5 April 2015

Free Khalida Jarrar Now!

Khalida Jarrar ordered to six months administrative detention

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. TAKE ACTION: Demand freedom for Khalida Jarrar!
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.

In response to the order, Addameer noted that the use of administrative detention by the Israeli occupation is illegal and arbitrary detention and amounts to a war crime, “willfully depriving a prisoner of war or other protected person of their right to a fair and regular trial.” It urged the international community to work hard to end arbitrary administrative detention and free all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Hassan said further that he visited Jarrar this morning in HaSharon prison, that she is in good health and taking her prescribed medication, but that she needs ongoing health care. She is now one of nine members of the Palestinian Legislative Council held without charge or trial under administrative detention orders.

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.

For ongoing updates on the case of Khalida Jarrar, visit 
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/

Who is Khalida Jarrar

Jarrar is a long-time Palestinian political prisoners’ advocate, former executive director of Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association and a member of its board; she chairs the Prisoners’ Committee of the Palestinian Legislative Council. She is also active in the Palestinian women’s movement, a feminist and prominent voice for the defense and expansion of women’s rights.

Jarrar has been a visible and prominent participant in the West Bank demonstrations in support of Palestinians in Gaza, denouncing the occupation military’s killing of over 2,000 Palestinians.

Since 1998, she has been forbidden to travel outside occupied Palestine; when she needed medical treatment in Jordan in 2010, she struggled for months in a public campaign before finally receiving her treatment.

Thousands of organizations and individuals from around the world took action in August-September 2014, declaring that they stand with Khalida Jarrar and demanding the cancellation of the “special supervision order” forcibly transferring her from Ramallah to Jericho. Jarrar refused expulsion to Jericho. Instead, she has set up a protest tent in the Palestinian Legislative Council courtyard in Ramallah, where she lived and worke until the order was lifted on September 16, 2014. “It is the occupation who must leave our homeland,” said Jarrar. The tent was visited by numerous Palestinian and international delegations, including international members of Parliament.

There are now 16 members of the elected Palestinian Legislative Council imprisoned by Israel, 9 under administrative detention without trial or charge. PLC members have been repeatedly and systematically targeted by Israeli occupation forces.

The Khalida Jarrar Solidarity Campaign is being reactivated to demand her immediate release.

Take Action: Khalida Jarrar Ordered to 6 months administrative detention
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News and Updates:
News and reporting:
The Zionist Rationale in The Times of Israel
 

Israel arrests Palestinian lawmaker

PLFP member Khalida Jarrar detained after violating injunction restricting her movement in the West Bank


Israel arrested a Palestinian lawmaker from a left-wing terrorist group on Thursday for disobeying an order restricting her movement in the West Bank.
The IDF said it arrested Khalida Jarrar, a senior political leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, early Thursday in the West Bank city of Ramallah due to “substantial concerns about the safety and security of the region.”

The PFLP organization has been behind a number of attacks on Israeli civilians over a period of some 40 years.
As recently as November of last year, it took responsibility for a terror attack in which five people were shot and hacked to death with meat cleavers in a bloody assault on a Jerusalem synagogue.
Last year, the military confined Jarrar’s movement to the city of Jericho and its surroundings.
The army said the restraining order was based on her “incitement and involvement in terror.”
Her husband, Ghassan Jarrar, said she was arrested in their Ramallah home.
She had long flaunted the Israeli ban.
The military said it was questioning her but has not yet decided whether to press charges.
Soldiers confiscated two computers and a mobile phone from the premises, according to Palestinian media reports.
The Palestine Liberation Organization denounced the move and called Jarrar’s detention “illegal” on social media.
Jarrar was heavily involved in cementing the Palestinian Authority’s bid to join the International Criminal Court bid, a PLO spokesperson said.

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Southampton University - Legal Action Expected Next Week

After the decision of Southampton University's Administration to ban a conference on Israel and International Law, admittedly a subject which Israel's leaders are particularly sensitive to, legal action in the form of a judicial review is expected next week.  However, as someone who has mounted a (successful) judicial review in the past, people have to be aware that success is by no means guaranteed.  


I'm slightly surprised that they didn't go for an injunction but success in what is actually an application for leave to bring an action will depend on whether the university administration acted illegally, beyond its powers 'ultra vires' or the appellants will have to demonstrate what is called Wednesbury unreasonableness, i.e. no reasonable administration could have taken this decision.   These are high but not insurmountable hurdles.  If the appellants succeed, the Judge will order the continuance of the status quo i.e. that the conference continues, however in practice this will mean that the Judicial Review has succeeded given the conference is a couple of weeks away.

