Boycott israHell!
Бойкот на израел и печелещите от окупацията! Boycott israHell and those who profit from occupation!
Showing posts with label protest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label protest. Show all posts
Monday, July 21, 2014
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Hundreds of Jews in New York protest against the Zionist state of Israel.
 |
| Hundreds of Jews in New York protest against the Zionist state of Israel. |
#GazaUnderAttack In Pictures: Global #Gaza solidarity #protests
 |
| An ultra Orthodox Jew holds a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's air strikes on Gaza in London, July 11. HERE IS THE FULL ALBUM |
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Milwaukee Palestine solidarity activists confront marketers of illegal settlement product SodaStream
(Photo:Milwaukee protest against SodaStream (Fight Back!News/Staff) Milwaukee protest against SodaStream)
Milwaukee, WI – On Nov. 5, the self-proclaimed “fastest growing motivational movement,” #besomebody, met the world’s fastest growing boycott movement on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Over 20 activists handed out informational fliers exposing the connection between SodaStream and the #besomebody “movement” which markets SodaStream’s in-home soda machines. Activists educated fellow students on SodaStream’s human rights abuses which include operating on an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank of Palestine.
Members of two Students for Justice in Palestine chapters held signs that read, “Don’t drink SodaStream. Support Palestinian human rights. #besomebody against occupation.”During the action, activists from the Milwaukee Palestine Solidarity Coalition and Friends of Palestine met with #besomebody’s founder, Kash Shaikh, and urged him to cut ties with companies that profit from the occupation of Palestine. Before a large group of activists Shaikh admitted, “I didn’t do a very good job looking into their background,” referring to SodaStream, and said he was personally opposed to the occupation.
Actions and local campaigns against companies that sell SodaStream have been springing up over the last year as it becomes one of the primary focuses of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. A national week of action against SodaStream will coincide with ‘Black Friday’ later this month, focused on the retailer Target, demanding they withdraw the product and break ties with the Israeli occupation.
Still living in fairy-tale-land about Israel?
Time to wake up: The Map of the “Greater Israel” even is hammered on the currency:
All facts at Storify continuously updated. Read what Israeli ‘leaders’ have said and done even before (peace) talks and how their actions contradict the reality and ugly facts which they try to hide from you:
You can forget all details.
Save yourself time.
It is only about Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
Save yourself time.
It is only about Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
The No-State Solution for Palestine
The facts. Mainly Israeli sources. Continuously updated
Monday, November 4, 2013
Norwegian union ends G4S contract as “act of solidarity” with Palestinians
Source: BDS Movement
A major Norwegian trade union has terminated its contract with security company G4S in protest at the firm’s role in providing equipment and services to Israeli prisons and settlements.
Industri Energi, a trade union for workers in the energy and heavy industry sectors, had been using the company to provide security at its offices in Stavanger in the south of Norway.
Announcing that the contract will now be terminated, union leader Leif Sande told Norwegian newspaper Klassekampen that
G4S is contracted to provide and maintain security equipment at Israeli prisons. The equipment includes monitoring systems, cameras and control rooms in which Palestinians are detained without trial and subjected to torture. The company also provides equipment and services to Israeli checkpoints and settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The University of Oslo and both businesses and not-for-profit groups across Europe have also cut their ties to G4S as part of an international campaign that was launched by Palestinian prisoner organizations in April 2012.
“Profoundly unethical”
In the UK, the East London Teachers Association (ELTA) has just passed a motion condemning G4S’s complicity in Israel’s prison system and calling on a local authority to terminate its contracts with the company. G4S has a 22-year contract to provide “a comprehensive integrated facilities management solution” to 25 London schools.
A statement on the website of London-based campaign group War on Want said:
The recent ELTA motion calls on the local authority to withdraw contracts with G4S for schools in the area: “This association feels that it is completely inappropriate for a company which is complicit in unlawful detention and torture to provide services in Tower Hamlets schools. It, therefore, agrees to approach the local authority to request that it withdraw from its contract with G4S due to that company’s profoundly unethical behavior or to get an assurance from the company that it will cease to sell its services to the Israeli Prison Service by the end of 2015.”
Speaking about the resolution, Alex Kenny, ELTA secretary, said, “I am pleased that East London NUT [National Union of Teachers] has joined the campaign to highlight the role played by G4S in the mistreatment of Palestinian children. Such treatment is incompatible with the aims and values of the National Union of Teachers. The NUT, locally and nationally, has a long record of supporting the rights of the Palestinian people to peace and justice. We are working closely with Action for Palestinian Children and other organizations to bring about change in this area and hope that we can work with the local authority to put pressure on G4S.”
The ELTA was formed in 1870 and is one of the oldest associations that make up the National Union of Teachers.
