Protest on February 10 2011:
Israeli Apartheid = Violence against Women
Jawaher,
Israel took your life,
we take up your struggle, dignity and courage
A call for women all over the world to unite behind the popular resistance and the determination of Palestinian women in defense of their land, rights and dignity.
While the world was celebrating a new year, Jawaher Abu Rahmah (34 years) died in a Ramallah hospital from poisoning due to teargas inhalation.
Jawaher was out in the fields on Friday, December 31 participating in the protest against the Apartheid Wall that strangles her village Bilâin, stealing its lands and livelihood. She had seen her brother killed in a similar protest almost two years ago when Israeli military shot him with a tear gas grenade in the chest, but this only intensified her dedication to her work with the youth that can carry on the resistance. It didnât deter her from joining the protests. When the tear gas clouds reached her that day, she fell sick and died from the effects of the gas.
Like Jawaher, many Palestinian women stand on the front lines of resistance every day: in the protests, at the checkpoints, in the meeting rooms, in their own homes and in Israeli jails. Generations of Palestinian women have led, joined and supported the Palestinian struggle, yet far too often their contributions, sacrifices and efforts go unacknowledged. They pay a silent but heavy price. They are shouldering the burden of families lacerated by Israeli repression and dispossession. They are beaten, harassed, insulted, tortured and killed by Israeli occupation forces.
The international community actively sustains Israeli apartheid, and the âbusiness as usualâ approach and arms trade with Israel support and encourage Israeli wars, repression and violence against women.
The Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, the General Union of Palestinian Women, and the Bil’in Popular Committee are organizing a mass mobilization of Palestinian women in Bilâin to mark the traditional commemoration on the 40th day of the passing away of Jawaher Abu Rahmah. We are calling you to join us and mobilize in protests in your countries on February 10.
We are calling you to join us and mobilize in protests in your countries on February 10.
Donât forget Jawaher!
Stand with Palestinian women against Israeli violence!
Stop your countries from trading arms that kill Palestinians.
Join the Palestinian struggle against Israeli apartheid and for land, justice, self-determination and the right of return.
Join the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.
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Background:
The Wall, which is currently projected to run 810 km in length, is not being built on, or in most cases near the 1967 Green Line. Instead, it cuts deep into the West Bank, annexing Palestinian land and resources. It consists of a network of walls, fences, military zones, 34 fortified checkpoints, 44 tunnels, 634 checkpoints and obstructions and 1,661 km of settler roads. When completed, the Wall and its associated regime of settlements and “military zones” will de facto annex some 46% of the West Bank, isolating communities into Bantustans and military zones.
The popular resistance against the Wall joins women, men, young and old in the affected villages in an effort to protect their rights and their land, and has faced a staggering level of repression, arrests and violence from the Israeli authorities. The most visible and unifying expressions of this resistance are the weekly demonstrations against the Wall, which are organised and led by local âpopular committeesâ, comprised of activists from the affected communities.
Overwhelming violence by the Israeli occupation forces is complemented by arrests, collective punishment and threats with the aim to put pressure on the social coherence of village society. Israeli forces have now killed 17 people in protests against the Wall. Israel uses lethal and often so-called non-lethal weapons with the knowledge or aim to kill or inflict serious harm to the protestors. CS gas, a type of tear gas probably used that day in Bilâin, has been reported to lead to miscarriages among pregnant women and, in certain situations, cause death.
Israel does not sustain this system of apartheid and oppression on its own. Both are carried out by Israel with the connivance of international organizations and governments who profit from Israeli occupation. For instance, governments all over the world buy Israeli weapons tested and developed in the repression of the Palestinian people, international banks and investors possess shares in companies which are responsible for the construction of the Wall, and settler produce is sold in stores across the globe. These economic relationships make the international community complicit in Israeli apartheid and crimes against the Palestinian people.
The Palestinian popular protest movement has shown a remarkable ability not only to survive, but to grow and spread, cultivating a new generation of activists and leaders, and taking root in new areas. We call on you to support this struggle; voice your anger at the killing of Jawaher on the 10th, and take up the Palestinian call for BDS!