Palestinian footballer, Mahmoud Sarsak, released after 3 years in an Israel jail

[give her dixie]

Imagine the outcry if Shay Given was on Hunger Strike for 89 days?

Would there be an outcry from the football world as the Euro championship starts this week?

You bet there would.

However, a member of the Palestinian national football team has today started his 78th day on Hunger Strike in protest at been held under "Administrative Detention" (Internment without trial)

Mahmoud Sarsak, a member of the Palestine national team, was on his way from his home in Gaza to a match in the West Bank when he was arrested in 2009. Despite travelling with the correct paperwork, he was arrested and to this day, has been held without trial or charge by Israel.

In protest at his illegal detention, he embarked on a Hunger Strike.

So, as the Euro's begin, imagine the outcry if Shay Given was arrested at the border en route from his home in Donegal to a match in Dublin and held for 3 years without any charge or trial?

Would there be an international outcry?

[ONeill]

I see Israel has been awarded the hosting of the UEFA Under 21s football championship in 2013

[seafoid]

Imagine the outcry if Shay Given was on Hunger Strike for 78 days?

Would there be an outcry from the football world as the Euro championship starts this week?

You bet there would.

However, a member of the Palestinian national football team has today started his 78th day on Hunger Strike in protest at been held under "Administrative Detention" (Internment without trial)

Mahmoud Sarsak, a member of the Palestine national team, was on his way from his home in Gaza to a match in the West Bank when he was arrested in 2009. Despite travelling with the correct paperwork, he was arrested and to this day, has been held without trial or charge by Israel.

In protest at his illegal detention, he embarked on a Hunger Strike.

So, as the Euro's begin, imagine the outcry if Shay Given was arrested at the border en route from his home in Donegal to a match in Dublin and held for 3 years without any charge or trial?

Would there be an international outcry?

It's a mess, giveherdixie.

This is the liberal Israeli Jewish  view of the way things are going
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/weekly_ad/1338492210


It is permissible
To kill gentile children
Who might hurt Jews
When they grow up -
So wrote rabbis in a book

The (Israeli) Attorney General ruled:
This is not incitement,
This is the Halacha (jewish holy law) .

No anti-Semite
Would dare today
To defame Judaism
So blatantly!

[thejuice]

IS there a Palestinian Olympic team?

[give her dixie]

'Don't wait until we're in body bags': Two Palestinian hunger strikers' "final distress call"

Mahmoud Sarsak and Akram Rikhawi who have been on hunger strike for 78 and 59 days respectively issued the following urgent distress call from Israel's Ramle prison today.

The message of prisoners Mahmoud Sarsak and Akram Rikhawi from inside prison



In the name of God the Compassionate and Merciful...

To the masses of Palestine, who cling to the land, who grip as if to hot coals, to all the revolutionaries and freedom loving people in the world who stood by our cause and our victory throughout history; To those who always extended to us their steadfastness and fortitude in the face of adversity, our fellow Arabs and Muslims, and freedom loving people of the world;

To the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mr. Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazin), and to the the brother Minister of Prisoner and Ex-Prisoner Affairs Mr. Issa Qaraqe, and to the honorable freedom fighter Qaddoura Faris, president of the Prisoners' Club, and to national and Islamic parties and movements:

This is an urgent and final distress call from captivity, slow and programmed death inside the cells of so-called Ramle Prison hospital, that you know that your sons and brothers are still struggling against death and you pay no attention to them and do not remember their cause – as if, after the end of the general strike all the demands of the prisoners were met.

We are still here, continuing our open-ended hunger strike and that battle has not ended despite 78 days of strike for one of us, and 59 days for the other.

Regretfully, we thought that you would support us in our hunger strike, but instead you have stood on our wounds and our pain.

From here, we cry out to you, to our brothers, to dignified people, that you bear your responsibility, for after God, we have no one but you and the freedom loving people of the world to bring victory to our cause.


A poster of Mahmoud Sarsak, and some of his athletic trophies.  (Rami Almeghari / The Electronic Intifada)
Second: As the hunger strike continues to erode our bodies and sap what is left of our strength, we cry out to you to help us in our battle on every level and field, local, regional and international, especially in the media, and especially Palestinian television which represents the Palestinian people.