G4S has sought to deflect pressure from campaigners by announcing that it intends to pull out of a limited number of contracts relating to its operations in illegal Israeli settlements by 2015. However, G4S has not yet withdrawn from single contract and has not made any public commitments or statements about its extensive role in prisons inside Israel. The company remains deeply complicit in Israel’s abhorrent prison system.
In August, two campaigners who staged an eight-hour rooftop occupation at the corporate headquarters of G4S in Crawley, just outside London, were found not guilty of aggravated trespass. Significantly, a G4S representative told the court hearing the case that the Crawley head office of G4S had overall responsibility for the firm’s contracts with the Israeli government.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/michael-deas/norwegian-union-ends-g4s-contract-act-solidarity-palestinians
- See more at: http://www.bdsmovement.net/2013/norwegian-union-ends-g4s-contract-act-solidarity-palestinians-11368#sthash.RzqyRK1T.dpuf
Monday, November 19, 2012
Pro-Palestine demos in several countries condemn Israeli regime
Pro-Palestine demonstrations have been held in several countries to condemn the recent airstrikes by the Israeli regime on the besieged Gaza Strip, Press TV reports.
On Sunday, thousands of people in the Turkish port city of Istanbul staged a demonstration against the deadly airstrikes.
In Egypt, anti-Israel activists held a similar demonstration in the second largest city of Alexandria, calling for an end to the attacks on Palestinians in Gaza.
A large number of people in Kashmir expressed solidarity with the families of the victims in Gaza. The protesters burned a flag of the Israeli regime and chanted slogans against Tel Aviv.
Pro-Palestine demonstrators in Berlin, Germany, demanded an end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip. They carried banners that read, “Since 1948 there has been ethnic cleansing, displacement, oppression. Enough is enough.”
In the UK, anti-Israel protesters gathered outside the Israeli embassy in London, calling for an end to the siege on and aggression against Gaza.
Demonstrations in support of Gaza were also held in the Italian capital Rome, Japan’s capital Tokyo and the Indonesian capital Jakarta.
Meanwhile, anti-Israel demonstrators took to the streets in the West Bank city of Ramallah and al-Quds (Jerusalem).
At least 93 Palestinians, including many women and children, have been killed in the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since November 14. More than 700 people have also been injured, with some of the wounded in critical condition.
Sunday was reportedly the bloodiest day. Thirty-one people were killed during the Israeli attacks. Gaza Health Ministry officials said nine members of a family, five of them children, were among the victims.
SAB/HSN/HJL
Rushdi Mahmoud Hassan al-Tamimi dies of wounds in Nabi Saleh protest against #GazaUnderAttack
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — A 28-year-old Palestinian man died on Monday after he was wounded in clashes with Israeli forces at a protest in the West Bank.
Rushdi Mahmoud Hassan al-Tamimi was hit by live fire in the stomach and thigh during a Gaza solidarity demonstration in Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah, on Saturday, the village’s popular committee said.
Al-Tamimi was taken to the Palestine medical complex in Ramallah with internal bleeding. A doctor in the hospital confirmed he had died on Monday evening.
The committee said al-Tamimi was left on the ground after he was shot at close range, and Israeli forces threatened citizens who tried to administer first aid.
Al-Tamimi was a Palestinian police officer. His funeral will be held in Nabi Saleh on Tuesday.
After news of his death, a large crowd of Palestinians took to the streets in Ramallah to protest before heading to the hospital to offer condolences.
Friday, November 16, 2012
As Children Killed, Israel Supporters Celebrate
http://blog.endtheoccupation.org
Last night a march from the State Department to the White House organized by Palestinian activists to demand Obama pressure Israel to implement an immediate ceasefire and end US military aid was greeted by a group of Israel supporters singing and dancing. Watch what our National Advocacy Director Josh Ruebner had to say to this celebration of death.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
EMERGENCY DEMOS: STOP THE ATTACK ON GAZA NOW!
Posted by Zahi Damuni (cause leader)
STOP THE ATTACKS ON GAZA NOW!
