Khalida Jarrar Solidarity Campaign: Free Khalida Jarrar!

Khalida Jarrar Solidarity Campaign: Free Khalida Jarrar! Stand with Khalida. Stand with Justice. Stand with Palestine.

UPDATE, April 26: Khalida Jarrar’s April 29 hearing was postponed; a new date will be announced in the coming days.

A flashmob protest in Brussels on April 26 called for Khalida’s freedom. Pictures at the link.

The Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz ran a staff editorial urging Jarrar’s release, following up on a lengthy April 24 interview with Khalida’s husband, Ghassan Jarrar.

A new website, http://freekhalidajarrar.org, has been launched, focusing on Khalida Jarrar’s case, with input from Samidoun and other Palestinian prisoner and solidarity organizations.

UPDATE, April 22: Khalida Jarrar was named “Truthdigger of the Week” by activist journalist site Truthdig, which highlighted her case:

These measures—including the aggressive persecution of Jarrar, an elected official—are Israel’s message to the Palestinian people not to challenge its power. As Israel attempts to silence and break her down, what makes Khalida Jarrar, our Truthdigger of the Week, so dangerous is her speaking truth to this power.

Jarrar’s daughter, Yafa, conducted an interview on Canadian radio station CKCU, which can be listened to online here: http://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/425/21653.html

Activists in Brussels planned a flashmob for April 26, focusing on freedom for Khalida Jarrar, to be attended by Joke Callevaert, a Belgian lawyer who observed Khalida’s military court hearing. Jarrar herself met with Palestinian lawyer Hanan al-Khatib, denouncing her arrest as having “no legal justification” and highlighting the harsh conditions for Palestinian prisoners, particularly the use of the metal “bosta” for the 9-hour trip to Ofer military court from HaSharon prison.

UPDATE, April 17: The Portuguese Assembly of the Republic (national Parliament) voted on April 17 to adopt a solidarity vote urging the immediate release of Khalida Jarrar, a measure proposed by the Portuguese Communist Party and supported by the Socialist Party, Greens, and the Left Bloc.

The vote followed a letter by 58 Members of European Parliament urging Jarrar’s immediate release and EU action to pressure Israel for her freedom.

April 17 also marked Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, where Jarrar’s case was highlighted by protesters and activists around the world.

UPDATE, April 15: The Israeli military court in Ofer convened a hearing on the case of imprisoned Palestinian parliamentarian, feminist and leftist political leader Khalida Jarrar, whose case has garnered widespread international support since her arrest on April 2. Jarrar had previously rejected an Israeli order to deport her from her home in Ramallah to Jericho, achieving a victory and the cancellation of the order.

Jarrar had previously been ordered to six months’ administrative detention; the hearing on April 15 was a rescheduling of the prior hearing on April 8, ostensibly to confirm the military order of administrative detention without charge or trial. Instead, on the April 15 hearing, the administrative detention order was confirmed; in addition, the military court leveled 12 entirely political charges against Jarrar, all of them related to her public speeches and political activities and advocacy for Palestinian political prisoners. It must be noted that nearly all Palestinian political parties and organizations, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, are banned by the Israeli military occupation, by military order, and membership in those parties, attending public events, engaging in television interviews or giving public speeches may be prosecuted by the Israeli military occupation.

The military court hearing was attended by representatives of the European Union, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, and Amnesty International, in addition to other observer lawyers. “We were surprised by the prosecution, which explicitly said last week there were no grounds to detain her until the end of proceedings,” said Jarrar’s lawyer, Sahar Francis in Haaretz. “The indictment strengthens our argument that the imprisonment is vindictive.”

Despite the indictment, the military judge retained the administrative detention order, in order to continue to imprison Jarrar without trial and without providing any reasons to continue her detention and deny her release on bail. Her next hearing, on whether she will be imprisoned until trial on the charges, will be held on April 29, followed by a hearing on administrative detention May 6.

UPDATE, April 12: Khalida Jarrar’s hearing at Ofer Military Court was postponed by one day, to April 15 at 11:00 am, reported Addameer.

