"Protestors block unloading of Israeli cargo ship in Oakland"

"Protestors block unloading of Israeli cargo ship in Oakland"

Los Angeles Times blog, June 20, 2010, 6:09 PM

At: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/06/protestors-block-unloading-of-israeli-cargo-ship-in-oakland.html


Pro-Palestinian protesters on Sunday created a blockade of their own on Sunday by gathering at the Port of Oakland before dawn to block the unloading of an Israeli cargo ship.

Longshoreman working the day shift agreed not to cross the picket line of hundreds of protesters, who were demanding an end to Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. Protesters planned to stage another rally to halt the offloading for the evening shift. The protesters, organized by the San Francisco Bay Area ANSWER Coalition, was particularly incensed by the action of Israeli commandos to halt a flotilla of ships attempting to run the blockade May 31. Nine people were killed in the military action on the high seas.

The protesters convened about 5:30 a.m., Sunday, only a couple of days after Israel agreed to ease some of the restrictions on goods and relief supplies that can enter Gaza, a Palestinian enclave.

Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union refused to cross the picket line, citing safety concerns. The activists noted that longshoremen have “a long and great history of supporting progressive struggles here and around the world.”

Oakland police reported no arrests from the demonstration.


--Ken Weiss

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Methodists vote to divest from the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Northern Illinois Conference votes to divest from companies that benefit from the occupation of Palestine

June 15, 2010

At:

http://www.caldivestfromapartheid.com/2010/06/18/northern-illinois-conference-votes-to-divest-from-companies-that-benefit-from-the-occupation-of-palestine/

CONTACT: CONNIE BAKER, 630-363-7713
End the Occupation, Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church

ST. CHARLES, ILL. June 15, 2010 – At its annual conference, the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC) of the United Methodist Church (UMC) voted to divest all holdings in three international corporations that profit from the occupation of Palestine. This action is in response to a plea by Palestinian Christians for action, not just words.

Divestment is a nonviolent form of economic protest long-used by churches and other shareholders to encourage companies to end unjust practices. By selling its investments in Caterpillar (CAT), General Electric (GE) and Terex (TEX), the NIC expresses its commitment to do no harm with its investments and affirms the call of the UMC Book of Discipline to “avoid investments that appear likely, directly or indirectly, to support violation of human rights” (Paragraph 716).

These three companies are among 20 targeted by UMC conferences across the country because they (1) have a presence on occupied land, (2) are involved with the physical settlements, checkpoints and the separation wall, or (3) support activities of the Israeli military in the occupied territories.

Connie Baker from the End the Occupation Task Force of the Board of Church and Society which brought forth the resolution stated: “We are resolute in our support of peace for both Israelis and Palestinians in the Holy Land and the rights of each to co-exist according to the principles set forth in the Geneva Conventions. It is a small step, but an important one.”

The conference will also send a list of the 20 offending companies to the nearly 400 local churches in Northern Illinois and encourage them to consider divestment from any corporations on the list.

For the list of targeted corporations, which was compiled by the New England Conference (UMC) Divestment Task Force, please see: http://www.neumc.org/pages/detail/375.

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"Ann Arbor City Council hears divestment arguments at meeting"

Click on the article to enlarge it.

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"Ann Arbor City Council hears divestment arguments at meeting"

ARAB AMERICAN NEWS (Dearborn, Michigan)

June 12-18, 2010, page 17

At: http://arabamericannews.com/flash/edition/latest/index.html

"The fight in Ann Arbor for a divestment resolution from companies with ties to Israel has taken place over two decades, and the issue came to the forefront again at a meeting on Monday, June 7 as the council was asked to divest again....

"....On this resolution it's quite simple, eight words, I'll read it again", Coleman said. 'Ann Arbor hereby boycotts all products from Israel.' "

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"U-M, Ann Arbor need to join movement to boycott Israel"

ANNARBOR.COM (Ann Arbor, Michigan)

June 1, 2010, at:

http://www.annarbor.com/news/opinion/u-m-ann-arbor-need-to-join-movement-to-boycott-israel/

Thirty-five Ann Arbor residents held a protest in front of the Federal Building on Monday, protesting the most recent Israeli attack and killing of activists carrying food and medicine to the starving Gazans.

