On Friday, 10 December, an estimated 10,000 people rallied in Tel Aviv for human rights. The striking diversity of the participants made the politicians’ constant repetition of the phrase ‘Jewish state’ sound like a wish rather than a reality. There were Muslim and Christian Palestinians, Jews, religious and secular, gay and straight, African refugees from Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan. Some were refugees, but they all live and work in Israel – all are threads in the social fabric of this country.
There was a feeling of warmth and goodwill at that march; Yuval Ben-Ami compares it to a Friday afternoon family gathering – complete with ‘annoying relatives’ (a few dozen right-wing protesters who somehow managed to make the Israeli flag look like a weapon and classic Israeli folk songs sound violent). Friends greeted one another with hugs and kisses as demonstrators chanted lustily and passing drivers honked their horns in support. Human rights, after all, is such a broad, inclusive term that it’s easy to express support.
But then, while listening to the Palestinian-Israeli hip-hop group System Ali perform at Rabin Square in Hebrew and Arabic, I read on Twitter, via Joseph Dana, that the IDF was laying siege to the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh. Soldiers were shooting long range tear gas canisters directly at unarmed demonstrators, at a dangerously close range. They were using live ammunition to quell peaceful villagers who only wanted the land confiscated by settlers returned to them. All of this was happening just a few minutes’ drive from Rabin Square, in the West Bank. In Israel the police protect peaceful demonstrators that are organized by large organizations; but in the West Bank, just a short drive away, the police beat, shoot and arrest peaceful demonstrators.
Einat Weitzman, an actress and left-wing activist, read aloud a speech written by Abdullah Abu Rahmeh, a 39 year-old Palestinian schoolteacher who has been jailed for more than one year. He has been charged with incitement because he organized the residents of his West Bank village, Bil’in, to protest peacefully the army’s refusal to obey the Israeli Supreme Court’s order to reroute the separation barrier in order so that it does not separate the villagers from their farmland. For marching and waving flags in support of the Israeli Supreme Court, Abdullah Abu Rahmeh has been in jail for more than one year. Below is an excerpt from his speech; click here to read the full text.
In the year that I have spent in prison, my son Laith has taken his first steps and said his first words, and Luma and Layan have been growing from children to beautiful young girls. I have not been able to be with them, to walk holding their hands, to take them to school as they and I are used to. Laith does not know me now. And my wife Majida has had to care for our family alone.
In 2010 children in Bil’in and throughout the West bank are still being awakened in the middle of the night to find guns pointed at their heads. In the year that I have spent in prison, the military has carried out dozens of night raids in Bil’in with the purpose of removing those involved in the popular struggle against the occupation. (click here to read the full speech).
Below is ACRI’s press release about the march, followed by three photos taken by Meged Gozani. You can see more photos here and here.
Ten Thousand at Israel’s Human Rights March:
Together We Stand to Fight Racism, Demand Justice
In a show of force of Israel’s human rights community, ten thousands people gathered today in Tel Aviv for Human Rights March, calling on the Israeli authorities to protect all those living under its authority and promote justice and equality, and protesting against the rising tides of racism
Bringing together demonstrators from across the country, both Jews and Arabs, as well as approximately one thousand refugees and migrant workers, mostly from Sudan, Eritrea, and other African countries, the march processed along Ibn Gavirol St. and concluded with a closing rally in Rabin Square.
Standing side-by-side in a unique moment of solidarity, demonstrators carried signs saying: “Democracy: The Slippery Slope is Already Here”, “Jews and Arabs Refuse to be Enemies”, “Climate Change is Here – Let’s Stop It”, “We are All Refugees”, “Love Thy Neighbor – Putting a Stop to Racism”, “When a Woman Says No She Means No”, “It is my Right to be Different”, “100% Democracy to 100% of the Citizens”.
