This week, an Israeli military court convicted Abdallah Abu Rahmah, whom progressive Zionists have called a "Palestinian Gandhi," of "incitement" and "organizing and participating in illegal demonstrations" for organizing protests against the confiscation of Palestinian land by the "Apartheid Wall" in the village of Bilin in the West Bank, following an eight month trial, during which he was kept in prison.
The European Union issued a protest. But as far as I am aware, no U.S. official has said anything and no U.S. newspaper columnist has denounced this act of repression; indeed, the U.S. press hasn't even reported the news. To find out what happened, someone could search the wires where they'll find this AFP story, or go to the British or Israeli press.
AFP reported:
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton expressed deep concern "that the possible imprisonment of Mr Abu Rahma is intended to prevent him and other Palestinians from exercising their legitimate right to protest against the existence of the separation barriers in a non-violent manner," her office said.
"The EU considers the route of the barrier where it is built on Palestinian land to be illegal," it quoted her as saying in a statement.
The failure of the New York Times to report the news is particularly striking, because the New York Times reported last August on the protests in Bilin, quoting Abu Rahmah in particular; and because this July New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, writing from Bilin with the provocative headline "Waiting for Gandhi," weighed in on the subject of Palestinian nonviolent protest.
Last August, Ethan Bronner reported in the Times:
Abdullah Abu Rahma, a village teacher and one of the organizers of the weekly protests, said he was amazed at the military's assertions [of protester violence, including of "rioters" throwing "Molotov cocktails"] as well as at its continuing arrests and imprisonment of village leaders."They want to destroy our movement because it is nonviolent," he said. He added that some villagers might have tried, out of frustration, to cut through the fence since the court had ordered it moved and nothing had happened. But that is not the essence of the popular movement that he has helped lead.
Kristof wrote patronizingly in his column last month that "some Palestinians are dabbling in a strategy of nonviolent resistance," but is seems that Kristof was "dabbling" in his fleeting expression of concern about the fate of the Palestinians.
Under the "law" of the Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank since 1967, "incitement" is defined as "the attempt, verbally or otherwise, to influence public opinion in the Area in a way that may disturb the public peace or public order", and carries a maximum 10 year sentence. Abu Rahmah's sentencing will take place next month, and the prosecution is reportedly expected to ask for a sentence of at least two years.
In December 2008 Abdallah received the Carl Von Ossietzky Medal for Outstanding Service in the Realization of Basic Human Rights from the International League for Human Rights in Berlin, as Amnesty International noted following his arrest.
This February, former President Jimmy Carter wrote on behalf of the Elders, the group of global leaders brought together by Nelson Mandela to promote peace:
We are especially concerned to hear that Abdallah Abu Rahma, the coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Bil'in, was detained in a night raid on 10 December last year and faces charges of incitement, stone throwing and organizing and participating in illegal marches. [...] Abu Rahma is a middle-aged school teacher who eschews violence including stone throwing.
Catherine Ashton, Europe's Hillary Clinton, protested the conviction. Why hasn't Hillary done so?
Perhaps the failure of the U.S. media to simply report the news might have something to do with it?
You can ask Secretary of State Clinton to speak out, as Europe's Catherine Ashton has, by calling the State Department's comment line at 202-647-6575 and pressing 1.
Or you can use the State Department's web form, choosing "E-mail a Question/Comment," and topic "U.S. Foreign Policy/Middle East." You could use a subject like "Conviction by Israeli court of Abdallah Abu Rahmah for nonviolent protest," and a question like "I urge Secretary Clinton and other State Department officials to speak out against the conviction by Israeli military court of Abdallah Abu Rahmah for organizing nonviolent protests against the Israeli separation barrier in the West Bank, which has confiscated Palestinian land."
You can write a letter for publication to the New York Times here; you can contact the Times' news editors here; you can write to the Times' Public Editor here.
UPDATE: (8/29): CNN, The Guardian, and The Independent reported the news; Amnesty International and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu protested the conviction.
