inian human rights defenders
are being threatened and attacked!
This past month there has been an
uptick in threats of death and
violence against those in Israel and
Palestine who dare to speak out and
act in support of Palestinian human
rights. This kind of incitement,
left unchecked, can lead to actual
physical harm.
On
March 28th, Israeli Transportation
and Intelligence Minister Yisrael
Katz’s called for "targeted
civil eliminations" of
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
(BDS) leaders, specifically
mentioning Boycott National
Committee founder and leader Omar
Barghouti by name. This comes
against a backdrop of numerous
threats and attacks including:
Israeli government and
right-wing settler incitement has
been building for a while and
unfortunately we know that these are
not empty threats. In May
2015, ultra-nationalist extreme
right-wing politician Ayelet Shaked,
who in 2014 called for a
war on the entire Palestinian
population “including
its elderly and women,” was
appointed as Israel’s Justice
Minister. In July 2015, settlers
firebombed the two homes in the West
Bank village of Duma
killing 18-month old Ali Dawabsheh
and both of his parents, leaving his
5-year old Amad Dawabsheh who
survived the attack, an orphan. A
few weeks ago, in March 2016, the
house of a
key witness in the Duma case
was set ablaze in an arson attack.
Israel
is the top recipient of US military
assistance - receiving 3.1 billion
dollars annually. This aid package,
set to expire in 2017, is currently
being renegotiated and the Obama
administration is offering $40
billion dollars over the next ten
years. Now more than ever it is
necessary and urgent for the State
Department to take a clear stand to
protect the safety of Palestinian
human rights defenders in accordance
with the United
Nations Declaration of Human Rights
Defenders.
Together we can help bring about a
just world of peace and equal rights
for all.
In solidarity,
Alli, Ariel, Nancy K.,
and the entire CODEPINK team
Protect
Palestinian human rights defenders -
To: Secretary of State John Kerry
CC: Mr. Tom Malinowski, Assistant
Secretary
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights,
and Labor
US Department of State
Ambassador Anne W. Patterson,
Assistant Secretary
Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
US Department of State
Dear Secretary Kerry,
We call on the US State Department
to make a public statement upholding
the rights of peaceful Palestinian
and Israeli human rights defenders
in accordance with the United
Nations Declaration of Human Rights
Defenders. Recent threats against
Palestinian and Israeli human rights
defenders have included such things
as:
•Israeli Transportation and
Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz’s
calling for "targeted civil
eliminations"of Boycott, Divestment
and Sanctions (BDS) leaders,
specifically mentioning by name
Boycott National Committee member
Omar Barghouti.
•Death threats against the
Palestinian activist Emad
abu-Shamsiyah,who filmed the March
2016 extrajudicial killing of a
wounded Palestinian suspect Abed
al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif.
•Ongoing attempts to shut down
Breaking the Silence, an
organization for Israeli veterans
that publishes testimonies of
Israeli soldiers who have witnessed
war crimes.
•Ongoing death threats, unwarranted
arrests, and attempts to shut down
the work of Hebron-based Palestinian
nonviolent activist Issa Amro.
These are not empty threats: there
was an arson attack on the home of a
key Palestinian witness in last
year's Duma arson attack case, which
killed a Palestinian mother and
father and their 18-month old son.
The safety of witnesses,
whistleblowers, and nonviolent
activists must be protected, as well
as the right to freedom of
expression and peaceful protest.
Because Israel is the top recipient
of US military assistance–– $3.1
billion dollars annually approved by
the State Department–– it is
incumbent upon the State Department
to closely monitor and respond to
the human rights situation in
Israel/Palestine.
To this aim we call on the US State
Department to make clear to its
counterparts in Israel, in a written
public statement, that the Obama
Administration expects the Israeli
government to preserve the safety
and uphold the rights of Palestinian
and Israeli human rights defenders.
Incitement to violence against human
rights defenders must not be
countenanced, whether coming from
Israeli government officials or
lawless right-wing settlers.
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