BREAK THE SIEGE OF GAZA NOW! END THE OCCUPATION OF ALL OF PALESTINE! IMPLEMENT PALESTINIAN RIGHT TO RETURN! Al-Awda The Palestine Right to Return Coalition calls on its members and all supporting organizations and individuals to organize demonstrations in front of Israeli Embassies and Consulates, Federal and other locations to demand an end to the ongoing Israeli aggression and siege of the Gaza Strip. On November 9, 2012 Israel's army killed a teenage child playing soccer in Gaza and then launched an unprovoked bombardment of the Gaza Strip which killed seven Palestinians and injured more than 40, and to which the resistance responded. Subsequent Israeli attacks led to more deaths and injuries and culminated today in the assassination of Ahmed Jabri, second in command of Military Wing of Hamas and nine other people throughout Gaza. Further, Israel formally announced that it has launched a ground invasion of the Gaza strip, saying they'll be in Tal Alhawa within 24 hours. This is an area in the middle of densely populated Gaza City. We call on all people of conscience to organize emergency demonstrations and demand Israel immediately stop its attacks on Gaza. We also demand that the Israeli and Egyptian governments immediately END THE SIEGE OF THE GAZA STRIP and grant immediate access to all food, humanitarian and medical relief supplies without restriction. The strip is home to 1.5 million Palestinians, 80% of whom are refugees denied by the Zionist state the right to return to their homes and lands of origin from which they were expelled by the Zionist occupation in 1948 and thereafter. Nearly half of the Gaza population are children who along with the elderly and ill remain completely deprived of food, water, fuel, electricity, humanitarian relief and medical supplies or facilities. Los Angeles Demonstration Please join us Thursday November 15 @ 4 PM in front of the "Israeli" consulate, 11766 WILSHIRE BLVD, Los Angeles, CA 90025. For further information or to endorse, contact: Mazen Al-Moukdad mazenalmoukdad@hotmail.com and Amani Barakat: amanibarakat@gmail.com Cleveland Demonstration Please join us Friday November 16 @ 4:30 PM @ PUBLIC SUQARE in Downtown, Cleveland. For further information or to endorse, contact: Abbas Hamideh resistance48@aol.com South Florida Demonstration Please join us Saturday November 17 @ 2 PM. For further information or to endorse, contact: Anas Amireh: fuktheoccupation@yahoo.com San Diego Demonstration US Federal building, 880 Front St, San Diego, CA 92101 Thursday 11/15 4:30 pm For further information or to endorse, contact: zahi@al-awdasandiego.org San Francisco Demonstration FRIDAY NOVEMBER 16 4PM @ Israeli Consulate 456 Montgomery Street San Francisco New York Demonstration Thursday, 11/15/2012 - 5pm In front of the Israeli Consulate (42nd st and 2nd ave) Please call State Dept 1- 202-647-4000 and WHITE HOUSE 202-456-1111 and Demand They Stop the Attack on Gaza NOW! Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition PO Box 131352 Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA Tel: 760-918-9441 Fax: 760-918-9442 E-mail: info@al-awda.org WWW: http://links.causes.com/s/clFQNU?r=hueT Twitter: @alawdaprrc Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition (PRRC) is the largest network of grassroots activists and students dedicated to Palestinian human rights. We are a not for profit tax-exempt educational and charitable 501(c)(3) organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States of America. Under IRS guidelines, your donations to PRRC are tax-deductible. http://links.causes.com/s/clFQOl?r=hueT |
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
San Francisco - PROTEST THE INVASION OF GAZA!
PROTEST THE INVASION OF GAZA!
NOVEMBER 16th
4PM @ Israeli Consulate
456 Montgomery Street
San Francisco
-----------------------
The Israeli military has just announced a large-scale ongoing invasion of Gaza. Many Palestinians have already been killed, with talks of a ground operation soon to come. This is the biggest escalation in Gaza since the massacres of 2008-9.
STOP the War on Gaza!
Stand Against the US Support of Israel!
Support the Palestinian People!
Organized by activists in the Bay Area Arab Community, Allies and Supporters of Palestine.
Co-Sponsors: AROC, MECA, PYM, SJP, AMP, GUPS, Al-Awda, ANSWER
Non-Bay Area residents: Please continue to check your local solidarity organizations and chapters' websites for demonstrations in your area. If you'd like us to publicize them, please feel free to post on our Facebook page or tweet us @MECAforPeace.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Netanyahu visit stirs protest in DC
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington has prompted protests against the controversial ties between the United States and Israel.
A day after US President Barack Obama's Middle East speech, protesters gathered outside the White House in opposition to Netanyahu's visit on Friday, a Press TV correspondent reported.
“Israeli policy and US support for that policy, has been part of destroying people's basic rights in the occupied territories amongst Palestinians,” one demonstrator told Press TV.
“President Obama's speech, it was nonsense, and it did not support Palestinians at all. Unfortunately, all the press have been focusing on one sentence he said, that Palestinians have the right to the border of [19]67. But his whole speech supported the Israelis,” Lucy Jerias of Code Pink told Press TV.
Yet many treated the speech as a step in the right direction toward Palestinian statehood and US support.
A handful of counter protesters also showed their support for Netanyahu and his US allies.