Tony Greenstein

Court hearing expected next week in challenge to UK university’s ban on Israel conference

Ali Abunimah 04/03/2015

The Electronic Intifada has learned details of the court challenge filed in London on Thursday against the University of Southampton’s decision to ban a conference related to Israel.
One of the organizers of the conference – a professor who grew up as a refugee in Gaza – has said that the legal challenge was taken with a “very heavy heart,” but was essential to defend freedom of speech.
Cameron's commitment to free speech lasted less than 3 months
On Wednesday, the University of Southampton confirmed that it had cancelled the conference, “International Law and the State of Israel: Legitimacy, Responsibility and Exceptionalism,” that had been scheduled for 17-19 April.

Administrators claimed that the decision was necessary because of the high risk of protests at the event “which could lead to incidents of public disorder.”
Eric Pickles - the right wing slob and cabinet member who came out in favour of the ban

High Court challenge

At a hearing in the High Court in London, expected to take place next week, lawyers will challenge the university’s claims.

Mark McDonald, a public interest lawyer from the chambers of Michael Mansfield QC, told The Electronic Intifada that in withdrawing permission for the conference, the university had acted unfairly. It had used the risk of disorder as pretext for “capitulation to activists and supporters of the State of Israel.”

“This is blatant censorship under the guise of a specter of campus being overrun by violent hordes, which is patently groundless,” McDonald added.

Lawyers will argue that the university presented no evidence to justify its claims, that its decision making was inconsistent and that the mere fact of protests does not equate to a security risk.
McDonald, who is working on the case with co-counsel Shivani Jegarajah, pointed out that the law guarantees a right to protest and counterprotest.

The Israeli embassy in London and Israel lobby groups that had campaigned for months for the cancellation of the conference have welcomed the university’s decision.



Freedom of speech at stake

In an open letter to fellow faculty and students, conference co-organizer Suleiman Sharkh warned that if left unchallenged, the university’s cancelation of the conference “will have a direct impact on you and your freedom of speech.”
Michael Gove - the unpopular former Education Secretary has spoken in support of the ban
Sharkh, a professor of engineering at the university, shared the the letter with The Electronic Intifada.
In it he explains his involvement and interest in the law conference, but also provides some poignant personal background. Sharkh was born in the Palestinian coastal city of Majdal Asqalan, now Ashkelon in present-day Israel.

Palestinians in the city were forcibly expelled to Gaza well after the ceasefire that ended the 1948 war.

“In November 1948, six months after the establishment of the State of Israel and after the wars had ended, the town was bombed and many people were killed. Those who survived were herded towards Gaza, crawling on their hands and knees in the thorny fields,” Sharkh writes.

The expulsion of the town’s residents to Gaza continued until 1950.

“Since then we have lived in squalid refugee camps. I walked around barefoot in the sand soiled by open sewage. I got my first shoes when I went to school at the age of six,” he adds.

“International law was responsible for our misery,” Sharkh explains. “It was used to legalize the theft of our homes and it continues to be used to legalize the ongoing oppression of my people by the State of Israel. The questions asked by the conference are therefore questions that I have been asking all my life. They are important questions that need to be answered.”

“However answering these questions risks exposing the true face of the State of Israel, and risks reminding the world of the uncomfortable truth about the crimes that were and continue to be committed against the Palestinian people,” Sharkh states. “As a result, the pro-Israel lobby exerted huge pressure on the university, which has resulted in the withdrawal of the permission to hold the conference.”

Sharkh dismisses media and Israel lobby group claims that “this was going to be an anti-Semitic conference.” He says he hoped the meeting would be a small step “to achieve justice, freedom and equality for my people to live side by side with Jews and all people in historic Palestine.”

Sharkh, himself a graduate of Southampton, said that studying and working at the university “is the best thing that happened to me.”

It was therefore with a “very heavy heart” that he and other conference organizers had to resort to taking the university to court.

Sharkh invited students and faculty to join almost eight thousand people who have signed an online petition calling on the University of Southampton to defend freedom of speech.

 Asa Winstanley contributed reporting from London.

Full text of Suleiman Sharkh’s letter

Dear Friends, Colleagues and Students

As some of you may know, I am one of the organizers of the conference: “International Law and the State of Israel: Legitimacy, Responsibility and Exceptionalism.” The conference was approved by the university back in July 2014 and we followed all the procedures and collaborated fully with the university’s administration from the start. We have been transparent throughout about the nature and the aims of the conference.

