FW: [HumanRights] Honored to be a "Freedom Rider"
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sahida u
Nov 16, 2011, 1:24:21 PM11/16/11
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> From
> Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2011 12:03:23 +0200
> Subject: [HumanRights] Honored to be a "Freedom Rider"
> CC: > To: sah...@hotmail.co.uk
>
> Honored to be a "Freedom Rider"
> http://popular-resistance.blogspot.com/2011/11/honored-as-freedom-rider.html
>
> I was honored to be a freedom rider and it was team effort at its best
> (those who rode and the many who worked behind the scenes). Two other
> Palestinians were also arrested with us who were there as a
> reporters/observers not participants. All eight of us were released
> eventually pending potential trials. Fajr kindly gave us a ride to the edge
> of Beit Sahour from Ramallah (we were released at Qalandia checkpoint) where
> my wife met us there with my car and then she and I gave a ride to Nadim and
> Badi' to Hebron. I thus arrived home at 1:30 AM and the phones started
> ringing again at 7 AM. I am extremely tired and with a headache but wanted
> to send you a brief report and links to stories about this amazing and
> inspiring experience. While released, we are still charged with "illegal
> entry to Jerusalem" and with "obstructing police business" pending potential
> trial.
>
> This was one of the most heavily covered media events I ever participated
> in. It was also streamed live on the internet and nearly 100,000 people
> signed a petition of support for us freedom riders
> (https://secure.avaaz.org/en/palestine_freedom_riders/?aerQkcb). Thus, I do
> not need to write to you in detail about how three buses refused to let us
> board and then one driver (who later told journalists he did not know what
> was going on otherwise would have also refused) allowed us on the bus and
> what happened on and off the bus. Below are some links to stories published
> that give you a taste of this. Note especially the signs that we carried and
> showed before we rode the bus and from the windows of the bus (I am the one
> with the "DIGNITY" sign). Perhaps I will write more personally when my mind
> is clearer and I have had some sleep. But there are two anecdotes that
> happened that are kind of unusual and funny and in some way worth telling
> while they are fresh in my mind:
>
> -They took me to the Shabak ("Israeli intelligence") guy before they took me
> to the investigator for the bus issue. The Shabak guy did not ask me about
> the bus at all. He introduced himself as head of the Shabak area of
> Ramallah (and previously of Nablus and Jenin). He asked me if I was abroad
> recently. I said yes. He said what happened when you came back. I said I
> was interrogated at the bridge. He said "come-on interrogating is a big
> word". I said I do not know what else to call an 8 hour delay including 2
> hours of actual questioning. He said what else they told you. I said that
> the interrogation would continue and that there is a captain "Suhail" or
> "Suhaib" or something like that who will call me later. He said that that
> it is him and his name is "Shihab"! I said "well then maybe we will save
> another visit"! He told me that is not likely as I seem to continue to
> "cause problems and violate laws". I said there is something called
> international laws and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Denial of
> freedom of movement and entry to Jerusalem while allowing colonial settlers
> to live on our land and have freedom to travel in and out of Jerusalem on
> segregated buses is a violation of the International Convention Against the
> Crime of Apartheid. We also engaged in a political discussion and I
> explained about why Israel now has no incentive for peace (the three main
> sources of income for it would all dry up if there is peace) and my views of
> a democratic, pluralistic country for its entire people.
>
> -One young Ashkenazi soldier was very arrogant and even called me "Professor
> Teez" (Teez is Arabic for "ass"). We all (freedom riders) laughed it off
> and I told him that I did not insult him and that when someone insults me
> they demean themselves first. When he repeated it after my interrogation
> by the Shabak, I stood up and confronted him and the Druz officer intervened
> and the soldier moved away. There were other incidents with other people
> similar showing that our collective attitude was strong, defiant, and
> resilient. We all had Palestinian Kuffiyyas and kept wearing them. Fadi
> even wrapped himself in the Palestinian flag the whole time except when they
> did the full body search. We have some video from inside the compound which
> I will share later.
>
> I came out to find the news that the Zionist mayor of New York Mike
> Bloomberg ordered the clearing out of the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters
> for now; a very important protest *. But my reading of history and trends
> tell me that the global intifada will only accelerate as a result of
> repression by the powers to be.
>
> Freedom Riders odyssey:
> http://electronicintifada.net/content/israel-arrests-freedom-riders-challeng
> ing-apartheid-road-system/10595#.TsNplD3z3qE
> http://www.avaaz.org/en/palestine_freedom_riders/?cl=1388878149
> <http://www.avaaz.org/en/palestine_freedom_riders/?cl=1388878149&v=11131>
> &v=11131
> http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=245717 (there is a
> picture here of me being taken off of the bus)
> http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/15/1036888/-We-Shall-Overcome-A-Photo-
> Diary-of-Todays-Freedom-Riders?via=sidebar
> http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/11/israel-palestinians-freedo
> m-riders.html
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/activestills
> http://www.europalestine.com/spip.php?article6642
> <http://www.europalestine.com/spip.php?article6642&var_mode=calcul>
> &var_mode=calcul
> http://mondoweiss.net/2011/11/follow-the-freedom-rides.html
> http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/palestinians-embark-on-civil-disob
> edience-protests-against-demographic-segregation-1.395820
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15744576
> http://theonlydemocracy.org/2011/11/statement-of-the-palestinian-freedom-rid
> ers/
> http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/11/14/177154.html (Arabic)
>
> *Arundhati Roy: Occupy Wall Street is "So Important Because It is in the
> Heart of Empire"
> http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/15/arundhati_roy_occupy_wall_street_is
>
>
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> This message was sent to sah...@hotmail.co.uk. To unsubscribe, visit:
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> Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2011 12:03:23 +0200
> Subject: [HumanRights] Honored to be a "Freedom Rider"
> CC: > To: sah...@hotmail.co.uk
>
> Honored to be a "Freedom Rider"
> http://popular-resistance.blogspot.com/2011/11/honored-as-freedom-rider.html
>
> I was honored to be a freedom rider and it was team effort at its best
> (those who rode and the many who worked behind the scenes). Two other
> Palestinians were also arrested with us who were there as a
> reporters/observers not participants. All eight of us were released
> eventually pending potential trials. Fajr kindly gave us a ride to the edge
> of Beit Sahour from Ramallah (we were released at Qalandia checkpoint) where
> my wife met us there with my car and then she and I gave a ride to Nadim and
> Badi' to Hebron. I thus arrived home at 1:30 AM and the phones started
> ringing again at 7 AM. I am extremely tired and with a headache but wanted
> to send you a brief report and links to stories about this amazing and
> inspiring experience. While released, we are still charged with "illegal
> entry to Jerusalem" and with "obstructing police business" pending potential
> trial.
