Friday, December 30, 2011

Nabi Saleh demonstration, 30.12.2011

Palestinian shebabs in Nabi Saleh became extremely skilled with throwing back tear gas canisters to the Israeli soldiers: impressive!
Les shebabs palestiniens à Nabi Saleh sont devenus extrêmement habiles pour relancer les grenades de gaz lacrymogènes à leurs envoyeurs, les soldats israéliens: impressionnant!


Here is one which did not explode, the Palestinian showed it to the Israeli soldiers before throwing it back some minutes later.
En voici une qui n'a pas explosé, le Palestinien le montre aux soldats israéliens avant de leur relancer quelques minutes plus tard.

One of the medic who was just injured by a tear gas canister
Un des secouristes qui vient d'être blessé par une grenade lacrymogène.


Also very impressive to see Palestinians broadcasting live from the demonstrations! Together with Tweeter, you can follow what is happening.
Les Palestiniens utilisent maintenant la technique du "livestream", avec un laptop, une connexion internet et une webcam, il est possible de diffuser en direct. Grâce à cette technique, et à Tweeter, on peut vraiment suivre ce qui se passe instantanément.



A Palestinian family is seen with at the back the Israeli settlement of Halamish just a few minutes after their home had been invaded by the Israeli soldiers during the demonstration.
Une famille palestinienne pose avec à l'arrière la colonie israélienne de Halamish quelques minutes après que leur maison ait été envahie par les soldats israéliens lors de la manifestation.





(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Nabi Saleh, 30.12.2011

After two demonstrations and 5 hours of transportation, I am definitely too tired to write anything! will try tomorrow

below is account by Linah Alsaafin:


Nabi Saleh’s Balloon Release for Gaza

My friend Amra Amra informed me that the Chicago Movement for Palestinian Rights were planning on commemorating the third year since the massacre on Gaza, which Israel dubbed as Operation Cast Lead, by releasing balloons with the name of each child killed attached- a total of 344. One of the coordinators asked if we could possibly emulate the same action in Palestine.

After some initial planning, we decided to take the balloons to the village of Nabi Saleh, as opposed to Qalandiya checkpoint, which separates the rest of the West Bank from Jerusalem. It was easier to coordinate with the villagers and a lot less hassle, especially on such short notice.

Friday morning came. Along with a handful of other friends/activists, we got the balloons and managed to stuff them all in the back of a ford (mini-bus). As we got closer to Nabi Saleh, I was sick with worry about what the soldiers manning the yellow gate at the entrance to the village would do once they saw the balloons. I was scared they would open the back door and let the balloons fly away. I reached behind me and gripped the strings tightly. From experience, I know their maliciousness knows mercy. We decided on a story: We were going to Beit Rima (the village just after Nabi Saleh) for a kid’s birthday party. I nicknamed it, Operation Susu’s Birthday.

It was such a ridiculous situation. Ridiculous that we should be holding our breath just because of some balloons, ridiculous that these young soldiers had the power to do anything to us, ridiculous in that we were sitting uncomfortably with the balloons batting our faces, necks and shoulders, threatening to engulf us. This is occupation, when the gravity and tension weigh up against the absurdities and unnecessities, creating a split personality-one full of apprehension and anger, the other just seconds away from a good dose of hysterical hyena laughing.

Thankfully, nothing happened. They demanded to see the ID of the driver and the person sitting in the passenger seat. They opened the door and peered at each and every one of us. One soldier said, “Balloon?” but we ignored him. Then we passed. We all breathed audibly. We jumped out of the ford and walked through the village with the balloons. Kids outside in the cold morning were exclaiming, “I want a balloon!” We told them to come find us just before the protest started, still a few hours away. We went to one of the welcoming houses, and downstairs inside a room we got busy with work. We cut the papers with the names of the children of Gaza killed into strips, hole-punched them, and tied them to each balloon string. There were a lot of pictures taken, kids were careful not to be overly exuberant, and we had a great time. The kids asked what the strips of paper were, and we told them about the commemoration of the Gaza massacre.

One medic, a regular in Nabi Saleh who’s well-known by the villagers, took a stab at black humor. “So when you all get killed,” he told the children in the room, “We’ll remember your names by flying some balloons.”

Don’t joke about this kind of stuff,” I snapped. The kids however wanted to know more.

Is Mustafa’s name tied to one of the balloons?” 9 year old Rand asked, referring to Mustafa Tamimi, the young man killed after an Israeli soldier fired a tear gas canister directly at his face a few weeks ago.

Mustafa was 28 years old,” the medic replied. “Did he look like a kid to you?”

We talked about what was the best way to include the balloons in the protest. Should we have the kids go down the road in front of the soldiers before the demonstration began? The soldiers wouldn’t fire tear gas at them, right? Of course they would. We’ve all witnessed it more than once. The army fires tear gas at children singing and chanting. The parents shook their heads. It’s safer if the kids were with the protest crowd; that way at least there will be people to protect and shield them once the Israeli occupation forces intensified their sadistic suppression of the villagers’ basic rights.

We decided to visit another favorite house of ours in the village. As we were making our way down the road we watched powerless, meters away, as two Israeli jeeps came hurtling up the road, before it kidnapped two international activists who were taking pictures of the village and of where Mustafa had fell.

Protest time: Amra and I got the balloons, and I gave one to a kid so he could entice the other ones to come our way. They came running. They were so enthusiastic. It was perfect timing, as the demo passed by and swept them along. We went down the street chanting. We turned the bend and continued to where the soldiers with their jeeps and skunk truck were waiting for us. The kids were interspersed in the crowd, some in the front, most in the middle. We waited for the sky to rain tear gas. A few canisters were fired (a few being abnormal; usually dozens are fired from the onset). Instead, the skunk truck rumbled forward, its nozzle spraying that nasty stuff. We all ran back, and I noticed all the kids had scampered, using their common sense. Their ages were between 14 to 5 years old.

We didn’t get to release the balloons all at the same time like planned, but it didn’t matter. I realized how silly this part of the idea was. The soldiers don’t differentiate between child, man, or woman. Getting the children together in a group to release the balloons at the same time in front of the soldiers was indeed a powerful and symbolic image, yet owing to the aggressive reality on the ground, it was not a feasible idea. It was impossible to replicate an identical event amidst the IOF, dodging tear gas canisters fired at our bodies, and running away from the skunk water. Still, the most important thing was that we got our message across, and that the kids had a blast.