Some of you may wonder why I, an engineering professor, am involved in organizing a law conference. The obvious answer is that understanding the law is essential to engineering and it is indeed part of our curriculum – it is a requirement of accreditation by the Engineering Council. My own research on smart electricity grids and smart metering involves understanding the legal issues that arise from the development of the technology, particularly with regards to privacy of the data collected by the smart meters and its human rights implications.

Also, as many of you know, I am a Palestinian. I grew up in Gaza, but my family is originally from a town called Majdal Asqalan (now called Ashkelon by Israel). In November 1948, six months after the establishment of the State of Israel and after the wars had ended, the town was bombed and many people were killed. Those who survived were herded towards Gaza, crawling on their hands and knees in the thorny fields. Since then we have lived in squalid refugee camps. I walked around barefoot in the sand soiled by open sewage. I got my first shoes when I went to school at the age of six.
International law was responsible for our misery. It was used to legalize the theft of our homes and it continues to be used to legalize the ongoing oppression of my people by the State of Israel. The questions asked by the conference are therefore questions that I have been asking all my life. They are important questions that need to be answered.

However answering these questions risks exposing the true face of the State of Israel, and risks reminding the world of the uncomfortable truth about the crimes that were and continue to be committed against the Palestinian people. As a result, the pro-Israel lobby exerted huge pressure on the university, which has resulted in the withdrawal of the permission to hold the conference.
The attached statement explains our point of view, and why the university’s senior management’s decision is wrong in law. This decision will have a direct impact on you and your freedom of speech.
I am a Southampton graduate. This is my university. Studying and working at Southampton is the best thing that happened to me. It broadened my mind, it showed me that there are alternatives to violence and hatred, namely respectful debate and love. I care greatly about the university and its reputation and hence the reason for deciding, with a very heavy heart, to take legal action to reverse the decision to cancel the conference.

The main press may give you the impression that this was going to be an anti-Semitic conference. This is absolutely not true. My fellow organizer, Professor Oren Ben-Dor is a Jew. We have many Jewish supporters. And I am glad that many Jews immigrated to Palestine to be in a safe haven and I welcome more Jews to live in Palestine. My main aim is to achieve justice, freedom and equality for my people to live side by side with Jews and all people in historic Palestine. I want it to be a safer haven for Jews, a safe haven for all people who live there. I hope the conference will be a small step in that direction.

Finally, I want to assure you that there will be no spontaneous demonstrations or any violence from supporters of the conference as suggested by my colleague the chief operating officer, Steve White. We will conduct our protests in a very dignified manner, within the law, with full collaboration with the police and the university. I will never accept any harm to be done to the university and the wonderful people who work and study here, who keep it the fantastic place of scholarship and learning that it is.

Please express your support for freedom of speech by signing the online petition.

Yours sincerely,


Suleiman
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3 April 2015

Mark Gardner of the Zionist 'charity' - the Communist Security Trust & the Southampton International Law Conference

CST's Mark Gardner Dishonestly Quotes Me to Support the Banning of Southampton International Law Conference




My attention has been drawn by Gert and Brian Robinson to the use by Mark Gardner of the Zionist ‘charity’ the Communist Security Trust of certain comments I made regarding Oren ben-Dor, the Southampton University lecturer who has helped organise the Israel and International Law Conference.
The comments which I made, some 7 years ago, were in the context of ben-Dor’s support for Gilad Atzmon. 
Oren ben-Dor
Gardner quotes selectively from a much longer post to support the decision of Southampton University to ban a conference on Israel and International Law from being held on campus.  The reason it has been banned is because of health and safety concerns, i.e. Zionist threats of violence.
When the UCU won an employment tribunal against a Zionist academic Gardner
called the Tribunal members 'sneering bastards'
I want to make it clear that there is no connection between the Conference at Southampton University and my previous criticism of Oren ben-Dor.  Mark Gardner is being his usual hypocritical and dishonest self in seeking to associate the two.  There is no connection and Oren ben-Dor is, in any event, one of four organisers of the Conference.  More pertinent has been the failure of the CST to oppose the EDL's presence on Zionist demonstrations.

In a blog post I stated that:

‘Oren Ben-Dor is an ex-Israeli and a law lecturer at the University of Southampton. He is also someone who has aligned himself with a small, anti-Semitic current on the fringes of the Palestinian movement.’ 

Having subsequently met Oren Ben-Dor I formed the opinion that he was clearly misguided regarding Atzmon but was not personally anti-Semitic.  If anything he was taken in by Atzmon’s pretentious philosophical gobbledydook, as is evident in his article The Silencing of Gilad Atzmon

Ironically the criticism by Gardner of what Oren ben-Dor writes, on the CST’s web site (the CST is supposed to be a non-political charity), echoes that which the Zionists argue.

