From the irrepressible Freedom Theatre, a thrilling new initiative is set to go on the road:

For nine days, 23 September – 1 October, the Freedom Bus will embark on a historic and ground-breaking solidarity ride through the West Bank of Occupied Palestine.  [See tour itinerary here.]

Inspired by the Freedom Rides of the Civil Rights era in the USA, the Freedom Bus will promote cultural resistance with community visits, concerts, hip hop performances, giant puppet shows, university seminars, and Playback theatre performances based on people’s direct experience of daily life under occupation.

Endorsed by well-known cultural and political figures like John Berger, Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, Judith Butler and Noam Chomsky [full list here].

The ride will embark despite many challenges over the last year, including continual harassment from the Israeli military since the assassination of the Freedom Theatre co-founder Juliano Mer Khamis in April 2011, and the ongoing hunger/thirst strike of co-founder Zakaria Zubeidi, who has been imprisoned for the last four months with no charge.

In the face of these challenges, the Freedom Riders – Palestinian actors, photographers, musicians, activists, and bloggers – are determined to share their unique brand of cultural resistance across the West Bank.

Judith Butler, author, philosopher and recent winner of the Adorno prize comments, “The Freedom Bus represents the aspirations of the Palestinian people to be freed from an illegal occupation, to exercise rights of self-determination, and to demand justice after decades of oppression.  The Freedom Bus ride represents as well the freedom of movement and a movement for freedom.”

Last call:  Don’t miss this opportunity to participate directly in the movement towards freedom and justice in Palestine!

If you can’t be there in person, join the ride via the Freedom Bus website.

You can also support the Freedom Riders by buying a bus ticket, here.

All aboard for freedom and justice!

Just arrived, a petition to the Palestinian president for the immediate release of Zakaria Zubeidi, co-founder of the Freedom Theatre.  Doctors say it’s unlikely he can survive more than 3 days.  Please don’t delay in signing the petition, here.

An update on Zakaria Zubeidi, still on a ‘death fast’ in the occupied West Bank to protest his illegal detention by the Palestinian Authority:

Zakaria Zubeidi (seated), in rehearsal (Photo: explore.org)

From the Ma’an News Agency, received yesterday, September 17:

Zakaria Zubeidi told a Palestinian court in Jericho on Monday that he would not eat, drink or speak until he is released, after his four-month detention without charge was again extended.

During the second intifada and Israeli invasion in 2002, Zubeidi led the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in Jenin.  He left it to take up the cultural struggle, co-founding the Freedom Theater in Jenin refugee camp in 2006.

Last Thursday, Zubeidi agreed to partially suspend his earlier fast by taking fluids, after he received assurances from a presidential delegation that he would be freed from Jericho civil jail in five days.

But at a court hearing on Monday the judge extended his imprisonment for a further 19 days, citing the need to give the prosecution more time, Zubeidi’s lawyer Farid Hawash said.  [MR: It’s important to note that the Palestinian Authority collaborates closely with the Israeli military, which continues to harass the Freedom Theatre with arbitrary arrests and no charges.  The PA also targets the theatre because some of its productions have been critical of the regime.]

Zubeidi was detained by PA forces on May 13 and his detention has been repeatedly renewed without charges being pressed.

Witnesses said Zakaria warned the court “you will take a funeral from Jericho to Jenin in four days,” noting that he was looking gaunt and had trouble speaking clearly. He has refused food since last Sunday.

After the judgment, supporters in the court started chanting “Shame, shame, is this Palestinian democracy, you are no better than the Israelis.”

Zubeidi’s lawyer Farid Hawash told Ma’an he regards the court decision as illegal as Zubeidi has already been jailed without charge for longer than is permitted under Palestinian law.

Please see previous posting for suggested actions.

Good news from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana (via Mondoweiss):

In Response to Student and Faculty Concerns, Earlham College’s Dining Services Stops Selling Sabra Products.

[MR:  Founded by Quakers in the mid-1800s, Earlham College is now a full-range arts and science university.  About 11% of its faculty and 12% of its students currently identify as Quakers.  From the university website: “Earlham emphasizes the pursuit of truth, lack of coercion, respect for others, openness to new truth, integrity and application of what is known to improving our world.”]

The full press release from BDS Earlham:

On September 5, Earlham College’s dining service agreed to have Sabra Hummus removed from the coffee shop after being informed of the involvement in Israeli human rights violations in Palestine by Strauss Group Ltd., of which Sabra Dipping Company, LLC is a subsidiary. The decision comes after a group of concerned students and faculty approached Earlham’s dining services requesting the removal of the product from the college’s facilities.

Strauss Group Ltd. provides financial support and supplies to the Golani and Givati brigades of the Israeli army, which is responsible for enforcing Israel’s illegal, 45-year-old military occupation and colonization of Palestinian lands, and other grave and systematic human rights abuses.