That’s about how far the balloons went..the demo was ugly with a lot of tear gas, multiple arrests, skunk water sprayed numerously, and a couple of violent house raids which terrified the children inside. Sometimes I’d look up, my chest constricting, and see the clouds of tear gas hanging over our heads, other times it would be clumps of balloons floating away. It made me think of ten year old Ahmad Mousa from Nilin, shot and murdered by Israel in 2008. It made me think of 5 year old Jana singing Bombing Gas to the tune of Jingle Bells.

We don’t teach our children to hate.

That’s all.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Will Jane Birkin play in Tel Aviv and by doing so will support Apartheid, occupation and colonization? / est ce que Jane Birkin jouera à Tel Aviv ?

BDS news: Europeans, Moroccans urge Jane Birkin to respect boycott call

Activists across Europe and North Africa with the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement are urging Jane Birkin — British-born French singer, actress and proponent of human rights in Burma, Chechnya, Haiti and Japan — to respect the Palestinian-led call for the cultural boycott against Israel and not perform in Tel Aviv in January.

In addition to a public statement to Birkin on 13 December by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), BDS France/Belgium and BDS Maroc (Morocco) have posted a joint letter to Birkin, encouraging her “not to be indifferent to the Palestinian call for cultural boycott.”

This week, BDS Catalunya drafted a letter, entitled “No balance with apartheid,” and posted it to their Facebook page. The letter, translated into English, Spanish, Catalan and French, states in part:

Dear Jane Birkin,
We have heard that you intend to give two concerts in Tel Aviv on January 13 and 14, 2012 in spite of the fact that in 2004 the Palestinians made a call to international artists asking them not to perform in Israel … We are aware that you intended to sing both in Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as you did in your 2003 tour but that your attempts to rent a hall in Ramallah have been unsuccessful because the local cultural organizations refuse to cooperate with your policy of equating the occupied and the occupier.

Seven years after the 2004 Palestinian call for a cultural boycott of Israel, it is no longer acceptable to maintain this position. Your only remaining option is to sing in Israel but giving these concerts in Tel Aviv would mean normalizing the occupation, colonialism and apartheid that is causing so much suffering to the Palestinian people.
BDS Catalunya are writing to you because we know that just three days before your first concert in Tel Aviv you will be performing in our capital city, Barcelona. The concert will be held on January 10, 2012 at 9 pm in the emblematic Palau de la Música, one of the gems of Catalan modernist architecture. While we are pleased and proud that an artist of your calibre is coming to our city, it shocks us to think that only three days after singing in Palaude la Música a person like you, who is committed to defending human rights – as they know in Burma, Haiti and Chechnya – may be used by Israel to cover up the terrible crimes committed against the Palestinian population. We hope this letter will help to change your mind.
The BDS Catalunya group wishes you a pleasant stay in Barcelona but feels obliged to inform the people here in Catalonia about the negative implications that your two concerts in Israel may have for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. We will be at Palau dela Música on January 10 to inform your audience of these implications and to ask you once again to cancel your concerts in Israel.

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BDS France interpelle l’artiste Jane Birkin qui prévoit des concerts à Tel Aviv

publié le vendredi 16 décembre 2011

Vous pouvez vous aussi lui écrire à l’adresse ci-dessous.

Jane Birkin

C/o Agence Cinéart

36 rue de Ponthieu

75008 Paris

Paris, le 5 décembre 2011

Chère Jane Birkin,

Au mois de janvier vous avez l’intention de donner deux concerts à Tel Aviv et vous êtes actuellement en train de finaliser la recherche d’une salle pour jouer à Ramallah. Aujourd’hui la campagne BDS France (Boycott – Désinvestissements- Sanctions) souhaiterait vous rencontrer pour discuter avec vous des enjeux de ce mouvement pacifiste et international.

Vous connaissez bien le conflit israélo-palestinien et vous vous êtes rendue plusieurs fois dans les territoires occupées avec votre tournée « Arabesque » ou lors de la présentation de votre film « 36 vues du pic saint Loup ». Ces visites vous ont permis de constater que l’on ne pouvait pas mettre sur un pied d’égalité Israël et la Palestine, qu’il y a avait bien un oppresseur, l’Etat israélien, qui refuse de respecter le droit international ; et un opprimé, le peuple palestinien qui vit sous apartheid, qui subit quotidiennement la colonisation, la privation des besoins les plus élémentaires, et dont une grande partie est toujours réfugiée aux quatre coins du monde.

Ce constat implique également une différence de traitement : jouer en Israël sera interprété, que vous le vouliez ou non, comme un soutien à cet Etat, qu’un concert en Palestine ne fera pas oublier. Lorsque Leonard Cohen en 2009, a voulu poursuivre la même démarche, les Palestiniens ont tout simplement refusé de le recevoir à Ramallah suite à son concert à Tel Aviv. Et Amnesty International qui cautionnait au départ ce concert, s’en est retiré après discussion avec la société civile palestinienne.

Le mouvement BDS est né suite à l’appel de cette société civile palestinienne en 2005 pour lutter de façon pacifique contre la politique d’apartheid d’Israël, il regroupe maintenant des dizaines de milliers de personnes à travers le monde qui refusent de considérer Israël comme un Etat démocratique tant que celui ci ne respectera pas le droit international.

Parmi celles-ci, de nombreuses personnalités de vos deux familles artistiques ont choisi de ne pas se produire en Israël tant que cet Etat ne changera pas sa politique. Parmi les cinéastes, Ken Loach, Jean-Luc Godard, Meg Ryan, Dustin Hoffman ou Mike Leigh. Parmi les musiciens, Natacha Atlas, Vanessa Paradis, Roger Waters, Brian Eno, Annie Lennox, Carlos Santana, Elvis Costello, Gil Scott-Heron, Gorillaz, les Pixies, Massive Attack, Gilles Vigneault ou Lhasa, entre autres, ont récemment annulé leurs prestations artistiques dans différentes villes israéliennes.

Jane Birkin, vous êtes une femme engagée, nous espérons que vous annulerez vos concerts à Tel Aviv et que vous rejoindrez ces nombreux artistes qui boycottent Israël tant que cet état ne respectera pas le droit international.

Nous restons à votre entière disposition pour tout supplément d’information. D’ici là, vous trouverez toutes les informations sur notre site : www.bdsfrance.org

Cordialement,

La Campagne BDS France

CICP

21 ter rue Voltaire

75011 Paris

campagnebdsfrance@yahoo.fr


Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Best wishes from the Israeli Ministry tourism in the midle of the checkpoint!/ Des voeux du Ministère Israelien du tourisme au milieu du checkpoint!



(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Bethlehem, 27.12.2011.

