• Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • Comment Rules

Tikun Olam תיקון עולם

Promoting Israeli democracy, exposing secrets of the national security state

You are here: Home / Mideast Peace / Israel and Palestine: Free the Prisoners

Israel and Palestine: Free the Prisoners

January 3, 2011 By Richard Silverstein 13 Comments

Share
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

they await their freedom
Thanks to Michael Levin for creating this wonderful poster which illustrates the hypocrisy or at at least obliviousness of those campaigning for Gilad Shalit‘s release who neglect the fact that there are 7,000 Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli prisons as well. They all await their freedom.  Please do your very best to circulate this image around the web and send it to your friends via e mail and social networking.  I hope it can become as visible on the web as posters about Gilad Shalit circulated by his own Israeli supporters.

Among the newer additions to our The Await Their Freedom project is Abdullah Abu Rachmeh, a non-violent campaigner from Bilin, who organized the anti-Wall demonstrations there.  An Israeli Kangaroo judge recently extended his jail sentence at the behest of the military prosecutor for no other reason than Israel finds the Bilin protests a nasty thorn in its side.  This week a relative of Abdullah’s, Jawaher Abu Rachmeh, was murdered by IDF tear gas at a similar demonstration.  Alas, she cannot even be part of our our campaign to free the prisoners because she never even made it to an Israeli prison.  She was a victim of CS gas, one of the most lethal tear gas formulations that exists.  It smothered her and caused her death, which the IDF is now shamefully trying to blame on an imagined case of asthma.

I regret to say that during the time we were creating this poster Prisoner X went from an incommunicado detainee held in Ayalon Prison to a murdered one.

It is time for Israel to free its prisoners and time for the Palestinians to release theirs.  It’s also long past time to resolve this entire conflict with compromise on both sides that are just and fair.

Related

Filed Under: Mideast Peace Tagged With: bilin, gilad-shalit, Israel Defense Forces, palestine

Comments

  1. uncle joe mccarthy says

    January 3, 2011 at 6:52 PM

    when gilad gets a trial and is allowed to see an atty and/or his family and/or a red cross rep, then a comparison can be made…until then….

    and as for the “murder” victim….the events leading to her death are not so clear

    link to jpost.com

    there has yet to be one photograph or vid that shows her at the protest, or being injured.

    Reply
    • Richard Silverstein says

      January 3, 2011 at 8:39 PM

      when gilad gets a trial and is allowed to see an atty and/or his family and/or a red cross rep

      Nonsense. Israel holds many, many more prisoners than the Palestinians do & treats them all universally shabbily & not acc. to international standards. It’s held numerous prisoners w/o trial for yrs. Israeli Palestinian CITIZENS uniformly are tortured, denied counsel & contact w. family. This is precisely what happened to Ameer Makhoul & Omar Said & countless others. And these are citizen of the friggin’ country. You’re pathetic as usual.

      Oh pls. you link to Jerusalem Post, mouthpiece of the IDF & intelligence services & expect anything written there to be taken seriously…

      Now, you’re claiming she wasn’t even at the protest & was felled by some mystery. I’ve had it w. you. I moderated you a long time ago for comment rule violations. I’ve warned you countless times since then that you were on the verge. I didn’t take any action because I thought it was important to let such a naysayer as you continue to have access to these threads. But now, you’ve simply gone over the edge. A woman died & you claim she wasn’t killed in the way every person who was there or read the stories about the incident KNOWS she was killed. You offend decency, you offend common sense. Be gone.

      Someone may want to play Taps or say Kaddish for poor Ol’ Uncle Joe. RIP.

      Reply
      • TheAZCowBoy says

        January 3, 2011 at 9:41 PM

        Gilad’s Howitzer position massacred a family of 7 Palestinians picniking on the Gaza beaches in 2006. Why should he be released unscath?

        Reply
        • Richard Silverstein says

          January 4, 2011 at 1:48 AM

          I don’t believe this is true & would like to see any evidence you have for this. As far as I heard he was manning a watchtower.

          Reply
        • duck says

          January 4, 2011 at 8:30 AM

          For the same reason palestinian terrorists should be released. Sometimes justice takes second place to peace.

          Reply
    • Kalea says

      January 3, 2011 at 9:05 PM

      Jawaher Abu Rahmah never got to see the New Year. She never got to see a free Palestine. Her brother was killed by a tear-gas canister projectile shot to his chest.

      This brave woman, who dared to demand her rights peacefully after the death of her brother and unjust imprisonment of two other relatives whose only crimes were also peaceful protest, now lies in a grave next to her brother and you have the audacity to post this offensive, callous garbage.

      Good riddance and bravo, Richard!

      Reply
  2. Kalea says

    January 3, 2011 at 8:45 PM

    I will definitely circulate this image. I’ve seen the spelling of the imprisoned political activist’s name spelled this way: Abdallah Abu Rahmah, are you certain of the spelling of his name?

    Actually, this article is very significant because aside from the death/murder of Prisoner X and the inhumane, barbaric solitary confinement (amongst other treatment) he was subjected to for so long without recourse, visitation, nothing; other prisoners have also died in Israel’s prison system from dubious causes.

