confronts! It is up to men and women of good will to do the same at the regional and international level.
May a thousand solidarity initiatives flourish in favor of Palestine and its promising Resistance!
Solidarity, all solidarity with the Resistance fighters in Zionist jails and solitary confinement cells in Morocco, Turkey, Greece, the Philippines and elsewhere around the world!
Solidarity, all solidarity with the proletarians in struggle!
Honor to the martyrs and to the popular masses in struggle!
Down with imperialism, its Zionist watchdogs and the Arab reactionaries!
Capitalism is nothing but barbarism, honor to all those who oppose it in the diversity of their expressions!
Together, Comrades, and it is only together that we will be victorious.
To all of you Comrades and Friends my warmest communist greetings.
Bechir Ben Barka, the son of Moroccan revolutionary leader Mehdi Ben Barka, who was forcibly disappeared in Paris on 29 October 1965, issued the following statement of greetings and solidarity to the March for Return and Liberation in Brussels on 29 October 2022, organized by the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement (Masar Badil):
On behalf of the Mehdi Ben Barka Institute – Living Memory, I salute your gathering which is being held within the framework of the “March of Return and Liberation of Palestine”. This action is an opportunity to affirm the unwavering support of progressive and democratic forces around the world for the just struggle of the Palestinian people to defend and realize their national aspirations and rights.
This struggle is manifested by its resistance in all forms to the colonial occupation, by its resistance to the apartheid regime of the Zionist state, by its resistance to the inhumane blockade of Gaza, by its resistance which is organized even within the Zionist prisons. Allow me to convey, through you, all my solidarity to the valiant Palestinian people.
I would have liked to participate with you in person in this march but, as you have pointed out in your appeal, 29 October marks an important date in the history of the peoples’ struggle for their emancipation and progress. 57 years ago, on 29 October 1965, Mehdi Ben Barka was kidnapped in Paris. Today, the truth has still not yet been fully established on the exact circumstances of the disappearance of one of the main leaders of the Moroccan opposition and a symbol of the international movement of solidarity of the peoples of the Third World. At the time of his abduction, he was chairing the preparatory committee of the Tricontinental Conference of Solidarity of the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America, to be held in Havana in January 1966. Since then, every year, on 29 October, a gathering for truth, memory and justice is held in front of the places where this crime took place.
The Moroccan political responsibilities in the kidnapping of an important leader of the opposition and of the Third World lie at the highest levels of the state and are undeniable. This criminal action is part of what is called “the years of lead” during which the only answer brought to the popular struggles for democracy, social justice and dignity were repression, kidnappings, torture and physical eliminations.
The neocolonial, imperialist and Zionist implications and complicities at the level of the intelligence services of France, Israel and the United States are also undeniable and are proven.
Agents of the Moroccan secret services came to France to recruit the team responsible for the kidnapping. The French intelligence agency, the SDECE (today, the DGSE) closely followed the preparations for the criminal operation and did nothing to stop it. The American CIA had agents stationed in the Moroccan secret service in Rabat, and they were worried about the Tricontinental Conference in Havana which Mehdi Ben Barka was organizing, that was intended to organize international solidarity, in particular against the actions of the USA in Latin America and Vietnam.
The Israeli Mossad served as a logistical support point for the Moroccan secret services. This was provided in exchange for the recordings of the closed-door meetings of the heads of Arab states gathered in Morocco in 1965 during a strategic summit, given to the Mossad by King Hassan II. It was also on its own behalf that Israel wanted to eliminate a political leader who had denounced Zionist penetration in Africa, including through the South African apartheid regime and the Portuguese colonial regimes. In a conference in Cairo, organized by the Palestinian student union, GUPS, in April 1965, Mehdi Ben Barka stated that “the Palestinian question is an integral part of the problems of the global liberation movement in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It is a revolutionary Arab movement against imperialist machinations…” This is the profound reason for the complicity of the Moroccan regime with the neocolonial and imperialist interests, and the Zionist state, to eliminate a Third World leader. Today, the shameful normalization between Morocco and Israel in the political, economic, military and security fields, only confirms the long-term, criminal ties between the two regimes. This is a stab in the back of the Palestinian people and an insult to the sentiments of the Moroccan people, who deeply share in the Palestinian cause and its aspirations.