“You want to make sure that there are no Jews? That's what Hamas and Fatah are all about. So I can't listen to any more arguments. It's a matter of my security as a Jew and as a human being. If you're going to kill me, I have to kill you first. It's just that simple,” Bob Kunst of Shalom International told Press TV.
President Obama is also scheduled to speak at the American Israeli Political Action Committee's (AIPAC) convention this weekend.
The outrage and disappointment expressed by protesters here will carry on into the weekend where the annual AIPAC summit will take place, countering the issue of the United States 'special' relationship with Israel.
LF/PKH/MMN
Monday, May 16, 2011
Palestinians in Lebanon mourn dead protesters
Palestinian camps across Lebanon declared a day of mourning on Monday as the families of 10 people killed when Israeli troops opened fire on protesters at the border prepare to bury their dead.
"Today is a day of general strikes in the camps in mourning for the victims who were killed by the enemy," Fatah commander in Lebanon Munir Maqdah, based in the refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, told AFP.
Funerals will be held Monday in the Palestinian refugee camps of al-Bass, Burj al-Shemali, Mieh Mieh and Ain al-Hilweh, all located in South Lebanon.
Maqdah said talks were underway for a "Martyrs' Friday" to honour the victims.
"This will not end here," he said. "We may hold a 'Martyrs' Friday' but what the program will entail has not been finalized and we are still holding talks with our comrades here and abroad."
The 1948 formation of Israel is known in Arabic as the "nakba," or "catastrophe".
Israeli troops shot dead 12 people on Sunday and wounded hundreds more as Palestinians marking the "nakba" marched on Israel’s borders with Gaza as well as Lebanon and Syria. These regions are home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled or were driven out in 1948.
The Lebanese army said that 10 of those killed were approaching a barbed wire fence at Lebanon's border with the Jewish state. More than 100 more were wounded when the crowd of thousands of refugees, who were throwing rocks at Israeli troops from the Lebanese town of Maroun al-Ras, came under fire.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon
To read more: http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=271481#ixzz1MVRtE8eV
Only 25% of a given NOW Lebanon article can be republished. For information on republishing rights from NOW Lebanon: http://www.nowlebanon.com/Sub.aspx?ID=125478
"Today is a day of general strikes in the camps in mourning for the victims who were killed by the enemy," Fatah commander in Lebanon Munir Maqdah, based in the refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, told AFP.
Funerals will be held Monday in the Palestinian refugee camps of al-Bass, Burj al-Shemali, Mieh Mieh and Ain al-Hilweh, all located in South Lebanon.
Maqdah said talks were underway for a "Martyrs' Friday" to honour the victims.
"This will not end here," he said. "We may hold a 'Martyrs' Friday' but what the program will entail has not been finalized and we are still holding talks with our comrades here and abroad."
The 1948 formation of Israel is known in Arabic as the "nakba," or "catastrophe".
Israeli troops shot dead 12 people on Sunday and wounded hundreds more as Palestinians marking the "nakba" marched on Israel’s borders with Gaza as well as Lebanon and Syria. These regions are home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled or were driven out in 1948.
The Lebanese army said that 10 of those killed were approaching a barbed wire fence at Lebanon's border with the Jewish state. More than 100 more were wounded when the crowd of thousands of refugees, who were throwing rocks at Israeli troops from the Lebanese town of Maroun al-Ras, came under fire.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon
To read more: http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=271481#ixzz1MVRtE8eV
Only 25% of a given NOW Lebanon article can be republished. For information on republishing rights from NOW Lebanon: http://www.nowlebanon.com/Sub.aspx?ID=125478
Sunday, February 7, 2010
URGENT DEMO MONDAY: Israeli war criminal Daniel Ayalon in London
An urgent protest has been called at very short notice by the PSC to
call for Israeli war criminal Daniel Ayalon to be arrested. ISM London
is supporting this protest.
MONDAY 8 FEBRUARY, 10.30 am
Outside the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Temple
Place , WC2 (opposite Temple tube)
There is a Facebook event here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=445668320153
Ayalon is member of Yisrael Beitenu, a far-right party, well-known for
its racist policies, including its proposals to jail Palestinians in
Israel who commemorate the anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba.
Please come along and forward this email to your friends.
ISM London
call for Israeli war criminal Daniel Ayalon to be arrested. ISM London
is supporting this protest.
MONDAY 8 FEBRUARY, 10.30 am
Outside the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Temple
Place , WC2 (opposite Temple tube)
There is a Facebook event here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=445668320153
Ayalon is member of Yisrael Beitenu, a far-right party, well-known for
its racist policies, including its proposals to jail Palestinians in
Israel who commemorate the anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba.
Please come along and forward this email to your friends.
ISM London
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Gaza's border must be opened NOW
Pam Rasmussen, The Electronic Intifada, 29 December 2009
Solidarity activists joined approximately a dozen hunger strikers in front of the journalists' syndicate in Cairo.
