The hunger strike began on April 17, when prisoners began refusing food to demand basic human rights, such as: proper medical treatment, allowing family visits, access to higher education, an end to administrative detainments, ending solitary confinement and stopping imprisonment without charges or a trial.

As news of the prisoners on hunger strike began to circulate, supporters joined the hunger strike. For example, on May 6, Leila Khaled, the icon of the Palestinian resistance and a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), announced in Aman, Jordan, that she was beginning an open-ended hunger strike in support of the striking prisoners. With the participation of supporters around the world, the estimated number of participants has swelled up to 2000.

Israeli forces have attempted to shut down the hunger strike. They first circulated a video of Marwan Barghouti, a hunger strike leader allegedly eating a handful of cookies. This video doesn’t have a date stamp to confirm when it was taken. Occupation forces have also violently shut down protests in support of the prisoners and two Palestinians have been killed in the process. The transfers of weakened hunger strikers to field hospitals is done through an arduous process meant to put strain on tired bodies. Finally, Israeli settlers have been holding barbecues in front of prison windows in the hope that the aroma of cooking food will weaken their resolve.

But they haven’t broken. The Battle for Dignity now enters its second month with the numbers of prisoners going on striking growing larger.

In the U.S., it is vital that every progressive person stands in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners by publicizing their struggle and protesting Israel’s occupation of Palestine. We have a duty to oppose U.S. support for Israel.

The battle being courageously waged by Palestinians is part and parcel of the fight for the liberation of Palestine. These prisoners are risking their lives for the emancipation of their nation and to end the colonization by Israel. The Battle for Dignity is paramount in the struggle against imperialism and Zionism, and the struggle to free all historic Palestine – from the river to the sea.

We must continue to stand in solidarity with all Palestinian prisoners, abroad or here in the U.S., and we will not rest until Palestine is free.

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #Palestine #PeoplesStruggles #HungerStrike #BattleForDignity #MiddleEast

The World Federation of Trade Unions, representing 92 million workers in the 5 continents, expresses its indignation for the vulgar, unethical campaign of “Pizza Hut” against the Palestinian Hunger Strikers.

The new advertising slogan of the Pizza Hut is “Barghouti, if you break the hunger strike, why not pizza?” addressing to the Marwan Barghouti who started hunger strike with others 1600 prisoners more that 3 weeks ago. The strikers demand the respect for the humans’ rights of the prisoners and the whole Palestinian people.

The inhuman advertising campaign is indicative of the morals of the bourgeoisie and the predatory nature of monopolies that violate every human value and right to maximize their profits. The mocking of the strikers for advertising reasons is absolutely unacceptable. This is not an isolate incident. During the 3 weeks of the strike a lot of immoral incidents took place, such as roasting meat outside the prison by far right groups.

The apology of the company spokesman is just a hypocritical statement which only shows that the marketing department of the company considers the campaign as failed and with negative impact on their profit goals.

The World Federation of Trade Unions and the international class oriented trade union movement stand on the side of the heroic Palestinian people and prisoners, express their solidarity and support to their fair struggle.

The Secretariat

#Palestine #HungerStrike #WorldFederationOfTradeUnionsWFTU #WFTU

The prisoners say they will not eat and will also not work unless the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) agrees to negotiate honestly about their demands. Their five demands are:

-- End Group Punishment & Administrative Abuse -- Abolish the Debriefing Policy, and Modify Active/Inactive Gang Status Criteria -- Comply with the US Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons 2006 Recommendations Regarding an End to Long-Term Solitary Confinement -- Provide Adequate and Nutritious Food -- Expand and Provide Constructive Programming and Privileges for Indefinite SHU Status Inmates.

California prisoners engaged in two three-week hunger strikes in 2011 based on the five demands. There were 12,000 prisoners in at least a third of California’s 33 prisons who participated in the 2011 hunger strikes. In the face of the protests, the authorities had agreed to make some changes, but two years later those changes haven’t been implemented and some conditions have worsened.

The prisoners’ action has its roots in the Pelican Bay Security Housing Unit (SHU) prison. The SHU is a supermax prison designed to isolate that prisoners who authorities feel they can’t control, including politically conscious prisoners. They are away from the general population in total isolation, in conditions widely acknowledged to be torture. Prisoners can get sent to the SHU indefinitely. Similar conditions exist in the Administrative Segregation units of California’s other prisons. The California prison system currently holds nearly 12,000 prisoners in solitary confinement units, with dozens having spent more than 20 years each in isolation.

Those 12,000 imprisoned people spend 23 of 24 hours living in a concrete cell smaller than a large bathroom. The cells have no windows, no access to fresh air or sunlight. People in solitary confinement exercise an hour a day in a cage the size of a dog run. They are not allowed to make any phone calls to their loved ones. They cannot touch family members, who often travel days for a 90 minute visit; their conversation and their mail is monitored by prison guards. They are not allowed to talk to other imprisoned people. They are denied all educational programs and their reading materials are censored. UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan Mendez, stated that any time over 15 days in solitary confinement constitutes torture. Yet many people in California state prisons have been caged in solitary for 10 to 40 years.

The prisoners have called on people on the outside to support their struggle and amplify their voices. See a video about the hunger strike: and follow the hunger strike solidarity website for developments: http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/

#LosAngelesCA #torture #HungerStrike #PelicanBay #supermax #SHU

Gainesville, FL – On March 21, Palestine solidarity activists came together on the University of Florida campus to protest inhumane Israeli prison conditions and the mistreatment of political prisoner Samer Issawi. In the middle of a 24-hour solidarity hunger strike, students sat in the center of Turlington plaza with blindfolds over their eyes and duct tape over their mouths.

“We are here in solidarity with Palestinian prisoner Samer Issawi to demand an end to his unjust confinement in Israeli prison,” stated Farah Khan, an organizer with the University of Florida chapter of Students for a Democratic Society and UF Students for Justice in Palestine. Palestinian prisoner Samer Issawi has been on a protracted hunger strike. Two weeks ago, he began refusing water.