Gardner says that ‘They [Atzmon and ben-Dor] both hold up Jewish anti-Zionists as some kind of ultimate supposed proof that Zionism can only be fundamentally understood (and more importantly opposed) as an extension of Jewishness.’  But of course Zionists too argue that Zionism and being Jewish are one and the same, and that Jewish anti-Zionists are ‘self-haters’ i.e. hate their race and nation.

Gardner confirms this when he says that ‘Most left wing anti-israel activists anxiously manufacture distance between Zionists and Jews (i.e. between anti-Zionism and antisemitism).’  In other words that there is no distance or distinction between Zionists and Jews and left-wing anti-Israel activists therefore have to manufacture such distance.  Which is exactly what Atzmon argues!

Gardner says that ben-Dor ‘goes further, suggesting that Nazi perpetrators were somehow captives of a deeper historical force that may repeat in the future.’  But this was always the Zionist attitude to the holocaust.  It was but the culmination of 2,000 years of anti-Semitism.

Despite quoting me in support of the banning of the Southampton Law Conference (which of course I oppose) Gardner proves how little distance there is between Zionist ideologues such as himself and the anti-Semitic Gilad Atzmon.

Tony Greenstein
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1 April 2015

Southampton University Bows to Zionist & Tory Pressure and Cancels Conference on Israel & International Law

The decision by Southampton University to cancel a conference on Israel and International Law, of all subjects, is an act of sheer cowardice.  Universities have a duty, not only legally but morally, to uphold academic freedom, the cut and thrust of debate, the right to present alternative ideas to those of the mainstream. 
A Police State University
It also demonstrates the hypocrisy of the state.  It was less than 3 months ago that 8 journalists and cartoonists from Charlie Hebdo were murdered in their offices.  World leaders, including those from the most repressive states such as Saudi Arabia and Israel, attended a march dedicated to upholding the values of freedom of speech.  David Cameron also attended but that hasn't prevented his Communities Minister, the loathsome Eric Pickles from adding his (considerable) weight to the call to ban the Conference.  Tory MPs have also weighed in to support the call from the misnamed Board of Deputies of British Jews and various other Zionist front groups.
The loathsome Eric Pickles MP - Called for the Conference to be Banned
 The pretext is 'health and safety' because the Zionists have promised a demonstration.  If Southampton University's administration cannot protect its conferences from a small demonstration then it should collectively resign and make way for those who can.
A University of Cowardice
 There is an appeal later today and the Vice-Chancellor Professor Don Nutbeam will make the final decision, however it is likely to be a charade as this decision is likely to have already met with his approval.  There is the promise of legal action, either in the form of judicial review or an injunction, though our judiciary are not known for their upholding of the right to academic freedom, other than when the rights of fascists such as Patrick Harrington at NE London Polytechnic some years ago, are concerned.

My own view is that we should hold a demonstration at Southampton University to ensure that the Administration is left in no doubt as to our anger.