Yes they dare to do it again! Every year Israel is trying to show a friendly face to the thousands of tourists and pilgrims who visit Bethlehem around Christmas. So this year again we are greeted by a big banner put in front of the checkpoint and another poster inside a checkpoint!

In the same checkpoint where thousands of Palestinians are humiliated everyday! just watch this video that I do-directed some years ago to understand what the bethlehem checkpoint is really about:



They even dare to wish "peace" when they are the ones who bring misery here and continue the dispossession of another people, grabbing more lands everyday. Just in Bethlehem, the Palestinians from Bethlehem can only access 13% of their original land!

I would like that someone correct on the banner: "we wish you a merry Christmas and happy new year " by :
"we STEAL you AGAIN a merry christmas and happy new year".

That will be much more accurate!

---Français---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Oui, ils osent le faire à nouveau! Chaque année, Israël tente de montrer un visage amical pour les milliers de touristes et de pèlerins qui visitent Bethléem autour de Noël. Alors, cette année encore, nous sommes accueillis par une grande bannière mis sur les très accueillants grillages qui entourent le checkpoint et une autre affiche à l'intérieur même du poste de contrôle!

Dans le même checkpoint (ou plutôt terminal tant il est imposant) des milliers de Palestiniens sont humiliés tous les jours! Il suffit de regarder cette vidéo (sous titres français) que j'ai co-realisé il ya quelques années pour comprendre ce que le checkpoint de Bethléem représente vraiment pour les Palestiniens:



Le gouvernement israélien ose même nous souhaiter «paix et prospérité» quand il est responsable de la misère ici et continue à déposséder les Palestiniens de leurs droits, saisissant plus de leurs terres par la force au quotidien. Juste à Bethléem, les Palestiniens n'ont plus accès qu'à 13% de leurs terres d'origines.

Je voudrais
que quelqu'un rectifie sur la bannière: "nous vous souhaitons un joyeux noël et une bonne année" par:

«Nous vous volons ENCORE un Joyeux Noël et une bonne année".

Ce serait beaucoup plus exact!

Protest in Hebrew University for Gaza / Manifestation devant l'université hébraïque pour Gaza, East jerusalem, 27.12.2011






(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, hebrew university, East Jerusalem, 27.12.2012

Students from Hebrew university and activists chain themselves and wear T-shirts with names of some Palestinians who were killed during the Israeli military large-scale operation "Cast Lead" as part of an action in front of the Hebrew university to mark the three year anniversary of the launch of the attack and to call for the end of the blockade, East Jerusalem, Tuesday, December 27, 2011.

Students wearing those T-shirts were not allowed inside the university. They declared that right wing students who openly use racist slogans have no problem at all conducting their activities inside the university.

Also a reminder: the Hebrew university is built in East Jerusalem, i.e. occupied territory according to international law. The university is expanding and is trying to evict Palestinian families who live nearby.

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Les étudiants de l'Université hébraïque et des activistes ont formé une chaine humaine et ont porté des T-shirts avec les noms de certains Palestiniens qui ont été tués pendant l' Opération"Plomb durci" menée par l'armée israélienne contre Gaza dans le cadre d'une action en face de l'université hébraïque pour marquer l'anniversaire de trois ans du lancement de l'attaque massive qui a causé la mort de plus de 1400 Palestiniens, pour la grande majorité des civils; et pour appeler à la fin du blocus de Gaza, Jérusalem-Est, Mardi 27 Décembre , 2011.

Certains étudiants portant ces tee-shirts n'ont pas été autorisés à l'intérieur de l'université. Ils ont déclaré pourtant que des étudiants d'extrême-droite qui utilisaient ouvertement des slogans racistes n'ont jamais aucun problème pour mener leurs activités à l'intérieur de l'université.

Aussi un rappel: l'université hébraïque est construite à Jérusalem-Est, c'est à dire en territoires occupés selon le droit international et n'a cessé de s'accroître en essayant d'expulser des familles palestiniennes vivant aux alentours.

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Monde Aujourd'hui à 0h00

Gaza : le droit bafoué

Trois ans après le lancement de l'opération Plomb Durci, aucune justice n’a été rendue aux victimes du conflit dans la bande de Gaza et dans le sud d’Israël. Au cours de cette attaque militaire menée par Israël sur la bande de Gaza entre le 27 décembre 2008 et le 18 janvier 2009, 1 410 Palestiniens ont été tués, dont plus de 80% de civils, et 9 Israéliens dont 4 civils.

La laborieuse quête de justice pour les victimes du conflit débute en novembre 2009, au moment où l’Assemblée générale des Nations unies adopte le rapport Goldstone. L’Assemblée générale laisse alors un an et demi aux autorités israéliennes et palestiniennes pour poursuivre en justice les responsables présumés des graves crimes commis pendant le conflit. Le 18 mars 2011, un Comité d’experts indépendants a établi que ni le gouvernement israélien, ni la partie palestinienne n’ont satisfait aux demandes d’enquêtes formulées par l’Assemblée générale. En Israël, les chiffres parlent d’eux-mêmes. Les organisations palestiniennes représentant les victimes telles qu’al-Mezan, al-Haq et le Centre palestinien pour les droits de l’Homme (PCHR) sont confrontées à un mur de silence dressé par la justice israélienne. Exemple parmi d’autres, sur les 490 plaintes pénales envoyées par le PCHR au Procureur militaire israélien au nom de 1 046 victimes palestiniennes, l’ONG n’a obtenu de réponse substantielle que dans deux cas. Depuis l’opération Plomb durci, le Procureur militaire n’a ouvert que 47 enquêtes criminelles qui ont mené à la seule condamnation de trois soldats à des peines dérisoires, eu égard à l’ampleur des nombreux crimes commis pendant l’attaque. La plus lourde peine infligée est de sept mois et demi de prison, pour le vol d’une carte de crédit. Ces enquêtes souffrent d’un problème structurel essentiel car elles ont été menées par l’armée israélienne elle-même et manquent donc d’impartialité, de transparence et de l’expertise nécessaire.

Côté palestinien, les enquêtes ouvertes par l’Autorité de facto dans la bande de Gaza n’ont conduit à aucune poursuite et ne se sont pas avérées plus indépendantes. En Cisjordanie, des enquêtes indépendantes et poussées ont certes été menées mais n’ont conduit à aucune condamnation.