Support for Khalida’s freedom has continued to grow: the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights addressed her case; Amnesty International issued an urgent appeal about her detention; Human Rights Watch published a bulletin on her case; CODEPINK sent an action alert, while in France and Brazil, more political parties and organizations expressed their support for her freedom.

UPDATE, April 8: Khalida Jarrar’s administrative detention confirmation hearing at Ofer Military Court was postponed for six days, until April 14, reported Addameer. There were 14 items of “open evidence” (aside from the secret evidence not presented to Jarrar or her lawyers) not provided to her defense lawyers; they requested and received the postponement until April 14.

Now, more than ever, action is necessary in order to escalate the pressure to free Khalida Jarrar. More actions to support Jarrar:
SFP joins Nablus action calling for Jarrar’s freedom
France: Young Communists call for Jarrar’s freedom
Sweden: Free Khalida Jarrar, Proletaren
Portugal: Demand Immediate Liberation of Khalida Jarrar
Protests in US and Palestine call for freedom for Jarrar
Danish, French, Italian Solidarity; Ha’aretz editorial and PCHR call to free Khalida
Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees urge solidarity with Jarrar

Take Action to support Khalida Jarrar:

1. Click here: Send a message to the Israeli Occupation Forces and demand the immediate release of Khalida Jarrar.It is important that the occupation learns that Khalida has supporters around the world who will not be silent in the face of this injustice.

2. Sign the petition! Sign and share this petition, demanding freedom for Khalida Jarrar immediately.

3. Contact your Member of Parliament, Representative, or Member of European Parliament. The attack on Khalida is an attack on Palestinian parliamentary legitimacy and political expression. Parliamentarians have a responsibility to pressure Israel to cancel this order.

4. Send a letter to Khalida Jarrar – help support her and show her jailers that the world is with her!

5. Use the Campaign Resources to inform your community, parliamentarians and others about Khalida’s case.

6. Protest at the Israeli consulate or embassy for Khalida Jarrar. Bring posters and flyers about Khalida’s case and hold a protest, or join a protest with this important information. Hold a community event or discussion, or include Khalida’s case in your next event about Palestine and social justice.

7. Boycott, Divest and Sanction. Hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law. Don’t buy Israeli goods, and campaign to end investments in corporations that profit from the occupation. Learn more at bdsmovement.net.

UPDATE, April 5, 2:30 pm: Khalida Jarrar, Palestinian leader, parliamentarian and feminist, has been issued a six-month administrative detention order imprisoning her without charge or trial, at the behest of the Israeli military commander in the West Bank, reported Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association – Jarrar’s lawyers – on April 5.

Mahmoud Hassan, lawyer with Addameer and director of its Legal Unit, reported that a military court session at Ofer will confirm the order on Wednesday, April 8, 2015. Jarrar is the former Executive Director of Addameer and Vice President of its Board of Directors, as well as the chair of the Palestinian Legislative Council Prisoners’ Committee and a member of the Palestinian national follow-up committee for the International Criminal Court.

Administrative detention is the imprisonment of Palestinians without charge or trial and on the basis of secret evidence for up to six month periods, indefinitely renewable by Israeli military courts. The use of administrative detention dates from the “emergency laws” of the British colonial era in Palestine. Israel’s use of administrative detention violates international law; such detention is allowed only in individual circumstances that are exceptionally compelling for “imperative reasons of security.” In Palestine, however, Israel uses administrative detention routinely as a form of collective punishment and mass detention of Palestinians, and frequently uses administrative detention when it fails to obtain confessions in interrogations of Palestinian detainees.

UPDATE, April 5: Khalida Jarrar‘s first court hearing was rescheduled until tomorrow. Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association lawyer is on his way to Hasharon prison now to try to visit her. News via Yafa Jarrar.