Participants in the protest held signs such as “Zionism is Racism,” Boycott Israel,” “Boycott Israeli Apartheid,” Stop U.S. Funding of Israel,” and “Save Gaza.” The group plans to go to the Ann Arbor City Council meeting on Monday June 7th at 7:00 p.m. (second floor of the City Hall on 5th and Ann Street) to demand total boycott of Israel.

Israel has been called a war criminal by many international human rights organizations for its actions in Gaza (December 2008 to January 2009), its use of chemical warfare (White Phosphorous) on unarmed civilians and its total destruction of Palestinian infrastructure.

Movements to boycott Israel are growing worldwide, and several U.S. campuses have been passing resolutions to cut ties with the apartheid state. Hampshire College divested from Israel in February 2009. This year alone, U-M Dearborn Student Government and University of California at Berkeley's student government voted to divest from the Israeli military.

It is U-M Ann Arbor’s turn to follow those examples and boycott Israel at once.

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From coverage of the June 7, 2010 Ann Arbor City Council meeting

ANN ARBOR CHRONICLE

June 9, 2010, at:

http://annarborchronicle.com/2010/06/09/heritage-row-likely-to-need-super-majority/

...Comment: Palestine and Israel

Blaine Coleman began his remarks by asking the Community Television Network camera operator to focus on the sign he’d placed in front of the podium, which read “Ann Arbor hereby boycotts all products from Israel.” He stated that he was bringing the resolution printed on the sign before the council for consideration that night.

The Ann Arbor boycott of Israeli products, he said, had been proposed back in 1984, so the council had had 26 years to think about it. A week ago, Coleman said, the Israel military had killed nine people on boarding a humanitarian aid boat headed for Gaza and had shot an American citizen in the head. That was the kind of state they were supporting, Coleman said, when mayor John Hieftje and councilmember Mike Anglin attend the “Celebrate Israel” event.

Coleman repeated the resolution on the sign and queried councilmembers individually on how they would vote, beginning on the right: “Sandi Smith, how do you vote?” He noted the lack of response of each councilmember – Smith, Briere, and Derezinski – before moving on to the next, reaching Rapundalo before his time was up.

[Editor's note: By custom, councilmembers do not respond to direct questions during public commentary. Doing so would likely violate the council rule against allotting speaking time to someone other than the person signed up to speak. However, councilmembers often do use their own communications time on the agenda to respond to public commentary.]

Mozhgan Savabiesfahani noted that she’d personally been appearing before the council since 2002, and that subsequently the state of Israel had committed various crimes, including the most recent case involving the killing of people aboard a humanitarian aid boat. The council had ignored her, she said, and concluded: “I hold you responsible. You are guilty.” She used the remainder of her three-minute speaking time to hold her sign aloft, which read “Boycott Israel.”

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City Council is hit with Boycott-Israel Resolution:

At their June 7, 2010 public meeting...

Ann Arbor City Council members refused to vote on this resolution to boycott all products from Israel.

This was just 1 week after Israel shot its way onto a humanitarian aid ship, killing 9 passengers.

The proposed boycott resolution is 8 words long:

"Ann Arbor hereby boycotts all products from Israel".

It really is the least a City Council can do for humanity... and they refused to do even that.

With so many city councils boycotting Arizona for its racist immigration laws, why on Earth can't they find a few minutes to boycott Israel, too?

Maybe Dearborn City Council will step up and show some regard for human rights.

Ask them to approve that simple resolution to boycott Israel.

************************************

You can view two speeches for boycott of Israel 12 minutes and 23 seconds into the Ann Arbor City Council video, at:

http://a2govtv.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=67e346c7dd8a75bcf22056d54936c1dd

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Major divestment victory at Evergreen State College,

Whole student body votes for divestment against Israeli occupation, at Evergreen State College!