Riot police barricading protesters in Cairo.
Protesters occupying the grounds of the French embassy.
This time is clearly different.
I have traveled to Gaza twice this year, in groups ranging from 40 to 60 persons, and although there was a lot of behind-the-scenes work involved in "greasing the wheels" with the Egyptian authorities, we pretty much sailed in. CODEPINK (the group that organized both of my previous trips) developed a well-earned reputation for being able to pull just the right levers to open the doors to the isolated enclave of Gaza -- even more so than George Galloway's Viva Palestina convoy, which is typically allowed in for only 24 to 48 hours (versus our four days).
But too many months have gone by with no change in the crippling isolation of Gaza imposed by Israel and Egypt, and it was time to risk our privileged access to take our efforts to break the siege up a notch. Our numbers had to be massive enough to threaten the jailers' growing complacence and broad enough to send the message that this is a global movement that won't stop until the Palestinian people are given the freedom and justice they deserve. Thus, this time CODEPINK allied with a number of other organizations around the world, and the number of participants quickly ballooned to more than 1,300 from 43 countries. Likewise, while we have collected or purchased thousands of dollars' worth of school supplies, winter clothing and electronic devices (such as computers -- currently only available via the tunnels and thus too expensive for the average Palestinian in Gaza), our message is also unapologetically political: the borders must be opened, to everyone, all the time. NOW.
We have obviously accomplished our objective. The jailers have taken notice and are running scared. So scared that we not only have been denied entry into Gaza, we have been threatened with arrest and deportation if we so much as carry a sign or gather in groups of more than six. Our reservation with a facility in downtown Cairo for an orientation meeting for delegates was canceled at the government's order, and requests to hold educational workshops instead were refused. In an even more audacious move that was aided and abetted by participants' own governments, consulate representatives were called to a meeting and apparently instructed to warn their residents not to come. In Spain, that warning was echoed in a news release. In Canada, individuals registered for the march or who had participated in past delegations received emails from their embassies. In Portugal, one marcher was called on his personal cell phone!
As word spread of Egypt's refusal to open Gaza's doors -- announcing its decision long after thousands of internationals had purchased expensive airline tickets and mere days before they began boarding their flights -- supporters around the world inundated Egypt's embassies with calls, emails and faxes in protest. Many came from legislators and other government officials, past and present. Egypt only backed further into its corner in response, using the aggressive tone of some of the calls and emails to ignore the overall theme: the injustice of the collective punishment imposed on Gaza's nearly 1.5 million Palestinians and Egypt's refusal to allow supporters to help.
As I write this, we are still being refused entry to Gaza, and even permission to travel to al-Arish and Rafah on the border. Thirty-eight of our marchers tried to get to al-Arish on their own, but 30 were then put under house arrest in their hotel and eight were detained at the bus station. Every peaceful vigil or protest we staged was met with an "iron wall" -- and sometimes, by violence.
When the French contingent of about 450 persons asked for help from their embassy, and occupied the grounds of the building in protest when initial promises negotiated with the Egyptian government were reneged, they were surrounded by heavily-armed and helmeted riot police and refused permission to leave -- even for food or to use a toilet. At the time of this writing, their "occupation" is going on 48 hours now.
Similar "sit-ins" have been or are being waged at the US, UK and Italian embassies (with more to come). At the US embassy, 30 Americans were detained within a circle of police for eight hours (at the direction of their own countrymen, by the way) before being released. The only small victory was an (ultimately frustrating and fruitless) meeting for three of the protesters with one of the embassy's higher-level officials.
The same treatment was received when vigils were staged at the United Nations, the journalists' syndicate (in support of about a dozen hunger-striking marchers) and the Kasr al-Nil Bridge over the Nile.
However, there are a few, bright silver linings to this dark cloud. Groups on the left of the sociopolitical spectrum are known for being far less cooperative and cohesive than their conservative, reactionary counterparts. It truly gladdened my heart, therefore, to see the immediate mobilization in our support by groups ranging from the War Resisters League to Jewish Voice for Peace.
Meanwhile, it's a truism that controversy attracts media coverage. Our missions to Gaza have been ignored by the mainstream media in the past, but this time, Egypt's defensive and angry response attracted the attention of such mainstream media pillars as the BBC, the Associated Press, Newsweek and The New York Times. I am a communications professional, and Egypt has violated a tenet of Public Relations 101: The more you protest, the guiltier you look.
All images by Pam Rasmussen.
Pam Rasmussen is a peace activist and communications professional from Maryland who recently received a Community Human Rights Award for her work on behalf of Palestinians from the UN Association of the National Capitol Area. She can be contacted at peacenut57 A T yahoo D O T com.
