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NEWS & LETTERS, October 2004Palestine/Iraq
anti-war solidarity fast
Memphis,
Tenn.--I began a ten-day liquid-only fast on Sept. 1, in solidarity with Iraqis
and Palestinians using nonviolent means to resist war, terror and occupation in
the Middle East. This was one of more than a dozen such fasts occurring around
the U.S. in Chicago, New York, and other locations. I
kept a daily vigil and set up a display at Christian Brothers University, where
I'm a student. Passers-by in this area of heavy foot traffic engaged me on the
nature of the fast and read leaflets about nonviolent resistance highlighting
efforts by Iraqis and Palestinians. I
told them of how in Iraq over 14,000 civilians have been killed in the U.S.
invasion and occupation. In Israel, 943 Israeli civilians have been killed and
in Palestine more than 3,000 Palestinians since 2000. A number of international
solidarity activists have been assassinated, and a few have survived
assassination attempts by "legitimate" authorities. As
I began my fast, the Iraqi city of Najaf entered its second week of a cease-fire
following three weeks of intense siege and bombardment by U.S. forces. In late
August, more than 10,000 unarmed Iraqi pilgrims, following a call by Grand
Ayatollah Sistani to "march to Najaf in order to rescue the city,"
placed themselves between the warring parties of the U.S. military and the Mehdi
militia. They called for Najaf to be a weapons-free zone, for the Iraqi rebels
to disarm and vacate the holy shrine, and for the U.S. occupation to immediately
withdraw. The effect was immediate: an end to the fighting, for the time being. Palestinian
prisoners and detainees all throughout Israeli-occupied Palestine began a hunger
strike on Aug. 15 in protest of inhumane treatment of them and their families by
Israeli authorities. In this non-cooperation, the prisoners use their
imprisonment as an organizing tool and as an act of resistance to the collective
punishment and arbitrary abuse of the Palestinian people by the Israeli
occupation. The initial reaction of some Israeli authorities was a mixture of
contempt and a celebratory opportunism, as with Israeli Public Security Minister
Tzachi Hanegbi's famous "let them strike till death" statement. The
strike, which generated massive support and solidarity actions throughout
Israel, occupied Palestine, and much of the world, has brought some Israeli
authorities to the negotiating table. In late August, 350 Palestinian prisoners
in Ashkalon jail stopped their hunger strike because the Israelis decided to
discuss their demands and agreed on most of them. A few days later, these 350
prisoners rejoined the other 7,500 prisoners on hunger strike. As
I was ending my solidarity fast on Sept. 11, the Israeli Defense Forces were
celebrating the Palestinian prisoners hunger strike with a barbecue. --Ceylon Mooney |
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