Today Abdallah Abu Rahmah, a well-respected Palestinian activist in Bil’in, was convicted of “incitement” and organizing illegal marches by an Israeli military court. For the crime of organizing non-violent protests Abu Rahma faces up to ten years in prison.
His conviction ended an eight month long trial, during which he was kept in prison.
I have written previously about this case — in which Abu Rahma was initially charged for possession of spent Israeli grenades and rubber bullets used on protestors – well, actually for making a peace sculpture (pictured here) out of them. I also wrote previously about the stupidity of maintaining a military presence so far out in the hinterlands solely to confront peaceful protestors.
But Israel’s goal is to crush all resistance, even peaceful protests. Imagine if Martin Luther King had been sentenced to ten years behind bars for his work. Yes, there are many Palestinians working with non-violent methods of protest and resistance.
Despite the charges, Abu Rahmah did not find himself behind bars because he presents any danger to society. On the contrary: Abu Rahmah, who is a teacher and part-time farmer, is probably Palestine’s most famous non-violent advocate — and apparently an all-too successful one.
As a member of the Popular Committee and its coordinator since it was formed in 2004, Abu Rahmah has represented the village of Bil’in around the world. In June 2009, he attended the village’s precedent-setting legal case in Montreal against two Canadian companies illegally building settlements on Bil’in’s land; in December of 2008, he participated in a speaking tour in France, and in December 2008, exactly a year before his arrest, Abdallah received the Carl Von Ossietzky Medal for Outstanding Service in the Realization of Basic Human Rights, awarded by the International League for Human Rights in Berlin.
This is not the work of a violent man.
Last summer Abdallah stood in a group with Nobel Peace laureates and internationally renowned human rights activists, the Elders, discussing Bil’in’s grassroots campaign for justice and was photographed with Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu when the Elders visited his village. Ironically, Abu Rahmah may soon be in prison precisely for his involvement in this peaceful campaign.
Abu Rahma’s work has been characterized by insistence on non-violence and noted for its creativity. Demonstrator in Bil’in have called attention to their struggle by painting themselves like James Cameron’s Avatars and have expressed their solidarity with people in Gaza by creating a parade float like a Gaza flotilla ship.
Today’s conviction will likely be followed by a sentence in coming weeks. If Abu Rahmah serves any more time than the eight months he has already been held in military prison it will only serve to send a message to young Palestinians that non-violence is a useless option. And if Abu Rahmah serves one more day in prison it will reinforce the view, increasingly justified in even Israel itself, that Israel is a becoming nothing more than a police state.
Please send a message to the Department of State** urging Secretary Clinton to convey a message to Israel** that a sentence of any more prison time for Abu Rahmah would send the wrong message to the world and an entire generation of Palestinians.
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