Follow Robert Naiman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/naiman
Sami Awad: Palestinian Nonviolence: Muslims, Not Christians, Are the Leaders
Ryan J. Bell: Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish: A Palestinian Martin Luther King
Varun Soni: Gandhi, Hinduism and Non-Violence at the United Nations
James Zogby: Trying to Be Hopeful About Peace
As of July 2010, Israel is holding about 199 Palestinians in administrative detention in facilities run by the Israel Prison Service (IPS).
http://www.jeremiahhaber.com/2010/08/israel-convicts-another-palestinian.html
There you'll find the blog:
"The Magnes Zionist: Self-Criticism from an Israeli, American, and Orthodox Jewish Perspective"
the author describes himself as "Jeremiah Haber; Jerusalem, Israel: Jeremiah (Jerry) Haber is the nom de plume of an orthodox Jewish studies and philosophy professor, who divides his time between Israel and the US. The picture is not of him, but of his kind of Zionist, Judah Magnes."
to sum up: "seething dislike of Orthodox Judaism"? Fail.
It is strange that people cite Gandhi and Mandela as if they were pure advocates of nonviolence. Gandhi was an apostle of ahimsa, certainly, but he was willing to die for principles. He frequently expressed the desire that a million innocent lives be willingly surrendered to achieve India's freedom and cement its unity with their blood. His opinion about the Holocaust was quite interesting too. He never answered the question of whether nonviolent resistance might convert Hitler to the ways of righteousness. He also counselled the Jews who could neither fight nor escape fascism to die with such dignity as they could muster, by inviting rather than merely accepting their immolation in public and collective repudiation of fascism. For Gandhi, the lowest moral status a person could have was that of a victim.
Those who accuse nonviolent protestors of "harming IDF soldiers" and "disrupting military order" are merely apologists for the occupation. They remain utterly ignorant of the tremendous power differential that exists between the occupier and the occupied Palestinians.
He could get him released.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11127409
this is EXACTLY the kind of story that could be used as a bridge to the peace process because its completely antithetical to the prevailing view of ALL palestinians as rabid wannabe suicide bombers intend on destroying jews.
unfortunately, that's also the reason why this story won't get much headway here among the "mainstream media". those who control the media outlets aren't interested in promoting a "palestinian gandhi" not when there is so much hay being made out of the current anti-islamic rhetoric. we all remember what happened to octavia nasr, don't we...???
with so much invested in the upcoming peace talks, anything that can be construed as "negative publicity" in america...must be avoided...!!!
There is Justice and then there is Israeli JustUs.
.
Israel is increasingly becoming a Government in the hands of despots.
.
"Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef denounced upcoming peace talks with the Palestinians, which are set to start September 2 in Washington, and called for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to "perish from this world," Army Radio reported overnight Saturday.
"Abu Mazen and all these evil people should perish from this world," Rabbi Ovadia was quoted as saying during his weekly sermon at a synagogue near his Jerusalem home. "God should strike them with a plague, them and these Palestinians."
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/shas-spiritual-leader-abbas-and-palestinians-should-perish-1.310800
He would be fiercely condemned, as this rabbi is being condemned.
What was your point again?
Sorry to rain on your parade but Rabbi Yosef doesn't limit his comments to just Palestinians, he goes after Jews as well ...
In 2009 he argued that those murdered in the Holocaust were a reincarnation of sinners from past generations.
that people who send their children to learn in secular schools will suffer punishment in this world and the next.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=186372
By the way, business reply mail envelopes are a great way to disseminate the news.
I'll catch this later.
Thanks a lot.
The latest comments by an Israeli right-wing extremist “Rabbi” that Palestinians, including Prez Abbas, should be killed is yet another proof of Israeli institutionalized racism and gives the lie to any claim of willingness or intent for peace and a two-state “solution” to brutal Israeli occupation and illegal colonization, including the “separation” barrier, AKA the Apartheid Wall; even Israeli Palestinians are targeted by the increasingly extremist and racist IDF. The usual apologists for Israeli racism and violence are here denying the truth of Palestinian oppression, imprisonment and killings.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/?aid=19830&context=va
Nice to know the only democracy in the Middle East makes it illegal to protest.
Your link does not back up what you say.