Vers qui se tourner dans ce cas pour obtenir justice ? En l’absence d’enquêtes internes fiables, le rapport Goldstone préconisait notamment le recours à la Cour pénale internationale. Cet ultime recours pour les victimes de l’opération plomb durci apparaît très peu réaliste tant il est mis en doute par les gouvernements occidentaux. La France, pour ne citer qu’elle, a conditionné son soutien à la reconnaissance du futur État palestinien à l’engagement de ce dernier à ne pas saisir la Cour pénale internationale dès sa proclamation car, selon elle, une telle démarche nuirait au processus de paix. Cette exigence envers les Palestiniens est condamnable à plusieurs égards. Elle suppose que les négociations politiques peuvent légitimement prévaloir sur la recherche de justice, ce que nos organisations réfutent fermement et part du postulat, aussi erroné que dangereux, que la lutte contre l’impunité peut entraver le processus de paix, alors qu’il ne saurait y avoir de paix durable sans justice. Par ailleurs qu’elle est en parfaite contradiction avec le soutien constant apporté par la France à la Cour pénale internationale depuis sa création, le cas libyen en étant le dernier exemple.

Reste donc aux victimes dans la bande de Gaza à saisir elles-mêmes la justice civile israélienne pour obtenir des indemnisations pour les dégâts humains et matériels subis. Les Palestiniens font alors face à un mur d’obstacles absurdes. Tout d’abord, la victime doit payer pour obtenir justice. Les tribunaux israéliens imposent aux demandeurs de verser une provision avant le début de la procédure. Le montant n’est pas fixé par la loi, mais dans la grande majorité des cas, les juges demandent au minimum 10 000 shekels (plus de 2 000 euros, le salaire moyen à Gaza étant de 314 euros) au demandeur réclamant une indemnisation pour la mort d’un de ses parents. En règle générale, plus la violation faisant l’objet d’une plainte civile est grande, plus la provision réclamée à la victime est importante.

Par ailleurs, les avocats gazaouis ne sont pas autorisés à entrer en Israël pour représenter leurs clients auprès des tribunaux. Ils sont donc obligés de faire appel à des avocats israéliens, mais ces derniers n’ont pas le droit de venir à Gaza pour rencontrer leurs clients. S’ajoute à cela le fait que, depuis 2007, l’armée israélienne refuse aux Palestiniens de Gaza le droit de se rendre au tribunal en Israël, même s’ils sont munis d’une convocation. L’absence du plaignant entraîne alors automatiquement un non lieu.

Deux ans se sont maintenant écoulés depuis l’adoption du rapport Goldstone par l’Assemblée générale des Nations unies. Le rapport est en voie de classement sans suite, faute d’une volonté politique et d’attention médiatique. Au cours de sa dernière session de septembre, l’Assemblée générale aurait dû faire un nouveau bilan de l’application des recommandations du rapport. Il n’en a rien été et les représentants de l’OLP, focalisés sur l’adhésion de la Palestine à l’ONU, n’en ont fait aucune mention.

A l’époque de sa parution, des Palestiniens avaient mis en garde contre « un rapport de plus » comme il en est publié plusieurs dizaines, chaque année, sur les violations des droits de l’Homme dans les Territoires palestiniens. Le rapport Goldstone représente pour les victimes l’espoir que soit mis fin à l’impunité, par le respect du droit international par toutes les parties. Cet espoir doit être préservé.

Signataires :

François Walter, Président de l’Action des chrétiens pour l’abolition de la torture Pierre Tartakowsky, Président de la Ligue des droits de l’Homme Claude Léostic, Présidente de la Plateforme des ONG françaises pour la Palestine Ishai Menuchin, Directeur exécutif du Comité public contre la torture en Israël Raji Sourani, Directeur du Centre palestinien pour les droits de l’homme Issam Younis, Directeur général du Centre Al Mezan pour les droits de l’homme Shawan Jabarin, Directeur général d’Al-Haq Sahar Francis, Directrice d’Addameer


Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Gaza on my mind




Three years ago, Israel launched a massive military operation against the Gaza Strip, which left 1,400 Palestinians dead, the vast majority of them civilians.
This was not a war, this was a massacre against a civilian population who had nowhere to go. Attacks on Gaza are still ongoing and the Gaza strip is still under siege.
I have Gaza on my mind all the time. Above is a video that I did last year.
Let us not forget Gaza!

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Il y a exactement trois ans, Israël a lancé une opération militaire massive contre la bande de Gaza, qui a laissé 1400 morts palestiniens, la grande majorité des civils.
Ce n'était pas une guerre, ce fut un massacre contre une population civile qui n'avait nulle part où aller. Les attaques contre Gaza sont toujours en cours et la bande de Gaza est toujours assiégée.
J'ai Gaza à mon esprit tout le temps. Ci-dessus une vidéo que j'ai fait l'année dernière.
N'oublions pas Gaza!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Xmas Card in Bethlehem with a Santa Twist / Cartes de voeux de Bethleem avec un clin d'oeil au Pere Noel, 24.12.2011



Bethlehem checkpoint early morning

Santa claus design added thanks to @ANimer

Santa will be late this year delivering the presents! Lets start a demonstration to free Santa!!!!

Le père Noël sera en retard cette année pour distribuer les cadeaux, faisons une manif pour liberer le père Noël!

Friday, December 23, 2011

NEW Video for Mustafa Tamimi "What happened in Nabi Saleh?" / Nouvelle Video "que s'est-il passé à Nabi saleh?", 09-16.12.2011



That was difficult to go back to these images. I have not watched the videos for two weeks. I just could not. But this is important. I could write more about my feelings. As a photographer, how can I proceed this? But it is not about me. I find ways. It is about the struggle and how we continue.

The video is about Mustafa Tamimi and more, its about the popular struggle and how the Palestinians from Nabi Saleh and all the activists joining them in this village and others resisting, have incredible courage to face the oppressors, whatever price they gave to pay. Until freedom and justice are reached.

On 09.12.2011, Mustafa Tamimi (28), a Palestinian resident of the West bank village of Nabi Saleh, was shot in the face by a tear gas canister during the weekly protest against the occupation and settlements in nabi Saleh. Tamimi was shot from a distance of less than 10 meters behind the semi-open door of an armored Israeli military jeep. He died the next morning. On 11.09, hundreds of Palestinians, international and Israeli activists participated to the funeral of Mustafa, which was followed by confrontations with the Israeli army. The following Friday, the weekly demonstration was stronger as ever to honor the memory of Mustafa Tamimi.

Today, two weeks after Mustafa was killed, an Israeli sniper shot live ammunition, injuring one unarmed protester in his leg during the weekly demonstration in Nabi Saleh.

Despite the martyrs, injured, arrested, the popular resistance will continue and will not be silenced.

