Human Rights

August 13, 2011December 11, 2020

BDS Against Apartheid Israel is Necessary and Just

Spokesman from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Dr Danny Lamm unctuously preaches isolationism, as if Australians never object to injustice in other countries at any time.

“A strong bipartisan voice saying ‘No’ to BDS will reflect the basic sentiment of most Australians that the bitterness and complexity of foreign conflicts should be kept out of our peaceful country.”

In fact, the majority of Australians support Palestinian rights and the Australian government adopting a policy on the Israel-Palestine conflict that calls for negotiations to be based on international law and human rights.

Kim Bullimore corrects the record from The Australian’s predictably reprehensible and inadequate reportage where an imaginary Max Brenner is quoted (there is no Max Brenner), offering an honest appraisal of the purpose of BDS and the noble reasons for picketing of Max Brenner shops. Surely the Press Council or the appropriate union should be interested in Cameron Stewart’s ethical breach? The name ‘Max Brenner’ is a combination of the names of the two original owners of the chain, Max Fichtman and Oded Brenner.

The next action in support of BDS against Israeli apartheid will be held in Brisbane on August 27 at 1 pm

Boycott apartheid Israel! Boycott Max Brenner!

Max Brenner Chocolates is a 100% Israeli-owned company belonging to the Strauss Group, the second largest Israeli food and beverage company. On the “corporate responsibility” section of its website, the Strauss Group emphasises the support it gives to the Israeli army. The Strauss group is proud that for more than 30 years, it has supported the Golani reconnaissance platoon infamous for its involvement 2006 invasion of Lebanon and other atrocities. As their website puts it: “Our connection with soldiers goes as far back as the country, and even further. We see a mission and need to continue to provide our soldiers with support, to enhance their quality of life and service conditions, and sweeten their special moments.”

PROTEST: Sat August 27
Gather at 1pm in park on cnr of Merivale & Glenelg St for a march to Max Brenner store at South Bank

Phone: 0400 720 757, 0401 586 923
Email:

Spread the word!

Download posters and flyers:
http://boycottmaxbrenner.wikispaces.com/flyers+and+posters

Australia cracks down on BDS
BNC Condemns Repression of BDS Activism in Australia :

‘We stand with Australian activists in the face of the organized repression and smear campaign they have been facing for the past year, since the attempts to overturn the Marrickville council BDS motion.
…
‘We remind the government of Australia of its obligations under international law to respect basic human rights and end all support of Israel’s war crimes and other serious violations of international law. The Australian government must urgently end its arms trade with Israel and impose sanctions upon it rather than investigate dissident organizations who, in the tradition of principled international solidarity, are taking the moral responsibility to end Israel’s impunity and Australia’s complicity in it.”

Harsh bail conditions meant to stop more Max Brenner protests

Here’s how the Marduk press is attempting to divide the BDS movement in Australia – quoting Jim Barr from APAN, which is a newly formed advocacy group as ‘THE head of Australia’s peak pro-Palestinian group …’ objecting to violence at the Max Brenner demo (caused by the cops charging the protesters).

The glutaginous zionist scribe Philip Mendes chips in as well – as usual no sign of the Marduk monstrocacy bothering to balance the view.

APAN supports BDS and signed the solidarity statement for BDS the other day.

Launch Of Australia Palestine Advocacy Network

‘Former Australian ambassador to Egypt Robert Newton.

‘Mr Newton, who was recently elected vice-president of the Australia-Palestine Advocacy Network, said the network was made up of groups of people who wanted justice for Palestinians affected by the conflict.’

Barr is involved here

Palestine / Israel Links

Israel to make payment for “Cast Lead” deaths

The settlement was negotiated by the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) on behalf of the family of a mother and daughter killed by Israeli soldiers during Cast Lead. The payment is to be made to the family in return for their dropping the claim against the Israeli military.

US Palestinians on inaugural ‘know thy heritage’ tour “The hardest thing for me was seeing the wall. That was just devastating and horrible, and I just can’t stand it”.
Abusisi to Shabak: I Left Gaza Because Hamas Threatened Me and My Children
Nurit Peled-Elhanan’s new book, exposing the racism of Israel’ s education system.