Rami Okasha, vice president of UF Students for Justice in Palestine noted, “Samer Issawi is not just protesting his own treatment. Both his brother and his sister have been detained before. He, like other strikers past and present, is on hunger strike for all Palestinian political prisoners. Rather than people – especially here in the United States – criticizing Palestinians for violence, while ignoring Israel’s acts of aggression, they should start recognizing these extreme acts of non-violence and courage.”

In violation of international law, Issawi has experienced psychological torture and up to 22 hours per day of interrogation. He has also been denied a lawyer for many days at a time. No evidence has come to light justifying Issawi’s imprisonment. Evidence of abuse and torture, however, can be seen from the bruises on his body.

Students for a Democratic Society organizer Conor Munro stated, “Political prisoners like Samer Issawi are making huge sacrifices for the Palestinian cause. We need to stand in solidarity with them and with those targeted by repression in our own country.”

As of March 21, Samer Issawi remains in confinement under Israeli jurisdiction.

The UF chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine organized this action as one of many during their “Palestine Solidarity Month.” For more information about UF SJP, please visit their facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/UF-SJP/492026674165807?fref=ts

#GainesvilleFL #Palestine #PoliticalPrisoners #HungerStrike #IsraeliOccupation #SamerIssawi

St. Paul, MN – On March 1, people of conscience gathered here during rush hour at a busy Saint Paul intersection, to show solidarity with hunger striking Palestinian political prisoners and to demand justice for Arafat Jaradat, who died Feb. 23 as a result of being tortured by Israeli security. Many passing cars honked in support of the protest.

Over 4000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails launched hunger-strike action on Feb.24 to protest the death of 30-year old Arafat Jaradat. He was detained for throwing stones at an Israeli soldier. While detained, he was tortured to death, sustaining six broken bones in his spine, arms and legs; his lips lacerated; his face badly bruised.

Sabry Wazwaz of the Anti-War Committee said, “I am disgusted that the media in the U.S. never reports the murdering of Palestinian prisoners by Israel. Also Israel detains the hundreds of Palestinian prisoners for long periods of time – months and sometimes years – without any charges. This is all against international law and inhumane. Israel has one of the worst human rights records of any country in the world and yet it receives billions of American tax dollars in aid every year.”

At the same time, the lives of several other Palestinian prisoners are in danger, as they have carried on a hunger strike for months, to protest their inhumane and illegal detainment in Israeli prisons. Samer Issawi has been on strike for nearly 220 days.

Issawi has detained by Israeli authorities without any charge whatsoever. He had been released from prison in October 2011 as a part of the Shalit prisoner swap, but was detained again without charge on July 7, 2012, and has been refusing food since August 2012 to protest his detention. He is in critical condition, losing his vision, vomiting blood and lapsing in and out of consciousness.

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are striking in solidarity with the long term hunger strikers, and the prisoners’ actions have set off a wave of demonstrations in Palestine and around the world, protesting Israel’s unjust treatment of Palestinian prisoners.

Sophia Hansen-Day, a student and Macalester College said, “I stand in solidarity with the courageous Palestinian hunger strikers. The daring action taken by Samer Issawi, Ayman Sharawna, Tarek Qaadan, Jafar Ezzeldeen and countless others speaks to the deep desire for justice and self-determination among the Palestinian people. As a U.S. citizen complicit in Israeli state violence, I protest today to demand all Palestinian prisoners are released immediately!”

The vigil for Palestine is held every week at the intersection of Summit and Snelling Avenues, sponsored in part by the WAMM Middle East Committee. This week’s special call for solidarity with Palestinian prisoners was sponsored by the Anti-War Committee.

#StPaulMinnesota #StPaulMN #Palestine #HungerStrike #SamerIssawi #MiddleEast

Chicago, IL – More than 125 people gathered here for a candlelight vigil in support of over 2,000 Palestinian political prisoners currently on hunger strike in Israeli jails.

One of the hunger strikers is Saeed Mustafa Sbitan, a 19 year old from Beit Dukoo, a town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He is the nephew of Hatem Abudayyeh, a member of Chicago US Palestinian Community Network (www.uspcn.org). Sbitan is one of hundreds in solitary confinement, and his family knows nothing about his health because the Israelis will not allow him to be visited or make phone calls. Abudayyeh spoke of his nephew at the end of the vigil, and denounced the treatment of Palestinian activists as criminals.

The condition of the hunger strikers is rapidly deteriorating. While most joined the hunger strike one month ago, two of the prisoners, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh, have passed their 70th day refusing food, putting them in critical condition and close to death. Abudayyeh urged the crowd to be prepared to mobilize for quick action as the situation develops.

Jess Sundin, of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR) also spoke at the protest. While speaking in support of the Palestinian hunger strikers, she decried efforts by the US government to make political prisoners of US solidarity activists. She invited everyone present to join Wednesday, May 16, protest in solidarity with Carlos Montes. The action will take place outside the Dirksen Federal Building, where a grand jury has been investigating Abudayyeh, Sundin, and 21 other anti-war and international solidarity activists. The case against Montes stems from this same investigation.

Noemi Teppang, of BAYAN-USA and the International League for Peoples Struggle, addressed the crowd, declaring support for the Palestinian political prisoners, and the Palestinian struggle for self-determination.

Abudayyeh and Sundin both announced plans to join the Coalition Against NATO/G8 War and Poverty Agenda march and rally on Sunday, May 20. Marchers with a 35-foot Palestinian flag will join the contingent of the CSFR.

#ChicagoIL #Palestine #HungerStrike #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #PalestinianCommunityNetwork #MiddleEast

Taher noted that Sa’adat had been transferred to Ramleh prison hospital after 13 days on hunger strike alongside thousands of his fellow prisoners to confront the rule of terror by the occupation authorities. Taher saluted the brave and steadfast prisoners and affirmed that the occupation bears full responsibility for the life of the General Secretary, and the lives of thousands of prisoners bravely fighting the battle of the empty stomachs, and warned the occupation of the consequences of its oppression.

He called for the prisoners’ struggle to be internationalized and taken up by the United Nations at all levels, from the General Assembly to the Security Council, and for Israel to be held accountable by the International Court of Justice for its policies against the prisoners. He called for emergency meetings of the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference to take appropriate measures to protect Palestinian prisoners and detainees in the prisons of the occupation. He called upon the Arab masses and popular forces, and all democratic and progressive forces around the world, to build the broadest solidarity with the prisoners and to condemn the barbaric practices of the brutal occupation authorities.

