http://socialistaction.org/new-developments-in-palestine-struggle/
New developments in Palestine struggle
Published March 20, 2016.
March 2016 Rasmea
By ERNIE GOTTA
In February, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected the appeal of Mohammed
al-Qeeq, an imprisoned Palestinian journalist on his 85th day of hunger
strike. Al-Qeeq had asked to be transferred to a Palestinian hospital in
the West Bank. Directly following this decision, however, a partial
victory was won in the case of Palestinian American activist Rasmea Odeh
as a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals granted her defense the
possibility of bringing testimony that had earlier been thrown out.
In Rasmea’s case, the goal for those in the Palestinian solidarity
movement, remains to completely overturn the bogus conviction handed
down by an unjust legal system. Any victory will be due to the tireless
work of groups like the Committee to Stop FBI Repression and activists
around the country.
This unjust system has jailed outspoken critics of the U.S.
government—like Mumia Abu Jamal, Leonard Peltier, and Lynne Stewart—and
will stop at nothing to intimidate people and movements that speak out
for social change. The defense of all political prisoners is important
for the defense of the entire working class.
Palestine has been a central question for working people confronting
imperialism for over half a century. Of course, this movement is
bolstered when celebrities like musician Brian Eno use their public
platform to bring attention to Israeli apartheid. In Salon, Eno said
about the Oscars, “The Israeli government has attempted to detract from
this harsh reality over the years through its “Brand Israel” campaign,
which is aimed at using artists, among others, to obscure its human
rights violations—whether by paying performers handsomely to play in
Israel or by otherwise associating our “brands” with brand Israel.”
Eno’s comments come at a time when the BDS (Boycotts, Divestment, and
Sanctions) movement is being discussed in activist circles around the
world. In Britain, legislation is being proposed in an attempt to
sideline BDS and Palestine solidarity. Boycotts were an important part
of the fight against apartheid in South Africa, and Israel’s imperialist
allies want to stop any idea that such efforts can be successful today.
A real mass BDS effort could mean the loss of billions of dollars in
profit to Israeli-based companies and foreign corporations that profit
from apartheid. Popular opinion stands with the Palestinians, but
Britain’s rulers aim to repress free speech by criminalizing opposition
to the occupation and making it illegal to boycott Israel.
Solidarity efforts should get a boost from Palestinians living inside
the 1948 borders of Israel. For the first time, major Palestinian groups
inside Israel have held a meeting to discuss their relationship to the
BDS movement (see the in-depth article about the conference in
Portside). The Israeli government is known for its brutality and
suppression of grassroots efforts by both Israelis and Palestinians who
oppose war and occupation This conference marks another important
moment, when Palestinians again stand up to occupation and apartheid
despite relentless racism and daily murders of their people by Israeli
security forces.
Central Connecticut State University’s Youth for Socialist Action,
working with Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslim Student
Association, is helping to organize a campus showing of “My Name is
Rachel Corrie,” a one-woman show about the murder of a young American
activist by the Israeli Defense Forces in the West Bank. The performance
on March 13 will be part of the ongoing work to build a pole of
working-class and student opposition to U.S. aid to apartheid Israel.
Photo: Rasmea Odeh, branded a “terrorist,” faces deportation from the U.S.
Posted in Anti-War, Connecticut, Immigration, International, Middle
East, Palestine. | Tagged BDS, Palestine, Rasmea Odeh.
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