Solidarity activists joined approximately a dozen hunger strikers in front of the journalists' syndicate in Cairo.
Riot police barricading protesters in Cairo.
Protesters occupying the grounds of the French embassy.
This time is clearly different.
I have traveled to Gaza twice this year, in groups ranging from 40 to 60 persons, and although there was a lot of behind-the-scenes work involved in "greasing the wheels" with the Egyptian authorities, we pretty much sailed in. CODEPINK (the group that organized both of my previous trips) developed a well-earned reputation for being able to pull just the right levers to open the doors to the isolated enclave of Gaza -- even more so than George Galloway's Viva Palestina convoy, which is typically allowed in for only 24 to 48 hours (versus our four days).
But too many months have gone by with no change in the crippling isolation of Gaza imposed by Israel and Egypt, and it was time to risk our privileged access to take our efforts to break the siege up a notch. Our numbers had to be massive enough to threaten the jailers' growing complacence and broad enough to send the message that this is a global movement that won't stop until the Palestinian people are given the freedom and justice they deserve. Thus, this time CODEPINK allied with a number of other organizations around the world, and the number of participants quickly ballooned to more than 1,300 from 43 countries. Likewise, while we have collected or purchased thousands of dollars' worth of school supplies, winter clothing and electronic devices (such as computers -- currently only available via the tunnels and thus too expensive for the average Palestinian in Gaza), our message is also unapologetically political: the borders must be opened, to everyone, all the time. NOW.
We have obviously accomplished our objective. The jailers have taken notice and are running scared. So scared that we not only have been denied entry into Gaza, we have been threatened with arrest and deportation if we so much as carry a sign or gather in groups of more than six. Our reservation with a facility in downtown Cairo for an orientation meeting for delegates was canceled at the government's order, and requests to hold educational workshops instead were refused. In an even more audacious move that was aided and abetted by participants' own governments, consulate representatives were called to a meeting and apparently instructed to warn their residents not to come. In Spain, that warning was echoed in a news release. In Canada, individuals registered for the march or who had participated in past delegations received emails from their embassies. In Portugal, one marcher was called on his personal cell phone!
As word spread of Egypt's refusal to open Gaza's doors -- announcing its decision long after thousands of internationals had purchased expensive airline tickets and mere days before they began boarding their flights -- supporters around the world inundated Egypt's embassies with calls, emails and faxes in protest. Many came from legislators and other government officials, past and present. Egypt only backed further into its corner in response, using the aggressive tone of some of the calls and emails to ignore the overall theme: the injustice of the collective punishment imposed on Gaza's nearly 1.5 million Palestinians and Egypt's refusal to allow supporters to help.
As I write this, we are still being refused entry to Gaza, and even permission to travel to al-Arish and Rafah on the border. Thirty-eight of our marchers tried to get to al-Arish on their own, but 30 were then put under house arrest in their hotel and eight were detained at the bus station. Every peaceful vigil or protest we staged was met with an "iron wall" -- and sometimes, by violence.
When the French contingent of about 450 persons asked for help from their embassy, and occupied the grounds of the building in protest when initial promises negotiated with the Egyptian government were reneged, they were surrounded by heavily-armed and helmeted riot police and refused permission to leave -- even for food or to use a toilet. At the time of this writing, their "occupation" is going on 48 hours now.
Similar "sit-ins" have been or are being waged at the US, UK and Italian embassies (with more to come). At the US embassy, 30 Americans were detained within a circle of police for eight hours (at the direction of their own countrymen, by the way) before being released. The only small victory was an (ultimately frustrating and fruitless) meeting for three of the protesters with one of the embassy's higher-level officials.
The same treatment was received when vigils were staged at the United Nations, the journalists' syndicate (in support of about a dozen hunger-striking marchers) and the Kasr al-Nil Bridge over the Nile.
However, there are a few, bright silver linings to this dark cloud. Groups on the left of the sociopolitical spectrum are known for being far less cooperative and cohesive than their conservative, reactionary counterparts. It truly gladdened my heart, therefore, to see the immediate mobilization in our support by groups ranging from the War Resisters League to Jewish Voice for Peace.
Meanwhile, it's a truism that controversy attracts media coverage. Our missions to Gaza have been ignored by the mainstream media in the past, but this time, Egypt's defensive and angry response attracted the attention of such mainstream media pillars as the BBC, the Associated Press, Newsweek and The New York Times. I am a communications professional, and Egypt has violated a tenet of Public Relations 101: The more you protest, the guiltier you look.
All images by Pam Rasmussen.