More statements in support of Khalida Jarrar:
Widespread Palestinian support, statements from the PLO (Hanan Ashrawi); the PFLP; the Progressive Labor Union Action Front; Islamic Jihad; the DFLP; Hamas; People’s Party; Palestinian Prisoners’ Society; Issa Qaraqe; Ahrar Center and the Prisoners Center for Studies
Bahrain: Wa’ad National Democratic Action Society demands freedom for Khalida Jarrar
Khalida Jarrar’s PLC bloc, the Abu Ali Mustafa bloc, demands her release

UPDATE, April 4: Khalida Jarrar refused to speak or eat at all while she was held at Ofer under interrogation before being transferred to HaSharon prison, reported her daughter Yafa.

More international voices are expressing support for Khalida Jarrar:
EH Bildu (Euskal Herria Bildu), a Basque left political party with representation in the European Parliament, demands immediate release of Khalida Jarrar
Association France-Palestine Solidarite: Khalida Jarrar doit être libérée
Canada – National Education Committee on Israel/Palestine on Khalida Jarrar
Canada, Toronto – Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid calls for action for Khalida Jarrar
Denmark – Internationalt Forum: Freedom for Khalida Jarrar!

Italian language alert: http://kanafani.it/?p=882
French language alert: http://www.couppourcoup31.com/2015/04/la-militante-palestinienne-khalda-jarrar-a-ete-arretee.html
Spanish language alert: http://samidoun.net/2015/04/espanol-lider-palestina-diputada-khalida-jarrar-fue-arrestada-por-fuerzas-de-ocupacion-israeli/

Protests in solidarity with Khalida Jarrar:
London, April 2: Video, Protest to Free Palestinian Prisoners, focusing on Khalida Jarrar and child prisoners
Albuquerque, April 6: Emergency Protest to Free Khalida Jarrar

UPDATE, April 2: Khalida Jarrar has been held in Ofer under investigation. Her investigation period has ended and she will be transferred to HaSharon prison. Her detention may be extended on Sunday. A military prosecutor will either submit charges, hold her under administrative detention, or release her. Khalida is in the Palestinian National Commission for the followup of the International Criminal Court.

Israeli media have reported that, according to Ma’an News, “Jarrar was detained for being the leader of a ‘terrorist organization’, and had encouraged ‘terror activities’ over the last few weeks.”

Reports on Khalida Jarrar’s arrest (small selection among numerous reports):
“She speaks the truth:” Palestinian leftist parliamentarian arrested in early morning raid, Charlotte Kates, Mondoweiss
Ashrawi: Jarrar’s Arrest Is a Politically Motivated Violation of Her Parliamentary Immunity, Palestine News Network
Israel arrests leftist lawmaker Khalida Jarrar, Middle East Eye
Palestinians condemn Israel’s arrest of prominent leftist lawmaker Khalida Jarrar, Ali Abunimah, Electronic Intifada
Leftist Palestinian Lawmaker Jarrar Arrested by Israeli Forces, TeleSUR English
Israeli soldiers arrest feminist Palestinian lawmaker, Haggai Matar, +972 Mag
PFLP member Khalida Jarrar detained for ‘inciting terror activity’, Ma’an News

BREAKING NEWS: April 2, 2015 – Khalida Jarrar’s Ramallah home was raided by dozens of armed Israeli occupation forces. Khalida’s husband was locked in another room as the Palestinian parliamentarian and leader was forcibly taken from her home and arrested by Israeli forces. Take action now to demand her immediate release.
LATEST UPDATE: As of September 16, 2014, Khalida Jarrar has achieved victory! Occupation military court lowered the expulsion order from six months to one month; with one month having passed since the date of the order, the expulsion order has been lifted. Congratulations to Khalida Jarrar and thank you to the thousands around the world who made a critical difference! Victory for Khalida Jarrar – on the road to victory for Palestine!
2000+ organizations and individuals stand with Khalida Jarrar
Resisting Expulsion and Deportation: Recent reports on the case of Khalida Jarrar
National Lawyers Guild Call to Action: Defend Palestinian Legislative Council Member Khalida Jarrar
Denmark: Internationalt Forum demands immediate cancellation of expulsion order on Khalida Jarrar
Middle East Eye: PFLP activist refuses to succumb to expulsion order
Palestinian Civil Society calls on UN Secretary-General to intervene in case of Khalida Jarrar
Audio Interview: Yafa Jarrar on Palestine, organizing and Khalida’s case