That successful divestment resolution is here:

http://usacbi.wordpress.com/2010/06/03/the-evergreen-state-college-passes-divestment-campaign/

More details below--

Watch the video - UC Berkeley divestment supporters speak. The video starts with Berkeley testimony from a student from Gaza: why the siege must end. Spread the word! Just minutes ago, the students at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, the alma mater of Rachel Corrie, announced that the whole student body voted overwhelmingly in favor of divestment from companies that profit from the Israeli occupation and in favor of making their campus Caterpillar-free. What's more remarkable is that the decision was not made by a student council and thus vulnerable to veto by just one person, as we saw in Berkeley. No, it was decided through a campus-wide vote. No one, not the promoters of the divestment policy, not its detractors, knew how the students would vote in complete privacy. The results? The divestment vote won by a landslide 79.5%! The Caterpillar vote by an equally impressive 71.8%! The Evergreen College Board of Trustees and Board of Governors actually hold the purse strings of the Evergreen College and the Evergreen Foundation respectively. You can imagine the pressure that will be brought upon them to ignore the student votes. We need you to email them right and ask them to respect the voice of the students and divest! Board of Turstees Direction Carver T. Gayton (tescbot@evergreen.edu) Foundation Vice President Lee Hoemann (foundation@evergreen.edu) Also, go to http://tescdivest.org/ to sign a petition in support of the students! Immediately after the student vote, the student union passed a unanimous resolution requesting full disclosure of all corporations, including those held through mutual funds, in which The Evergreen State College Foundation and The Evergreen State College are invested and asking the Board of Trustees and the Board of Governors to make public a plan of action for divestment from companies that profit from the occupation of Palestine. Please email Mr. Gayton and Ms. Hoemann today and ask them to divest. Many of you followed with baited breath the struggle for divestment at the University of California at Berkeley and San Diego. We sent you this report about the inspiring students from Berkeley Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). Well the attacks on the bill's supporter's, including Jewish Voice for Peace, were vicious and predictable, so we decided to respond and also document what we had learned about how the anti-divestment groups work. We think it's important reading for those working on other campuses. Most important, we interviewed the UC Berkeley student supporters of divestment so you could hear them in their own words. We can't possibly convey how incredibly inspired we were by them, but we think this ten-minute video clip will do the job for us. One thing is certain. If you want to know where today's smart, compassionate, curious and socially engaged students of all backgrounds are gravitating to, it's the campus divestment movement. Congratulations Evergreen. During these very painful times when we see peacemakers being attacked on the seas outside Gaza, in B'ilin and N'ilin and Sheik Jarrah, it's hugely inspiring to see that real change is happening with an entire new generation. Sydney Levy Director of Campaigns Jewish Voice for Peace PS: A lot of information and misinformation is going around about the Gaza flotilla. Here's a good primer to share with friends and family: Lying About The Gaza Flotilla Disaster

Contact us directly at Jewish Voice for Peace. 1611 Telegraph Avenue, Suite 550. Oakland, CA 94612 510-465-1777 info@jvp.org

Divestment demanded against Israel-- at Duluth, Minnesota, and at City University of New York (CUNY)

"Northland Protestors Speak Out Against Israel"

June 1, 2010

Northland's NewsCenter, KBJR-TV, NBC 6, KDLH-TV, CBS3, KRII-TV Range 11, Northland CW, MY 9

Duluth, Minnesota

At: http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/95370414.html

The attack on a humanitarian aid convoy by Israel off the coast of the Gaza strip has caused outrage among some here in the Northland.

Multimedia--

• Watch The Video

A group of protestors assembled outside the Duluth Federal Building to have their voices heard.


The protest is sponsored by the Northland Anti-War coalition and the Twin Ports Break the Bonds Campaign.