Tony Greenstein

Statement from Organisers


The March of the World Hypocrites and Tyrants 1


It is with extreme astonishment and sadness that we have to inform you that the University of Southampton has told us earlier yesterday (Monday 30 March 2015) that it intends to withdraw its permission to hold the academic conference on International Law and the State of Israel. We were told that the decision was taken on the grounds of health and safety: a number of groups may be demonstrating for or against the conference which could present risks to the safety of the participants, students and staff. The University claims that it does not have enough resources to mitigate the risks, despite a clear statement from the Police confirming that they are able to deal with the protest and ensure the security of the event.
Southampton University - Where Freedom of Speech Carries no Weight
 As the law stands, the University is legally obliged to uphold freedom of speech, and - unlike in some engineering projects for example where health and safety may be the only legal obligation – the requirement of minimising risk should also fall onto the Police as the agency that is entrusted with the enforcement of the law (freedom of speech) and the provision of security. The mitigating measure should therefore include policing in addition to what the university can reasonably provide using its own security resources. We are therefore extremely dissatisfied with the risk assessment conducted by the University which seems to lack consistency; high risks remained high even when seemingly effective mitigating measures were put in place. Crucially and additionally, the risk assessment does not seem to include all possible risk mitigating measures that could be provided by the police.
A number of risks have been identified by the police but it is very clear from the Police’s report that they are more than capable of policing the conference and ensuring the safety of university staff, speakers, delegates, students and property. However, instead of accepting this at face value the University decided to focus on the risks identified by the Police and ignore their statement about their ability to police the event – we were told the Police will never say in writing they are not able to police an event, in other words the University had doubts about the Police’s ability to do their job of upholding the law! The university claims that the Police are not able or unwilling to become too involved because the University is ‘private property’, which we find astonishing. The University is a public space, it was established by a Royal Charter and it has public roles and duties including upholding freedom of speech and to that extent it should be able to resort to police assistance in order to curb security risks to enable it to fulfil its legal obligation to uphold freedom of speech. If this is not done, if commitment to safety is not undertaken by the police, freedom of speech becomes an idle worthless notion. At no point were we given an indication that the University has indeed allowed itself the time to seek viable police assistance to supplement its own resources. Additionally, and unconvincingly, the University claims that it is now too late to put proper security arrangements in place. We do not accept that in any way as there are still 18 days left before the conference.
Given the Police’s confidence in providing security and given that there are other possible mitigating measures that are yet to be explored that could be put in place to minimize the risk, a decision to cancel the conference would be grossly disproportionate and therefore may well be illegal and unconstitutional. Such an action by Southampton University will severely undermine the public’s confidence in the Police’s and the in the University’s ability to protect freedom of speech. Indeed it will have wider implications to all Universities and organisations. We feel that the manner the university communicated with the police and conducted the risk assessment shows that the security argument was used to rationalise a decision to cancel the conference that has been taken under public pressure of the Israeli Lobby. It is quite simply unbelievable that the University cannot ask the Police to handle the risk of demonstrations.
The March of the World Hypocrites and Tyrants 2
 Freedom of speech inherently involves taking risks, and hence the presence of risk cannot be used to curtail it! The UK Government and many other governments have refused to give in to attempts by Islamic extremist to stop the publication of pictures of Prophet Mohammad despite serious risks of violence. The correct response by the governments was to confront and contain that violence and not to cancel the publication of these pictures by Charlie Hebdo and others.

This is a sad decision for freedom of speech and for historic Palestine (which includes what is now the Jewish State of Israel and the 1967 Occupied Territories) and ALL the people who live there.
We will explore legal emergency measures to prevent the University from cancelling the conference, to reverse its decision and to properly collaborate with the police so that the demonstrations can be managed. In addition we call for the widest and most intense public campaign possible that would urgently encourage the university to reverse its decision and which would allow the conference to go ahead.

Finally, we must make it clear that we have made several attempts to meet with the Vice Chancellor to consult him on the organisation of this conference, and to invite him to open the conference but we have never been given the opportunity to do so. On the other hand, the Vice Chancellor has met with pro-Israel representatives without ever calling us to attend meetings and we, as Professors in the University, feel disempowered and marginalised by this disrespectful behaviour.

Professor Oren Ben-Dor, University of Southampton.
Professor George Bisharat, University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
Professor Suleiman Sharkh, University of Southampton.
Ms. Juman Ismail.
Conference Organisers
===
http://www.southampton.ac.uk/israelpalestinelaw/index.page
http://electronicintifada.net/…/israel-lobby-uk-officials-a…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/Universitys-anti-Semitic-Israe…

Please sign the petition supporting free speech atSouthampton University
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300 PALESTINIAN CHILDREN CAGED IN G4S SECURED, HP POWERED ISRAELI DUNGEONS

FREE THE CHILDREN 

DATE: Thursday 2nd April 2015, 3-5pm
LOCATION: G4S HQ, 105 Victoria Street, London (near Victoria Station)
FACEBOOK EVENT: 