Jenin Theatre says raids and arrests show that Israel’s only methods involve violence and terror
Israeli Tent Protests Ignore Link Between Neoliberalism, Occupation

And, of course, the Histadrut is only nominally a “labor federation”: in reality, it assists an accumulation process tightly tied into the state apparatus, regulating wages and – notoriously – offloading state enterprises onto politically connected figures in the private sector in the looting of the commons euphemistically called “privatization.” As ever, the state is not looking out for the interests of the dispossessed. It is looking out for the interests of the possessed, and looking out for them with great care and skill: ten large business groups now control 30 percent of the market value of public companies, while 16 control half of the money in the whole country.

Diggers accused of ‘plundering’ mosaic from Gaza
The Fight for Equality in Israel’s J14 Movement
War has broken out over an idea to revive the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel group. Barry O’Farrell has been accused of attempting to ”politicise” the group, with even Israel Ambassador Yuval Rotem monitoring the stink from Canberra.
Max Ajl: the Histadrut is only nominally a “labor federation”: in reality, it assists an accumulation process tightly tied into the state apparatus, regulating wages and – notoriously – offloading state enterprises onto politically connected figures in the private sector in the looting of the commons euphemistically called “privatization.”
Chomsky: “Pro-Israel Christian Right most anti-Semitic people in the world”
Today’s Murdoch hackery; accusing Israel critics of anti-Semitism
Leader of Gaza youth group said arrested by Hamas authorities on return from France

UK riots

In contrast to Cameron’s anathema toward social media: Activists use social media to help Egypt slum-dwellers
The Fight for Equality in Israel’s J14 Movement

August 13, 2011December 11, 2020

Let Them Starve on the Streets – Rightwing Collective Punishment and Racism in the UK

Islamophobe racist Theodore Dalrymple aired his noxious opinions on the UK riots on Radio National’s PM yesterday afternoon in clipped icy tones – he thinks that the great unwashed unemployed of Britain should starve. Dalrymple’s doctrine could be straight out of Breivik’s manifesto, and indeed, Breivik mentions him therein. He is also feted in the far rightwing Brussels Journal where he claims that ‘the main interest for Islam for these young [black] men is the control over women’. Dalrymple has supernatural powers – he can manufacture intent at a glance on the streets of Britain where stride ‘rather vicious looking people who obviously are angry about something, their anger is misplaced, but nevertheless they’re angry. They look vicious, they look as if they would be ready to stick a knife in you if you crossed them in any way or displeased them in anyway.’

Dalrymple aka Anthony Daniels is a multi-nymed character who worked for years as a prison doctor/psychiatrist. Did the prison system brutalise him into misanthropy as it can prison inmates?

The brutal conditions of incarceration offer up one reason why recidivism is so high in Britain, which serves as a typical example of Western justice systems (with the United States as an extreme which magnifies the problems a thousand-fold). The treatment of children is a particularly poignant example of this. Reporting to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Children’s Commissioner for England found that “the protection of children in custody remains a fundamental concern. There are high incidences of mental health problems, self-harm and bullying with a significant proportion of children feeling unsafe. There are high levels of intimidation, violence and abuse, not only from other prisoners but also from staff.”

Manchester lawyer, Joseph Kotrie-Monson, draws attention to the dangers of further criminalisation consequent on the harsh prison sentences which are being applied to rioters in response to heavy-handed government and public reaction.

“Of course we all want people to be punished for offending. What we don’t want is children to be criminalised and children to end up in situation where they’re in custody with real criminals, learning how to be a proper criminal.

“When an appropriate dealing with a youth offending team worker, effective dealing with them at the sentencing stage, rather than giving them big long sentences or whatever, effective dealing in that way is much more likely to prevent further offending.”

“As any lawyer will tell you with practical experience swift justice is nearly always rushed justice, equals bad justice,” he said.

“As far as dealing with people in rapid fire courts, sometimes without them even visiting the magistrates court, as is happening increasingly in the UK, where people appear for their first appearance by video link from the police station, these types of things don’t result in people getting treated appropriately.