The United Nations reports that at least 10 civilians were killed when Israeli forces attacked the convoy. Many more were wounded.


Activists in Duluth say they are demonstrating in solidarity with protestors in the Middle East and around the world.
The U.N. says Israeli forces boarded a six-ship convoy, inbound towards Gaza. The purpose of the fleet was to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and to break the Israeli blockade.
However, Israel attacked the fleet and protestors say they're outraged.
"As an activist for peace and social justice, I am shaken and hurt to the core by Israel's actions," said Carl Sack, an activist.


Protestors say they're asking the State of Minnesota to divest from financial bonds they have with Israel. Demonstrators are also calling upon the U.S. government to send a message in light of what happened.

They're asking the feds to stop sending aid to Israel.

______________________________

"Time for CUNY to Divest from Israel"

by The Editor
CUNY Graduate Center Advocate

June 1, 2010

At: http://www.gcadvocate.com/2010/05/time-for-cuny-to-divest-from-israel/

“It always seems impos­si­ble until it’s done.“
–Nel­son Mandela


Israel’s unwar­ranted and out­ra­geous attack upon the flotilla of ships car­ry­ing human­i­tar­ian aid to the Gaza Strip is another sad reminder that the lead­ers of Israel are deter­mined to indef­i­nitely con­tinue and defend the pun­ish­ing and ille­gal block­ade of the Gaza Strip and the con­tin­ued iso­la­tion of the West Bank, which has caused and con­tin­ues to cause immense suf­fer­ing and loss of life for the Pales­tin­ian peo­ple.

Deaf to the cries and con­dem­na­tions of the inter­na­tional com­mu­nity, Israel has pur­sued a cal­cu­lated pol­icy of pun­ish­ment and humil­i­a­tion against the Pales­tini­ans, explic­itly designed to cre­ate a per­ma­nent cri­sis in the region, thus fur­ther jus­ti­fy­ing Israel’s con­tin­ued pol­icy of sep­a­ra­tion and apartheid.

From the ter­ri­ble 2008 Gaza Mas­sacre to Monday’s pre­med­i­tated assault upon the Mavi Mar­mara, Israel has sent a clear sig­nal to the inter­na­tional com­mu­nity that it has no inten­tions of either abid­ing by inter­na­tional or human­i­tar­ian law, or of nego­ti­at­ing in good faith with the Pales­tin­ian peo­ple. Faced, like South Africa in the 1980’s, with a clear demo­graph­i­cal dis­ad­van­tage, Israel has cho­sen to iso­late its minor­ity pop­u­la­tion in a last ditch effort to main­tain its implic­itly racist pol­icy of Zion­ist rule.

Because of this, it is now more impor­tant than ever, that the insti­tu­tions respon­si­ble for sup­port­ing and abet­ting Israel’s con­tin­ued aggres­sions against the Pales­tini­ans, includ­ing the City Uni­ver­sity of New York, be forced, at the very least, to end their invest­ment in any com­pany that aids in any way the block­ade, iso­la­tion, and occu­pa­tion of the Pales­tin­ian ter­ri­to­ries. Since Hamp­shire College’s suc­cess­ful and ground­break­ing dis­in­vest­ment in com­pa­nies that sup­port the occu­pa­tion of Pales­tine in 2009, there has been a grow­ing stu­dent dis­in­vest­ment cam­paign, which has spread to uni­ver­si­ties across the nation from UC Berke­ley and UC San Diego, to Colum­bia and NYU. This move­ment is ded­i­cated to con­vinc­ing their col­lege and uni­ver­sity bud­get and finance com­mit­tees to rearrange their invest­ment port­fo­lios so as to dis­in­vest from com­pa­nies such as: United Tech­nolo­gies, which man­u­fac­tures Black­hawk heli­copters used by the Israeli mil­i­tary, Gen­eral Elec­tric, which sup­plies the propul­sions sys­tems for Apache heli­copter gun­ships, also used by the Israeli Defense Forces, ITT Cor­po­ra­tion, which pro­vides night vision gog­gles to the Israeli mil­i­tary, Motorola, which is engaged in a $400 mil­lion project to pro­vide radar sys­tems for enhanc­ing secu­rity at ille­gal West Bank set­tle­ments, Terex, which pro­vides trucks for logis­ti­cal sup­port to the Israeli mil­i­tary, and Cater­pil­lar, which pro­vides many of the bull­doz­ers and con­struc­tion equip­ment used to build new set­tle­ments and to destroy Pales­tin­ian homes in the West Bank and Gaza.