#Palestine #PopularFrontForTheLiberationOfPalestine #AhmadSaadat #HungerStrike #IsraeliOccupation #MiddleEast

At the same time, thousands demonstrated in solidarity in Ramallah, Gaza, Nablus, Tulkaram and Qalqilya, calling for the release of the prisoners. In Ramallah hundreds went to the military prison Ofer, where political prisoners are held, and were dispersed by the Israeli army with tear gas and the ‘skunk’ water cannon.

The question of prisoners has come to the forefront of Palestinian politics, with several heroic hunger strikes. Just before the Shalit prisoner swap last year there was a collective hunger strike of 100 prisoners. Soon after that, administrative detainee Khadar Adnan’s 66-day hunger strike galvanized international attention and calls for his release. He was released April 17 and greeted with gratitude and pride as part of the Prisoners Day Protest. Hana Shalabi was deported from an Israeli prison to Gaza after a 43 day hunger strike. These hunger strikes brought international attention to the outrageous and unjust situation of administrative detainees who are held without charge or trial.

The new strike, however, is broader. Prisoners are demanding a cancellation of new restrictions. These restrictions include an increased use of the solitary confinement of prominent leaders; a ban on Arabic newspapers, books and television; a stop to the transfer of funds from family members to prisoners – funds used for many basic food products, cigarettes and more; and stopping prisoners from studying in Israel’s Open University, which has long made possible distance learning.

The Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine issued a statement that said, “The movement of prisoners, despite the brutality of the occupation and its fascist wardens, stands as a model of unity, resilience, struggle and innovation, saluting their experience of struggle and their battle of the empty stomachs, saying that the will of the prisoners is stronger than the whip of the occupation and that all of the prisons of the occupation will come crashing down.”

#Palestine #PoliticalPrisoners #HungerStrike #IsraeliOccupation #MiddleEast

-Hana Shalabi, 16 March 2012

Ramallah-Jaffa, 20 March 2012 – Addameer, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-Israel) and Al-Haq express their grave concern for the health of Hana Shalabi, who is at immediate risk of death on her 34th day of hunger strike. As of today, the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) is refusing to transfer Ms. Shalabi to the hospital, despite yesterday’s urgent reports by her doctor that she should be transferred immediately. Addameer, PHR-Israel and Al-Haq are certain that the quality and facilitation of medical care administered by the IPS is not adequate to attend to her current condition. Meanwhile, today, the Israeli military judge of the Court of Appeals postponed yet again making a decision regarding Ms. Hana Shalabi’s four-month administrative detention order following a meeting with her lawyers and the military prosecution.

Following an urgent report issued by the PHR-Israel doctor who examined Ms. Shalabi yesterday, 19 March, which concluded that Ms. Shalabi is in immediate mortal danger and should be immediately transferred to a hospital for close observation, Ms. Shalabi was transferred to the civilian Meir Hospital last night. However, for unknown reasons, she was not admitted to the hospital and the IPS transferred Ms. Shalabi back to the IPS medical center in Ramleh Prison Hospital later on the same night. Ms. Shalabi’s doctor was not informed of this transfer until today. Addameer, PHR-Israel and Al-Haq share fears regarding the adequacy and timeliness of the medical care available in Ramleh, especially given the growing concern about her rapidly deteriorating condition.

Today, the chairman of PHR-Israel has been pushing on all possible fronts for her immediate transfer to a hospital. When he asked the IPS why they are refusing to transfer her, IPS Chief Medical Officer Dini Orkin informed him that the commissioner of the IPS—who is not a medical official—said that Ms. Shalabi’s doctor would have to return to Ramleh and provide another medical opinion before they would even consider her transfer, despite her urgent report from yesterday. Furthermore, and even more troubling, Ms. Shalabi reported to the PHR-Israel doctor that during her various transfers yesterday, she was handled violently, including being “dragged across the floor”. Her PHR-Israel doctor is particularly worried about Ms. Shalabi in light of this mistreatment, which undoubtedly is having an effect on her already-fragile state. Any further deterioration or aggravation of her condition, including emotionally, could cause a heart attack.

Addameer, PHR-Israel and Al-Haq also condemn the IPS’ latest actions regarding its role in pressuring Ms. Shalabi to end her hunger strike. During a visit by Addameer lawyer Muna Neddaf on 16 March, Ms. Shalabi stated that the IPS’ attempts to get her to end her hunger strike have included continuing to deny her family visits for the next month from 13 March; pressure from a Muslim cleric who is a member of the IPS “Ethics Committee”; and attempts to undermine her confidence and trust in her PHR-Israel doctor, including providing her with misinformation and telling her the doctor does not care about her. The IPS continues to consider force-feeding in disregard to the principles of medical ethics and the guidelines of the World Medical Association and the Israeli Medical Association.

In legal proceedings, today’s meeting followed her original appeal hearing on 7 March, during which the military judge stated that he would make his decision on 11 or 12 March in order to give the military prosecution ample time to “revise its position” and to allow for any negotiations on a “deal” between the military prosecution and the committee of lawyers representing Ms. Shalabi. He noted that his intention was for any such “deal” to occur at the Appeals Court level and not after, as in the case of Khader Adnan. No decision was made on 11 or 12 March in this regard. Today’s meeting with the Israeli prosecutor and Ms. Shalabi’s lawyers was called for by the military judge to discuss developments on the matter. However, the negotiations have not resulted in any agreement as of today. As a result, the judge stated that he will be announcing his decision soon, but did not specify when. The judge requested a detailed medical report on Ms. Shalabi’s health condition, which has been prepared by the PHR-Israel doctor and submitted to the court.

Commenting on the discussions, Addameer lawyer Mahmoud Hassan stated that “the Israeli military prosecution’s concern is to get Hana to end her hunger strike as opposed to seriously considering the reasons underlying Hana’s protest, including the infringement on her right to fair trial and right to an effective defense.”