Last year Israel abducted 1266 Palestinian children - that's one child taken from their parents every 7 hours! During interrogation 75% of Palestinian children detained by Israel are physically tortured. 40% of the 600 children that were taken from Jerusalem alone, were sexually abused by Israeli soldiers during arrest or interrogation.  Today around 300 Palestinian children are languishing in Israeli dungeons secured by G4S and powered by Hewlett Packard IT. These include the five Hares Boys who have been tortured and caged by Israel for 2 years for a crime that didn't even happen; and the 15 years old schoolboy Khaled Sheikh abducted from outside his home. Please join us as we demand freedom for the children. Join the protest outside the headquarters of the British security contractor G4S  who secure Israel's notorious torture dens and dungeons where the children are abused and caged.
THE HARES BOYS
On 14th March 2013 a simple car accident, when a illegal Israeli settler car speeding along a road built illegally on stolen Palestinian land, crashed in to the back of an Israeli truck which had stopped to change a flat tire resulting in four people being hurt, was later at the behest of angry settlers presented as an attack by Palestinian stone throwing youth. The truck drivers earlier testimony that he stopped due to a flat tire was replaced with the new reason being that he had seen stones by the road, and an accident that happened after dark that nobody saw suddenly became a terror attack with 61 witnesses including the police!
Over the next few days over 50 masked Israeli soldiers with attack dogs stormed the local village of Hares in the early hours of the morning and in waves of violent arrests kidnapped the children of the village. In total 19 children were taken to the infamous G4S secured children's dungeon at Al Jalame and locked up in solitary confinement for up to 2 weeks in filthy windowless 1m by 2m hole in the ground cells with no mattress. The Israeli prime minister Benyamin Natanyahu announced to the settlers that he had “caught the terrorists”. The children were violently tortured and sexual threats were made against the female members of their families in order to coerce confessions from the boys.
With the confessions and the new “eye-witness” statements, five of the Hares boys were charged with 25 counts of attempted murder each, even though there were only four people in the car. Apparently the military court had decided that 25 stones were thrown, each with an "intent to kill". The five boys have been illegally transferred to Israel, in contravention of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to Megiddo prison where G4S provides the entire central command room. Hewlett Packard provides technical services and central servers that keep Israels  dungeons and torture dens, including Megiddo, operational.
In violation of international law Israel has turned prisons in to money making enterprises with the boys essentially forced to pay for their own imprisonment. Israel deliberately fails to provide Palestinian prisoners the basic essentials - edible food, cloths (underwear, shoes..) and hygiene products (soap, toothbrush..). The boys are forced to buy these at the extortionately priced prison shop costing the families over € 125/month to provide for one child's basic needs in prison.
With no evidence of a crime the military court keeps on postponing the hearing dates from one month to one year to two years, meanwhile the boys remain caged indefinitely and their families facing financial ruin in the process. A court hearing entails the families spending most of their day queuing and enduring the humiliation at the checkpoints where HP provides the biometric systems used to tag Palestinians, then waiting at the court in anticipation of catching a glimpse of their son.. often to be disappointed as hearing are cancelled without notice.
The United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF report on Children in Israeli Military Detention concludes that Israel is the only country in the world where children are systematically tried in military courts that by definition fall short of providing  the necessary guarantees to ensure respect for their rights. The conviction rate in Israeli military courts is an unfathomable 99.74%.
If the five boys are convicted they will be locked up for over 25 years - five young lives ruined with no evidence of a crime let alone their guilt.
G4S provides the security systems, and Hewlett Packard the IT infrastructure, which keep these torture dens operational. Prisoners who have survived these hell holes recall seeing G4S logos on the cameras that witnessed their abuse. These companies are fully complicit in the crimes Israel commits against Palestinian children, and must be held to account.
KHALED SHEIKH

On Christmas day last year Israeli soldiers abducted 15 years old Khaled Sheikh from outside his home in Beit 'Anan in Jerusalem. He has been caged in Israel's notorious G4S secured Ofer prison for over three months now. Israel has denied him any family visits and he has been denied essential medical treatment. Accused of throwing a stone, Israel's military court on 25th February, true to its 99.74% conviction rate, sentenced Khaled to  4 months imprisonment and in addition fined him $500. Khaled suffers from several health issues including anaemia and has been denied his medication since his abduction in December. His family are fearful for his health and are urging activists around the world to intervene to secure the release of their son.

LAND DAY - PALESTINIAN STRUGGLE FOR THEIR LAND

Land Day commemorates the Palestinian struggle for their land in the face of rampant Zionist colonisation and theft of land. In particular it marks the events of 30th March 1976 when Palestinians called for a general strike to resist Yitzhak Rabin's orders to expropriate vast tracts of Palestinian land in the Galilee as part of Israel's openly declared policy to “Judaize” the area. Defense Minister Shimon Peres sent the troops in to break the strike, they killed 6 Palestinian 'citizens' of Israel and wounded hundreds more. Ahmed Khalaila remembers his brother Khader being executed by one shot in the head when he came to the aid of a woman who was shot for simple stepping outside her house.

At our protest we will remember Land Day.