Pam Rasmussen is a peace activist and communications professional from Maryland who recently received a Community Human Rights Award for her work on behalf of Palestinians from the UN Association of the National Capitol Area. She can be contacted at peacenut57 A T yahoo D O T com.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The International Campaign to Open the Rafah Border
The International Campaign to Open the Rafah Border
11 June 2009
The International Movement to Open the Rafah Border continues the campaign at the Rafah gate. The group consists of David Mattacchioni, Italy; Christian Chantegrel, Micheline Garreau, Jacque Denko, France; Paki Wieland, Ellen Graves, and Don Bryant, USA. These international activists have attempted to enter Gaza since the morning of June 9, but have been denied.
The goal of the International Movement to Open the Rafah Border (IMORB) is not only to enter Gaza, but to demand to lift the extended siege. “A humanitarian crisis has been created in Gaza by the siege and the Israeli massacre in December and January.” explained Don Bryant of Cleveland, Ohio. “We were in Gaza three months ago and saw
the extreme destruction in every village, refugee camp, and business district. Over 1400 people were killed, 85% were civilians.” The INTMORB has witnessed the plight of numerous families trying to enter Gaza, some of whom some have been waiting for weeks. A Palestinian man who has been waiting waiting over 22 days, said, “I am
an engineer and could be earning a decent living, but they make me live like a beggar.” For all these people, it is overwhelmingly costly to stay for an undetermined time, waiting for an arbitrary political decision.
The group has decided that they will try to pass through the border today, with, and only with all of the people who are waiting to enter Gaza, Palestine. If by 4:00 p.m, they are still denied, they will set up camp, and besiege the siege. The media is invited to come and report this international action.
Any one who wants to support this action is urged to participate in a massive lobbying campaign by contacting their own government or foreign minister, the Egyptian Embassy in their own country, and their own embassy in Egypt. Send emails and faxes, and make phone calls demanding the opening of the border and the end of the siege.
____________________
11 June 2009
The International Movement to Open the Rafah Border continues the campaign at the Rafah gate. The group consists of David Mattacchioni, Italy; Christian Chantegrel, Micheline Garreau, Jacque Denko, France; Paki Wieland, Ellen Graves, and Don Bryant, USA. These international activists have attempted to enter Gaza since the morning of June 9, but have been denied.
The goal of the International Movement to Open the Rafah Border (IMORB) is not only to enter Gaza, but to demand to lift the extended siege. “A humanitarian crisis has been created in Gaza by the siege and the Israeli massacre in December and January.” explained Don Bryant of Cleveland, Ohio. “We were in Gaza three months ago and saw
the extreme destruction in every village, refugee camp, and business district. Over 1400 people were killed, 85% were civilians.” The INTMORB has witnessed the plight of numerous families trying to enter Gaza, some of whom some have been waiting for weeks. A Palestinian man who has been waiting waiting over 22 days, said, “I am
an engineer and could be earning a decent living, but they make me live like a beggar.” For all these people, it is overwhelmingly costly to stay for an undetermined time, waiting for an arbitrary political decision.
The group has decided that they will try to pass through the border today, with, and only with all of the people who are waiting to enter Gaza, Palestine. If by 4:00 p.m, they are still denied, they will set up camp, and besiege the siege. The media is invited to come and report this international action.
Any one who wants to support this action is urged to participate in a massive lobbying campaign by contacting their own government or foreign minister, the Egyptian Embassy in their own country, and their own embassy in Egypt. Send emails and faxes, and make phone calls demanding the opening of the border and the end of the siege.
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Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Lieberman in London – protest Wednesday 10.30am Foreign Office
Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s openly racist Foreign Minister, is coming to London.
Join us from 10.30am-12 noon on Wednesday 13 May to protest outside the Foreign Office, Whitehall, London.
Lieberman will be meeting with David Miliband – tell the Foreign Office that there is no place for racists here.
Protest called by Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, British Muslim Initiative, Stop the War Coalition, CND, Palestinian Forum in Britain.
During Israel’s bombing and invasion of Gaza, Avigdor Lieberman threatened action ‘just like the United States did with the Japanese in World War II’, when the US used nuclear bombs to obliterate two cities. He has called for the execution of elected Arab members of Israel's parliament if they have any contact with Hamas, and
threatened the expulsion of Palestinian citizens of Israel.
For more information on Lieberman: http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/people/658.shtml
Join us from 10.30am-12 noon on Wednesday 13 May to protest outside the Foreign Office, Whitehall, London.
Lieberman will be meeting with David Miliband – tell the Foreign Office that there is no place for racists here.
Protest called by Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, British Muslim Initiative, Stop the War Coalition, CND, Palestinian Forum in Britain.