    Perhaps, this is part of the reason:

    “the isolation wings at the Ayalon and Shikma prisons are not fit for human habitation and “look more like a dungeon,” while most solitary cells in prisons across the country are “crammed, rancid with smells of sewer and mold, and infested with insects.””

    “”Many isolated inmates testified to have developed paranoia, a tendency for uncontrollable fits of rage, and eyesight problems because of the lack of natural light through most hours of the day,” the lawyers wrote.”

    link to haaretz.com

    Reply
    • Deïr Yassin says

      January 4, 2011 at 7:16 AM

      Rahmah, Rahmeh or even Rahma is correct. There is no “e” in Arabic, but the “a” is pronounced more or less “e”-like according to the surrounding consonants. There is a final “h” which is often not transcribed in European languages, as they don’t pronounce it. “Rachmah” is NOT correct, the ‘ch’ is a Hebrew manner of transcribing the Arabic strong “h”, and would be pronounced either as the “shin” (‘s’ with three dots’) either as the “kha” (‘h’ with a dot above).
      Abdallah Abu Rahmah is the most correct.

      Reply
      • Sh irin says

        January 5, 2011 at 10:10 PM

        Is there a ha at the end of Rahma? If not, I would not consider it correct to transliterate it as Rahmah, but as Rahma, or Rahme,

        Reply
        • Richard Silverstein says

          January 5, 2011 at 10:26 PM

          I’ve been told the family uses “Rahme.”

          Reply
  3. mary says

    January 3, 2011 at 9:12 PM

    There are various spellings of the name. Abu Rahmah, Abu Rahmeh, Abur Rahme are only some of them, mostly because spelling of Arabic names into English is done phonetically.

    Bassem Abu Rahmeh was killed in 2009 by a tear gas projectile which hit him in the chest so hard that it caused massive bleeding and stopped his heart. He led the weekly demonstrations in Bilin. He is Jawahar’s brother.

    I have heard that a new kind of tear gas was being “tested” on the people at the Bilin demonstration.

    Reply
    • Deïr Yassin says

      January 4, 2011 at 7:31 AM

      Sorry, Mary, I didn’t see your post before responding. Welcome back 🙂

      Reply
  4. John Yorke says

    January 4, 2011 at 12:24 AM

    To call for prisoner release is one thing. To actually get it is another.

    If all those 7000+ Palestinians were close copies of Abdullah Abu Rachmeh, then the faint possibility of them being freed in the near future might be a tenable position to hold. However, as things stand, the likelihood of that happening must be about as close to zero as it gets.

    Even if such a sudden change of policy were contemplated, what guarantee would there be that the future would not simply become a repetition of the past, just another futile replay of all that has gone before?
    No advancement, no improvement in a situation where all previous attempts to correct its course and modify its behaviour have collapsed in failure.

    Unless a society can adapt to new ideas and see potential in different points of view, it must perish, much as have so many examples in the past.

    Adaptation, change, renewal. Never the easiest of tasks at the best of times. And at the worst, always the most difficult of positions to take.

    We have all been circling this problem for far too long. Surely the time has come to go in for the kill, Or have we grown to love it so much that we cannot bring ourselves to end its spell, this strange fascination it has for so many of us?

    “And all men man kill the thing they love, By each let this be heard, Some do it with a bitter look, Some with a flattering word. The coward does it with a kiss, The brave man with a sword!” (Oscar Wilde: The Ballad of Reading Gaol)

    My own personal preference is for the pen. But, either way, the thing has got to be done and in whatever fashion can be best applied.

    Reply

Join the Tikun Olam community--leave a comment. By commenting, you affirm you have read and will respect the comment rules. Cancel reply