“You’ve got to ask yourself: do I want punishment to be dealt out or … do I want this type of thing not to happen again?

“Well if you identify children and you identify young people who are likely to commit further offences, you can either demonise them and make the problem worse, or you can deal with them.”

Clasford Stirling does not reside in Dalrymple’s rarified climes, but in the Tottenham community, with a grounded view on the impact of Cameron’s proposed 16,000 man cuts to the police force:

CLASFORD STIRLING: He’s not going to do that by making these cuts, which are affecting everybody so bad that we haven’t even got anybody to talk to the young people anymore, because he certainly can’t, you know what I mean? I maybe one of the only ones left in my community that’s maybe still employed. A lot of the people that young people know has either been made redundant or have just lost their jobs. And it’s very difficult, people are looking at well how do we do this and how do we do that; well we’re not going to be able to do it if the people ain’t there to bridge the gap between the young people and the police and the young people and the system.

One of Cameron’s and his fascist troupe’s ruthless, ineffectual solutions is to introduce obscene collective punishment for the families of rioters, and appallingly, evictions have already commenced. What next? a reintroduction of transportation to the colonies?

But several Conservative-led local councils, in London, Nottingham and Salford, an outlying district of Manchester, have already said that they would start eviction proceedings against tenants convicted of rioting. And one, in Wandsworth, said it had started the process of evicting a woman whose teenage son was convicted in the rioting. A petition on a government Web site for a proposal to authorize public housing evictions drew more than 100,000 signatures within 48 hours. That number guaranteed that Parliament would have to debate the proposal.

The other scapegoat the British rightwing upper class is attempting to maul is the internet. While Cameron is keen to get his grubby hands on the internet, all in the name of security (aka protecting the ruling elite), Evgeny Morosov sounds a vital warning:

‘After violent riots in 2009, Chinese officials had no qualms about cutting off the Xinjiang region’s Internet access for 10 months. Still, they would surely welcome a formal excuse for such drastic measures if the West should decide to take similar measures in dealing with disorder.’

And below, a representative of the Turkish Kurdish community in London identifies one of the prime culprits for the riots. ‘The biggest gang roaming on the streets of London are the Metropolitan police.’ The activist ‘condemns British police and media for trying to clash Turkish and Kurdish community with black and other ethnic minorities’, further stating that ‘shop owners only defended their own shops against looters; however the media and police tried to publicise this in a manner that can clash ethnic minorities with each other’.

Related Links

British rioters face court

ANNE BARKER: You know the youngest person I’ve heard of is an 11-year-old girl who admitted to throwing stones and smashing windows and joining a large riot of 30 men and three girls. She’s been given, for example, a nine-month referral order – she lives in a foster home already.

MARK COLVIN: I think the magistrate there said he wasn’t even quite sure what to do with her, 11 is very young?

ANNE BARKER: Very young. I mean a lot of these people are getting, you know, as much as nine months in jail, six months in jail for simple burglary. One man, I think, got several months for stealing several bottles of water. This is an electrical engineering student who faced obviously a good career. A dental nurse with a baby son…

MARK COLVIN: Six months?

ANNE BARKER: He got six months…

UK riots: Paul Lewis’s five-day journey
London riots: Mark Duggan died of gunshot wound to chest, inquest told
‘I’d drunk too much, I was irresponsible, criminal’: Nick Clegg on his regrets
Another appalling upper class racist : David Starkey claims ‘the whites have become black’
UK riots: ‘We don’t want no trouble. We just want a job’
Them and us: the young Londoners who we can’t afford to alienate
David Cameron and co have picked the wrong fight
UK riots: Death on the Dudley Road

Zulkfar said he had run community projects for 25 years but gave up in 2009, dismayed by the lack of resources. A well-regarded support and advice centre closed in 2004 and now there are few places for people to come together. Others talked enviously of a multimillion-pound community and sports centre in Handsworth, less than two miles away and the scene of riots in the early 80s. “We should have learned from what happened in Handsworth, but we don’t even have a job centre here,” one man said.

