Dear all friends and supporters of Palestine,
Today, as we celebrated the news that both Hisham Abu Hawash and Miqdad Qawasmeh - long-term hunger strikers that many of you and ohers around the world joined campaigns for release -- were free, we also learned about a new attack on Palestine taking place in France.
In the latest assault on Palestinian rights and freedom of expression, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted that he is asking for the dissolution of the Collectif Palestine Vaincra ("Palestine Will Win Collective"), the French Palestine solidarity organization and a member of the Samidoun Network, “at the request” of French president Emmanuel Macron.
This blatant attack on freedom of expression and association once again reveals the complete disregard of the French state for the principles of “human rights” and “democracy” it claims to support. We urge all supporters of justice in Palestine to take action to defend the Collectif Palestine Vaincra and the Palestinian liberation movement from the latest attacks of the French state, in full alliance with Israeli war crimes, colonialism and apartheid.
Our statement and more resources to challenge this are below, but we want to invite individuals to sign the petition and organizations to join the sign-on statement to defend our comrades in the Collectif from this attack! This is taking place almost exactly one year after Israeli war criminal -- and "defense" minister -- Benny Gantz labeled Samidoun a "terrorist" organization. Clearly, the struggle for a free Palestine is growing -- and dangerous forces are desperate to stop that movement.
We have action suggestions and resources to help you take action at the website and below. Please don't hesitate to contact us at samidoun@samidoun.net to share your actions and thoughts.
We also want to thank everyone who has already supported the case of Khaled Barakat fighting anti-Palestinian repression in Germany. Thanks to your support, we've raised $7,700 of the $10,000 we need for this case! Please consider donating to support this case and the defense of Palestinian rights.
There are many completely free and voluntary ways that you can help take action in all of these cases, including writing letters, organizing demonstrations and even taking solidarity photos for social media! Read below for ways that you can get involved. Let's take action to defend the Collectif Palestine Vaincra and fight back against anti-Palestinian repression together.
Palestine will win!
In solidarity,
Your comrades at Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
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This comes after a series of “dissolutions” imposed by the French state, including an order to dissolve the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) as well as various leftist and anti-racist organizations. While the French state attempts to parallel these dissolutions to far-right organizations, those fascist groups have been classified largely as “militias,” while Darmanin states that the Collectif Palestine Vaincra, and another Palestine solidarity group in France, must be censored and criminalized because it opposes imperialism, colonialism and Zionism. This is made quite explicit in Darmanin’s statement, which appears to declare that believing that Muslims face discrimination and racism should also be illegal in France.
When a group is “dissolved” by the state, it may not hold meetings or organize events. Material bearing the group’s name and logo is banned, and members and activists who continue to organize in the name of the group can be fined and even imprisoned. This is shameless political repression carried out by an imperialist power that claims to defend human rights while trampling atop them.
This type of criminalization reflects the French state’s ongoing attempts to cover up its crimes of colonialism throughout the region and its complicity in Israeli war crimes with the repression, silencing and censorship of Palestinian and Arab communities and Palestine solidarity organizations. This comes after multiple attempts to criminally prosecute activists for distributing flyers calling for the boycott of Israeli goods and participating in BDS campaigns, for which France was condemned by the European Court of Human Rights.
This action blatantly flies in the face of France’s obligations under international law, the European Charter of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It is a shameless attack on freedom of expression and association and must be confronted as such.
We stand with our comrades in the Collectif Palestine Vaincra and we urge all friends of Palestine — and of the basic principles of freedom to organize — to stand with the Collectif now. No such repressive actions will ever be able to stop the Palestinian struggle from moving forward, as over 100 years of colonization and 74 years of Zionist occupation have also failed to do so. Palestine will win, and Palestine will be free – from the river to the sea!
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Take Action:
1. Individuals: Sign the petition in support of Collectif Palestine Vaincra! Add your signature here. https://www.change.org/p/non-%C3%A0-la-dissolution-du-collectif-palestine-vaincra
2. Organizations: Sign the solidarity statement for Collectif Palestine Vaincra. Add your organizational endorsement here: https://bit.ly/defendcpv
3. Stand against criminalization of Palestinian rights in France with a statement or action! Send organizational solidarity statements to collectifpalestinevaincra@gmail.com (and copy us at samidoun@samidoun.net. Protest at a French embassy or consulate in your area. Find the embassy near you: https://www.embassy-worldwide.com/country/france/
4. Call the French embassy or consulate in your area and speak up about the targeting of CPV! Find the closest French embassy or consulate in your area: https://www.embassy-worldwide.com/country/france/ For easy reference, the French embassy in the US can be reached at +1 (202) 944 6000, the French embassy in Canada at +1 (613) 789-1795, and the French embassy to the UK at [+44] (0) 207 073 1000. Find the embassy near you: https://www.embassy-worldwide.com/country/franceWhen you call, say, “My name is _____ and I am calling from _____. I am calling about the Interior Minister’s statement today that he will dissolve and ban two pro-Palestine organizations. This is an outrageous attack on freedom of expression. I stand with Palestine and with the Collectif Palestine Vaincra, and France should stop these attacks immediately.”
5. Take an individual or group photo or video with the campaign posters (below), make your own sign and share on social media! Tag us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and use the hashtag: #SolidaritéCollectifPalestineVaincra
Download and print the PDFS: English, French, Arabic, German, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish
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Salutes of freedom to Hisham Abu Hawash and Miqdad Qawasmeh
Salutes of freedom and welcome to Hisham Abu Hawash and Miqdad Qawasmeh, both released from Israeli occupation prisons today. Hisham Abu Hawash’s 141-day hunger strike to win his freedom from administrative detention without charge or trial captivated the world. Miqdad Qawasmeh, a Palestinian university student, stood up for his fellow imprisoned students with his 114-day hunger strike against administrative detention.
Today, there are over 500 administrative detainees engaged in an ongoing boycott of the Israeli military courts. There are over 4,650 Palestinian political prisoners putting their bodies and lives on the line for liberation every day.
Hisham, Miqdad and their brothers and sisters behind bars are leaders of the liberation movement and true heroes of struggle. We salute them on this day of liberation — they are examples for us all in their sacrifice and steadfastness for freedom, not only for themselves, but for all of Palestine, from the river to the sea.
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Samidoun chapters, affiliates and links around the world:
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network has chapters and affiliates in the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Spain, Palestine and Lebanon and we work with groups around the world. Would you like to form a local chapter or become an affiliate? Contact us at samidoun@samidoun.net.
Click here to support Samidoun's work with a donation.
Alternately, checks and money orders may be written and mailed to:
AFGJ/Samidoun
225 E. 26th St., Ste. 1
Tucson, A.Z. 85713-2925
U.S.A.
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Follow Samidoun's social media to learn more about actions and events.
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