----Français----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cela a été difficile de revenir sur ces images. Je n'ai pas regardé en fait les vidéos que j'avais prises le jour de la mort de Mustafa pendant deux semaines. Je ne pouvais pas. Mais c'était important de le faire et de publier.
Je pourrais écrire
plus sur mes sentiments. En tant que photographe, comment puis-je continuer après avoir vu une personne avec un trou dans le visage, inconscient sur la route, le sang coulant de sa joue ouverte? Mais il ne s'agit pas de moi. Je vais continuer mon travail et mon activisme; je vais trouver des moyens de digérer. Il s'agit avant toute chose de la lutte contre l'occupation, contre l'injustice et de la manière dont nous continuons.

La vidéo est sur Mustafa Tamimi mais au-delà son sujet est la lutte populaire et combien les Palestiniens de Nabi Saleh et tous les militants qui se joignent à eux (Palestiniens, internationaux et israéliens) dans ce village et dans d'autres lieux qui résistent, font preuve d'un courage inébranlable pour faire face à l'oppresseur, peu importe le prix à payer. Jusqu'à ce que la liberté et la justice soient atteints.

Le 09/12/2011, Mustafa Tamimi (28), un habitant palestinien du village de Cisjordanie de Nabi Saleh, a été touché en plein visage pendant la manifestation hebdomadaire contre l'occupation et les colonies à Nabi Saleh par un projectile de gaz lacrimogène. Tamimi a été abattu d'une distance de moins de 10 mètres , le soldat israélien a tiré par la porte semi-ouverte d'une jeep blindée de l'armée israélienne. Il est mort le lendemain matin. Le 11.09, des centaines de Palestiniens, des activistes internationaux et israéliens ont participé aux obsèques de Mustafa, qui ont été suivies par des affrontements avec l'armée israélienne. Le vendredi suivant, la manifestation hebdomadaire a été plus forte que jamais pour honorer la mémoire de Mustafa Tamimi; comme le montre la vidéo.

Aujourd'hui, deux semaines après Mustafa ait été tué, un sniper israélien a tiré à balles réelles, blessant un manifestant non armé à sa jambe lors de la manifestation hebdomadaire à Nabi Saleh.

En dépit des martyrs, des blessés et arrestations, la résistance populaire va continuer et ne sera pas réduit au silence.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

BOYCOTT LACOSTE

French clothing firm Lacoste censors, expels Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour from prestigious contest

Update: 21 December 2011 at 19:45 GMT

The Musée de L’Elysée in Lausanne has suspended the 2011 Lacoste Prize.

Original post

Image from Larissa Sansour’s Nation Estate project censored by the Lacoste Elysée Prize

The high-end French clothing chain Lacoste has demanded the removal of work by Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour from the shortlist for the €25,000 Lacoste Elysee Prize that is awarded by the Swiss Musee de l’Elysee with sponsorship from the firm.

A Palestinian who is “too pro-Palestinian”

Sansour was among eight finalists shortlisted for the 2011 prize. According to a press release issued by Sansour, “Lacoste stated their refusal to support Sansour’s work, labelling it ‘too pro-Palestinian.’”

This latest instance of apparent censorship of Palestinian artists by a cultural institution comes just months after the Museum of Children’s Art in Oakland, California censored an exhibit of art by children in Gaza just before its planned opening under pressure from anti-Palestinian Zionist groups.

Sansour refuses to sign statement that she withdrew voluntarily

Sansour, who is based in London, is a native of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. The press release explains:

As a nominee, Sansour was awarded a bursary of €4,000 and given carte blanche to produce a portfolio of images for the final judging. In November 2011, three photos for Sansour’s Nation Estate project were accepted, and she was congratulated by the prize administrators on her work and professionalism. Sansour’s name was included on all the literature relating to the prize and on the website as an official nominee. Her name has since been removed, just as her project has been withdrawn from an upcoming issue of contemporary art magazine ArtReview introducing the nominated artists.

In an attempt to mask the reasons for her dismissal, Sansour was asked to approve a statement saying that she withdrew from her nomination ‘in order to pursue other opportunities’. Sansour has refused.

Søren Lind, Sansour’s assistant, told The Electronic Intifada today that the Lacoste company had yet to give any public response on the matter. A Google-cached image of the official Elysée Prize website captured by The Electronic Intifada proves that Sansour’s name was on the shortlist until at least 12 December, and then removed on the current version.

Imagining a Palestinian state as science fiction

Sansour’s multimedia project Nation Estate was “conceived in the wake of the Palestinian bid for UN membership. Nation Estate depicts a science fiction-style Palestinian state in the form of a single skyscraper housing the entire Palestinian population. Inside this new Nation Estate, the residents have recreated their lost cities on separate floors: Jerusalem on 3, Ramallah on 4, Sansour’s own hometown of Bethlehem on 5, etc.”

Sansour was born in Jerusalem and her multimedia work has been exhibited all over the world. The photo above, from the exhibit, is published courtesy of Sansour. More can be seen at her website.

A Space Exodus

A clip from Sansour’s 2009 short film A Space Exodus.

Full text of press release

20th December 2011

LACOSTE: NO ROOM FOR PALESTINIAN ARTIST

French fashion brand demands the removal of Bethlehem artist Larissa Sansour from major photographic prize.

The prestigious €25,000 Lacoste Elysée Prize is awarded by the Swiss Musée de l’Elysée with sponsorship from Lacoste, the clothing brand.

Larissa Sansour was among the eight artists shortlisted for the 2011 prize. In December 2011, Lacoste demanded that her nomination be revoked. Lacoste stated their refusal to support Sansour’s work, labelling it ‘too pro-Palestinian’. A special jury will convene in January 2012 to select the winner.

As a nominee, Sansour was awarded a bursary of €4,000 and given carte blanche to produce a portfolio of images for the final judging. In November 2011, three photos for Sansour’s Nation Estate project were accepted, and she was congratulated by the prize administrators on her work and professionalism. Sansour’s name was included on all the literature relating to the prize and on the website as an official nominee. Her name has since been removed, just as her project has been withdrawn from an upcoming issue of contemporary art magazine ArtReview introducing the nominated artists.

In an attempt to mask the reasons for her dismissal, Sansour was asked to approve a statement saying that she withdrew from her nomination ‘in order to pursue other opportunities’. Sansour has refused.

Sansour says: “I am very sad and shocked by this development. This year Palestine was officially admitted to UNESCO, yet we are still being silenced. As a politically involved artist I am no stranger to opposition, but never before have I been censored by the very same people who nominated me in the first place. Lacoste’s prejudice and censorship puts a major dent in the idea of corporate involvement in the arts. It is deeply worrying.”