At least 23 other Palestinian political prisoners are currently on hunger strike to protest the use of administrative detention as an indefinite form of detention without charge or trial, including 72-year-old Palestinian Legislative Council member Ahmad Al-Hajj Ali. Since the beginning of March, a number of administrative detainees have refused to acknowledge the military court and refused to participate in legal discussions of their cases. Due to Israel’s use of administrative detention, and the lack of due process afforded to Palestinians in the military court system, a hunger strike serves as a non-violent and sole tool available to administrative detainees and other political prisoners to fight for their basic human rights.

Addameer, PHR-Israel and Al-Haq are gravely concerned for the life of Hana Shalabi and call for her immediate transfer to a hospital, with adequate care that is uninterrupted by frequent and unnecessary transfers. Addameer, PHR-Israel and Al-Haq also appeal to the local and international communities to take every action in applying pressure on Israel to seriously address the underlying reasons behind the growing protests of Palestinian political prisoners and to end the large scale practice of internment without charge or trial. This practice is indicative of willful deprivation of the right to fair trial afforded to protected persons, in addition to the well-documented systematic policy of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment as methods of intimidation and coercion that Israel employs.

Background Legal information

• Ms. Hana Shalabi, 30 years old and resident of Burqin village near Jenin, was re-arrested on 16 February 2012 and is being held in Hasharon Prison. She has been on hunger strike since 16 February in protest of her violent arrest, the harmful and degrading ill-treatment she suffered following her arrest and of her administrative detention. She was previously held for over two years in administrative detention and released in the exchange deal on 18 October 2011.
• On 23 February, the Israeli Military Commander issued a six month detention order for Ms. Shalabi.
• On 29 February, the Judge convened a meeting at the Ofer military court to discuss her detention. Neither Ms. Shalabi nor her lawyers were present.
• On 4 March the military court declared that Ms. Shalabi’s administrative detention order would be reduced from six to four months.
• On 7 March, an appeal hearing was held. The military judge stated that a decision would be expected around 11 March. During this time the judge urged that any agreement between the prosecution and defense should be reached at this level. No agreement was reached and no decision was announced on that date.
• On 20 March, the judge of the Court of Appeals summoned the Israeli military prosecution and the lawyers’ committee representing Ms. Shalabi in a meeting to review the developments towards an agreement. No agreement was reached, therefore the judge is expected to announce his decision, yet no specific time was given.

Medical attention

• On 27 February Ms. Shalabi stated that she would not accept medical attention from the IPS, and that she would only accept to be examined by an independent doctor from PHR-Israel. IPS denied PHR-Israel doctors permission to visit Ms. Shalabi.
• On 4 March, PHR-Israel filed a petition to the District Court in Petach Tikva demanding that the IPS approve without delay a visit by PHR-Israel doctors to Hana.
• On 7 March the Israeli District Court ruled on the case brought by PHR-Israel that the IPS should allow a PHR-Israel doctor permission to visit and examine Hana Shalabi.
• On 8, 12, 19 March a PHR-Israel volunteer doctor has been able to examine Hana Shalabi.
• On 13 March the IPS Ethics Committee held a meeting to discuss the possibility of force-feeding a detainee on hunger strike.
• On 19 March, she was transferred to a hospital and then transferred back to the prison hospital. Her doctor is very worried about her as a result of the mistreatment.

#Palestine #PoliticalPrisoners #HungerStrike #AddameerPrisonerSupportAndHumanRightsAssociation #PhysiciansForHumanRightsIsrael #AlHaq #HanaShalabi #MiddleEast

Lakeland, FL – After a six day fast, members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) broke bread with 1000 supporters to protest the Publix food corporation un-fair treatment of its workers, March 10. The CIW is a group of Latin American and Haitian farm workers and tomato-pickers fighting against modern day slavery and for living wages. Presently, the Immokalee Workers are putting pressure on Publix Supermarket for not paying a penny more per pound of tomatoes. Publix is mainly located in Florida but also has stores in Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.

In the tomato fields, immigrant workers endure low pay, poor work conditions and even physical abuse. For women it is worse than men due to sexual harassment. Some workers are forced to live under slavery type conditions, held against their will, forced to live in shacks and trailers, and enduring bosses’ beatings and punishment. There are new cases every year.

For Publix, though money and profits come first. In order for farm workers to earn minimum wage, each worker has to pick 2.25 tons of tomatoes during a 10-hour workday. In the supply chains, the food corporations set the prices for the tomatoes they buy. So in order for the workers to obtain fair pay, they must demand grocery chain corporations pay more for the tomatoes. In the past, the Immokalee workers signed agreements with corporations like McDonalds, Taco Bell and Aramark, after hard-fought campaigns. Each time, the Immokalee workers forced the big corporations to negotiate over their demands by creating public support for living wages, humane treatment and fairness. Now it is time for Publix to pay a fair price.

The farm worker supporters met at a local Publix supermarket on a hot Florida Saturday, March 10. The message was, “Publix pay a living wage!” The supporters circled outside the store waving signs like “Publix: Recognize farm workers humanity” and “Publix escucha estamos en la lucha” (Publix, listen, we are in the struggle). Marisol Marquez of Tampa Bay's Students Working for Equal Rights said, “Publix shows us how corporate greed meets us in our own backyard. They care more about pennies than workers being able to live.”

From the Publix parking lot, the protesters embarked on a three-mile procession through Lakeland to Publix headquarters. There they greeted the fasting farm workers. The farm workers held signs that said, “I go hungry today so my children won't have to tomorrow.” Then speakers lined up to talk about the injustices served up by Publix and other food corporations. The crowd listened to local religious leaders, Ethel Kennedy (widow of Robert F. Kennedy) and Jose Jose, a famed Mexican singer. Their message: “Stop the injustice! Publix pay a penny more!” On the anniversary of Cesar Chavez's fast for migrant farm workers rights, the Immokalee Workers ended their fast by breaking bread with supporters. The rally came to a close with demands for Publix to reach an agreement. The Immokalee Workers vowed not to give up, and to continue the struggle for the rights of farm workers.

#LakelandFL #ImmigrantRights #ChicanoLatino #HungerStrike #CoalitionOfImmokaleeWorkers #Publix #CIW #StudentsWorkingForEqualRights

Call to Action: Support Palestinian Prisoners on Hunger Strike!

Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons issued a statement on Sunday, September 25, 2011, stating that they plan to begin an open-ended hunger strike on September 27, 2011, demanding an end to the isolation of Ahmad Sa'adat, an end to isolation for all Palestinian political prisoners, and an end to the policies of repression and humiliation against visitors to the prisoners, including denial of family visits and visitors being stopped, searched and impeded at Israeli occupation checkpoints. The prisoners are also demanding an end to abuse and humiliation of prisoners while they are transferred from one prison to another.

The Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa'adat stands in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners' hunger strike and calls for people around the world to join their voices to the prisoners' call for justice.

Ahmad Sa'adat, the imprisoned General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and a Palestinian national leader, has been imprisoned by Israeli occupation forces since his kidnapping in March 13, 2006. He was abducted in a violent Israeli military raid from a Palestinian Authority prison where he had been unjustly held without charge or trial for over four years under U.S. and British guard. He has been in isolation for over two years following his calls for resistance to the Israeli assault on Gaza in winter 2009.

The prisoners' statement follows:

“We, the comrades of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the Zionist prisons and detention centers, declare to the steadfast, struggling brave masses of the Palestinian people and to all free people in the world:

We announce that we will begin an open-ended hunger strike on Tuesday morning, September 27, 2011, in response to the official policies of the Zionist government and its fascist prison administration. We demand our rights and our dignity, as we struggle for the victory of our values and ideals.

Our goals for this hunger strike:

1. End the solitary confinement and isolation of our comrade, General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and the PLO Central Council, Ahmad Sa'adat, Abu Ghassan.

2. End the policy of isolation for all prisoners;

3. End the policy of systematic humiliation by the occupation army against the Palestinian people at checkpoints and crossings, particularly targeting visitors to prisons, and end the arbitrary denial of visits to the prisoners, especially the prisoners from the Gaza Strip. End the humiliation and abuse of prisoners during transfer.

The principles of our revolution include the rejection of all forms of injustice, and for us to struggle and confront the occupier in all areas and places in our own manner. Accordingly, we call upon all of the Palestinian and Arab people, political forces and institutions, human rights and civil society organizations, to raise their voices for us, so that we do not become easy prey for a vicious occupier. We promise to all of our people, and to the legacy of the martyrs of Palestine, that we will continue on our path until victory.

Great glory to the martyrs ... Victory to the revolution ... Victory is inevitable.”

TAKE ACTION TO SUPPORT AHMAD SA'ADAT AND ALL PALESTINIAN PRISONERS!

1. Picket, protest or call the Israeli embassy or consulate in your location and demand the immediate freedom of Ahmad Sa'adat and all Palestinian political prisoners.

2. Distribute the free downloadable Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa'adat flyer in your community at local events.

3. Write to the International Committee of the Red Cross and other human rights organizations to exercise their responsibilities and act swiftly to demand that the Israelis ensure that Ahmad Sa'adat and all Palestinian prisoners are freed from punitive isolation. Email the ICRC, whose humanitarian mission includes monitoring the conditions of prisoners, at jerusalem.jer@icrc.org, and inform them about the urgent situation of Ahmad Sa'adat.

4. Email the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa'adat at info@freeahmadsaadat.org with announcements, reports and information about your local events, activities and flyer distributions.

#Palestine #AhmadSaadat #MiddleEast #PeoplesStruggles #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #PoliticalPrisoner #PoliticalPrisoners #HungerStrike

The notorious Pelican Bay prison is a ‘supermax’, meaning it is a super maximum security prison explicitly designed to keep the prisoners that California’s alleges to be the ‘worst of the worst’ in long-term or permanent solitary confinement, under conditions of extreme sensory deprivation that many consider torture. Political prisoners are often sent to supermax prisons to isolate them and their ideas from the rest of the prison population.

The prisoners at Pelican Bay have sworn to refuse food until conditions are improved in Pelican Bay’s Security Housing Unit. Built in 1989, Pelican Bay is one of the most notorious supermax prisons in the country for its abysmal and repressive conditions. It is also dramatically overcrowded – it was built to house 2280 prisoners but it currently holds over 3100.

The hunger strikers have developed five core demands (read explanations here):

1. End Group Punishment & Administrative Abuse
2. Abolish the Debriefing Policy, and Modify Active/Inactive Gang Status Criteria
3. Comply with the US Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons 2006 Recommendations Regarding an End to Long-Term Solitary Confinement
4. Provide Adequate and Nutritious Food
5. Expand and Provide Constructive Programming and Privileges for Indefinite SHU Status Inmates.

The prison system in the U.S. is the most expansive and sophisticated prison system in world history, with over 2 million people currently locked up. This is a higher rate than any other country in the world. Large scale protests by U.S. prisoners against their extreme treatment are becoming more common in recent years. Just last December, Georgia saw one of the largest prisoner work stoppage protests in history.

Video: Support the Pelican Bay Hunger Strike

Click here to sign an online petition to support the hunger strike:

http://www.change.org/petitions/support-prisoners-on-hunger-strike-at-pelican-bay-state-prison

Click here for more info on the hunger strike:

http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/

#DelNorteCountyCA #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Prisons #HungerStrike #SupermaxPrison #PelicanBay #controlUnit

Minneapolis, MN – On Dec. 10, seven students here started a hunger strike to demand that Congress pass the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act is a proposed law that would give some undocumented immigrant youth the possibility to gain legalization if they go to college or join the military.

The students gathered for a vigil the evening of Dec. 10 at El Colegio high school in South Minneapolis to announce the start of the hunger strike and mobilize community support. The hunger strike is based at El Colegio, where students have covered the walls of the school’s gallery with art and murals dedicated to the DREAM Act. Over 40 people came to the kick-off vigil.

According to hunger striker Alejandra Cruz, “We decided to start the hunger strike in solidarity with the San Antonio, Texas DREAMers who had gone 31 days with no food. Also to put pressure on the Senate and show them that we are one, we’re together in the same struggle. We believe in our dreams of higher education and to be able to contribute to this society.”

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the DREAM Act last week by a vote of 216-198. The Senate was slated to vote on the DREAM Act the morning after the House vote, but tabled it because there were not enough votes to block the possibility of a Republican filibuster against the bill.