>
> This was one of the most heavily covered media events I ever participated
> in. It was also streamed live on the internet and nearly 100,000 people
> signed a petition of support for us freedom riders
> (https://secure.avaaz.org/en/palestine_freedom_riders/?aerQkcb). Thus, I do
> not need to write to you in detail about how three buses refused to let us
> board and then one driver (who later told journalists he did not know what
> was going on otherwise would have also refused) allowed us on the bus and
> what happened on and off the bus. Below are some links to stories published
> that give you a taste of this. Note especially the signs that we carried and
> showed before we rode the bus and from the windows of the bus (I am the one
> with the "DIGNITY" sign). Perhaps I will write more personally when my mind
> is clearer and I have had some sleep. But there are two anecdotes that
> happened that are kind of unusual and funny and in some way worth telling
> while they are fresh in my mind:
>
> -They took me to the Shabak ("Israeli intelligence") guy before they took me
> to the investigator for the bus issue. The Shabak guy did not ask me about
> the bus at all. He introduced himself as head of the Shabak area of
> Ramallah (and previously of Nablus and Jenin). He asked me if I was abroad
> recently. I said yes. He said what happened when you came back. I said I
> was interrogated at the bridge. He said "come-on interrogating is a big
> word". I said I do not know what else to call an 8 hour delay including 2
> hours of actual questioning. He said what else they told you. I said that
> the interrogation would continue and that there is a captain "Suhail" or
> "Suhaib" or something like that who will call me later. He said that that
> it is him and his name is "Shihab"! I said "well then maybe we will save
> another visit"! He told me that is not likely as I seem to continue to
> "cause problems and violate laws". I said there is something called
> international laws and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Denial of
> freedom of movement and entry to Jerusalem while allowing colonial settlers
> to live on our land and have freedom to travel in and out of Jerusalem on
> segregated buses is a violation of the International Convention Against the
> Crime of Apartheid. We also engaged in a political discussion and I
> explained about why Israel now has no incentive for peace (the three main
> sources of income for it would all dry up if there is peace) and my views of
> a democratic, pluralistic country for its entire people.
>
> -One young Ashkenazi soldier was very arrogant and even called me "Professor
> Teez" (Teez is Arabic for "ass"). We all (freedom riders) laughed it off
> and I told him that I did not insult him and that when someone insults me
> they demean themselves first. When he repeated it after my interrogation
> by the Shabak, I stood up and confronted him and the Druz officer intervened
> and the soldier moved away. There were other incidents with other people
> similar showing that our collective attitude was strong, defiant, and
> resilient. We all had Palestinian Kuffiyyas and kept wearing them. Fadi
> even wrapped himself in the Palestinian flag the whole time except when they
> did the full body search. We have some video from inside the compound which
> I will share later.
>
> I came out to find the news that the Zionist mayor of New York Mike
> Bloomberg ordered the clearing out of the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters
> for now; a very important protest *. But my reading of history and trends
> tell me that the global intifada will only accelerate as a result of
> repression by the powers to be.
>
> Freedom Riders odyssey:
> http://electronicintifada.net/content/israel-arrests-freedom-riders-challeng
> ing-apartheid-road-system/10595#.TsNplD3z3qE
> http://www.avaaz.org/en/palestine_freedom_riders/?cl=1388878149
> <http://www.avaaz.org/en/palestine_freedom_riders/?cl=1388878149&v=11131>
> &v=11131
> http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=245717 (there is a
> picture here of me being taken off of the bus)
> http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/15/1036888/-We-Shall-Overcome-A-Photo-
> Diary-of-Todays-Freedom-Riders?via=sidebar
> http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/11/israel-palestinians-freedo
> m-riders.html
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/activestills
> http://www.europalestine.com/spip.php?article6642
> <http://www.europalestine.com/spip.php?article6642&var_mode=calcul>
> &var_mode=calcul
> http://mondoweiss.net/2011/11/follow-the-freedom-rides.html
> http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/palestinians-embark-on-civil-disob
> edience-protests-against-demographic-segregation-1.395820
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15744576
> http://theonlydemocracy.org/2011/11/statement-of-the-palestinian-freedom-rid
> ers/
> http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/11/14/177154.html (Arabic)
>
> *Arundhati Roy: Occupy Wall Street is "So Important Because It is in the
> Heart of Empire"
> http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/15/arundhati_roy_occupy_wall_street_is
>
>
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> _______________________________________________
> HumanRights newsletter
> http://lists.qumsiyeh.org/mailman/listinfo/humanrights
> This message was sent to sah...@hotmail.co.uk. To unsubscribe, visit:
> http://lists.qumsiyeh.org/mailman/options/humanrights/sahida%40hotmail.co.uk
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