Sansour’s shortlisted work, Nation Estate, is conceived in the wake of the Palestinian bid for UN membership. Nation Estate depicts a science fiction-style Palestinian state in the form of a single skyscraper housing the entire Palestinian population. Inside this new Nation Estate, the residents have recreated their lost cities on separate floors: Jerusalem on 3, Ramallah on 4, Sansour’s own hometown of Bethlehem on 5, etc.

Regretting Lacoste’s decision to censor Sansour’s work, Musée de l’Elysée has offered to exhibit the Nation Estate project outside of the confines of the Lacoste sponsorship. Musée de l’Elysée is based in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Lacoste Elysée Prize 2011 is the award’s second edition. Please find attached three photos from Sansour’s Nation Estate project.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Sansour Bio

Born in Jerusalem, Larissa Sansour studied Fine Art in Copenhagen, London and New York. Her work is interdisciplinary, immersed in the current political dialogue and utilises video art, photography, experimental documentary, the book form and the internet.

Sansour’s work features in galleries, museums, film festivals and art publications worldwide. Recent solo shows include exhibitions at Kulturhuset in Stockholm, Depo in Istanbul, Galerie La BANK in Paris and Jack the Pelican in New York.

She has participated in the biennials in Istanbul, Busan and Liverpool. Her work has appeared at venues such as Tate Modern, London; the Brooklyn Museum, New York; the Third Guangzhou Triennial, China; Alternative Space LOOP, Seoul; Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; Iniva, London; Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin; Al Hoash, Jerusalem; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid; MOCA, Hiroshima; PhotoCairo4, Egypt.

Sansour’s short film A Space Exodus was nominated in the Best Short category at the Dubai International Film Festival.

She lives and works in London.




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21 décembre 2011

CENSEUR – Lacoste évince une artiste palestinienne de son « Lacoste Elysée Prize »

Lacoste, la célèbre marque au crocodile, aurait-t-elle été prise en flagrant délit de censure ? C'est en tout cas ce que clament de nombreux blogs et sites internet, qui dénoncent l'éviction de l'artiste Larissa Sansour, jugée "trop pro-palestinienne", d'un prix suisse sponsorisé par l'entreprise française.

Pour la deuxième année consécutive, la marque de prêt-à-porter finance en effet le "Lacoste Elysée prize", un prix doté de 25 000 euros décerné à un "artiste prometteur", sous le patronage du musée suisse de l'Elysée. Pour cette édition 2011, le jury avait retenu le thème de "la joie de vivre". Les consignes étaient ainsi formulées : "Chacun est libre d’aborder le thème comme il l’entend, de manière directe ou détournée, avec authenticité ou dérision, sur la base d’un travail existant ou d’une création."

En novembre, huit artistes ont été retenus. Parmi eux, Larissa Sansour, née à Jérusalem, avait été sélectionnée sur la base du projet Nation Estate, un portefeuille de photographies montrant la naissance d'un état palestinien, sous la forme d'un immense gratte-ciel ceint d'un mur de béton. Pour mener à bien ce projet, elle avait reçu, à l'instar des autres sélectionnés, une bourse individuelle de 4 000 euros. "Very excited to be nominated for the Lacoste Elysée Prize 2011", écrivait ainsi le 9 novembre Larissa Sansour sur son site personnel.

Mais début décembre, le nom de l'artiste est retiré de la liste et son projet n’apparaît plus dans l’édition du magazine d’art Art Review, censé présenter le travail des candidats. C'est en fait la société Lacoste qui aurait fait pression auprès du musée de Lausanne, refusant de soutenir un travail qu'elle juge "trop pro-palestinien". Pour éviter une mauvaise publicité, les organisateurs ont demandé à Larissa Sansour de signer un document affirmant qu'elle avait choisi personnellement d'abandonner la compétition "afin de se consacrer à d’autres opportunités". Elle a refusé, se disant "profondément choquée".

En réaction, les appels au boycott de la marque au crocodile se multiplient sur Internet. Le blog "Lunettes rouges" appelle pour sa part les internautes à écrire aux autres artistes sélectionnés pour le "Lacoste Elysée prize" afin de faire pression sur le jury et obtenir l'annulation du prix, qui doit se clôturer en janvier. L'entreprise française n'a pas réagi pour l'instant.

An Israeli activist shows the way by refusing to be released without her Palestinians brothers in the struggle, 21.12.2011

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Nabi Saleh, 11.12.2011 (cropped photo). A., an Israeli activist arrested during a demonstration, then refused to leave jail until the Palestinians arrested the same day were also released.
A., une activiste israélienne arrêtée lors d'une manifestation, elle a ensuite refusé de quitter la prison jusqu'à ce que les Palestiniens arrêtés le même jour soient aussi libérés.

For the first time in many years, an Israeli activist chose to put into practice the notion promoted by Henry David Thoreau: “Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison…”

By Haggai Matar | Translated by Ruth Edmonds

Truth be told: We all should have acted like ‘A’. Every Friday, across the West Bank, Israelis and Palestinians demonstrate together. They stand together opposite the same soldiers, chant the same slogans, give the same speeches, run away from the same clouds of tear gas and the same spray from the disgusting “skunk” machines, and get arrested for the same reasons and with the same false accusations.

However, it is at that point that the legal mechanisms of racism start kicking in. The Israelis are released from the police station with limited conditions or with similar conditions from court. An Israeli detainee has to be brought in front of a judge within 24 hours. The Palestinians are taken to Ofer Military Prison. From the outset, the military orders that dictate their lives allow the authorities to detain them for eight whole days before they are even required to allow judicial review of the detention. Even then, in most cases, the court will decide to allow an extension and then another extension and then detention till the procedure regarding an indictment has ended. This process can take a number of months and in the end, the arrested Palestinian is released. The arrested Israeli, however, his friend and partner, was free that whole time.

That is how it always is under apartheid law. As a rule, we activists always made sure that if Palestinians were arrested, Israelis are arrested too so as to show solidarity, to protect our friends inside detention and to document the way they are treated. But then we sign the required injunction – and go back home.

Until A. came along. A. was arrested last Friday together with 20 Israelis, Palestinians and internationals at the main demonstration in Nabi Saleh marking a week since the murder of Mustafa Tamimi. Among those arrested was a close family member of the Tamimis, Mohammed Tamimi, as well as Mohammed Khatib from the Popular Committee of Bil’in – one of the most moral, creative, funny, determined, brave and moving people I have ever met in my life. When the time came to sign the conditional release form at the police station (a 15 day-injunction to stay away from Nabi Saleh) A. and another friend refused. They were brought before the judge, refused again, and were sent back to detention. They notified the authorities that they were standing in solidarity with their friends Tamimi and Khatib and they would not agree to be released while the two others were still in detention.