While passing the Senate is far from assured, it’s worth noting that this is the first legislation that includes a significant legalization component which has passed in either house of Congress since the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which among other things granted amnesty to around 3 million undocumented immigrants.

The 1986 bill, and all other immigration reform proposals in Congress since then, have grouped legalization provisions that activists support together with increased restrictions and repression that most activists have opposed. While the DREAM Act does not include any provisions that increase repression, the Democratic leadership reintroduced a new version of the DREAM Act in recent weeks that restricts the number of youth that would benefit from it and also increases the ‘conditional status’ waiting period from six to ten years.

Despite overall support for the DREAM Act, many activists have been critical of the military provision of the bill. The original version of the DREAM Act included a non-military service option. Critics of the military provision point out that many immigrant youth don’t finish high school, so if the choice is only between college and the military, more undocumented youth will be tracked into the military. They call for a non-military service option to be added back into the DREAM Act. DREAMers respond that it may or may not be true that more youth will join the military than go to college, but since there are in fact undocumented youth who want to join the military, those youth should have the same rights in all spheres of life that other young people have, including the right to join the military.

It is a dramatic turnaround that the DREAM Act passed in the House of Representatives, and still has a chance of passing the Senate to become law. A year ago the congresspeople who tend to be the most supportive of immigrant rights were telling activists that it wouldn’t be possible to pass any immigrant rights legislation this year. During his electoral campaign in 2008, President Obama promised to pass immigration reform in his first year in office, but instead the administration has increased deportations and border militarization, while not taking any action on immigration reform legislation that included legalization, such as Rep. Gutierrez’s proposed CIR-ASAP bill.

Rather than being disillusioned by politicians’ inaction, the DREAM students pushed forward with a series of dramatic actions to demand that Congress pass the DREAM Act this year. A group of DREAM students risked deportation by doing a sit-in at Senator John McCain’s office in Arizona. Four students ‘came out’ publicly announcing they were undocumented during a walk for justice from Florida to D.C. to demand action on the DREAM Act. In Chicago the Immigrant Youth Justice League declared themselves “undocumented and unafraid,” publicly announcing their undocumented status and demanding that Congress take action. And there have been a series of DREAM Act hunger strikes in front of congresspeople’s offices from North Carolina to New York to Texas to Indiana. The determination of these students, along with broad support from the Latino community and social justice movements, rallied the immigrant rights movement out of an impasse and has brought the DREAM Act to the verge of passing Congress.

Democratic Party leaders in the outgoing lame duck Congress, which still has Democratic Party majorities in both houses, have vowed to try to pass the DREAM Act despite Republican efforts to block it before the session ends in the next week. Most observers assume that if the lame duck session of Congress doesn’t pass the DREAM Act, that any immigrant rights legislation will likely be dead for the next two years in the more conservative incoming Congress.

Over the past few weeks students have mobilized supporters to make hundreds of thousands of calls to Congress. The hunger strike in Minnesota is another bold action that is captivating the imagination of thousands of people while not allowing Congress to delay yet again taking action for immigrant rights.

#MinneapolisMN #StudentMovement #ChicanoLatino #HungerStrike #DREAMAct

Fight Back!: You traveled to Palestine with a delegation of other people from the U.S. Why did you go?

Tracy Molm: I had the opportunity to hear a lot of firsthand accounts from visiting Palestinians who are fighting to free their country. The resistance of the Palestinian people to the apartheid policies of Israel is incredibly moving and I wanted to see the struggle for myself. So I decided to join the delegation of Internationals for Justice in Palestine, which was hosted by Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees and a student group at Birzeit University. We traveled to Jenin, Nabulus, Tulkarem, Ramallah, Haifa and a number of other towns and villages.

Fight Back!: What kind of conditions do Palestinians face under the occupation?

Tracy Molm: There are travel restrictions, restrictions on movement. There are checkpoints everywhere. People are forced to wait for hours just in order to get to their jobs or to sell their produce at markets or to go to school. The Israelis try to humiliate you. I saw people treated like cattle. Soldiers steal from people. They harass women. Palestinians are detained for hours, without justification.

Palestinians are hounded by poverty. In some villages there is 80% unemployment. Restriction of movement – checkpoints and road closings has made things worse. In refugee camps, it’s not uncommon for 20-plus people to be living in a small home.

Agriculture is being destroyed. Israeli forces uproot the olive groves and cut people off from their lands. They confiscate farmland for ‘security’ and to expand Israeli settlements.

Fight Back!: Israel is building a wall. How is this impacting on the Palestinian people? How are the Palestinian people responding?

Tracy Molm: The apartheid wall being built is basically creating a prison for the Palestinians in the West Bank. It is being used to take even more land from Palestinians, despite agreements that had somewhat solidified the borders for the West Bank. For example, a town called Jayyous in the northern part of the West Bank had 80% of their land stolen – all of it olive groves that support the people.

Additionally the wall cuts Palestinian towns from Jerusalem. Although Jerusalem is supposed to be a neutral city, where Palestinians and Israelis share the capital, building the wall steals the capital from the Palestinian people.

Palestinians respond to the apartheid wall in many ways. When I was there I saw several places that people had burned tires and written graffiti on the wall. I also met with Palestinians that work to document the violence that has happened because of the wall and the continued violence that happens at the wall because of the constant watch by Israeli soldiers that are heavily armed. Lastly I was able to meet with representatives of Al Hoq, a group that does work to document and educate people about the collective punishment measures that Israel is using against Palestinians, even though it is illegal by international law. They have a large campaign going around the apartheid wall and the devastation it has created.

Fight Back!: You were there during the hunger strike. What where the issues and what kind of support did it get?

Tracy Molm: The hunger strike was big. Over 4500 prisoners in over a dozen prisons all over a country where the Palestinian people aren’t allow to travel freely, were able to coordinate a hunger strike that allowed them to demand their rights. They were demanding rights like the ability to have family visits, and that during those visits that they be allow to touch and hold their friends and loved ones, the right to clean food, the elimination of humiliating and random naked searches. These are just a few of the demands that the prisoners were willing to give up their food for for 20-plus days.