During Israel’s bombing and invasion of Gaza, Avigdor Lieberman threatened action ‘just like the United States did with the Japanese in World War II’, when the US used nuclear bombs to obliterate two cities. He has called for the execution of elected Arab members of Israel's parliament if they have any contact with Hamas, and
threatened the expulsion of Palestinian citizens of Israel.
For more information on Lieberman: http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/people/658.shtml
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign
Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, March 14th, 2009
Dozens of people in various West Bank villages were injured this Friday, and one American activist has been seriously wounded in Ni’lin and currently lies in a coma at a Tel Aviv hospital. In addition to Ni’lin, there were actions in Jayyous, Bi’lin, Ma’sara and Burin, with a demonstration planned for tomorrow in Wadi Rasha.
In Ni’lin, nearly 500 people marched to the threatened lands. Soldiers attacked the demonstration and later invaded the village, where they fired hundreds of rounds of tear gas, rubber bullets and sound bombs. Clashes between youth and soldiers lasted until early evening. Four people were wounded with rubber bullets, while a fifth American activist was struck in the head with a high velocity tear gas round. He was evacuated by a Red Crescent ambulance, which was held for 15 minutes at a military checkpoint at the entrance, and is currently in critical condition.
Hundreds of people were also present in Bi’lin, where demonstrators decried the recent confiscation of 142 dunums and called for the release of political prisoners. Five youth between 15 and 22 years of age were injured, while tens more were affected by tear gas.
At the al-Ma’sara demonstration this Friday, soldiers physically beat four Palestinians, among them several youths, a boy of 12 and an older man of 50. All four were transferred to a hospital in the Bethlehem area for treatment.
Occupation forces in Jayyous attempted to preemptively shut down the weekly demonstration, invading the village and placing it under curfew before mid-day. At 11 in the morning, three jeeps and soldiers on foot entered the village, where they fired sound bombs and tear gas at villagers attempting to enter a local mosque for Friday prayers while announcing a curfew on a loudspeaker. Local youth reacted by hurling stones at the soldiers, and clashes continued throughout the day. Many more jeeps were brought in, and soldiers again occupied two homes in the village. Two youth were injured by rubber bullets.
In the village of Burin, southwest of Nablus, villagers held a demonstration against the confiscation of their land for settlement.
Actions are planned for tomorrow in the isolated area of Wadi Rasha, Ras Tira, and Daba’a, just southeast of Qalqilya city. Organizers have planned a general strike to allow for the participation of all the local residents. The demonstration will start early and attempt to halt bulldozers, which have already razed a 350-meter swath of land 2 kilometers in length, uprooting hundreds of trees.
Dozens of people in various West Bank villages were injured this Friday, and one American activist has been seriously wounded in Ni’lin and currently lies in a coma at a Tel Aviv hospital. In addition to Ni’lin, there were actions in Jayyous, Bi’lin, Ma’sara and Burin, with a demonstration planned for tomorrow in Wadi Rasha.
In Ni’lin, nearly 500 people marched to the threatened lands. Soldiers attacked the demonstration and later invaded the village, where they fired hundreds of rounds of tear gas, rubber bullets and sound bombs. Clashes between youth and soldiers lasted until early evening. Four people were wounded with rubber bullets, while a fifth American activist was struck in the head with a high velocity tear gas round. He was evacuated by a Red Crescent ambulance, which was held for 15 minutes at a military checkpoint at the entrance, and is currently in critical condition.
Hundreds of people were also present in Bi’lin, where demonstrators decried the recent confiscation of 142 dunums and called for the release of political prisoners. Five youth between 15 and 22 years of age were injured, while tens more were affected by tear gas.
At the al-Ma’sara demonstration this Friday, soldiers physically beat four Palestinians, among them several youths, a boy of 12 and an older man of 50. All four were transferred to a hospital in the Bethlehem area for treatment.
Occupation forces in Jayyous attempted to preemptively shut down the weekly demonstration, invading the village and placing it under curfew before mid-day. At 11 in the morning, three jeeps and soldiers on foot entered the village, where they fired sound bombs and tear gas at villagers attempting to enter a local mosque for Friday prayers while announcing a curfew on a loudspeaker. Local youth reacted by hurling stones at the soldiers, and clashes continued throughout the day. Many more jeeps were brought in, and soldiers again occupied two homes in the village. Two youth were injured by rubber bullets.
In the village of Burin, southwest of Nablus, villagers held a demonstration against the confiscation of their land for settlement.
Actions are planned for tomorrow in the isolated area of Wadi Rasha, Ras Tira, and Daba’a, just southeast of Qalqilya city. Organizers have planned a general strike to allow for the participation of all the local residents. The demonstration will start early and attempt to halt bulldozers, which have already razed a 350-meter swath of land 2 kilometers in length, uprooting hundreds of trees.
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