In the end, Khatib was released and so was A.’s friend, who finally signed the conditional release form. But Tamimi and A. stayed in detention – Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Yesterday morning (Monday) A. was supposed to be brought in front of a Magistrate’s Court in Jerusalem, which was expected to extend her detention once again. However, the police had apparently grown tired of A., and decided to release her without conditions – thus almost literally throwing her out of her detention cell.

A. succeeding in communicating an exceptional message of solidarity. She demonstrated, with her action, with her imprisoned body in a disgusting cell at the Russian Compound in Jerusalem, the absurdity of the apartheid laws of the occupation, the way they differentiate between partners in the struggle by their origins, by the nationality dictated to them, by the ID card they carry in their pockets.

The distance between home to jail

The truth is that this is what we all should have been doing. Just like we are arrested together, so should we stay in prison together. We should refuse, all of us, to sign the release forms, all the Israeli activists arrested in the same protest together with all the Palestinian activists. Our community “elders” say that once, it really was like that, in the first Intifada and before. Everyone refused, everyone was jailed together (at the time, they explained, authorities would not separate between the arrestees at the detention center, unlike today).

Bus alas, we do not refuse. We sign. We give up on demonstrations for two weeks in one place and go to others, and then come back again to the place from where we were originally banned. At the end of the day we always go home: to comfortable warmth, to a soft bed, to sleepy cats, to familiar food, to favourite books and to the embraces of lovers. We go back to routines, to work, to tasks, to meetings, to nights out, to Facebook, to the blogs, the newspapers, the greengrocer, the neighbour whose bike is blocking ours, to family dinners, to a light that needs fixing in the hall, to our studies and to the streets that turn into a river when it rains for more than five minutes.

Our friends do not. They stay dressed in IPS (Israeli Prison Service) issued uniform, in a cold tent in Ofer Military Prison, with nothing from home. Remember how Abudallah Abu Rahmah described the months in jail with no shoes and no watch? Well, it’s something like that.

Abu Rahmah, like Tamimi and Khatib, are the men jailed under a government that unjustly imprisons just about anyone. They are the men Thoreau was referring to. And this is the place for the just man to be imprisoned too. A. was doing the most just thing that can be done under the regime we have here.

There is no end to the reasons for signing a release form, for the reasons to return home. It can be said practically that it will not help since, of course, the Palestinians are not released any sooner due to this refusal. It can be said that it just snatches away more good activists who are very much needed on the outside. It can be said that a worthy struggle requires not only fairness but also the well-being of the strugglers, and there is a need to do as much as possible so as to survive and not burn out. It can be said that it is a more sustainable way as opposed to a situation where we will all be in jail. And it’s true. It’s all true. However, despite everything, there is something very right, more right, in A.’s actions. Something that marks clearer than ever before the ugliness of the system. And like a beacon of light illuminates the alternative to this method. Therefore, today, also those of us sitting at home – we are all A.

Haggai Matar is an Israeli journalist and political activist, focusing mainly on the struggle against the occupation. He is currently working at Zman Tel Aviv, the local supplement of Maariv newspaper, and at the independent Hebrew website MySay.


Monday, December 19, 2011

Two resistance voices about Nabi Salih

from Mohammad Khatib:

Popular         Struggle Coordination Committee

Dear friend,

I have just been released from jail, after three days inside. I was arrested last Friday, together with 22 others, in the village of Nabi Saleh, during a demonstration commemorating the murder of Mustafa Tamimi. Our arrest took place as we peacefully protested near the entrance to the Jewish-only settlement of Halamish, which is built on lands stolen from Nabi Saleh.

Minutes after we got to the gate, Israeli Border Police officers moved in to remove us from the scene. Palestinians, Israeli and international activists, we were all shackled and dragged away into military jeeps that transported us to the adjacent military base, which is in fact part of the settlement.

In the military base, still shackled, I was assaulted by a settler who hit me in the face, leaving me with a bloody nose. Shortly after, the settler also attacked a female Israeli activist who was by my side. The soldiers and policemen present did not prevent the attack, nor did they bother to detain the settler after the fact. Instead, the zip-tie locks on my hands were removed, only for my arms to be bound again, this time behind my back.

Hours later, at the police station, I learned that to cover up their responsibility for my attack, the soldiers have laid a bogus complaint against me for assaulting them. My hands were tied, my face was bleeding, but it was I who spent the night in the inside of prison cell.

Mohammed Tamimi from Nabi Saleh was also arrested during that same demonstration. While the police decided to release all the others, he and I were to remain in jail. During our demonstrations, soldiers often take pictures, to later use them as "incriminating evidence". This time, the soldiers used one such picture to accuse Mohammed of throwing stones during a demonstration a few weeks or months back. The man pictured in that photograph is not Mohammed Tamimi from Nabi Saleh, regardless, he remains in jail. Military law allows Israel to keep us Palestinians in jail for eight days before seeing a judge, and even then, it is a soldier in uniform who is the so called neutral arbitrator.

As the prison doors closed behind me, my happiness was clouded by the fact that Mohammed Tamimi was not released. The battle for his freedom is only beginning, as our lawyers prepare the petition for his release. If you can, please help us fund legal aid for him and for the countless others who are regularly arrested protesting Israeli Occupation.

I would also like to use this letter to extend my gratitude to Ayala Shani, an Israeli comrade who was arrested with me. She refused the injustice of being released while both me and Mohammed Tamimi were still detained. As these words are written, she is still in jail, despite having been offered her freedom twice already by Israeli courts.

Sincerely,
Mohammed Khatib

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Death Rules Here by Ben Ronen

from http://frontlineecho.blogspot.com

MUSTAFA TAMIMI, PALESTINIAN RESIDENT OF THE VILLAGE OF NABI SALEH WAS KILLED LAST WEEKEND AFTER BEING SHOT IN THE HEAD BY A GAS GRENADE


BEN RONEN, ANARCHIST ACTIVIST BIDS FAREWELL TO HIS GOOD FRIEND




FIRST MEMORY

“Ola is somewhere, I don’t know, Saddam is in Jordan, back soon, Louai is up there with all the shebaab (youths), Oudai – you know where he is……..in a fortnight he will be released from prison and will return to the village, and Ziad is at a wedding in Ramallah.” “And where is your son?” I ask Abd al-Razak as we sit outside under his olive tree with his wife Ikhlas, just a few minutes before the start of the weekly demonstration. “Mustafa?” He went out early today. One of his friends came by to collect him and they went to Nablus.” Maybe it’s a good idea that he keeps away from the village for one Friday.” I say. “He can be wherever he wants, he’s grown up” Abd al-Razak replies.