While this kind of dis­in­vest­ment is a good start, the cur­rent intran­si­gence of the Israeli gov­ern­ment calls for more aggres­sive forms of dis­in­vest­ment. Uni­ver­si­ties and other insti­tu­tions should be encour­aged not only to dis­in­vest in com­pa­nies that sup­port the Israeli occu­pa­tion and iso­la­tion of Pales­tine, but any com­pa­nies that engage in direct busi­ness with or pro­vide invest­ment to Israel in any capacity.

Last March, The UC Berke­ley Stu­dent Sen­ate passed a res­o­lu­tion, sup­ported in large part by the UC Berke­ley Stu­dents for Jus­tice in Pales­tine, (the res­o­lu­tion is reprinted below), urg­ing the uni­ver­sity to end all invest­ments related to Gen­eral Elec­tric and United Tech­nolo­gies. The res­o­lu­tion passed the Stu­dent Sen­ate but was cal­lously vetoed by the Stu­dent Sen­ate Pres­i­dent Noah Stern. Cur­rently UC Berke­ley stu­dents are cam­paign­ing to over­turn that veto, but UC Pres­i­dent Mark Yudof, the same indi­vid­ual who recently raised UC tuition by 32%, has issued state­ments this month mak­ing it clear that the uni­ver­sity pol­icy sup­ports dis­in­vest­ment only in the case of geno­cide — a ridicu­lous and incred­i­bly irre­spon­si­ble high bar to set for tak­ing action. While this may sound like a defeat, the res­o­lu­tion has gained steam and is being pro­posed at sev­eral other cam­puses in the UC sys­tem includ­ing UC San Diego and UC River­side. It is time that the stu­dent gov­ern­ment at CUNY includ­ing the Doc­toral Stu­dents’ Coun­cil, The Uni­ver­sity Stu­dent Sen­ate and the Uni­ver­sity Fac­ulty Sen­ate, took up the res­o­lu­tion as their own.

In the mean­time, it will be imper­a­tive these next few weeks that those of us who care about the suf­fer­ing and humil­i­a­tion tak­ing place in Gaza remain vocal and out­spo­ken crit­ics of Israel’s pol­icy, and that we call on the US Gov­ern­ment to unre­servedly and crit­i­cally con­demn the attacks on the Mavi Mar­mara and the con­tin­ued block­ade of Gaza.

Click here to see the full ver­sion of the “Bill in Sup­port of UC Dis­in­vest­ment from War Crimes”

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Dearborn protesters demand divestment against Israel, and a cut-off of all aid to Israel --

Click on photo to enlarge it.

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"Dearborn protesters decry Israeli raid"

by Oralandar Brand-Williams / The Detroit News

June 2, 2010

At:

http://www.detnews.com/article/20100601/METRO/6010408/1409/Dearborn-protesters-decry-Israeli-raid

Dearborn -- About 200 protestors are gathering this afternoon at Dearborn City Hall, protesting the attack of a flotilla reportedly carrying aid to Gaza.


They carried signs reading "Divest in Israel" and "Stop All U.S. Aid to Israel Now" at the rally that began at 4 p.m. Maha Mustafa of Dearborn carried a small Palestinian flag as she protested the Monday attack by Israeli forces that reportedly killed nine people.


"This is about humanity," said Mustafa, who came with her teenage daughter. "This doesn't have a religion. This doesn't have a color. That ship was under siege and denied to take aid."

