Activism

Statement: As the practices of criminalization, incarceration, detention and deportation are global, so too must be our resistance

May 4, 2017

Sedq: A Global Jewish Network for Justice stands in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in their struggle for freedom and an end to political imprisonment. The Palestinian prisoner Hunger Strike has been going on since the 17th of April – and we call for their full protection and rights. Over 1500 Palestinian prisoners are on a hunger strike, a form of resistance and protest that is part of a larger struggle for freedom and against the occupation military’s control over Palestinian bodies and lives. They are raising awareness of the 6300 Palestinian political prisoners, which includes 300 children and 61 women,  500 of whom are in administrative detention.

(Image: Carlos Latuff)

Palestinian resistance has been in existence since before the Nakba, and it has continued in the face of 50 years of a military Occupation. The practices of a repressive military court (with over 99% conviction rate), and the imprisonment and detention of Palestinians by Israel has a long history. The imprisonment and detention of Palestinians has included beatings, torture, sexual violence, solitary confinement, isolation, and neglect.  This happens as prisoners in Israeli facilities are being denied access to lawyers, family visits, and being subject to increased isolation. There can be no justice without Palestinian self-determination, and this prisoners struggle is a critical step on this road. We stand behind the call by Palestinian prisoners to uphold their human rights, and stand alongside Addameer legal rights center in their work to protect the rights of Palestinian prisoners. We demand an end to the abusive Israeli occupation and practices that include criminalization and collective punishment by Israeli occupation forces, administrative detention, continued denial of fair trial, and illegal transfer and deportation of detainees.

There are clear links between the ways that Israel treats Palestinian prisoners, and the ways that other racialised peoples around the world have their lives and freedoms controlled and curtailed. As a global network, we affirm that just as the practices of criminalization, incarceration, detention and deportation are global, so too must be our resistance. All of us must work in solidarity with others in ways that cross borders, recognising the interconnectedness of our global, regional, and local, struggles.

The international community has continued to support these practices by not demanding clearly the rights of Palestinians. These practices must be stopped immediately, prisoners’ rights must be protected according to international law and the military occupation must end.  As a Jewish global network for justice in solidarity with Palestinians, we reject the ongoing human rights violations of Palestinians and support their demands for justice.

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Yep, that echoes my comment yesterday.

And I agree with Omar Barghouti who said here a couple of days ago that we don’t need to — and in fact shouldn’t — interpret “intersectionality” to mean that we have to address racism, sexism, LGBTQ, economic oppression etc. every time for every issue, but need to keep a degree of clear focus (as he’s currently doing on his US tour).

But in this case, it seems appropriate to look globally at the abuses of the prison-industrial complex, since it is in fact a global phenomenon that is worsening from one day to the next.