What was equally impressive, though, was that every town and village had a solidarity tent. And many places had between five and twenty people who were going without food in solidarity with the political prisoners. In general the strike had big support everywhere because everyone knows someone or is related to someone who has been imprisoned.

Fight Back!: There are many kinds of resistance to the occupation. What are some of the main forms?

Tracy Molm: Continuing to have children and live in Palestine despite the occupation and the Israeli goal to rid the area of Palestinians, is resistance. Also Palestinians continue to resist by building offices and social services that will help them continue to live on their land. While I was there we were able to meet with the Palestinian Health and Work Committees. They have worked to give health coverage to all Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

One of the other main forms of resistance is militant resistance.

Fight Back!: ‘Suicide bombing’ or martyrdom operations have caused a lot of controversy in the West. What was the attitude of Palestinian people towards this?

Tracy Molm: Palestinians always refer to this type of action as martyrdom bombings, which is very telling for how it is viewed by the people. Because of the checkpoints and the wall, one of the few militant methods that continues to show results is martyrdom bombings.

In general, anyone who resists the occupation, especially militantly, is viewed as someone who is truly free by the Palestinian people.

Fight Back!: So how are the Israeli authorities dealing with the growing resistance?

Tracy Molm: Automatically, whenever there is armed resistance, the resister’s house is demolished and the town that the resister is from is put under curfew for at least one day. The family of the resister faces harassment and threats by the military, especially at checkpoints. Cities and villages that have a lot of resistance, like Nabulus, have many settlements surrounding them, have the worst checkpoint violence, and have the most Israeli military presence.

Fight Back!: The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is one of the most important organizations fighting to free Palestine. What kind of presence did you see from the PFLP?

Tracy Molm: The PFLP is a very dynamic group, and unlike any other group they have invested much of their work into the building of Palestinian civil society, so they work very hard to help Palestinians get educated and to develop social programs that will continue to develop the society. Thus I think their strength cannot just be measured in numbers but also must look at their integral role in Palestinian society and I think that is very strong right now.

I also was able to see that they had a marked presence at all of the hunger strike tents, with many of their members being imprisoned and much support for them as an important part of the Palestinian struggle. This presence could especially be seen at the three demonstrations that I was a part of. One was a memorial for the late PFLP leader Abu Ali Mustafa. Although the demonstration was a remembrance of that great leader’s assassination three years ago, the march included many people from many groups who were part of the hunger strike.

Fight Back!: Did people in Palestine talk about U.S. aid to Israel?

Tracy Molm: Oh yes, we were lucky to meet with refugees from the largest refugee camp in the West Bank – Balata. When asked what they would want us to bring home and tell people in the U.S. they told us overwhelmingly that they want us to work to end the foreign aid coming from the United States. Refugees are the people who have seen the effects of our aid, in the forced removal of Palestinians from villages and the continued violence and oppression that they face daily. And other Palestinians we met with also told us how we need to act against U.S. military aid that allows the occupation of Palestine to continue.

#Palestine #Interview #WomensMovement #Interviews #PFLP #HungerStrike #ApartheidWall #UnionOfPalestinianWomensCommittees #MiddleEast

The angry crowd was gathered outside the House Chambers on April 4 to let Minnesota politicians know that there were only 89 days left until the day thousands of children would start hitting the 5-year limit on welfare in Minnesota. WRC members set up a large “doomsday clock” in front of the chamber doors, and everyone (even the small children) carried signs against the time limit. Later, they all crowded into the office of the democrat Senate majority leader to demand that he keep the moratorium front and center while he was in secret budget negotiations with the House.

The April 4 action was the latest in a series to demand that politicians put a moratorium on the 5-year limit on welfare in Minnesota. The Minnesota Welfare Rights Coalition (MNWRC) organized hundreds of people to come to the capitol and demand that welfare cut-offs not be allowed to happen.

Moratorium Bill

In late December, the Welfare Rights Committee convinced two Senators to take a stand and sponsor legislation for a three-year moratorium. “A moratorium is just a delay of the imposition of the time limit,” explained Deb Konechne, of the Welfare Rights Committee, “We say there should be no time limit at all. A moratorium is absolutely necessary for now, and it buys us time to fight the whole sick idea of time limits.” From the beginning, House Republicans declared it “dead on arrival,” but a two-year moratorium bill passed through the full Senate in late March.

Opening Day Protest

On Jan. 29, hundreds gathered in the cold and snow on the front steps of the capitol. Besides low income people, representatives from some of the 170 organizations that signed on to the moratorium campaign spoke.

Bernie Hess, of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 73, read a statement of support from the leadership of the Saint Paul Trades and Labor Assembly, “We support the effort to pass a moratorium. It isn't easy to make it in the best of times. Today in these tough economic times it's even harder. So tell the politicians that, instead of attacking the only support that many Minnesota families have, they should be passing the moratorium on the time limit and aggressively fighting for what families need: livable wage jobs, affordable housing, childcare, health and education.”

Budget Crisis

Minnesota, like many other states, finds itself in a recession and a state budget crisis. WRC member Trishalla Bell declared at one of the hearings on the state budget, “Governor Ventura and House Republicans are now set to solve the state's budget crisis on the backs of poor Minnesotans! They say, 'Everyone is going to have to sacrifice.' Well, there is a huge difference between the rich 'sacrificing' a portion of their past tax breaks and a poor family 'sacrificing' basic survival. We have already suffered too much!”

Coming Together to Fight

People packed every hearing on the moratorium bill. According to Roger Banks, of the Council on Black Minnesotans, “We know that we need a moratorium for families in order to survive. The Council is here to work with you. We have to be persistent and keep coming back – to every hearing, every meeting, in order to pass the moratorium.”

The Welfare Rights Committee and a constant core of supporters had to fight on different fronts for the moratorium. Work was done to unite everyone possible, while taking advantage of splits among the enemies. First, they had to convince liberal democrats to sponsor the bill. After that, there was campaign to get other groups around it, other politicians around the bill, and push vacillating politicians and allies to keep up the fight. But the main blow of people's anger was aimed at the House Republicans.