And also in the newspapers, radio and electronic media, so that our voices can reach the freedom loving people of the world and expose this entity, and for the victory of our cause.

We say: there is still enough time and the support that comes late is better than that which does not come at all. It is better that you receive us alive and victorious rather than as lifeless bodies in black bags.

Therefore we two hunger strikers remain on our strike, Mahmoud Sarsak who has endured 78 days, and Sheikh Akram Rikhawi who has endured 59 days and was already ill, having spent 8 years in Ramle Prison clinic suffering from illnesses, and who now struggles against death.

We inform you that we will remain on our strike until all our demands are met and we will not submit to the demands of the Prison Service regardless of what we suffer in restrictions, provocations, and bargaining, and we will not accept promises and half-measures despite the deterioration of our health and our entry into difficult and dangerous situations, especially since we have lost more than 25kg and 18kg.

Our people, our leaders in Gaza, in the West Bank and outside, and freedom loving people of the world, we cry out to you, and to all people in the world who believe in the justice of our cause: do not abandon us to the vindictive hands of the jailers to take what they want from our frail bodies.

You are the ones able to support us for victory in our battle.

Your brothers who remain on hunger strike until victory or martrydom,

Mahmoud Sarsak
Akram Rikhawi

[Young Gael]

What can we do Dixie? Do you have names and addresses we can write to? Is there more than that?

[Forever Green]

Saw this on a Celtic forum. A letter from a Palestinian group to the Green Brigade thanking them for support for the hunger strikers. Just thought I would share 

http://weareallhanashalabi.wordpress...ir-solidarity/

On the 13th of May, as the 'deal' to end the mass Palestinian hunger strike was about to emerge from the rumour-mill, far away from Palestine in Scotland's biggest city Glasgow, a display of solidarity with the Palestinian hunger strikers was done supporters of Celtic Football Club. This was the final game of the season when Celtic were given the league trophy and crowned Scottish Football Champions and amid all the displays, colour, noise and party atmosphere a flurry of Palestine flags and a banner reading "Dignity is more precious than food" appeared in one particular corner section of the stadium.



This was the 111 section, home of the Green Brigade an ultras group formed in 2006 in rejection of the modern corporate games reducing football fans to mere silent and compliant consumers. The political footing of the group is left-wing, anti-racist,anti-fascist and anti-sectarian. Celtic football club was formed in 1888 by immigrant Irish and has since become to symbolise the Irish heritage of the large Irish diaspora in West Scotland who faced the best part of a century of religious discrimination. The Green Brigade have come under fire for continuing the tradition of Celtic fans giving vocal support for Irish Republican resistance to the British presence in Ireland as well their opposition to any association between the club and the British army's wars and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.


This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 710x473 and weights 95KB.

Despite this day including some quite elaborate displays, the Green Brigade still marked the day with their display of solidarity with the Palestinian hunger Strikers, they very rarely make any form of public statement about their political actions but agreed to once the impact of what they felt were very modest actions became clear.

We did this in solidarity, to raise awareness and because it's the right thing to do.

We want Palestinians to know we are thinking about them and encourage Scottish civil society to look at the injustice in Palestine. The Western media ignores the struggle so we felt we had to at least try and highlight the issue. Its hard to explain the feelings when hear of the actions undertaken by Palestinian prisoners or the oppression of Israeli State. All we can say that there is no greater sacrifice than to be willing to hunger strike until death for justice.

Solidarity with the people of Palestine.

Until The Last Rebel.

Palestine activists here in Scotland helped make sure the Palestinian activists we knew saw them via social media and within few days the images had went viral via twitter & facebook and many Palestinian expressed their gratitude, while the Green Brigade were for the most part unaware of the great impact their actions had.