  • Bibi Netanyahu (Steve Bell)
  • Neyestani: Leaders to war, followers to peace
  • neyestani bibi-ahmadinejad
    Neyestani: Lower life forms of Middle East
  • Neyestani: Netanyahu in Gaza
  • Gee's Bend African-American quilt
  • Gee's Bend quilt
  • Gee's Bend quilt
  • Gee's Bend quilt, Ana Mae Young
  • Palestinian Refugee, 1948
  • Nakba: grandaughter and grandfather
  • historical Jerusalem map
  • Neve Shalom, Dove of Peace
  • Jerusalem Hope, Palestine Poster Collection
  • Offering Reconciliation, Parent's Circle exhibition
  • Mohammed Said Kalash bowl, Offering Reconciliation, Parent's Circle
  • Tsilya Aguf, Ukraine 1930s (Centropa)
  • Shushan Machzor (New York Public Library)
  • Haggadah, 14th century
  • Sarajevo Haggadah
  • Sarajevo Haggadah, Mah Nishtanah
  • Ketubah, Iran
  • Israel-Palestine Dove (Avi Katz)
  • Pinchas and Jamila (Avi Katz)
  • Bibi Netanyahu (Vanity Fair)
  • Naftali Bennett, Lebanon war criminal
  • Sabra Hulk (Mysh )
  • Adelson with Israeli Tembel ( Mysh)
  • A Problem of Self Image (Mysh )
  • Kol Isha 'Two Birds'
  • "Promises," Israeli & Palestinian Boy
  • menachem froman
    Rabbi Menachem Froman z"l (Rina Castelnuovo)
  • Rabbi Menachem Froman & Imam
  • Great Day on Eldrige Street, Klezmer musicians
  • Eldridge Street Shul
  • Yale Strom, Klezmer-Eldridge Street shul
  • Brundibar set, Maurice Sendak
  • Besa Albanian-Muslim Righteous Gentile (Norman Gershman)
  • Daniel Barenboim, West-Eastern Diwan Orchestra
  • Hebron Palestinian in IDF gunsight (Breaking the Silence)
  • Banksy revolutionary flower thrower
  • delegitimize occupation
    Delegitimize Occupation (Michael Levin-Richard Silverstein)
  • Archipelago of Palestine
  • Bedouin: I am Invisible
  • East Jerusalem shouk
  • dolls of palestine
    YWCA Dolls of Palestine
  • Fabric of Our Lives, YWCA of Palestine
  • Fabric of Our Lives Project, YWCA of Palesstine
  • Palestine
  • Palestinian embroidery, Bethlehem
  • palestinian quilt
    Palestinian child's quilt
  • Palestinian embroidery
  • Bethelehem embroidery
    Palestinian embroidery, Bethlehem
  • Balian Armenian ceramics, Olive Tree
  • Marie Balian, Armenian ceramics
  • Jerusalem pottery, 1972
  • Balian ceramics, East Jerusalem
  • Balian ceramics, East Jerusalem
  • Mosque ceiling, Iran
  • Mosque ceiling, Iran
  • Mosque ceiling, Qom Iran
  • Vakil mosque, Shiraz
  • Nasir al Mulik Pink mosque
  • Seyyed Mosque, Isfahan
  • Mosque ceiling, Iran
  • Aliqapu Palace, Isfahan (photo: M. Ganji)
  • Sheikh Lutfollah Mosque, Isfahan
  • Vank Cathedral, Isfahan (photo: M. Ganji)
  • Golestan Palace, Tehran (photo: M. Ganji)
  • Nasir al-Mulk Mosque, Shiraz (photo: M. Ganji)
  • Tabātabāei House, Kashan (photo: M. Ganji)
  • Borujerdi Kouse, Kashan (photo: M. Ganji)
  • Chehel Sotoun Palace, Isfahan (photo: M. Ganji)
  • Timche-Ye Amin Od-Dowleh, Kashan (photo: M. Ganji)
  • 12th century quran
    12th century Qur'an (Iraq)
  • Bellevue skyline with Cascades
  • Pacific Crest Trail near Stevens Pass
  • Washington Park Arboretum, fall 2015
  • Rose, Honorine de Brabant
  • Sunflower
  • Abraham and Akeda
  • Pincus and the Pig: a Klezmer Tale
  • Abuyudaya: proto-Jews of Uganda
  • Im Tirzu: a Fascist Movement
  • Marcy Silverstein and semi-pro baseball team circa 1920
  • Elijah's Cup by Szyk
  • Pete Seeger & Bruce Springsteen, 'This Land is Your Land' (Justin Sullivan-Getty)
  • Leonard Baskin: Ruth and Naomi, "Five Scrolls"
  • Ben Shahn, "You Have Not Converted a Man"
  • Study for Goyescas, Ben Shahn
  • Ben Shahn Allegory
    Allegory, Ben Shahn
  • Ben Shahn's Ecclesiastes
  • Ben Shahn, The Phoenix
  • Ben Shahn Warsaw 1943, "These I Remember"
  • Ben Shahn exhibition poster
  • Ben Shahn's Haggadah
  • chagall hadassah window
    Chagall Hadassah chapel window
  • Shavuot papercut, Poland
  • Hamsa with Star of David
  • Beatrice Wood: vase gourd

Tax Deductible Donations

Support Tikun Olam via Paypal

Follow Tikun Olam

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Twitter

Recent Posts

  • Starbucks Hires Lily-White ADL for Racial Sensitivity Training
  • Trump and the “Breeders”
  • Bolton Plans Sunni Crusade in Syria
  • Canadian Press Advocacy Group Denounces Israel’s Attacks on Journalists in Gaza, Then Renounces Statement Under Pressure
  • Lieberman Lies

Categories

Archives

Pages

  • Photo Gallery
  • Terms of Use

Publications (author page)

  • Middle East Eye
  • New Arab
  • Comment is Free
  • Mint Press News
  • Truthout
  • Seattle Times

Mideast Peace

  • Negev Co-Existence Forum
  • Open Hillel
  • Free Haifa
  • If Not Now
  • Human Rights Defenders
  • Extend
  • Middle East Eye
  • Palestine Center for Digital Media
  • Penjihad's Blog
  • HaOkets העוקץ

Progressive Blogs

  • Jews on First
  • Transatlantikblog
  • Global Voices
  • Challenging Christian Zionism

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org

Terms of Use | Genesis Framework