Khalida Jarrar, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, leader in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and longtime advocate for Palestinian political prisoners, was given an internal expulsion order by Israeli occupation soldiers who invaded her Ramallah home at 1:30 am on August 20, 2014 ordering her expelled from Ramallah to Jericho within 24 hours. Click here to take action and stand with Khalida!

Approximately 50 soldiers surrounded Jarrar’s home, delivering the “Special Supervision Order” that ordered her to Jericho within 24 hours, and to stay within the city limits of that city for an initial period of six months. The Order (unofficial translation here) comes from an Israeli military court, is based on secret evidence and offers nothing more than allusions to “intelligence information” to justify this forced expulsion and transfer.

Jarrar refused to sign the expulsion order, saying “you, the occupation, are killing our Palestinian people. You practice mass arests, demolish homes, kidnap people from their homes and deport them. It is you who must leave our home.” She has moved to stay in a “protest tent” outside the legislative council building in Ramallah.

Masao Adachi, “Artist of Fasting”: New work by radical filmmaker at Asian Arts Theatre in September

After a career ranging from politicised “pink films” with Wakamatsu Productions and developing the fūkeiron (landscape theory) of filmmaking, to propaganda for the PFLP and then joining Fusako Shigenobu’s Japanese Red Army (a period referred to rather euphemistically by the Asian Arts Theatre blurb as “28-year-long activities in Lebanon devoted to the independence of Palestine”).

He was ultimately arrested in Lebanon and extradited to Japan in 2000, where he served a short sentence. Perhaps no one more than Adachi represents the conflict between being an activism and being an artist, and the attempt to reconcile the two.

More at: Masao Adachi, “Artist of Fasting”: New work by radical filmmaker at Asian Arts Theatre in September

60 political detainees held in PA jails

60 political detainees held in PA jails

The PA Security Services continue to detain 60 Palestinian citizens over their political affiliation. Most of the political detainees are members and supporters of Hamas movement, the Committee of Political Detainees’ Families said in a report issued on Sunday...
 
An activist in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-PFLP has been held in PA jails since April 2009, while three members of the Islamic Jihad movement have been detained since March 2010.

More at:  60 political detainees held in PA jails

Palestinians in Gaza rally and march in support of Yarmouk under attack

Palestinians in Gaza rally and march in support of Yarmouk under attack

The National and Islamic Forces in Gaza organized a mass march in support of the struggling Palestinian people in Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria, who are now threatened with the massacre at the hands of the criminal gang ISIS. Thousands attended the march in Nuseirat with broad participation from many Palestinian organizations, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The march was led by a vehicle calling out slogans and songs of solidarity with Yarmouk camp, and marched through Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza.

Participants carried Palestinian flags and signs in solidarity with fellow Palestinians in Yarmouk, emphasizing the urgent need to stop the bleeding of our people and remove ISIS from the camp. The marchers called on Palestinian leadership to take action to end the suffering of Palestinians in Syria. Imad Al-Helou, speaking on behalf of the National and Islamic Forces, said “today, we all stand here together to say that Yarmouk camp will not fall, and will defeat all of the conspiracies targeting our people in Yarmouk, the capital of the diaspora.” He also emphasized the need to end the bloodshed in the camp practiced by armed groups, and to end the siege of Yarmouk camp, which has prevented the entry of aid and food, and for urgent Palestinian action to defend and save Yarmouk camp, which remains home to thousands of Palestinian refugees, despite the fleeing of over 160,000 people from Yarmouk. 

“We demand the expulsion of armed extremists from the camp and an end to the conspiracies against our people inside and outside Palestine. We need to resolve this issue through implementing the right of return of Palestinian refugees and ensuring this remains our highest priority.”

