DesertPeace
January 18, 2010 at 12:37 pm (Activism, Human Rights, Israel, Occupied West Bank, Palestine)
A report from Sheikh Jarrah, Occupied East Jerusalem
Arrest of Bashar Abu Rahma, the executive director of the Association of Civil Rights in Israel
A report from Sheikh Jarrah, Occupied East Jerusalem
Arrest of Bashar Abu Rahma, the executive director of the Association of Civil Rights in Israel
Below is a report about the events in Sheikh Jarrah last Friday. It is written by an activist and captures some of the intense emotion that binds the Israeli direct action left. In such a long battle, I love the moments when the left energizes and rekindles the passion necessary to keep fighting. Over the past two months, Sheikh Jarrah has provided the backdrop for this spark of renewed passion. While the battle of Sheikh Jarrah might be lost in reality, the spark of passion is important to sustain us for the other battles throughout Israel and Palestine:
To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget.
- Arundhati Roy
On Friday, January 16, members of Anarchists Against the Wall were part of organizing a vigil at the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah commemorating the continued theft of Palestinian houses by settlers. The gathering was not approved by the Jerusalem police, arguing that they approved already in the same week a live music performance, and that there is no need for a demonstration also.
Understanding the obvious stupidity of that logic, activists gathered outside of the street where settlers stole Palestinian houses with the approval of the Israeli courts. The entrance to the street itself was blocked by the Israeli military and police under the pretext that leftist activists walking into the street will be dangerous for the public safety. Those who met at an earlier point were surrounded by police and soldiers, who demand to see their ID’s and ordering some to appear for an investigation in the following week. They were not allowed to walk in a group, only in pairs, and were followed until the very point of arriving to the neighborhood.
Realizing that they will not be allowed to join their Palestinian friends who have been sleeping in the street since being evicted from their houses, activists gathered at a distant location, holding signs and chanting.
Posted by Joseph Dana
Also from his Blog….
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget.
- Arundhati Roy
On Friday, January 16, members of Anarchists Against the Wall were part of organizing a vigil at the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah commemorating the continued theft of Palestinian houses by settlers. The gathering was not approved by the Jerusalem police, arguing that they approved already in the same week a live music performance, and that there is no need for a demonstration also.
Understanding the obvious stupidity of that logic, activists gathered outside of the street where settlers stole Palestinian houses with the approval of the Israeli courts. The entrance to the street itself was blocked by the Israeli military and police under the pretext that leftist activists walking into the street will be dangerous for the public safety. Those who met at an earlier point were surrounded by police and soldiers, who demand to see their ID’s and ordering some to appear for an investigation in the following week. They were not allowed to walk in a group, only in pairs, and were followed until the very point of arriving to the neighborhood.
Realizing that they will not be allowed to join their Palestinian friends who have been sleeping in the street since being evicted from their houses, activists gathered at a distant location, holding signs and chanting.
Posted by Joseph Dana
Also from his Blog….
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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