With the aims of making the Green Brigade fully aware of how much their solidarity action was appreciated, to foster interaction between Palestinian youth and their international supporters and to facilitate the wish of Palestinians to express their thanks the idea grew that some sort of statement should be written for Palestinian youth activists to sign. This is all the more timely as largely unknown to the world, 4 Palestinians remain on hunger strike including the Footballer Mahmoud Sarsak, arrested 3 years ago on his way to play for the Palestinian national team and held since with no charge or trial. Mahmoud a refugee living in Rafah Camp in Gaza is now on (at the time of writing) his 68th day of hunger strike and while there is no football for him the Israeli Women's U21 team will play a match in Scotland on June 16th and Israel will host the UEFA 2013 U23 tournament. It is hoped that the actions of the Green Brigade and a response from the Palestinians that highlight the role these type of actions have may lead to supporters of human rights in Scotland and Europe to question the morality and ethical soundness of bodies such as the Scottish Football Association and UEFA treating Israel as a normal state rather than the apartheid state that it is and should be sanctioned as.

The response from the Palestinian Youth statement has been quite emphatic with almost 100 Palestinian Youth activists from the occupied West Bank & Gaza, '48 and forced exile, from the refugee camps, popular committees and Palestinian NGO's have signed the statement.

The Statement
Dear Green Brigade comrades,

As our free prisoners were fighting with "empty stomachs" battle in the dungeons of the Zionist regime, we outside prisons were protesting on streets, taking our part in the fight. Our decades old fight has been of ups and downs. At times, we feel frustrations witnessing the world being indifferent. At other times, we felt hope.

We watched as the Green Brigades supported our just cause and our prisoners' hunger strike. And this was one of the times of hope. We can't thank you enough. Your action gave us strength here. Photos and videos of your support were circulated between us in Palestine widely. And we knew not to expect any less from our Irish-Scottish comrades.
The Scottish, "the last of the free", has a history of survival. They have a history of fighting for their freedom and dignity and not giving up for any less. It is true that injustice anywhere in the world is a threat to justice everywhere in the world. But it is also true that free people anywhere inspire free people everywhere. The history of the Scottish people is a history of free people who did not bow to the Roman walls. And with your proud Irish roots, this makes you part of our struggle.

Every Palestinian youth look up to the Irish struggle. No one, better than an Irish, would understand the Apartheid wall that divides our land. No one, better than an Irish, would understand settlers taking over our lands. No one, better than an Irish, would understand the meaning of fighting occupation and sacrificing oneself. No one, better than an Irish, would understand what fighting with empty stomachs inside prisons means. Needless to say, the struggle of Bobby Sand and his comrades has inspired us.

Many parts of Scotland & Ireland became 'Apartheid free-zones'
in the past. Your support to the South African struggle led the way to the fall of the exclusively-white Apartheid regime. We believe you will repeat history again and will lead Glasgow to be an Apartheid free-zone once again. And will lead the way to the fall of the Zionist Apartheid regime.

Our fight is far from over. We will keep up our fight until freedom, equality and full right of return for our refugees.
Green Brigade comrades, I once again would love to express our deep gratitude and appreciation. Your support makes us stronger.

Thank you!

Yara Abbas

Areej Mawasi

Alaa Mawasi

Salma Mawasi

Fajr Harb

Amany Khalefa

Maath Musleh

Nader Elkhuzundar

Lama Saqr

Hosam Saqr

Osama Saqr

Riman Saqr

Ahmad Nimer

Abir Kopty

Ebaa Rezeq

Sari Harb

Linah AlSaafin

Shifaa AlKhatib

Hurriyah Ziada (sibling of a prisoner)

Raya Ziada (sibling of a prisoner)

Samer Sharif (sibling of a prisoner)