PROTEST TO FREE THE HARES BOYS - OUTSIDE HEWLETT PACKARD LONDON HQ
On 20th March we held a second protest for the second anniversary of the abduction of the Hares Boys, this time outside the London headquarters of Hewlett Packard who provide the IT infrastructure and systems that ensures Israel's torture dens and dungeons stay operational.
Video - Hewlett Packard Complicity in Israeli Torture, 20 Mar 2015
https://youtu.be/EVIFClo9gh8?list=UUL-_3JtDktNRc8JU5CUIXDg
 Video - London Protest to Free The Hares Boys, 20 Mar 2015
Video - Free The Hares Boys - Speech On 2nd Anniv, 20 Mar 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyudeJcT-Ik&list=UUL-_3JtDktNRc8JU5CUIXDg
Video - Hewlett Packard Complicity in Israel's War Crimes, 20 Mar 2015
 LIVE UPDATES DURING PROTEST
 Palestinian Prisoners Campaign
www.inminds.com/caged
fb.com/inmindscom
twitter.com/InmindsCom
youtube.com/user/inminds

 The Palestinian Prisoners Campaign aims to raise awareness for the plight of Palestinian prisoners and build solidarity for their struggle and work towards their freedom. The campaign was launched by Innovative Minds (inminds.com) and the Islamic Human Rights Commission (ihrc.org) on the occasion of Al Quds Day 2012 (on 17th August 2012), since then we have held actions every fortnight in support of Palestinian prisoners, if you can spare two hours twice a month then please join the campaign by coming to the next action.
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Meet the Knesset Members from the Joint List

Netanyahu's Fear Mongering Attack on Palestinians - Rooted in Zionism

Palestinian citizens of Israel - and their political parties - agreed on a most basic principle: there should be equality under law and in practice between them and Israeli-Jews. Everything else, the peace process, the two state solution, could fall to the side. Netanyahu's demographic fear-mongering is rooted in the foundation of the Zionist project in Palestine and demographic engineering to ensure political power remains in the hands of one ethno-religious group.

Allison Deger; Yousef Munayyer
March 21, 2015

Meet the Knesset Members from the Joint List

By Allison Deger
March 21, 2015
Mondoweiss
Something has changed inside Israel for its Palestinian citizens. The hard data is revealing: voter turnout jumped by ten-percent from the last election and in the Joint Arab List's party leader's home district it was nearly an unheard of 80-percent. Civic engagement is happening, but that is not the only turn. The joint list is full of fresh faces with seven first time Knesset members, and two women, five communists, two national democrats, two Islamists, one Christian and one Israeli-Jew.

Party leader Ayman Odeh, 40, embodies most the directional shift inside of the bloc. He uses a civil rights framework, noted for quoting Martin Luther King Jr. while campaigning, telling voters he sees the party as a vehicle to mobilize mass non-violent civil disobedience. In Haifa days before the election Odeh said he wanted to organize an equal rights march of thousands of Palestinian citizens of Israel and Jewish-Israelis in one year's time.
Ayman Odeh, head of the Joint Arab List, at campaign headquarters in Nazareth, Israel. (Photo: Allison Deger) - See more at: http://mondoweiss.net/2015/03/jerusalem-netanyahu-forms#sthash.ZJoVFu7i.dpuf
For supporters, this isn't fluff. Odeh's emphasis on partnership-not just coexistence with Jewish-Israelis-is widely endorsed. He has a long history in politics. He held his first position in public office in Haifa's city council at the age of 23 as a member of Israel's Jewish-Arab communist party, Hadash. There he fought for student tax breaks and quickly rose up the political ranks to become Hadash's chairman while still in his 30s.

At first glance the Joint Arab List is a band of four parties that were coerced to run on a single ticket after the Israeli election threshold was increased, an obstacle propelled by right-wing groups. The perception was hardliners wanted Arab parties out of Knesset. The way they could achieve this was to force an ultimatum: Arab political groups, and one mixed party, would have to unite in a country where political divisions can be lethal to a faction's survival.
Israeli Arab political leaders (front row from L to R) Aida Tuma, Masud Ghanayem, Ayman Odeh, Ahmad Tibi, Jamal Zahalka pose for a photo holding placards bearing text in Arabic meaning ‘Go to vote for the Joint List, for a new tomorrow on March 17′ in Nazareth, Feb. 24, 2015. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images)
The candidates could have kept their old political divides alive, running on two lists instead of one, and still made it into Knesset. The primary discords are between the Islamist and communist, the two largest factions inside of the bloc. They differ in areas of labor and women's rights. Do you support the separation of religion and state, the secular parties asked the Islamic group during a six-week period where they hashed out their disagreements? It was a genuine coming to terms. "Yes," they said, "Because we don't want to live in a Jewish state," relayed Knesset-elect and first time politician Aida Touma-Suleiman while still on the campaign trail at an event in Tel Aviv in early March. Touma-Suleiman is a celebrated feminist. Though she has been a member of the communist party for over two decades, this will be her first time in public office.
An Israeli Arab walks past a campaign poster showing Israeli-Arab candidates who are members of a Joint List of Arab parties (from L to R), Ahmad Tibi, Jamal Zahalka, Masud Ghanayem and Ayman Odeh, March 8, 2015. (photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images)

By sitting together, over and over, to build a united front, Arab parties made pivotal decisions in the lead up to announcing their candidates. Foremost they realized as Palestinian citizens of Israel they all agree on one most basic principle: there should be equality under law and in practice between them and Israeli-Jews. Everything else, the peace process, the two state solution, polygamy could fall to the side. Their constituents see the internal resolutions and divisions as a new way forward, where diversity remains intact while pursuing equal rights with the power of Israel's newly-minted third largest political party.