Marking International Human Rights Day, Israel’s second Human Rights March, organized by The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, brought together 130 organizations from a broad spectrum of fields: Workers’ rights, empowerment of women, the environment, against the Occupation, for equal citizenry, LGBT community, animal rights, social justice, migrant workers rights, and more. Following the tradition of the great civil liberties marches in Washington and elsewhere, the march is the only event ever to take place in Israel, in which all these groups and individuals march together, each carrying a unique message but all united by the call: Human Rights is Everyone’s Rights.
During the past year, democracy and human rights in Israel have suffered severe blows – but were met with a resilient civil society determined to counter the worrying tides. Just this past week, a letter signed by prominent rabbis called on Jews not to rent out or sell apartments to Arabs, and was met with wide condemnation, including by many of the organizations and individuals participating in the march.
Below are excerpts of some of the speeches made during the closing rally in Rabin Square:
· Renowned author Sami Michael, president of ACRI and a resident of Haifa, spoke of the devastating fire that raged in the Carmel last week: “We look at what once were evergreen forests, and now are barren terrace, and greave. We don’t know yet whether the disaster was caused accidently or maliciously, but we do know that the heads of State failed in carrying out their duty to safeguard lives, livelihood, and wildlife.
The majority of the Israeli public believes that human rights are sacred. We have gathered here today to voice our call for the rights of all humans; to cry out against the curse of racism; to combat the socioeconomic gaps, violence against women, violence in our public discourse, and any other form of violence.
And to the Palestinian people I say: Ours is a shared fait. We shell die together or live together. We have gathered here now to declare: We have chosen life.
· Prof. Naomi Hazzan, Chairperson of the New Israel Fund in Israel and former member of Knesset, said:
In the face of so many who choose the path of hatred, incitement, and violence, the heroes of Israel’s civil society stand out by choosing not to give up on the vision of a better Israel. They are the ones who give us the strength to continue the battle, and remind us that when we see discrimination and injustice the most important thing is not to stand idle but rather to call out and ensure our voices are heard. We will not stop until Israel is a true democracy, which respects the ‘other’ and cares for all those who are weakened.
· Amel A-Sana Al-Hajuj co-director of Ajik – The Negev Institute, a long-time activist for the rights of the Bedouin in Israel, stated:
The rabbis who signed the letter want to separate us. But we are here, and jointly we declare: We are together, we want a shared future. The march is a celebration of our victory, it is our answer to racism and to all the challenges we are forced to face daily.
Four letters were written specially for the march by individuals who this past year dared to demand human rights and justice for themselves and others:
· Eli Zvieli from Safed rented out his home to Arab students and did not succumb to pressures and intimidation, including by Safed’s Chief Rabbi:
I am 89-years old, I’ve survived the Holocaust and captivity. I’ve been through a lot but I feel strong, I feel great. I believed then as I still believe today, that I must safeguard my rights, that all people should safeguard their rights.
· Abdallah Abu Rahma from Bili’in in the West Bank, a leader of the non-violent popular struggle against the Separation Barrier, sent a letter from his prison cell:
In the face of oppression and injustice, we have chosen a message of hope and true partnership between Israelis and Palestinians. We will continue fighting for a just future. This is the message I wish to bring to you today, carried across fences and walls and laws that separate us from one another.
· Mary Vansovski, chairperson of the cleaners’ Workers Union a Ben Gurion University, shared the humiliation workers suffer daily as employees and human being:
Being a contract worker makes people think of you as inferior, as someone who doesn’t belong here. We have made much progress since the first elections of the Workers Union, and our work is still cut out for us – but the sky is the limit!
· T.A.W from Eretria, who entered Israel through the Sinai desert and is today held at the Saharonim detention center:
When I arrived in Sudan I was kidnapped by strangers. They held me hostage for five months, during which I was raped and forced to prepare meals for my kidnappers and clean after them. Eventually I was released and sent with a group of refugees to cross the border to Israel.
Supported by The European Union