The rally is the first of a handful of events this week in Metro Detroit condemning the raid, which has sparked an international outcry against Israel. Student groups at local universities also plan a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. Thursday at Dearborn City Hall.


Israel implemented the blockade against Gaza in 2007 to protest the area's takeover by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.


Richard Nodel, president of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit, said the local Jewish community "continues its strong support of Israel's right to defend itself, including its blockade on Gaza, a terrorist-controlled enclave on its border."


"That blockade -- in which Egypt participates -- prevents more sophisticated arms from reaching the hands of the Hamas terrorists who continue to plan terror attacks and fire missiles at Israel. For Israel and Israelis, the blockade is a life-and-death situation," Nodel said in a statement Tuesday.


Nodel said video shot during the operation "clearly shows, Israeli seamen were ambushed yesterday while attempting to board a ship trying to get through the Gaza blockade."


A Metro Detroit native who was arrested Monday during the raid, meanwhile, has been released, her sister said.


Huwaida Arraf, who grew up in Roseville and graduated from the University of Michigan, was aboard the Gaza-bound ship Challenger 1 when Israeli soldiers stormed the ship. No one on Arraf's ship was killed.


Mariam Arraf, who lives in Clinton Township, said her sister told her that she was assaulted during the detention in an Israeli prison.


"She told me that they would use a lot of physical force," said Mariam Arraf today. "She told me they used Tasers on them and that she was elbowed in the jaw."


Mariam Arraf said her sister told her she didn't know why the flotilla came under attack.


"They had white flags and they were in international waters," Mariam Arraf said. "They had no weapons and they were not doing anything wrong."


Mariam Arraf said her sister was taken to an unknown location and thrown from a moving car by Israeli soldiers.
She said an ambulance took her to Jerusalem where she was given assistance.


"She did not know where she was," Mariam Arraf said. "She had no cell phone ...no money."


Huwaida Arraf, who lives in New York City, will remain in Jerusalem and continue her mission on behalf of the Free Gaza Movement, her sister said.


"She said she's staying there because she still has a lot of work to do," Mariam Arraf said. "My sister is very brave and fearless even though we worry about her safety."




From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100601/METRO/6010408/1409/Dearborn-protesters-decry-Israeli-raid#ixzz0phLezP7Q

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Dearborn protesters demand divestment against Israel, and a cutoff of all aid to Israel.

Click on photo to enlarge it.

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"Dearborn protesters decry Israeli raid"

by Oralandar Brand-Williams / The Detroit News

June 2, 2010

At:

http://www.detnews.com/article/20100601/METRO/6010408/1409/Dearborn-protesters-decry-Israeli-raid

Dearborn -- About 200 protestors are gathering this afternoon at Dearborn City Hall, protesting the attack of a flotilla reportedly carrying aid to Gaza.

They carried signs reading "Divest in Israel" and "Stop All U.S. Aid to Israel Now" at the rally that began at 4 p.m. Maha Mustafa of Dearborn carried a small Palestinian flag as she protested the Monday attack by Israeli forces that reportedly killed nine people.

"This is about humanity," said Mustafa, who came with her teenage daughter. "This doesn't have a religion. This doesn't have a color. That ship was under siege and denied to take aid."

The rally is the first of a handful of events this week in Metro Detroit condemning the raid, which has sparked an international outcry against Israel. Student groups at local universities also plan a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. Thursday at Dearborn City Hall.

Israel implemented the blockade against Gaza in 2007 to protest the area's takeover by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Richard Nodel, president of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit, said the local Jewish community "continues its strong support of Israel's right to defend itself, including its blockade on Gaza, a terrorist-controlled enclave on its border."

"That blockade -- in which Egypt participates -- prevents more sophisticated arms from reaching the hands of the Hamas terrorists who continue to plan terror attacks and fire missiles at Israel. For Israel and Israelis, the blockade is a life-and-death situation," Nodel said in a statement Tuesday.