UK riots: To understand is not to condone
The UK riots and the criminality of Jack Straw
How youth-led revolts shook elites around the world
Govt research: cutting benefits of “problem families” won’t work

August 11, 2011December 11, 2020

Israeli Citizens in Solidarity with Australian BDS Activists!

Following anti-Democratic Arrests and Intimidation Attempts: Israeli Citizens in Solidarity with Australian BDS Activists!

We, Israeli citizens, members of Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within, would like to express our solidarity with the numerous Australians who are involved in the burgeoning BDS campaign in Australia.

Witnessing first-hand the brutality of our government against the Palestinian people, we have joined the July 2005 Palestinian call for a comprehensive boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against the state of Israel and its institutions. Such means should be applied as long as Israel continues to flout international law and UN resolutions and refuses to acknowledge the Palestinian people’s universally recognized human rights: The rights of Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories, the rights of Israel’s Palestinian citizens, and the rights of Palestinians who were expelled from their homes during the Nakba (the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestine).

As Israeli citizens, we are angered by the outrageous attempts to exploit the horrors committed by the Nazi regime, through a comparison of the Palestinian led BDS campaign to the 1933 Nazi boycott campaign, in order to try and silence the Palestinian non-violent popular struggle for freedom and justice. The deplorable and racist Nazi boycott campaign targeted all Jews, without exception, and only for being Jewish. The Australian BDS campaign does NOT target Jewish businesses, as argued by demagogues in Australia! The lesson from the Jewish holocaust should be, in our view, the need to oppose all forms of discrimination and violence committed against different ethnic groups in the name of nationalist or supremacist ideologies. The state of Israel has failed to learn that lesson.

To reiterate, we are concerned that some politicians in Australia have accused the activists involved in BDS of being anti-Semitic. We reject those accusations. The BDS campaign is a legitimate form of non-violent political action, whereby people and organizations are required not to participate in or support violations of international law. We take a clear stand against all forms of racism, including antisemitism and Islamophobia. Not only does the BDS campaign oppose anti-Semitism, it is also a responsible call that targets only complicit institutions rather than individuals. BDS is neither anti-Jewish nor anti-Israeli, since it does not oppose all that is Israeli because it is Israeli: the campaign simply insists that Israel abide by its obligations under international law. Furthermore, by attempting to lump together all Jews around the world as a monolithic block that is expected to support its criminal policies, the state of Israel is denying the fact that many Jews, including in Israel, oppose the occupation and apartheid policies inflicted on the Palestinian people.

The current debate within Israeli society shows us that the boycott campaign is extremely effective. The latest attempt by the Israeli government to silence its own citizens, the new anti-boycott legislation, in addition to other explicitly racist laws, is yet another indication of the need for this Palestinian-led non-violent global movement, in order to insure the rights of all people in this region.

The recent Australian BDS actions have been a great inspiration. We are encouraged to know that as far-away as Down Under there are individuals and groups active in the BDS campaign, promoting the Palestinian people’s unassailable rights. The BDS movement needs your help and support. We call upon all Australians to join and support the struggle for freedom and equality in Palestine.

With the deepest gratitude and all our support,

Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within

http://boycottisrael.info/

August 9, 2011December 11, 2020

Crackdown on Free Speech and BDS Political Protest in Australia

Australia’s ruling elite really don’t like having their Israeli Occupation latte spoiled by truth. The use of lawfare by the Israeli regime and its supporters to counteract BDS protest is yet another sign that BDS is working. These present repressive measures against BDS activists are likely to have the reverse effect than intended by those who support Israeli occupation and apartheid.

Ian Curr at Workers Bush Telegraph comments:

Such arrests which seek to deprive people of the right to freely go where they wish and to express their opinions freely escalates a legal question into a political act by police & government.

I have viewed the YouTube video of the protest at Max Brenner and there is no evidence of a blockade of customers or an act which prevents people from buying chocolates or coffee at the store.

The protesters actions were symbolic.

So for the police and/or courts to apply such restrictions using the bail act may itself be unlawful. This should be tested by civil liberties lawyers in court immediately especially if people have been refused bail and jailed while awaiting trial.