Comrade Hani Khalil of the PFLP said “today, we stand in recognition of the steadfastness of our people in Yarmouk camp and together with their suffering and tragedy in light of the ongoing and escalating crimes committed by groups such as ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra against Palestinian refugees in Yarmouk. This is part of a process of human and political extermination directed against Palestinian refugees.” He said “we must break the siege on the camp and liberate the camp from these groups, and aid the return of displaced persons to their homes inside the camp,” calling for a joint force of Palestinian factions to liberate the camp.

Barakat: US-backed Saudi forces committing war crimes in Yemen – action is needed

Barakat: US-backed Saudi forces committing war crimes in Yemen – action is needed

Comrade Khaled Barakat said that “what is happening today in Yemen is a complete failure of the Saudi and US plans to restore a puppet regime that serves their interests.”
Addressing the role of the US in the aggression on Yemen, he said “the US imperial strategy under Obama – as differentiated from the US imperial strategy under George W. Bush – is one that considers that Arab regimes should do the actual fighting, rather than US soldiers. Internally, Obama and the US government do not have the political support to send US soldiers to Yemen; indeed, his election was primarily based on exploiting popular sentiment against US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

“The US strategy today is for Arab regimes to conduct the fighting themselves – but using the same F-16s, missiles, drones and technology, produced and supplied by the US, to exert their destructive force against the people of the region. Their Saudi puppets that are, armed with US weaponry, the strongest military among the Arab Gulf states will be backed completely by US technology, logistics and support, including intelligence, in order to restore their dominace – and reassert the role of Al-Qaeda and other right-wing forces in Yemen,” said Barakat.

 More at: Barakat: US-backed Saudi forces committing war crimes in Yemen – action is needed

Truthdigger of the Week: Khalida Jarrar

Truthdigger of the Week: Khalida Jarrar

By Roisin Davis

Every week the Truthdig editorial staff selects a Truthdigger of the Week, a group or person worthy of recognition for speaking truth to power, breaking the story or blowing the whistle. It is not a lifetime achievement award. Rather, we’re looking for newsmakers whose actions in a given week are worth celebrating.

In the middle of the night April 2, less than 24 hours after Palestine obtained membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC), dozens of Israeli soldiers burst into the Ramallah home of the prominent Palestinian lawmaker and leftist activist Khalida Jarrar and seized her.

Insofar as we believe the Israeli authorities, Jarrar is the most dangerous woman in the Middle East.

Given her leadership in cementing the Palestinian bid to join the ICC treaty—which covers the Israel-Gaza conflict last summer in which more than 2,100 Palestinians were killed—this may well be the case. Palestinian leaders have described accession to the ICC as a key means to “internationalizing” the conflict, with their membership to the Hague-based court paving the way for prosecution of Israel for war crimes.

Jarrar, a 52-year-old mother of two who suffers from serious health issues, has been declared a security risk for decades without ever being charged with any criminal offense.

She is a senior lawyer for the PLO and a member of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. She was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in 2006 and heads its committee on prisoners, and she serves as the Palestinian representative on the Council of Europe.

She has long been a vociferous opponent of Israel’s policy of security coordination, is one of the region’s most prominent feminist voices and is a tenacious advocate for the rights of Palestinian political prisoners.

A member of several women’s rights organizations, Jarrar has worked with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and is vice chair of the board of the Palestinian human rights organization Addameer.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, she was arrested for breaching travel restrictions imposed in August that banned her from leaving the Jericho area. Rejecting the “special supervision order,” she set up a protest tent outside the PLC office in Ramallah, where she had been living and working and which was frequented by numerous Palestinian and international delegations.

In the words of a Haaretz editorial, she was held in “vindictive administrative detention” and charged April 15 by an Israeli military tribunal on a dozen seemingly trumped-up political charges. An open letter signed by 58 members of the European Parliament describes the move as “a clearly political attempt to undermine Palestinian leadership and thwart Palestinian attempts to pursue justice in the International Criminal Court.”