Meet the next Knesset members from the Joint Arab List:

Ayman Odeh (1) - Hadash
Many supporters have said Odeh represents "a new way forward" for Arab parties in Israel. He is deeply influenced by Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights struggle in the U.S., along with his upbringing in a mixed Jewish-Arab community. Odeh believes in securing the rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel by working with Jewish-Israeli partners. In this election season he became well known amongst Israelis after a televised debate with Avigdor Liberman who said Odeh should not be allowed to speak in Israel, and should go to the West Bank.

Masud Ghnaim (2) - United Arab List
Ghnaim is a current Knesset member from an Islamic party and a teacher by profession. He has a degree in middle eastern history from the University of Haifa. He previously served on the city council of his home town Sakhnin, in northern Israel.

Dr. Jamal Zahalka (3) - Balad
Zahalka is has been a member of Knesset since 2003. He is the leader of the national democratic party, Balad. He assumed the chariman position after former head Azmi Bishara went into exile.

Dr. Ahmed Tibi (4) - Ta'al
Out of all of the joint list's Knesset members, Tibi has the longest history inside of Israel's parliament. He has served since 1999 and is the co-founder of Ta'al and Islamic party. He is a vocal advocate for the Palestinian right of return for refugees. Before entering politics Tibi was a gynecologist.

Aida Touma- Suleiman (5) - Hadash
Touma-Suleiman has been a member of Hadash for decades and this will be her first time in public office. She is the founder of the feminist organization Women Against Violence and is the editor-in-chief of al-Ittihad, an Arabic daily newspaper published in Israel.

Abd al-Hakim Hajj Yahya (6) - United Arab List
Hajj Yahya is an engineer by training and this will be his first time as a member of Knesset.

Haneen Zoabi (7) - Balad
Zoabi is perhaps the most well-known Palestinian citizen of Israel serving in Knesset. She has held this position since 2009 and during her term in public service she has been attacked while speaking on the Knesset floor, and holds the title of the Knesset member with the longest suspension from office in Israel's history. During election season, she was physically assaulted while speaking at a debate, along with a Jewish-Israeli spokesperson for the Joint List. Prior to entering politics Zoabi was a journalist.

Dov Khenin (8) - Hadash
Khenin is the Joint Arab List's only Jewish-Israeli member to be elected into Knesset. He is a veteran member of Knesset, serving since 2006. Khenin is a political scientist with a PhD from Hebrew University.

Taleb Abu Arar (9) - United Arab List
Abu Arar is a prominent Bedouin politician and attorney. He first entered Knesset in 2013. Before, Abu Arar was the head of a local council in the Negev.

Dr. Yousef Jabarin (10) - Hadash
Jabarin is from Umm el-Fahm, a village in northern Israel that is regarded as a political stronghold for Palestinian citizens of Israel. He hold a PhD in law with a specialty in human rights. This will be his first term in Knesset.

Dr. Basel Ghattas (11) - Balad
Ghattas is a seasoned political figure. He co-founded the Balad party with his cousin Azmi Bishara in 1995, although he did not enter Knesset until 2013. He holds a PhD in engineering from Technion, and is of a Christian background.

Osama Saadi (12) - Ta'al
Saadi is a human rights lawyer known for working on issues relating to Palestinian prisoners. This will be his first term in Knesset.

Abdullah Abu Marouf (13) - Hadash
Abu Marouf is the only Druze member of Joint Arab List to enter Knesset. He is the founder of the Druze Initiative Committee and works with Physicians for Human Rights, as he is also a urologist.
[Allison Deger is the Assistant Editor of Mondoweiss. Follow her on twitter at @allissoncd.]

What It Feels Like to Be a `Demographic Threat' to Israel
Benjamin Netanyahu's attack on Arab voters was not just an electioneering tactic. Such fear-mongering is rooted in the foundation of the Zionist project in Palestine.
By Yousef Munayyer
March 20, 2015
The Nation


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