I haven’t been to Nebi Salach for two weeks and coming back now gives me a powerful feeling, a feeling of coming home. Even the knowledge that in just a few minutes this special calm will be replaced by a warlike atmosphere doesn’t change it. On the contrary, it is strengthened by this knowledge, and adds meaning to it. “Were you here when the army came looking for Mustafa?” Abd al-Razak asks me. “They were always looking for him. They came at night, surrounded the house from every direction. He managed to jump out of the window and get away. I was here inside when I heard them firing. One of the soldiers aimed his weapon at me. He was only a kid, about 19, and I started to yell at him to move the gun away from me. Then the officer came down from the roof to see what was going on. I said to him: “I’m a sick man, you come into my home and your soldier points his gun at me?” The officer replied: “I know that your son Mustafa was here, and that he throws stones every week”. I held my wife tightly and said to him: “We also throw stones at you, we all throw stones at you”. I held out my hands and said: ‘Here you are, arrest me and my wife’.”

In the evening, after the last of the demonstrators had dispersed, the soldiers had abandoned the village and the clouds of tear gas were hanging in the chilly evening air of the pastoral village, I went back to say goodbye to Abd al-Razak and Ikhlas. Everyone was sitting outside, Mustafa too, dressed up stylishly, as was his way.

SECOND MEMORY

Friday evening. We are sitting at the entrance to the recovery room at Beilinson Hospital, waiting. Two hours ago we were sitting in the doctor’s room and he was explaining to us about Mustafa’s condition. Someone was trying to translate his explanation, and I understood that his condition was not a severe as we had thought. It’s going to be alright, they said. One of the doctors emerges and tells us that Mustafa has been transferred to the neurosurgical department. We go up in the elevator and walk towards the admissions desk, Ikhlas is worried but we reassure her. Waiting.

Another nerve calming cigarette, before making our way back up to the ward. At the entrance, someone stops us saying quietly: “We have just been told that it is a matter of hours until he dies. I don’t understand - none of us understand – just a few moments ago we were talking about taking everyone on a trip to the beach and to eat in Jaffa and now you are saying that he is about to die? We go into the lobby, Ikhlas’s cries split through the dreadful silence of the hospital. We try to calm her, to comfort her and give her a little hope. But she knows. She can feel it.

THIRD MEMORY

In a dream. We are standing outside the hospital elevator early in the morning. Ikhlas smiles and says “Let’s go to the beach now” My phone buzzes indicating that I have a message. I wake up with a start. The message says: The doctor said that Mustafa’s brain failed at 5am. He won’t live out the day” It is 7:46am and I slip back into the dream about the beach. The phone buzzes again. It just says: “He died”.

FOURTH MEMORY

We are waiting in the lobby of the funeral hall, I look towards the elevator and wait for it to start coming down. The numbers move slowly, the elevator stops, the doors open and a stretcher emerges, bearing a figure shrouded in a white sheet. Living people are in the room, but death is in the air. The ambulance driver has forgotten something upstairs, and we stand silently around the body, waiting for him to return, to save the situation. I sit at the back of the ambulance, as it races along the highway towards the Rantis checkpoint, I reach out and dare to touch him, first his arm and then, his head. I don’t know if this is real or not, but I do know that this is the last time that I will be close to him.

FINAL MEMORY

After the earth had covered the last piece of the flag that the covered you, I didn’t know where to go. Then, the familiar Friday shouts started. I went closer and saw faces shouting the same familiar slogans, but their faces were different today, their tears were barely dry but they were already holding rocks, going down once again to the roadblock, to the jeeps. One of them hugs me tightly, and says: “Better to die on your feet, than to live on your knees." I nod in agreement and think that maybe he is right and it will never end, but we will not give up.

----Français-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


PAJU (Palestiniens et Juifs Unis) no 567 le 23 décembre 2012

En Palestine, une démonstration pacifique vous amène en prison

J’ai été arrêté avec 22 autres personnes, dans le village de Nabi Saleh, durant une manifestation en commémoration à l’assassinat de Mustafa Tamimi. Nous nous étions tranquillement rassemblés devant l’entrée de la seule colonie juive de Halamish construite sur des terres volées à Nabi Saleh.

Palestiniens, Israéliens et activistes internationaux, nous avons tous été menottés et entassés dans des jeeps militaires qui nous ont amenés jusqu’à la base militaire voisine, qui fait partie de la colonie. Dans cette base militaire, j’ai été frappé au visage par un colon ce qui a provoqué un saignement de nez. Peu après, ce même colon a frappé une manifestante israélienne qui était à côté de moi. Les soldats et policiers présents ne sont pas intervenus et n’ont pas arrêté le colon. Mohammed Tamimi de Nabi Saleh a aussi été arrêté durant cette manifestation. Et alors que la police a décidé de relâcher les autres, lui et moi avons dû rester en prison.

Durant les manifestations, les soldats prennent souvent des photos qui, plus tard, pour les utiliser ultérieurement comme « preuves incriminantes ». Cette fois-ci, les soldats se sont servis d’une photo de ce genre pour accuser Mohammed d’avoir jeté des pierres durant une autre manifestation, vieille de quelques semaines ou de quelques mois. L’homme sur cette photo n’était pas en fait Mohammed Tamimi de Nabi Saleh, et pourtant, celui-ci reste en prison. La loi militaire israélienne permet de nous garder, nous Palestiniens, pendant huit jours avant que nous puissions voir un juge, et même alors, ce n’est qu’un soldat en uniforme qui est le soi-disant arbitre neutre.

Ma joie d’être libéré après trois jours derrière les barreaux, a été très assombrie puisque Mohamed Tamimi n’a pas été libéré. Nos avocats préparent une pétition pour demander sa libération.

Ayala Shani, une camarade israélienne, a été arrêtée en même temps que moi. Elle a refusé l’injustice d’être elle relâchée alors que Mohamed Tamini et moi étions encore détenus. A l’heure actuelle, elle est encore en prison bien que des cours israéliennes lui aient déjà offert deux fois sa liberté.

Adapté de : « 23 Arrested in Nabi Saleh Demonstration Commemorating the Death of Mustafa Tamimi », écrit par Mohammed Khatib et publié par Popularstruggle.org. Voir le texte complet :

www.popularstruggle.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1188&qid=340724

Distribué par PAJU (Palestiniens et Juifs Unis)

WWW.PAJUMONTREAL.ORG