In conclusion, and wishing the March every success, allow me to reiterate the words of Mehdi Ben Barka in 1965: “The Palestinian cause must count on the solidarity and support of progressive and revolutionary forces in Africa and around the world.”
Long live international solidarity with Palestine and its people.
On Saturday, 22 October, over 1,000 people marched to Lannemezan prison to demand the immediate release of Georges Abdallah, the imprisoned Lebanese Arab Communist struggler for Palestine imprisoned in France since 1984. This mass demonstration, the 12th annual march, was a great success that followed extensive work by many organizations, collectives, campaigns, associations, unions and political parties during a month of action for Abdallah’s freedom.
The Collectif Palestine Vaincra — a member organization of the Samidoun Network — organized a collective bus from Toulouse, accompanied by a mini-bus and multiple carpools to accommodate over 100 people seeking to travel to Lannemezan to show solidarity with the man who has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance. This mobilization was reinforced thanks to the mobilization of more than 30 local organizations uniting their voice around a common call for action.
🚌 Depuis Toulouse, un bus plein accompagné d'un minibus et des covoiturages arrivent pour la manifestation pour la libération de Georges Abdallah devant la prison de Lannemezan. Plus que jamais, Georges Abdallah tes camarades arrivent !#FreeGeorgesAbdallahpic.twitter.com/7hEckzAiTS
Many committees and campaigns for Palestine and for the liberation of Georges Abdallah participated in the march, including the Collectif Palestine Vaincra, Samidoun Paris Banlieue, Samidoun Spain, Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement (Masar Badil), Unitary Campaign for the Liberation of Georges Abdallah, Couserans-Palestine, Palestine Volvestre, the French Jewish Union for Peace, CAPJPO-EuroPalestine, Collectif Boycott Apartheid Israel Paris Banlieue, BDS committees, AFPS sections including its president Bertrand Heilbronn, Collectif 65 for the liberation of Georges Abdallah, Liberons Georges 33, CLGA 74, Comite Action Palestine and Liberons Georges 38.
Political organizations from across the left participated, including EELV, the French Communist Party, France Insoumise, Union Populaire, NPA, Revolution Permanente, UCL, PCRF, LO, PRCF, PCOF, LJR, JR, Popular Front of Turkey, PEPS, MJCF, Young Communists 13, Communist Party of Belgium, and others, as well as trade unions (SUD/Solidaires sections, the CNT and several CGT departments), associations like the League for Human Rights, anti-racist and anti-fascist organizations (FUIQP, Toulouse AntiCRA, AFA Tolosa, MRAP, Collectif unitaire franco-Algerienne, BRIC), and support committees for political prisoners like Secours Rouge Arabe and campaigns for Musa Asoglu and Basque prisoners.
This diversity of organizations supporting Georges Abdallah highlights the growing, dynamic and multifaceted campaign that has increased support for the imprisoned Lebanese communist growing each year.
The Collectif Palestine Vaincra organized a bloc in the demonstration around the slogan “Freedom for Georges Abdallah! Freedom for Palestine!” together with Samidoun Spain, the Masar Badil and the Samidoun Paris Banlieue. Many people joined the contingent to chant in French and Arabic in support of the Palestinian resistance, against Zionism and imperialism, rushing through the streets of Lannemezan displaying Palestinian flags and placards in support of Georges Abdallah, the Palestinian resistance and the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea. The demonstrators urged the boycott of Israel and the liberation of Palestinian prisoners, including Ahmad Sa’adat, the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Salah Hammouri, the French-Palestinian lawyer held without charge or trial under administrative detention and who recently carried out a 19-day hunger strike.