Beesan Ramadan

Hala Turjman

Wassim Ghantous

Mohammed Lotfi Yousif

Marwan Mahmoud Fararja

Majde Mostafa Abu Aker

Ahmed Eaid Mohammed

Mohammed Saleh

Nancy Alitabi

Ra'fat Riyad Malash

Layan Nidal Alazzeh

Nabil Abed Alazez

Mohammed Alameer

Shadi Al Barmil

Ammar Mostafa

Jehad Abu A'oda

Mohammed Basim Abu Sror

Khalid Walid Alazza

Mostafa A'oad Alaraj

Salah Ajarma

Daoud Qasim

Sabreen Mohamoud Asad

Hanin Monther Alaraj

Samer Ibrahim Awais

Ahmad Lotfi Ahmad Yousif

Mahmoud Ya'qob Hammad

Fadi Mohammed Nasrallah

Jamal Jamil Ikhlayil

Mohammed Nidal Abu Aker

Mohammed Qasim Alazraq

Kefah Ahmad Alajarma

Faris Shomali

Kifah Quzmar

Nisreen Abu-hunaina

Jalal Najjar

Faten Abu.Sway

Adi Akawi

Lena Awad

Fadi Farwaji

Anan Quzmar

Ismat Quzmar

Lina Hegazi

Sari Harb

Fajr Harb

Diana Alzee

Bassel Araj

Badia Dwaik

Issa Amro

Nadeem Sharabati

Azat alkarki

Tamer Altrash

Imad Altrash

Adeeb Dwaik

Raed Atrash

Sounds Alazeh

Hashem Ayoup

Ashraf Amro

Ahmad Amro

Akram Natsheh

Sameer Khrishah

Salsbeel Dwaik

Najla Jabri

Mohamed Alzgher

Mohamed Altrash

Shada Alhadad

Heba Bader

Suheir Alsharawi

[stew]

I see Israel has been awarded the hosting of the UEFA Under 21s football championship in 2013

EUFA must have a death wish for it's young players, why the hell would they take an international tournament to Israel at this time? In my opinion they are endangering the players and coaches.

[seafoid]

Saw this on a Celtic forum. A letter from a Palestinian group to the Green Brigade thanking them for support for the hunger strikers. Just thought I would share 

http://weareallhanashalabi.wordpress...ir-solidarity/

On the 13th of May, as the 'deal' to end the mass Palestinian hunger strike was about to emerge from the rumour-mill, far away from Palestine in Scotland's biggest city Glasgow, a display of solidarity with the Palestinian hunger strikers was done supporters of Celtic Football Club. This was the final game of the season when Celtic were given the league trophy and crowned Scottish Football Champions and amid all the displays, colour, noise and party atmosphere a flurry of Palestine flags and a banner reading "Dignity is more precious than food" appeared in one particular corner section of the stadium.



This was the 111 section, home of the Green Brigade an ultras group formed in 2006 in rejection of the modern corporate games reducing football fans to mere silent and compliant consumers. The political footing of the group is left-wing, anti-racist,anti-fascist and anti-sectarian. Celtic football club was formed in 1888 by immigrant Irish and has since become to symbolise the Irish heritage of the large Irish diaspora in West Scotland who faced the best part of a century of religious discrimination. The Green Brigade have come under fire for continuing the tradition of Celtic fans giving vocal support for Irish Republican resistance to the British presence in Ireland as well their opposition to any association between the club and the British army's wars and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.


This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 710x473 and weights 95KB.

Despite this day including some quite elaborate displays, the Green Brigade still marked the day with their display of solidarity with the Palestinian hunger Strikers, they very rarely make any form of public statement about their political actions but agreed to once the impact of what they felt were very modest actions became clear.

We did this in solidarity, to raise awareness and because it's the right thing to do.

We want Palestinians to know we are thinking about them and encourage Scottish civil society to look at the injustice in Palestine. The Western media ignores the struggle so we felt we had to at least try and highlight the issue. Its hard to explain the feelings when hear of the actions undertaken by Palestinian prisoners or the oppression of Israeli State. All we can say that there is no greater sacrifice than to be willing to hunger strike until death for justice.

Solidarity with the people of Palestine.

Until The Last Rebel.

Palestine activists here in Scotland helped make sure the Palestinian activists we knew saw them via social media and within few days the images had went viral via twitter & facebook and many Palestinian expressed their gratitude, while the Green Brigade were for the most part unaware of the great impact their actions had.

With the aims of making the Green Brigade fully aware of how much their solidarity action was appreciated, to foster interaction between Palestinian youth and their international supporters and to facilitate the wish of Palestinians to express their thanks the idea grew that some sort of statement should be written for Palestinian youth activists to sign. This is all the more timely as largely unknown to the world, 4 Palestinians remain on hunger strike including the Footballer Mahmoud Sarsak, arrested 3 years ago on his way to play for the Palestinian national team and held since with no charge or trial. Mahmoud a refugee living in Rafah Camp in Gaza is now on (at the time of writing) his 68th day of hunger strike and while there is no football for him the Israeli Women's U21 team will play a match in Scotland on June 16th and Israel will host the UEFA 2013 U23 tournament. It is hoped that the actions of the Green Brigade and a response from the Palestinians that highlight the role these type of actions have may lead to supporters of human rights in Scotland and Europe to question the morality and ethical soundness of bodies such as the Scottish Football Association and UEFA treating Israel as a normal state rather than the apartheid state that it is and should be sanctioned as.