A broad-based international movement of people of conscience in support of human rights and justice , BDS is the call from Palestinian people themselves for equal rights, the end of apartheid and the recognition of their rights to return to their lands. All these demands are soundly grounded in international law.

Max Brenner, the operation which is being protested by BDS supporters, is owned by the Strauss group, which shamelessly aids the brutal Israeli military occupation and thus the deprivation of rights from Palestinian people.

The assault against BDS by the Australian elite is unlikely to succeed since it may criminalise consumer boycotts generally, which would prove unacceptable to a large proportion of the Australian community.

‘Greens MP Greg Barber said that if the investigation results in a prosecution it could have a chilling effect on other consumer boycott campaigns.

”I’m telling people to boycott Reflex Paper because it’s made from native forest woodchips, so maybe I’ll be next,” Mr Barber said.

But Mr Barber said he expected the investigation to fall over.

”For that matter a ‘Buy Australia’ campaign can fall foul of it, so Mr O’Brien might not get the result he’s looking for,” he said.

…………………………………………………………………………………….

Victorian Consumer Affairs Minister Michael O’Brien attempts to erode our democracy

The Victorian Consumer Affairs Minister Michael O’Brien has named our organisation amongst
others for investigation by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) for
what he called our involvement in ‘secondary boycotts’ against Israeli-owned businesses in
Australia – namely Max Brenner.

For the record, Australians for Palestine took no part in the protests against the Max Brenner
stores, but we believe that Max Brenner and other Israeli owned businesses that support
violations of human rights are legitimate targets for the boycott call.
The boycotts target Israeli-owned institutions and businesses that have been instrumental in
supporting Israel’s violations of international humanitarian law and not “Jewish businesses”, as
Mr O’Brien alludes to in his comment to The Australian (8/8/2011).

“Minister O’Brien wants us to slowly erode our democracy and roll back our rights to freedom of
political thought, affiliation and freedom of protest” said Ms. Sabawi, Public Advocate for
Australians for Palestine. “This draconian move does not bode well for Australians to see our
government trying to intimidate its citizens who are critical of the actions of a foreign state.”

“Mr. Obrien needs to be reminded that taxpayer money should be spent on safeguarding our
democratic rights and values and not to be wasted on the pursuit of appeasing foreign powers and
special interest lobby groups at the expense of our own rights and liberties.” said Ms Sabawi

……………………………………………………………………………………….

MEDIA RELEASE Tuesday 9 August

BAILLIEU GOVERNMENT ESCALATES ATTACKS ON CIVIL LIBERTIES

Dawn raids see pro-Palestine activists arrested

Police demand activists be held in custody for weeks

Raids carried out at dawn this morning by police have seen several pro-Palestine activists arrested, in the most severe crack-down on civil liberties in decades. The activists are being targeted because of their involvement in protests against chocolate shop Max Brenner, a chain store with strong ties to the Israeli military. The protests are part of the worldwide Boycott Divestment and Sanctions campaign, which aims to draw attention to the ongoing genocide committed by the Apartheid regime in Israel against Palestinians.

Campaign organiser Omar Hassan:

“This crack-down on the right to protest should be of concern to all Victorians. The lengths to which the Baillieu government is going to eradicate criticism of Israeli Apartheid and criminalise dissent are unprecedented. We need to be clearly saying; demonstrating is not a crime. Taking action in support of Palestine is not a crime.”

The activists were arrested for breaching bail conditions imposed following arrests at a previous pro-Palestine protest at Max Brenner. The bail conditions, which prohibit arrestees going within 50 metres of a Max Brenner shop, are themselves a serious curtailment on the right to protest. The arrestees have been told they will be held until September the 5th.

As Hassan points out:

“Actions taken against South African businesses by anti-Apartheid protests were important in generating opposition to that racist regime. To outlaw similar actions today can only be motivated by a desire to protect the reputation of Israel, and represent an unacceptable attack on our right to express dissent and show solidarity with oppressed people around the world.”

For more information about the arrests and on-going BDS campaign, contact:

Omar Hassan: 0421185037

Louise O’Shea: 0420819419

Or go to http://boycottisrael19.wordpress.com/

UPDATE 11/8/11

Australian zionist organisations coordinate with politicians and police in pushing the hasbara agenda of Israel against BDS.

