Report on IPSC screening of 'Story of a Martyr' and Public Meeting with Bil'in activists

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | news report

Tuesday November 10, 2009 23:54

by Words - Freda H / Pics - Kev - IPSC (personal capacity)

info at ipsc dot ie

Part of the International Week of Solidarity Against the Apartheid Walls in Palestine and Siege of Gaza

As part of the International Week of Solidarity, a week of global mobilisation against the walls of apartheid in Palestine from November 9th to 16th 2009, the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign has launched a an island-wide programme of events including film screenings, public meetings, fundraisers and a National Demonstration in Dublin on 14th November. Tonight, 10 November 2009, the film Bassem Abu Rahmah – Story of a Martyr premiered in Dublin and was followed by presentations and a Q&A with ISM Bil'in activists.

Evie explains about repression of journalists in Bil'in

Bassem Abu Rahmah was a non-violent anti-Apartheid Wall activist from the West Bank village of Bil'in. On April 17th 2009 he was murdered by the Israeli military when he was shot at point blank range in the chest with a tear gas canister. This film looks at the situation in Bil'in through the lens of Bassem's short life.

The film was introduced by a short, informative talk and power point presentation given by two ISM activists Evie Soli and Pete St. John-Jones who have recently returned from Bil'in were they worked with the Popular Committee Against the Siege as part of Bil'in's non-violent resistance campaign.

Evie Soli is 26 years old and studies Social Anthropology in Trondheim University in Norway. Last year she worked in a refugee camp in Palestine. Since then she has actively worked for an academic and trading boycott of Israel through "the Committee for Palestine" in Norway. This year she worked as an activist in Hebron, Al Quds (Jerusalem) and mostly Bil'in with grassroots resistance movements. She is now working on the creation of ISM Norway, and continuing to raise awareness and promote the boycott.

Pete Jones is 25 years old and have been involved in Palestinian solidarity since his undergraduate days, campaigning in the UK through student movements and later, in Paris, through various affinity groups. He spent two months in the West Bank this summer, in Nablus and Al Quds (Jerusalem) for a short while but doing most of his work in Bil'in. He is involved with the ISM network in London, planning and executing direct actions that aim to raise awareness of the exploitation and oppression of Palestinians by the occupation forces as well as to convince complicit companies and governmental agencies to cut their ties with Israel as part of the on-going effort to establish a full and proper boycott until such a point as the occupation is ended.

They spoke with passion about their experiences in Palestine and of the need for international support in order to continue to resist the ongoing Israeli Apartheid practices in Palestine.

Pete stated that: “Over the past few months Israeli repression against the people of Bil’in has escalated. No longer are military actions confined to ‘policing’ the Friday demonstrations and the occasional incursion to arrest or harass activists. Since July 2009 there have been regular night-time military raids into Bil’in aimed at instilling fear in the people and destroying the Bil’in Popular Committee. The Israeli authorities have arrested members of the Committee as well as teenagers and young boys from the village in order to obtain forced confessions against Committee members.”

He also spoke of the various legal cases taken by the Popular Committee: “ The construction of Israel’s wall in the West Bank was declared illegal by the International Criminal Court on July 9th 2004. In a celebrated decision, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled on the 4th September 2007, that the current route of the wall in Bil’in was illegal should be dismantled. Unfortunately, this ruling has never been implemented. On 25th June 2009 the village of Bil’in took two companies registered in Canada to court for participating in war crimes by building settlements on Bil’in’s land under the 2000 Canadian Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Statute. “

The issue of Irish complicity in Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine was raised by IPSC spokespeople John Dorman and Freda Hughes when they spoke of CRH (Cement Roadstone Holdings – an Irish owned international building materials firm) failure to comply with international law by its awareness of, proximity to and financial benefit derived from the construction of Israel's illegal Apartheid Wall, colonial settlements and settler only roads and light rail system.

A short documentary “CRH plc: Tear down the Wall” directed by David Motterhead and Daniela Gross was shown before the meeting ended.

John Dorman also highlighted the issue of Ireland purchasing arms from Israel. He encouraged everyone to write to Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea expressing their disgust at this insidious contract. This issue was raised in the Seanad yesterday, Monday 9 November, by Senator tor David Norris, to whom the IPSC are grateful. To see Senator Norris' comments please go to this link: http://www.kildarestreet.com/sendebates/?id=2009-11-09....444.0

Evie encouraged all those concerned with obtaining justice for Palestinians to get involved in campaigning in their own countries, cities and localities. She stressed the power that organised campaigns can have at influencing all levels of society.

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For more information on where Evie and Pete will be screening the documentary and talking about their experiences (and info on all other upcoming events as part of the Week of Solidarity) see: http://www.indymedia.ie/article/94699

To sign the IPSC online petition against CRH click here: http://www.petitiononline.com/ipsccrh/petition.html

To find out more or get involved with the IPSC click here: http://www.ipsc.ie/get_involved.php