Basil Farraj of BDS Earlham commented, “We applaud Earlham College’s dining service for taking this principled stand and refusing to do business with Sabra Dipping Company.  Earlham students will no longer be unwittingly supporting Israeli abuses of Palestinian human rights when they purchase hummus and other products on campus.”

Earlham College’s dining services has promised to provide an alternative for the removed product, and noted that they take student concerns seriously and follow through with immediate action.

Two years ago Earlham students launched a campaign calling on the College to divest from Motorola Solutions, Caterpillar, and Hewlett Packard, three companies that profit from and enable Israeli violations of international law.  Last semester students with BDS Earlham also launched a “Dorm Storm” that has continued into the current school year, visiting all dorms and houses on campus, and engaging in discussions with students to educate them about the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, launched by Palestinian civil society in 2005.

[MR:  Sabra Dipping Company is owned by two global food corporations – PepsiCo, based in the US, and Strauss Group, which is headquartered in Israel.  Sabra products are widely marketed throughout North America and Europe.  Fortunately, good alternatives are available in many places.  Or make your own, it’s much less expensive.  A simple, delicious recipe:

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans [or cook from dried, if you prefer]
• 1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
• 3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil [preferably fair trade Palestinian]

Preparation:

Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor.  Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas.  Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

Place in serving bowl, and create a shallow well in the center of the hummus.  Add a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of olive oil in the well.  Garnish with parsley (optional).

Serve with fresh, warm or toasted pita bread, or cover and refrigerate.

Variations:

For a spicier hummus, add a sliced red chile or a dash of cayenne pepper.

Storing Hummus:

Hummus can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and can be kept in the freezer for up to one month. Add a little olive oil if it appears to be too dry.

Urgent: From the Freedom Theatre, Jenin refugee camp, Occupied Palestine, September 9, 2012

Zakaria Zubeidi, Jenin refugee camp

Zakaria Zubeidi’s release from prison has been postponed yet again, Palestinian Authority officials announced, for 8 more days of “additional investigations.”

Zakaria co-founded the Freedom Theatre with Juliano Mer Khamis.  [For more on the theatre, see Our Way to Fight, chapter 2.]  He has already been held four months by the Palestinian Authority without any charge or evidence of wrong-doing.   [MR: The Palestinian Authority makes no secret that its American-trained police collaborate closely with the Israeli occupation regime.]

In protest, Zakaria announced today that he will embark on a food and fluid strike, in effect a death fast.  Unless the Palestinian Authority can be pressured to release him, he will probably not survive through the week.

Throughout his imprisonment, which is illegal by international law, his rights has been severely violated, as detailed by Human Rights Watch, among others.

Some background (Human Rights Watch press release, July 27, 2012):  In May 2012 the Palestinian Authority (PA) arrested Freedom Theater co-founder Zakaria Zubeidi, held him incommunicado, and allegedly tortured him.  It arrested his defense lawyer in July.

Israeli authorities arrested the company’s artistic director, Nabil al-Ra’ee, in June, held him incommunicado, and allegedly subjected him to physical and psychological ill-treatment that may have amounted to torture, Human Rights Watch said.  Zubeidi’s lawyer and al-Ra’ee were recently released, but all three men still face charges.  [MR: Israeli military courts, the only ones permitted in the occupied West Bank, operate by their own laws.]

“Israel and the Palestinian Authority are trampling on the rights of the Freedom Theater’s staff,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.  “A theater should be able to offer critical and provocative work without fearing that its staff will be arrested and abused.”

The theater’s director and co-founder, Juliano Mer-Khamis, an Israeli citizen and activist, was killed in April 2011.  Since the killing, Israeli occupation forces have repeatedly raided the theater and beaten and arbitrarily arrested employees.  Israeli authorities claim that they suspect theater staff of involvement in Mer-Khamis’s killing, but have not charged anyone with the crime, and have not provided any evidence to support their claim.  The Palestinian Authority appears to be abusing the theater’s staff because of the company’s criticisms of the PA’s rule.

Productions of the Freedom Theater have often criticized the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, as well as abuses by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority.  Like Zakaria Zubeidi, some staff and acting students are former members of Palestinian armed groups who renounced violence in favor of non-violent opposition to Israeli and PA policies.

Human Rights Watch declared that the arbitrary arrests and detentions should cease, and allegations of mistreatment should be investigated.

With Zakaria’s life at risk, the Freedom Theatre urges all its friends and supporters to:
– Contact the local representative office of the Palestinian Authority and demand Zakaria Zubeidi’s release.  Since the situation is urgent we also ask you to take more direct actions such as organizing protests at PA representative offices.
– Contact local or regional human rights offices and organizations such as Amnesty International and urge them to take action.
– Contact your local MP and MEP and urge them to take action.
– Contact your country’s representative office in the occupied Palestinian territory and urge them to take action.

[MR:  I understand that Israeli activists are starting a petition for Zakaria Zubeidi’s release.  As soon as it’s available, I’ll post the link.]