Arguing against any Zionist-organized BDS “counter” protest, Alhadeff writes: “It is important for the community to be aware that our response to BDS forms part of [a] coordinated national strategy. Furthermore, this strategy is endorsed by counterparts abroad and Israel’s Foreign Ministry.”

Alhadeff outlined this coordinated national strategy in response to BDS, stating that it “included, but is not limited to, engagement with civil society and politicians, patronage of boycotted outlets, cooperation with police, shop owners and center managers and exposure of the motives behind the BDS movement.” According to Alhadeff, Zionist policy in response to BDS should be one which seeks to “speak softly” but to also carry “a suggestion of a big stick.”

Why does Australia always vote against UN resolutions supporting the Palestinian people? Why did Labor get rid of Rudd, since Gillard is just the same or worse? Why didn’t Senator Mark Arbib lose his job, when he was outed as a US intelligence source?

Julia Gillard set to reject Kevin Rudd on Palestine
Has Rudd or Gillard even bothered to read the call to BDS?

Rudd stance a ‘surprise’ to the ziolobby

Israeli fascism blooming : Israeli military prosecutor demands banishment of Palestinian minor
Israeli ministers demand preemptive action against Palestinians before September

Related Links

ACCC probes anti-Israel boycotts

‘The ACCC will investigate whether the protesters contravened section 45D of the Competition and Consumer Act, which prohibits a group from gathering with the intention of stopping a third person or company from doing business.

Until now, it has only been used to target trade union activity, but Melbourne University competition law professor Dr Caron Beaton-Wells said protesters might have a case to answer if protesters ”had the purpose or their actions had the effect of causing substantial loss and damage to the shop owner’s business”.

Consumer watchdog asked to investigate Israel boycott

‘”This is an attempt by the Government to criminalise any protest against Max Brenner or other corporations that support the state of Israel, and support their offensive towards the Palestinian people, and in particular their support for funding for the Israeli military, which is the point of the protests.”‘

Green Left Weekly rejects attempt to silence Palestine supporters

‘Munckton said: “The attempt to equate supporters of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign with anti-Semitism — in particular the campaign in Nazi Germany to boycott Jewish-owned businesses — is entirely unfounded.

“BDS campaign is a global campaign supporting justice for the Palestinian people. It does not target any company on the basis of religion or ethnicity.

“Even a cursory glance at the statements of organisations supporting BDS show that no business is targetted for being Jewish-owned.

“O’Brien’s threat is an attempt to silence those who support the rights of Palestinians. This is an attack on the rights of free speech.”’

When will Kevin Rudd bother to read the call to BDS and stop casting wrongly as anti-jewish?

‘The Australian on Monday reported that Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd recently met with Jewish Victorian federal Labor MP Michael Danby at the same Max Brenner store as the BDS protest.

“I don’t think in 21st-century Australia there is a place for the attempted boycott of a Jewish business,” Rudd was quoted as saying. “I thought we had learned that from history.”

“According to a statement put out by AIJAC, the BDS movement has been targeting businesses in Australia for no reason other than their perceived relationship with Israel.

“They have included cafes, skincare product stores and other companies with little or no political influence or direct involvement in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict,” the statement said.

Rubenstein said that “such discriminatory practices have no place in Australian society and, moreover, will only serve to intensify the Palestinian- Israeli conflict by promoting division and hatred.”

Defending BDS activists to speak out against the crimes of the Zionist state
On the International Day of World’s Indigenous People, remember theongoing crimes of settler colonialists in Australia, US, Israel and Canada.

