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The struggle against Israeli occupation and apartheid has won a major victory with the release of anti-apartheid activists and boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaigners Mohammad Othman and Jamal Juma'.
Speaking on his release from jail, Jamal Juma' credited international pressure with his release:
"The reason for my arrest was purely
political – an attempt to crush Stop the Wall and the popular
committees against the Wall. Therefore, the reasons for my release are
also outside the courtroom: The impressive support of international
civil society has moved governments and used the media to an extent
that made our imprisonment too uncomfortable.
This international solidarity has
given our popular struggle against the Wall further strength. We are
deeply thankful for all the efforts. Yet, the latest arrests and
continuous repression show that we have not yet defeated the Israeli
policy as such, as Israel remains determined to silence Palestinian
human rights defenders by all means".
We therefore need to ensure that the
campaign for the freedom of all anti-wall activists and Palestinian
political prisoners continues to grow."
Continue the campaign for the freedom of all anti-wall activists by clicking here and sending and email to the U.S. Consul General in East Jerusalem, Daniel Rubinstein. Abdallah Abu Rahmah, anti-wall activist and leader of nonviolent struggle in the Palestinian village of Bil'in, remains in prison. Click here to ask Rubinstein to demand his release. Click here to act in solidarity with Palestinian grassroots nonviolent resistance to occupation and apartheid by engaging in campaigns of boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) as called for by Palestinian civil society.
More information:
Recently, Israel has been increasing its repression of nonviolent activists
for Palestinian human rights, especially those involved in promoting
boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaigns. The three Palestinian
civil society leaders below are being held without trial for their
nonviolent resistance to Israeli occupation and apartheid. Click here to have the United States demand the release of these nonviolent activists by sending an email to the U.S. Consul General in East Jerusalem, Daniel Rubinstein.
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Mohammad Othman
was arrested on September 22, 2009, at the Allenby Bridge crossing,
while returning from addressing the Norwegian national pension fund
about divestment from Elbit Systems, a major Israeli military
contractor. Thanks to successful pressure from human rights advocates like you, Mohammad has now been released!
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Abdallah Abu Rahmah,
a leader of the weekly nonviolent protests against the Apartheid Wall
in Bil'in, was arrested in his home in the early morning hours of
December 10, 2009-International Human Rights Day. He has been slapped
with a phony weapons possession charge for collecting tear gas
canisters shot at him and other peaceful demonstrators by the Israeli
army. Abdallah is still imprisoned, click here to demand his release.
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Jamal Juma',
coordinator of the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign,
was arrested on December 16 and is being held without charge. On
January 4 his administrative detention was extended for a further 3
days. Thanks to successful pressure from human rights advocates like you, Jamal has now been released!
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A few weeks ago, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a major speech on human rights policy, pledging the Obama Administration to hold itself accountable to universal human rights standards:
"By
holding ourselves accountable, we reinforce our moral authority to
demand that all governments adhere to obligations under international
law; among them, not to torture, arbitrarily detain and persecute dissenters,
or engage in political killings. Our government and the international
community must counter the pretensions of those who deny or abdicate
their responsibilities and hold violators to account."
Israel's arbitrary detention and persecution of dissenters such as
Mohammad, Abdallah, and Jamal-Palestinians who are leading a nonviolent
movement of protest against Israeli apartheid and in support of campaigns of boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS)
against Israel-stand as a crucial test of whether the Obama
Administration singles out Israel for a special exemption from its
human rights rhetoric.
Tell the U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem to press Israel to free these and all Palestinian political prisoners by clicking here.
Jamal, Mohammad, and Abdallah aren't the only Palestinian grassroots figures being targeted by the Israeli military. They join hundreds of other Palestinians being held without charge in administrative detention,
and thousands of Palestinian political prisoners being held in Israeli
jails. The villages of Jayyous, Ni'lin, Bil'in, and al-Ma'sara, as well
as Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah and other East Jerusalem
neighborhoods, are facing collective punishment for their nonviolent
resistance to the Wall and eviction. Learn more about this campaign of
repression by watching this report from the Real News Network, and demand the release of Israel's anti-apartheid prisoners by clicking here.
Israel's
attacks on nonviolent resistance and its imprisonment of Palestinian
grassroots leaders is a violation of international law and human rights
and a violation of the Obama Administrations stated policy objectives
in Israel/Palestine. As Secretary of State Clinton said in her Dec. 14
human rights address:
"Believing
in human rights means committing ourselves to action, and when we sign
up for the promise of rights that apply everywhere, to everyone, that
rights will be able to protect and enable human dignity, we also sign
up for the hard work of making that promise a reality."
Help make that promise a reality by sending a letter to U.S. Consul General Daniel Rubinstein asking him to press Israel to free Palestinian political prisoners such as Mohammad, Abdullah, and Jamal by clicking here.
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Take Action!
1) Send an email to the U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem to demand the release of the anti-apartheid prisoners by clicking here
2) Follow us on Twitter and help us send messages to the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem and the State Department by clicking here
3) Learn how to start and intensify BDS campaigns in your local community by clicking here
4) Support the important BDS and anti-apartheid work of the US Campaign by clicking here
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