Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Oct. 23 statement from the Arab American Action Network. We urge all our readers to participate in the national call in day.

Statement from the Arab American Action Network

The Arab American Action Network (AAAN) condemns the politically-motivated arrest and indictment of Rasmea Yousef Odeh, our beloved Associate Director. The sixty-five year old was arrested at her home yesterday by agents from the Department of Homeland Security, alleging an immigration violation on a 20-year-old application. Rasmea, who has made it her life's work to serve and help empower Palestinian and Arab families, is the victim of another witch-hunt by our federal law enforcement agencies, which continue to violate the civil rights of Arabs and Muslims with impunity, particularly those who are critical of U.S. support for Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people.

Rasmea is a leading member of Chicago's Arab and Muslim communities, and her decade of service here has changed the lives of thousands of people, particularly disenfranchised Arab women and their families. She has been with the AAAN since 2004, and as Associate Director, is responsible for the management of day-to-day operations and the coordination of our Arab Women's Committee, which has a membership of close to 600 and leads our work in the areas of defending civil liberties and immigrant rights. She is a mentor to hundreds of immigrant women, as well as many members of our staff and board, and is a well-known and respected organizer throughout Chicagoland, the U.S., and the world.

Earlier this year, Rasmea received the “Outstanding Community Leader Award” from the Chicago Cultural Alliance, which described her as a woman who has “dedicated over 40 years of her life to the empowerment of Arab women, first in her homes of Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon, where she was an activist and practicing attorney, and then the past 10 years in Chicago.”

Rasmea is a community icon who recently completed a Master's degree in Criminal Justice from Governors State University. She overcame vicious torture by Israeli authorities while imprisoned in Palestine in the 70s, and is a proud reminder of the millions of Palestinians who have not given up organizing for their rights of liberation, equality, and return.

It is appalling that our government is now attempting to imprison her once again. We condemn this attack on our friend and colleague Rasmea, as well as the broader pattern of persecuting Arabs and Muslims who are outstanding and outspoken leaders in their communities in the U.S.

We ask all of our supporters to call Barbara McQuade, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit, at 313.226.9501 or 313.226.9100, on Friday, October 25th, from 8 AM to 4 PM CST, to demand that she Drop the Charges Now!

We will also be mobilizing to support Rasmea at her next hearing in Detroit on November 1st. Details coming soon.

And for more information, email the Coalition to Protect People's Rights at cppr@aaan.org

#ChicagoIL #Palestine #ArabAmericanActionNetwork #PoliticalRepression #AAAN #JusticeForPalestine #RasmeaOdeh

Milwaukee, WI – Palestine solidarity activists rallied against Israeli settlement construction in response to an awards banquet held by the Jewish National Fund Aug. 28. The annual awards banquet celebrated local bankrollers of the Israeli occupation for “their support in reclaiming the land to help secure the State of Israel.”

The Milwaukee Palestine Solidarity Coalition released a statement in opposition to the banquet and the 1200 new illegal settlement homes recently announced by Israel, saying, “settlements are the #1 roadblock to peace.”

During the rally, some members of the coalition presented a proposal to a local business asking them to endorse the global movement to boycott, divest and sanction apartheid Israel. The coalition has had multiple victories over the summer as local businesses sign on to the boycott of Israeli products, as well as the cultural and academic boycott.

“We can't wait for the politicians to stop funding Israeli occupation. We need to start in our communities by encouraging our friends, organizations and local businesses to stand in solidarity with Palestinians by withdrawing their financial support for the occupation. We also have to confront the local supporters of apartheid, occupation and illegal settlements,” said coalition member Jacob Flom.

#Milwaukee #MilwaukeeWI #Occupation #Palestine #Israel #JusticeForPalestine #IsraeliSettlements #MiddleEast

Minneapolis, MN – On Sept. 19, activists with the Minnesota Coalition for Palestinian Rights will return to the downtown Minneapolis Target store, urging shoppers not to buy products from SodaStream. This will follow a successful Aug. 15 mobilization, where 30 people held signs, chanted and passed out informational flyers to hundreds of pedestrians.

Sold at Minnesota-based Target stores, SodaStream is a company that manufactures home carbonation systems at a plant in the largest Israeli Jewish settlement on the West Bank. The construction of hundreds of settlements in the West Bank has been condemned by numerous human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, for violating international law and Palestinian human rights.

“We met with a positive response from the hundreds of people walking on Nicollet Mall at rush hour,” said Meredith Aby of the Anti-War Committee. “Minnesotans don’t support a company that makes its profits from stolen Palestinian land and the system of Israeli apartheid.”

The Minnesota campaign opened a few months ago with a letter initiated by Jewish Voices for Peace, which called on Target to discontinue sales of SodaStream products because the company is in violation of international law and in violation of Target’s ethical standards and Social Compliance Program.

This is effort is part of an international campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it complies with international law and Palestinian rights. A truly global movement against Israeli Apartheid is rapidly emerging.

#Minneapolis #MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Occupation #Palestine #MinneapolisAntiwarMovement #Apartheid #SodaStream #AntiIsraeliApartheid #JusticeForPalestine #MiddleEast