The response from the Palestinian Youth statement has been quite emphatic with almost 100 Palestinian Youth activists from the occupied West Bank & Gaza, '48 and forced exile, from the refugee camps, popular committees and Palestinian NGO's have signed the statement.

The Statement
Dear Green Brigade comrades,

As our free prisoners were fighting with "empty stomachs" battle in the dungeons of the Zionist regime, we outside prisons were protesting on streets, taking our part in the fight. Our decades old fight has been of ups and downs. At times, we feel frustrations witnessing the world being indifferent. At other times, we felt hope.

We watched as the Green Brigades supported our just cause and our prisoners' hunger strike. And this was one of the times of hope. We can't thank you enough. Your action gave us strength here. Photos and videos of your support were circulated between us in Palestine widely. And we knew not to expect any less from our Irish-Scottish comrades.
The Scottish, "the last of the free", has a history of survival. They have a history of fighting for their freedom and dignity and not giving up for any less. It is true that injustice anywhere in the world is a threat to justice everywhere in the world. But it is also true that free people anywhere inspire free people everywhere. The history of the Scottish people is a history of free people who did not bow to the Roman walls. And with your proud Irish roots, this makes you part of our struggle.

Every Palestinian youth look up to the Irish struggle. No one, better than an Irish, would understand the Apartheid wall that divides our land. No one, better than an Irish, would understand settlers taking over our lands. No one, better than an Irish, would understand the meaning of fighting occupation and sacrificing oneself. No one, better than an Irish, would understand what fighting with empty stomachs inside prisons means. Needless to say, the struggle of Bobby Sand and his comrades has inspired us.

Many parts of Scotland & Ireland became 'Apartheid free-zones'
in the past. Your support to the South African struggle led the way to the fall of the exclusively-white Apartheid regime. We believe you will repeat history again and will lead Glasgow to be an Apartheid free-zone once again. And will lead the way to the fall of the Zionist Apartheid regime.

Our fight is far from over. We will keep up our fight until freedom, equality and full right of return for our refugees.
Green Brigade comrades, I once again would love to express our deep gratitude and appreciation. Your support makes us stronger.

Thank you!

Yara Abbas

Areej Mawasi

Alaa Mawasi

Salma Mawasi

Fajr Harb

Amany Khalefa

Maath Musleh

Nader Elkhuzundar

Lama Saqr

Hosam Saqr

Osama Saqr

Riman Saqr

Ahmad Nimer

Abir Kopty

Ebaa Rezeq

Sari Harb

Linah AlSaafin

Shifaa AlKhatib

Hurriyah Ziada (sibling of a prisoner)

Raya Ziada (sibling of a prisoner)

Samer Sharif (sibling of a prisoner)