Israeli boycotts: ACCC called in

Palestine / Israel Links

Ni’lin continues with strong will despite Israeli raids
Israel arrests third actor in refugee theatre group
How Palestinian Authority’s UN “statehood” bid endangers Palestinian rights
Selling weapons of war is not ethically, politically, nor economically sustainable.
Protest leaders present their vision for social justice in Israel
From last month, “Michael Danby MP the new chairman of Australia’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee and Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd today shared a hot chocolate at Max Brenner’s CBD shop in solidarity with Israel and the Australian Jewish Community”

London Riots

Arab spring protesters back UK rioters in their fight for new trainers
Tariq Ali:

‘Why is it that the same areas always erupt first, whatever the cause? Pure accident? Might it have something to do with race and class and institutionalised poverty and the sheer grimness of everyday life? The coalition politicians (including new New Labour, who might well sign up to a national government if the recession continues apace) with their petrified ideologies can’t say that because all three parties are equally responsible for the crisis. They made the mess.

They privilege the wealthy. They let it be known that judges and magistrates should set an example by giving punitive sentences to protesters found with peashooters. They never seriously question why no policeman is ever prosecuted for the 1000-plus deaths in custody since 1990. ‘

Excessive policing in Europe and the United States shows that governments are resorting to ever more coercive measures in order to save their neoliberal project
What next to tackle the riots? Curfew? Water cannon? The army?
FB Links

Other Links

The Truth About War – Who Are The Real Terrorists?
Weeds acquire genes from engineered crops
Wong baby not right – Reverend Fred Nile
Want to cut big government abuses? Start with defence contracting
Anti-racists confront far right rally in Brisbane

August 8, 2011December 11, 2020

Another Arrest from the Jenin Freedom Theatre

The brutal IOF arrests another member of the Jenin Freedom Theatre and places a gag on reporting within Israel about the incident.

Today at approximately 15:00 hrs one of the third-year graduating students at The Freedom Theatre was taken by the Israeli army at the Shave Shomeron checkpoint between the Palestinian cities Jenin and Nablus. The student’s name is Rami Awni Hwayel, age 20. He was travelling from Ramallah to Jenin together with his fellow students.

Batool Taleb, one of the female acting students who was in the car with Rami describes what happened: “When they got to our car, they took all our IDs and when they saw Rami’s ID they told him to get out of the car. Once he was out they immediately handcuffed and blindfolded him and put him in the army jeep.”

The students had been rehearsing for their final graduation project directed by the Israeli-American Director Udi Aloni in Ramallah.

“This is devastating, Rami is playing the main role in ‘Waiting for Godot’ and doing an amazing job, he’s so dedicated to the work. He just left rehearsals today for the weekend to see his family for Ramadan. It’s terrible, we want our Pozzo back!”, says Udi Aloni.

Rami is the third member of The Freedom Theatre that has been taken by the Israeli army recently. On the 27th of July at 3:00 in the morning the Head Technician Adnan Naghnaghiye and the Chairperson Bilal Saadi were captured by a large group of Israeli soldiers.

The consequences of these actions only result in more damage to The Freedom Theatre. The theatre once again calls on its friends and supporters around the world to act in order to stop this outrageous harassment by the Israeli army against a cultural establishment.

Israeli military censorship has of now also placed a gag order on reporting on this arrest inside Israel, a violation of free speech and a show of how free media in Israel really is.

For more information please contact:

Jacob Gough, acting General manager at +972 (0)595348391,

Jonatan Stanczak, co-founder of The Freedom Theatre at +46 (0)707908296

In other dispatches

The ‘7arakat’ or ‘Harakat’ project seeks to develop a series of theatre and performance initiatives between Australia and Palestine.

The fake Palestinian state move exposes a rift in ALP ranks, with Rudd favouring an abstaining vote, and Gillard in lockstep with empire? the public poll vote is running 72% in favour of a Palestinian state, reflecting the Australian public’s support for Palestinian rights which is ignored by the US/zionist reflexive political elite.

Palestine / Israel Links

Get involved, and read what others are doing to end Israeli apartheid and bring on equal rights and recognition of Palestinians’ right of return.
Could Arab staying power ultimately defeat Zionism?
Occupation profiteer Ahava soaks up EU science grants
BDS South Africa student campaign
Academic claims Israeli school textbooks contain bias :

Children, she says, grow up to serve in the army and internalise the message that Palestinians are “people whose life is dispensable with impunity. And not only that, but people whose number has to be diminished.”

Israel arrests third actor in refugee theatre group