The letter states:

“The arrest of Jarrar and other Members of the Palestinian Parliament and their transfer from occupied territory into Israel are not only in violation of Articles 49 and 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention but also blatantly violate international conventions and practices regarding the immunity of elected officials. Palestinian parliamentarians are frequently held in administrative detention without charge or trial, or tried in military courts that are mechanisms to produce a political result and in no way meet standards for a fair trial.”

Jarrar now joins 16 other elected Palestinian lawmakers held in Israeli jails, and her arrest means that more than 10 percent of Palestinian parliamentarians have now been detained by Israeli forces. More than half of those have not stood trial or been charged.

She also joins some 424 administrative detainees held by the Israeli state without legal process. According to the United Nations Human Rights Office, 181 were held at the same point last year. Since 1967, Israel has detained and imprisoned more than 800,000 people from the occupied Palestinian territory.

An April 7 statement issued by several human rights organizations expressed “grave concern” for the welfare of Jarrar, who must take medical lab tests every three days because of chronic conditions affecting her brain and circulatory system. The ban imposed on her movement since 1998 means that she has been allowed to travel on only one occasion for medical treatment, in 2010 following diplomatic intervention and legal proceedings. It is unlikely that Jarrar will receive the necessary medical care in Israel’s HaSharon Prison, where she is being held indefinitely.

Jarrar “apparently dared to violate the foolish order,” the Haaretz editorial explained, “and for that she is being punished now with administrative detention. This is how Israel seeks to deter every Palestinian public activist—not to mention one involved with advancing the processes in the International Criminal Court—from realizing his or her rights.”

“If Jarrar broke the law, Israel must put her on trial and prove she committed a crime. If, on the other hand, the reason for her detention is revenge, she must be released immediately.”

When Palestinian leaders applied to join the ICC, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared they had chosen “a path of confrontation” and that Israel would “not sit idly by.” Soon afterward, the Israeli government stopped the transfer of about $400 million in tax revenues collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority between January and March 2015. As a result, 160,000 Palestinian government employees were paid only 60 percent of their salaries for three months.

These measures—including the aggressive persecution of Jarrar, an elected official—are Israel’s message to the Palestinian people not to challenge its power. As Israel attempts to silence and break her down, what makes Khalida Jarrar, our Truthdigger of the Week, so dangerous is her speaking truth to this power. 

Shishtari: Arrest of Jarrar part of systematic policy of targeting resistance leaders

Shishtari: Arrest of Jarrar part of systematic policy of targeting resistance leaders

The arrest of Palestinian leader and parliamentarian Khalida Jarrar is a clear part of the Zionist policy of systematic targeting of the leaders of Palestinian resistance, said Comrade Zaher al-Shishtari, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

One of the most important reasons for the arrest of Jarrar is her resistance to the order expelling her to Jericho seceral months ago and the resulting campaign of support and solidarity on a Palestinian, Arab and international level, Shishtari said.

In an interview on Al-Quds TV, he said that “it is clear that the occupation is expanding its aggression against our people, and the arrest of PLC member, Comrade Khalida Jarrar, is meant to deliver a message to the Palestinian people and to the Popular Front that they are being targeted by occupation forces.”

He urged national Palestinian action to seriously resist all Zionist crimes, from the ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem, to settlement building, to the targeting of the Palestinian people and national leaders, including pursuing action at the International Criminal Court to prosecute the political and military officials of the occupation as war criminals.

Comrade Shishtari praised Jarrar, noting her consistent struggle against the occupation and defense of the just cause of the Palestinian people whether as a deputy in the PLC or a leader of the PFLP. He also demanded that the Palestinian Authority end security coordination with the occupation.

Reviewing the Palestinian positions and statements issued following the arrest of Jarrar, he emphasized that this indicates a clear Palestinian consensus against the escalating arrests, and noting that this must be met with real unity and earnest work to end Palestinian internal division and confront the occupation.