Nodel said video shot during the operation "clearly shows, Israeli seamen were ambushed yesterday while attempting to board a ship trying to get through the Gaza blockade."

A Metro Detroit native who was arrested Monday during the raid, meanwhile, has been released, her sister said.

Huwaida Arraf, who grew up in Roseville and graduated from the University of Michigan, was aboard the Gaza-bound ship Challenger 1 when Israeli soldiers stormed the ship. No one on Arraf's ship was killed.

Mariam Arraf, who lives in Clinton Township, said her sister told her that she was assaulted during the detention in an Israeli prison.

"She told me that they would use a lot of physical force," said Mariam Arraf today. "She told me they used Tasers on them and that she was elbowed in the jaw."

Mariam Arraf said her sister told her she didn't know why the flotilla came under attack.

"They had white flags and they were in international waters," Mariam Arraf said. "They had no weapons and they were not doing anything wrong."

Mariam Arraf said her sister was taken to an unknown location and thrown from a moving car by Israeli soldiers.

She said an ambulance took her to Jerusalem where she was given assistance.

"She did not know where she was," Mariam Arraf said. "She had no cell phone ...no money."

Huwaida Arraf, who lives in New York City, will remain in Jerusalem and continue her mission on behalf of the Free Gaza Movement, her sister said.

"She said she's staying there because she still has a lot of work to do," Mariam Arraf said. "My sister is very brave and fearless even though we worry about her safety."

From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100601/METRO/6010408/1409/Dearborn-protesters-decry-Israeli-raid#ixzz0phLezP7Q

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"Arab Americans protest in Dearborn against Israel's actions"

"Arab Americans protest in Dearborn against Israel's actions"

DETROIT FREE PRESS

June 1, 2010

http://www.freep.com/article/20100601/NEWS05/100601026/1007/Arab-Americans-rally-against-Israels-actions

"Chanting 'Free, Free Palestine,' Arab Americans and their supporters gathered today on the steps of Dearborn City Hall in an angry demonstration against Israel’s actions on a boat carrying aid to Gaza...."

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Ann Arbor demonstration on YouTube:"Gaza Flotilla Protests", May 31, 2010

"Gaza Flotilla Protests:

On YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WtM5PQnDZQ

"Ann Arbor joins global protests against Zionist aggression towards humanitarian flotilla headed towards Gaza, Palestine."

__________________________________________

In AnnArbor.com:"U-M, Ann Arbor need to join movement to boycott Israel"

"U-M, Ann Arbor need to join movement to boycott Israel"

Letters to the Editor

Published in AnnArbor.com

June 1, 2010

On the Web at:

http://www.annarbor.com/news/opinion/u-m-ann-arbor-need-to-join-movement-to-boycott-israel/

Thirty-five Ann Arbor residents held a protest in front of the Federal Building on Monday, protesting the most recent Israeli attack and killing of activists carrying food and medicine to the starving Gazans.

Participants in the protest held signs such as “Zionism is Racism,” Boycott Israel,” “Boycott Israeli Apartheid,” Stop U.S. Funding of Israel,” and “Save Gaza.” The group plans to go to the Ann Arbor City Council meeting on Monday June 7th at 7:00 p.m. (second floor of the City Hall on 5th and Ann Street) to demand total boycott of Israel.

Israel has been called a war criminal by many international human rights organizations for its actions in Gaza (December 2008 to January 2009), its use of chemical warfare (White Phosphorous) on unarmed civilians and its total destruction of Palestinian infrastructure.

Movements to boycott Israel are growing worldwide, and several U.S. campuses have been passing resolutions to cut ties with the apartheid state. Hampshire College divested from Israel in February 2009. This year alone, U-M Dearborn Student Government and University of California at Berkeley's student government voted to divest from the Israeli military.

It is U-M Ann Arbor’s turn to follow those examples and boycott Israel at once.

--Mozhgan Savabieasfahani
Ann Arbor

____________________________________