The Committee to Stop FBI Repression in the US sends solidarity greetings to our brothers and sisters of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel in France. We stand with you against the outrageous attempts by the French government to slander and criminalize you. The US and French governments and courts cannot hold back the international movement for freedom, justice and equality in Palestine !
We understand what you are up against. In 2010, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided our homes, claiming to investigate “material support for terrorism,” which carries a minimum 15-year prison sentence. The FBI took our belongings and ordered 23 antiwar, and Palestine and Colombia solidarity activists, to appear before a grand jury in Chicago. Grand juries are secretive courts, run solely by US prosecutors, with no judge, and no right to a lawyer or to present evidence favorable to you. All 23 refused to appear, risking going to jail. There was a tremendous outpouring of support for us, with protests in 70 cities and solidarity statements from unions, and peace, community, religious and student groups.
Today, the Assistant US Prosecutor Barry Jonas claims the “investigation is ongoing” and refuses to return the belongings of Palestinian-American leader Hatem Abudayyeh of Chicago. Jonas is a pro-Israel ideologue responsible for putting the Holy Land Five, Muslim and Palestinian-American charity leaders, in prison for up to 65 years. We say education, health care, housing and food for Palestinians is a human right ! Charity and solidarity is not a crime !
There are now nearly 200 Palestinian-American, Arab-American, and Muslim men in US prisons for similar political cases. The repression is continuous and expanding.
But we have an international movement against war, occupation and repression that is growing more powerful. The US, its NATO allies including France, and Israel, are in decline and growing more isolated in the world. Because they are losing, they are acting more desperate. Their rulings and laws will not hold us back. It only makes us more determined ! Because of the BDS movement in the US, people are learning that Israel is a country of repression and super-exploitation like Apartheid South Africa. Opposition to US funding for Israel is growing.
We hope you will accept a token donation of “material support” from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression for your legal defense fund. We stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers of the BDS movement in France !
Tom Burke, for the Committee to Stop FBI Repression at www.StopFBI.net
Solidarité du Comité Contre la Répression du FBI
Le Comité Contre la Répression par le FBI aux Etats Unis d’Amérique envoie l’expression de sa solidarité fraternelle à nos frères et sœurs Français du mouvement de justice pour la Palestine. Nous condamnons vigoureusement la tentative du gouvernement français de criminaliser vos activités. Les gouvernements américains et français ne peuvent pas stopper le courant international qui aboutira à la liberté, la justice et l’égalité en Palestine !
Nous comprenons vos difficultés. En 2010 le FBI a effectué de nombreux raids sur nos maisons et confisqué nos biens personnels sous couvert d’investigation d’actes soutenant le terrorisme. Ils ont convoqué 23 d’entre nous a comparaitre devant une cour d’accusation. NOUS AVONS TOUS REFUSE, EN RISQUANT LA PRISON.
Maintenant, nous avons un mouvement international qui devient de plus en plus puissant. Les États Unis avec ses alliés de l’OTAN et Israël sont des puissances en déclin qui deviennent de plus en plus isolées dans le monde. Leurs décrets et leurs lois ne peuvent plus nos restreindre. Ils ne font qu’augmenter notre détermination ! Grâce au mouvement BDS aux USA, les gens réalisent qu’Israël est un pays de répression et de surexploitation comme l’Afrique du Sud de l’apartheid.
Nous espérons que vous accepterez un don symbolique de notre comité pour votre fond de défense légale. Nous vous assurons encore notre entière solidarité avec nos frères et sœurs du mouvement BDS français.
Procès BDS en France : Communiqué de soutien de U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN)
USPCN Solidarity with the French BDS Movement The United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) sends greetings of solidarity, support, and love to all members of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel in France. As Palestinians and Arabs living in the U.S., we stand with you against the French government’s cowardly attempt to criminalize support for Palestinian self-determination. Your steadfastness in the face of state-sponsored racist vitriol reminds France, Israel, and the U.S. that no court or government can hold back the international movement for freedom, justice, and equality in Palestine ! Many members of the Palestinian community and the Palestine solidarity movement in the U.S. know what it is like to face repression for expressing support for our homeland. Specifically, the U.S. government has used so-called “material support for terrorism” statutes as a sword against us here. In 2008, members of the leadership of the Holy Land Foundation (HLF), previously the largest Muslim charity in the United States, were convicted of providing “material support” to Hamas, and are now in prison for decades. Their only “crime” was providing humanitarian support to our people in Gaza. In 2003, the statutes were used to punish Dr. Sami Al-Arian for his outspokenness on Palestine, and he was kept in solitary confinement for more than three years before trial. The case is still not resolved, even though he was acquitted by a jury of his peers. Most recently, anti-war activists throughout the Midwest, including prominent Palestinian leaders of USPCN, have been the focus of a grand jury witch-hunt investigation, which has paved the way for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to invade our homes and intimidate our families. Dr. Abdelhaleem Al-Ashqar is serving 11 years in prison for refusing to name names to another grand jury, even after he was also acquitted by a jury ; and Palestinian students and their supporters, like the Irvine 8, are regularly threatened by professors, administrators, and Zionist students. Countries like France, the United States, and Israel will continue to resort to dirty tactics in order to derail our movement for Palestinian national liberation, which grows stronger by the day. The BDS movement has proven to be a critical tool in revealing Israel for what it is : an apartheid colonial entity that exists at the expense of Palestinian self-determination. Your efforts are powerful, and play a crucial role in the global movement to realize justice in Palestine. We hope that these words strengthen your resolve against continued government repression and intimidation. We stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers of the BDS movement in France !