As the marchers arrived at Lannemezan prison, they chanted, “Georges Abdallah, your comrades are here!” lighting sparklers to be seen and heard even from inside the prison walls. Suzanne LeManceau read out Georges Abdallah’s statement for the occasion underlining his revolutionary commitment to the Palestinian resistance:
“The warmth of your mobilization and the enthusiasm of your commitment make light of these abominable walls, this barbed wire and the watchtowers. They collide with the deadly everydayness of the cells and allow us to glimpse glimmers of victory emerging on the horizon. Comrades and friends, your various solidarity initiatives that you have developed in this international campaign month reveals a scathing denial to those who bet on the breathlessness of your mobilization. In this campaign, Ofer prison and all the Zionist jails have all your attention and, quite naturally, the expression of your active solidarity is always more invigorating for those who have been imprisoned there for so many years…Faced with the emergence and affirmation of a new generation of resistance fighters, particularly in the West Bank, the Zionist military indulges in the worst excesses: killing young and old alike every day, destroying homes, confiscating new lands under spurious pretenses and lately encircling towns for complete blockage. Resistance confronts! It is up to men and women of good will to do the same at the regional and international level.”
LeManceau, a longtime activist for Georges Abdallah’s liberation, concluded the reading of the Lebanese communist’s statement with a tribute to the young Palestinian martyr Oday al-Tamimi, who resisted with arms in hand until his last breath against the Zionist colonial forces.
Then, many declarations were read by various solidarity organizations, including by an activist from the Collectif Palestine Vaincra. In her speech, she affirmed: “Today, we are happy to be by your side to demand the immediate release of Georges Abdallah! We are all the more so since Macron and his government have tried to silence us by dissolving the Collectif, as well as the CAP and many anti-fascist, anti-racist and Muslim organizations. Thanks to your exemplary solidarity, we are still here, still determined to build a broad movement of solidarity for the immediate release of Georges Abdallah and more broadly for the release of all 4,650 Palestinian prisoners.”
She concluded the Collectif’s statement with a call to the March for Return and Liberation of Palestine organized on 29 October toward the European Parliament in Brussels, by the Palestinian, Arab and international Masar Badil movement, the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path movement. The day concluded with drinks and snacks offered by various associations, including the Collectif Palestine Vaincra, as well as the renewed commitment to continue the mobilization. Once again, Grup Yorum offered a concert of anti-imperialist songs. Supporters of the LJR, Ligue des Jeunes Revolutionnaires, organized a collection in support of the activists who invaded a football field during a match in Lyon to raise awareness of the cause of Georges Abdallah.
The day before the march, on Friday, 21 October, the Collectif Palestine Vaincra organized a public event at the Toulouse Bourse du Travail, which displayed a large banner calling for Georges Abdallah’s freedom on the front of the building. The event began with an intervention by Robert Abdallah, brother and spokesperson of the Lebanese Campaign for the Liberation of Georges Abdallah, who denounced the French government and its neo-colonial, imperialist policy towards Lebanon at the same time that France continues to imprison a Lebanese Communist struggle for 38 years, despite his eligibility for release since 1999.
The event continued with a presentation by Jaldia Abubakra, a Palestinian activist from Samidoun Spain and Masar Badil. She highlighted the work by many support committees that have publicized the case of Georges Abdallah and discussed the work of Samidoun in Spain to connect struggles for justice, in particular challenging the VBare company, an Israeli real estate company involved in gentrification and displacement in Madrid. She emphasized that through ongoing struggle and accumulation of forces, the Zionist colonization of Palestine will be defeated.
Next, Pierre Stambul of the French Jewish Union for Peace spoke about the historical complicity between France and the Zionist project. He noted that “it is not only due to Hillary Clinton’s intervention that Georges Abdallah remains in prison. It is the expression of French complicity,” recalling that this “is very old. Remember that Guy Mollet’s SFIO took part with Israel in the imperialist attack on Suez and that it transferred to Israel the technology allowing it to possess nuclear weapons.” He highlighted the criminalization of the Palestine solidarity movement and the instrumentalization of anti-Semitism, he concluded his intervention by affirming, “Israel was born out of a premeditated ethnic cleansing that has nothing legitimate about it. Anti-semitism is a crime, but anti-Zionism is a duty. We will continue to fight for the liberation of Palestine, of Salah Hammouri and of Georges Abdallah.”
