There appear to be some glitches (I still get the odd ‘Action Canceled’ and ‘This Page Cannot Be Displayed’ when trying to do things) and some casualties (notably all the thoughtful comments and discussions we’ve had below these blog posts — how are commentors ever supposed to trust again?) but it appears that we are back in the blogosphere. With a moment to comment on three different Israel/Palestine related cases.
The first is only peripherally related to Palestine, or rather, its relationship to Palestine is ambiguous and the full extent is unknown. It is of a resolution to the Daniel Freeman-Maloy case. Readers might recall this student who was expelled from his campus for ‘unauthorized use of a sound amplification device’. Rather flimsy, no? Well the courts thought so, and essentially struck down the University’s ruling. The University is not sorry, according to their spokesperson Nancy White. Though I can’t help but suspect that White’s comment was an attempt at satire: “We think we’ve made our point, and people are now very well aware that the university is quite serious about following the code of conduct.” Since the University has violated its own procedures and has shown to be anything but serious about following any kind of rational procedures, no other interpretation than the comical one can follow.
Now that we’ve had our laughs, though, there are more serious matters.
There has been a court order to halt the destruction of the Palestinian village of Barta, near Jenin. Isn’t it a shame that we only hear about these places when they are being destroyed? Here is a report with a photo of the destruction (looks a little like my own photo from nearby Jenin, no?) from an ISM activist.
And finally, a district court judge in Tel Aviv released Jewish ISM activist Anne Petter after her 28 day long detention. Petter is not, of course, allowed to visit the Occupied Territories. This is a frequent condition slapped on people trying to enter, and an odd one, since if the idea is that these people are a threat to Israeli security, one would think they would be allowed only into the Occupied Palestinian Territories and not into Israel. But then, that would require Palestinians to have a border of their own… details below.
Welcome back aboard.
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Press Release
Judge Releases American Peace Activist Protesting Israel’s Separation Wall
Judge Dismisses General Security Service’s “Security Threat” Claims
Tel Aviv
21 July 2004
Tel Aviv District Court Judge Oded Mudrik dismissed the state’s allegations that Ann Petter poses a security threat to Israel and might participate in terrorist activity, allowing Petter, American peace activist detained 28 days, entry into the state of Israel. Petter was traveling to Israel/Palestine to document protests against the Separation Wall that Israel is constructing in the West Bank, which was ruled illegal by the International Court of Justice on July 9.
The Judge called the State’s report “embarassing” and expressed reservations about the basis upon which the General Security Service recommended to bar Petter from entry. After he evaluated the secret evidence presented by the GSS behind closed doors, Judge Mudrik concluded that the GSS could not sustain their recommendation to deny the defendant entry based on involvement in terrorist activity or membership in an “extremist leftist organization.”
The Judge expressed doubt as to whether clear rules and regulations exist in the procedures of the Ministry of Interior that leaad to the recommendations denying people entry into Israel.
Petter will be released on bail on Friday under the conditions that she not enter the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Petter participated in a peace march last year organized by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), which is a Palestinian-led movement working for Palestinian freedom and an end to the Israeli occupation.
Jamie Spector, a Jewish-American peace activist also denied entry into Israel, appeared in court this morning and the Judge will render a decision on Friday at 11:30 am at the Tel Aviv District Court.
