Feb. 25: Call-in Day for Arafat Jaradat, Samer Issawi and all Palestinian prisoners

Israel tortures and kills another Palestinian political prisoner!

We are revising our call in day information to ask you to also ask President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry whether they believe Palestinian lives have any value, and demand that they condemn Israel’s murder of Arafat Jaradat.

Original call-in announcement follows:

Samer Issawi’s battle isn’t done yet. He is still continuing his hunger strike, which has reached its 218th day, until he wins an absolute agreement that guarantees his release. He knows very well that Israel never upholds its agreements and that keeping him in custody is always possible.

Last Thursday, the Israeli Magistrate court issued a release order for Samer for the 6th of March, as that court sentenced him to 8-months imprisonment when he was first arrested. However, this doesn’t guarantee his release. So the time for us to celebrate hasn’t yet arrived. He still has to face another Israeli military court, which ordered to hold him captive on the basis of secret information held by the Israeli security forces.

Samer is done with the Israeli “civil” court, but he still has the military court to face and because of that, he is still on hunger strike! Our role here is to redouble our efforts as injustice will not win! Free Samer Issawi!!!

We have been focused on Samer’s emergency case, but we must not forget the other Palestinian prisoners also on hunger strike – Tarek Qa’adan and Jafar Azzidine, who have been without food for 88 days in protest of their detention without charge or trial; Ayman Sharawna, who has been on hunger strike since July 1, 2012, except for a brief reprieve in January 2013 when he believed that his case was moving in a positive direction; and the hundreds of other Palestinian prisoners who are striking in solidarity with these men.

We again call on all activists, especially those in the U.S., to call President Obama and the State Department on Monday, February 25th, from 9 AM to 5 PM EST, to take action.

“My name is _____ from __________ and I demand that the US administration intervene for the immediate release of Samer Issawi, the other hungers strikers, and all the Palestinian administrative detainees and political prisoners held by Israel.”

1) Call President Obama at 1-202-456-1111

2) Call US Secretary of State John Kerry at 1-202-647-4000 (pick option 4 for the operator and ask to leave a message for Kerry) and the Office of Near East Affairs at 1-202-647-7209 (you will get transferred to Marguerite Pickett to leave a message)

There will also be a campaign on Twitter, as there has been for multiple days, at 2 PM CST, to demand the release of Samer Issawi. Check @samerissawi1 for the hashtag to use.

For updates on the worldwide campaign, follow “The Free Samer Issawi Campaign” page on Facebook

Issawi had been detained by Israeli authorities without any charge whatsoever. He had been released from prison in October 2011 as a part of the Shalit prisoner swap, but was detained again without charge on 7 July 2012 and has been refusing food since August 2012 to protest his detention. He is still in critical condition. He is losing his vision, vomiting blood and lapsing in and out of consciousness.

Sponsored by:

Palestine Solidarity Group (PSG) – Chicago
U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) – National
USPCN – Chicago
Committee Against Political Repression (CAPR)
Coalition to Protect People’s Rights (CPPR)
Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR)
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) – Chicago
American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) – Chicago
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) – Chicago
Chicago Movement for Palestinian Rights (CMPR)