The event concluded with a remote intervention over videoconference by Elsa Lefort, the wife of Salah Hammouri and spokesperson for his solidarity committee. She noted that her husband has been the target of a relentless campaign of repression for 20 years by the Israeli occupation regime. He has been imprisoned since 7 March 2022 without charge or trial under administrative detention and recently took part in a collective hunger strike to demand an end to this practice, first introduced to Palestine by the British colonial mandate. She concluded by emphasizing the importance of the support campaign at all levels, from the streets to Parliament, in order to expose and challenge the passivity of the French authorities in the face of an arbitrarily detained French citizen being threatened with expulsion from his native city, Jerusalem.
🇵🇸 Ce soir, plus de cent personnes ont participé au meeting de soutien à Georges Abdallah et à la Palestine à la Bourse du Travail de Toulouse. Une solidarité grandissante avec le peuple palestinien et sa résistance !#FreeGeorgesAbdallahpic.twitter.com/nPl1STEoG6
The evening ended with an audience discussion and a concert by Grup Yorum in honor of international solidarity. The Collectif Palestine Vaincra thanked the UD CGT 21 for the welcome as well as the numerous attendees at the crowded event.
The mass march at Lannemezan was a strong conclusion to a successful month of mobilization for Georges Abdallah. As part of the mobilization, the Collectif Palestine Vaincra carried out an information and mobilization campaign in Toulouse, organizing multiple Palestine stands to distribute information in popular neighborhoods and the city center, hosting a new screening of Fedayin: Georges Abdallah’s Fight, participating in various solidarity initiatives and distributing over 12,000 flyers, hundreds of posters and thousands of stickers. The growth of the mobilization in Toulouse and elsewhere calls upon us all to increase our efforts to continue and intensify the campaign for the liberation of Georges Abdallah and his return to his homeland, Lebanon.
Thousands of Palestinians, Arabs and internationals marched through the streets of Brussels, Belgium — the capital of the European Union — on Saturday, 29 October in the March for Liberation and Return. Organized by the Masar Badil (Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement), the march demanded the implementation of return for Palestinian refugees expelled from their homes and homeland since the Nakba, the total liberation of all of Palestine from the river to the sea, stood in firm support of the Palestinian people and their Resistance, called for the freedom of the prisoners and the defeat of Zionism, imperialism and the forces collaborating with them.
Over 100 organizations endorsed the protest, which wound its way to the European Parliament as participants highlighted the martyrs, the prisoners and the founders of the Palestinian revolutionary movement.
The rally enjoyed strong participation from a range of organizations, including a mass bloc organized by CAPJPO-EuroPalestine to demand an end to the siege on Gaza, as well as Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network chapters and affiliates in Germany, Netherlands, Spain, France, Sweden and elsewhere, Collectif Palestine Vaincra, Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine, Secours Rouge, Classe Contre Classe, the Anti-Imperialist Front, Revolutionary Youth of Zurich, Lotta, Dar al Janub, AFPS Lille and 63, Collectif Boycott Apartheid Israel and many more. Participants came from throughout Belgium as well as the Netherlands, France, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and elsewhere to participate in the mass demonstration.
A wide range of Belgian groups participated, including Classe Contre Classe, Secours Rouge Belgique, Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine, Raj’een Dabkeh Group, Black Panthers Bruxelles, Mouvement Citoyen pour la Paix, Comité BDS-ULB, Comité Verviers Palestine, LEF-FGE (Links Ecologisch Forum – Forum Gauche Ecologie), Eritrea Tours for Friendship, la Ligue Haïtienne Anti-Impérialiste (LHAI), the Belgian Communist Party and the Coordination Namuroise Belgo-Palestinienne (CNB-P).
Posters and images of George Habash, the founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine; Shadia Abu Ghazaleh, a leader in Palestinian women’s resistance through armed struggle; and Houcine Benyahia, a Moroccan revolutionary martyr who fought for Palestinian liberation, were raised high alongside those of Palestinian prisoners struggling for liberation, including Ahmad Sa’adat, French-Palestinian lawyer Salah Hammouri, and Georges Abdallah, jailed for over 38 years in French prisons. The Brussels march came one week after the mass march outside Lannemezan prison to demand Abdallah’s liberation; the Collectif Palestine Vaincra delegation traveled to Brussels only days after organizing that march.