A Homeless Village, and a Hunger Strike

“Republicanville, Homeless Village of the Future – Grand Opening July 1, 2002” read the banner above a collection of cardboard boxes, blankets and tarps set up outside the House chamber. There were street signs showing that Bradley Boulevard intersected with Starvation Lane, and Goodno Avenue crossed with Misery Place (Representatives Goodno and Bradley are anti-welfare Republicans). One Representative stomped around screaming and sputtering when he saw the set-up, and yelled to the cops to tear it down.

In a show of solidarity for the people who would be affected by the moratorium, 15 House democrats went on a 24-hour hunger strike. According to Rep. Carlos Mariani, who headed up the effort, “We don't want to see more Minnesota children hungry, homeless or split apart because the benefits they need are no longer available. For many women with children, these benefits are the only means they have to survive on their own, and for many, losing the benefits would mean returning to an abusive relationship. In the clearest possible terms, this could mean the choice between life and death.”

The hunger strike got massive media attention and drove their Republican colleagues nuts. “I'm glad they did it,” said Dede Francis of the Welfare Rights Committee, “the media and politicians don't care when we starve, so it's good that these 15 legislators took a stand.”

The Future

As Fight Back! goes to press, the issue of the time limit has not been decided by the Minnesota legislature. However it turns out, MNWRC is determined to keep up the fight. According to Rita Stevenson, WRC member, “Minnesota legislators should put a time limit on poverty, instead of a time limit on welfare! The last five years could have been spent tackling the problems that force our families into poverty and keep us there. Politicians could have worked for livable wages. Politicians could have tackled the health care crisis! Politicians could have worked to end the housing crisis! Instead they chose to blame poverty on the poor, and to terrorize our families with laws that attack our very survival!”

#StPaulMN #SaintPaulMN #PoorPeoplesMovements #News #WelfareRightsCommittee #HungerStrike #WelfareTimeLimit #Moratorium

The strike continues to take its toll on university operations. Twelve people in the School of Journalism received an email that read in part, “You are receiving this message because your fall appointment was entered into the payroll entry system after the payroll entry cut-off…(We're experiencing delays with some payroll entry items that we can only guess is due to the strike.)”

The University is experiencing delays in the delivery of goods and services as unionized delivery drivers honor AFSCME's picket lines at loading docks.

Hunger Strike

At a Sept. 13 student solidarity rally, Isaac Kamola read statement on behalf of students. It read in part:

“The administration's treatment of the AFSCME workers represents a future of economic injustice and inequality. The administration's offer is not only unfair, it violates the inherent human rights of workers to a livable and equitable wage. We refuse to live in that world and we refuse to silently allow our institution to perpetuate this inequality and injustice. We refuse to allow our university to be an employer in which fulltime, long-term employees fail to make a living wage and must take on second jobs, or choose health care or gas over basic necessities like food. We refuse to allow the administration to offer such measly contracts that our AFSCME brother and sisters must go to food shelters to meet their needs.”

The students’ statement continued, “Now we are taking a principled stand. Your refusal to listen to us has forced us to take drastic action, to put our bodies on the line. Starting this Monday, Sept. 17, 2007 at noon, a committed group of students will begin a hunger strike in solidarity with the striking workers. We refuse to let our sisters and brothers in AFSCME go hungry alone. In a survey of AFSCME workers, 25% said they had trouble buying food for their families. We want justice for our community, and that means nobody in our university should go hungry.”

Tracy Molm, a member of Students for Democratic Society states, “We back AFSCME’s fight for economic justice, and we are building a student movement that is solidarity with that struggle.”

Pressure is building on the University president Robert Bruininks. Said Barb Bezat, president of AFSCME 3937, “The university administration is no longer trying to claim that the strike is having no impact, as it tried to say in the first days. The strike is having an impact economically, politically and morally on the campus community. Robert Bruininks has the power to end the strike tomorrow. He needs to put the money the legislature gave the university for workers' salaries on the table.

#TwinCitiesMN #MinneapolisMN #News #SDS #UniversityOfMinnesotaStrike2007 #HungerStrike #AFSCMELocal3800 #AFSCMELocal3937 #Strikes

August 30, 2004

The large-scale hunger strike in Palestine is an event of worldwide importance, a dramatic confrontation between the oppressed and oppressor. The thousands of hunger strikers that languish in Israeli prisons deserve the support of everyone who wants justice, equality and liberation. This powerful collective action is sending a message to people everywhere – that the imprisoned freedom fighters are determined to resist the brutality of their Zionist jailers and stand willing to make any sacrifice to advance the cause of national liberation.

The criminal cruelty practiced in Israeli prisons is well known. We of Freedom Road Socialist Organization join with all who demand decent and humane treatment for those imprisoned. Furthermore, it is our belief that all Palestinian political prisoners should be released. Attempts by the Israeli and U.S. authorities to criminalize the forces who are fighting to free Palestine or label them as “terrorists” are sure to fail. The Palestinian people have the right to use any means necessary to end the occupation of all of historic Palestine.

Among those who have joined the hunger strike is Ahmad Saadat, the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Currently, the Palestinian Authority is holding him, with American and British military personnel serving as his jailers. We salute his sacrifice and demand his release.

The capitalist news media in the United States and Europe have failed miserably to convey the dimensions and importance of this battle in Israeli prisons. As a result, it is vital that progressive forces take up this task.

In the weeks ahead more political prisoners will join the hunger strike. We are confident that the outcome will be nothing short of success. And over the long run, we are sure that the Zionists and their backers in Washington DC will meet with complete defeat.

Justice and decent treatment for all Palestinian political prisoners!

Long live the struggle for a free Palestine!

#Palestine #PoliticalPrisoners #Statement #HungerStrike #MiddleEast

Abu Dis, Palestine – Inside a Hunger Strike Solidarity Tent, one of the many erected across Palestine to back the 4500 political prisoners on hunger strike who are demanding decent treatment from Israeli authorities. These women are refusing food in solidarity with their imprisoned husbands, sons and brothers. Many of the women have more than one family member in prison. In almost every city or village, five to fifteen people participated in the hunger strike. The strike came to a successful end in early September when the Israeli authorities gave in to a number of the demands.

#AbuDisPalestine #AbuDis #News #Palestine #HungerStrike #MiddleEast