Marchers remembered the Palestinian and Arab leaders who had been targeted for assassination, particularly in Europe, for their leadership in the liberation struggle, from Mahmoud Hamshari and Basil al-Kubeisi to Fathi Shiqaqi, the founder of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement, assassinated in Malta on 26 October 1995. Participants also received a message from Bechir Ben Barka, the son of Moroccan revolutionary Mehdi Ben Barka, who was forcibly disappeared in Paris on 29 October 1965.
Participants saluted the Palestinian resistance, including Mohammed Deif, leader of the Palestinian armed resistance in Gaza, and the resistance movements in Nablus, Jenin and throughout occupied Palestine, emphasizing the legitimacy and leadership of the Palestinian resistance, especially in contrast with the so-called “Palestinian Authority,” which engages in security coordination with and acts as an agent of the occupation against the Palestinian people.
The colorful, enthusiastic march, with a strong participation of Palestinian, Arab and internationalist youth, wound through the streets of Brussels, waving Palestinian flags and banners of the organizations and movements participating in the mass demonstration.
A strong spirit of solidarity prevailed as the crowd filled the Place du Luxembourg in front of the European Parliament. Mohammed Khatib, Samidoun coordinator in Europe and the coordinator of the March, delivered the main message in Arabic and English on behalf of the Masar Badil, with a strong statement of support for Palestinian resistance, who continue to uphold and fight for liberation for the Palestinian people and for all who struggle against imperialism and colonialism.
Participants strongly denounced the role of European states in Palestine, from their colonization of the Arab homeland to their persistent support for Zionism. They demanded an end to the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which gives preferential treatment to occupation goods and institutions, as well as the ongoing military and security coordination with the occupation. They highlighted European gas deals with Israel based on the exploitation of Palestinian natural resources as well as the criminalization of Palestinian resistance organizations as “terrorist,” demanding accountability for European crimes in occupied Palestine. They demanded the liberation of Georges Abdallah and further denounced the deportation of Khaled Barakat, Palestinian writer and co-founder of the Masar, and Charlotte Kates, international coordinator of Samidoun, to prevent them from attending the March.
Speakers from organizations included representatives of Alkarama Palestinian Women’s Mobilization, Samidoun internationally, the Masar Badil, Classe Contre Classe, Secours Rouge, Dar al Janub, the Neturei Karta Jewish anti-Zionist group, the Anti-Imperialist Front, Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine and others.
The EuroPalestine bloc emphasized the call to break the siege on Gaza after over 15 years of brutal siege, and speakers highlighted this demand, accompanied by two group songs, Mawtini and Unadikum, joined by the crowd.
The strong focus on Gaza at the demonstration was met in Gaza by a demonstration at the colonially imposed “borders” echoing the call for the breaking of the siege, where participants carried signs reading “One land, one people, one cause” and “From Gaza to Brussels, the March for Return and Liberation continues.”
Demonstrations and solidarity actions also took place in Vancouver, Vienna and other cities, including a lecture event in Beirut, while the images and speeches at the Brussels march were widely shared on social media.
The march was the capstone of the Week for Liberation and Return, a week of activities organized by the Masar Badil, Classe Contre Classe, Secours Rouge and Samidoun throughout Brussels, including lectures, meetings and events that highlighted various aspects of the Palestinian struggle. These included book events, an event with 200 people with European and international strugglers who had participated historically in the Palestinian struggle, a presentation on Fathi Shiqaqi and revolutionary thought by Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat, an evening forum on political prisoners with Samidoun and a briefing at the European Parliament on Palestinian refugees.
He also discussed the role of Europe’s gas deals with the occupation, emphasizing the importance of campaigning to end the colonial plunder of Palestinian and Lebanese resources at the hands of the occupation for trade with Europe.
The rally was closed with comments by Charlotte Kates, international coordinator of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. She spoke about the denial of entry that she and Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat, co-founder of the Masar Badil, faced when they attempted to 
The Collectif Palestine Vaincra, a member organization of the international Samidoun network and a leading force in the campaign to free Georges Abdallah, organized numerous stands in the city center of Toulouse and in the working-class district of Bagatelle and at the University of Mirail, distributing more than 12,000 flyers. Despite 
At the same time, the CPV initiated 