Beesan Ramadan

Hala Turjman

Wassim Ghantous

Mohammed Lotfi Yousif

Marwan Mahmoud Fararja

Majde Mostafa Abu Aker

Ahmed Eaid Mohammed

Mohammed Saleh

Nancy Alitabi

Ra'fat Riyad Malash

Layan Nidal Alazzeh

Nabil Abed Alazez

Mohammed Alameer

Shadi Al Barmil

Ammar Mostafa

Jehad Abu A'oda

Mohammed Basim Abu Sror

Khalid Walid Alazza

Mostafa A'oad Alaraj

Salah Ajarma

Daoud Qasim

Sabreen Mohamoud Asad

Hanin Monther Alaraj

Samer Ibrahim Awais

Ahmad Lotfi Ahmad Yousif

Mahmoud Ya'qob Hammad

Fadi Mohammed Nasrallah

Jamal Jamil Ikhlayil

Mohammed Nidal Abu Aker

Mohammed Qasim Alazraq

Kefah Ahmad Alajarma

Faris Shomali

Kifah Quzmar

Nisreen Abu-hunaina

Jalal Najjar

Faten Abu.Sway

Adi Akawi

Lena Awad

Fadi Farwaji

Anan Quzmar

Ismat Quzmar

Lina Hegazi

Sari Harb

Fajr Harb

Diana Alzee

Bassel Araj

Badia Dwaik

Issa Amro

Nadeem Sharabati

Azat alkarki

Tamer Altrash

Imad Altrash

Adeeb Dwaik

Raed Atrash

Sounds Alazeh

Hashem Ayoup

Ashraf Amro

Ahmad Amro

Akram Natsheh

Sameer Khrishah

Salsbeel Dwaik

Najla Jabri

Mohamed Alzgher

Mohamed Altrash

Shada Alhadad

Heba Bader

Suheir Alsharawi

Very impressive. Can you try putting up the link again?

[Forever Green]

http://weareallhanashalabi.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/palestinian-youth-statement-thanks-football-ultras-group-in-scotland-for-their-solidarity/

Hopefully that works seafoid

[give her dixie]

Mahmoud has now entered his 81st day on Hunger Strike.

I put the following article together 2 hours ago, and sent it out to loads of people on Twitter in order to raise awareness of his plight. So far, I have had over 2,000 hits on the story. Hopefully it will bring some attention to his plight.

http://gazatvnews.com/2012/06/irish-goalkeeper-shay-given-kidnapped-now-on-hunger-strike/

Republic of Ireland goalkeeper, Shay Given, was kidnapped at the Irish border 3 years ago en route to play for his country, and has been held without charge or trial. As he left his home in Donegal, he set off for Dublin to meet up with the Ireland team. He never reached his destination. While crossing through the occupied 6 counties of Ireland, he was kidnapped by British soldiers and has been held in a prison without a single visit from his family or friends.

In protest at his detention, he embarked on a Hunger Strike. He is now on day 81, and weights 51 kilos. To date, the International community and his fellow professional footballers have stayed silent and ignored his plight. Despite pleas from Amnesty International for his release, Shay still remains in a prison cell.

Well, that didn't happen to Shay, but it happened to Mahmoud Sarsak, a Palestinian from Gaza. As Mahmoud made his way from Gaza to the West Bank to play with the Palestine national team, he was kidnapped by Israeli occupation forces and has been held for 3 years now without trial or charge. In protest, he embarked on a hunger strike and today, he is on day 81 without food.

There has been a complete silence from the international football world as they gear up for the Euro Championships in Poland and the Ukraine. Needless to say, if Shay Given was in Mahmouds shoes right now, there would be an international outcry, and pressure would be brought on Israel to release him immediately.

How Israel was awarded the 2013 U21 Euro championships beggars belief, and if there was any justice in this world, they should be stripped of this tournament for the sake of justice and humanity, 2 words that are alien to Israel when it comes to Palestine.

[give her dixie]

Carlos Latuff produced the following image to demonstrate the solidarity from the Irish Hunger Strikers to the Palestinian Hunger Strikers.

[give her dixie]

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=493053

A war on Palestinian soccer: Free Mahmoud al-Sarsak


Palestinian national soccer team member Mahmoud al-Sarsak completed 81 days of a grueling hunger-strike. He has sustained the strike despite the fact that nearly 2,000 Palestinian inmates had called off their own 28-day hunger strike weeks ago.

Although the story of Palestinian prisoners in Israel speaks to a common reality of unlawful detentions and widespread mistreatment, al-Sarsak's fate can also be viewed within its own unique context. The soccer player, who once sought to take the name and flag of his nation to international arenas, was arrested by Israeli soldiers in July 2009 while en route to join the national team in the West Bank.

Al-Sarsak was branded an 'illegal combatant' by Israel's military judicial system, and was since imprisoned without any charges or trial.

Al-Sarsak is not alone in the continued hunger strike. Akram al-Rekhawi, a diabetic prisoner demanding proper medical care, has refused food for 57 days.

Both men are in dire medical condition. Al-Sarsak, once of unmatched athletic build, is now gaunt beyond recognition. The already ill al-Rekhawi is dying.

According to rights groups, an Israeli court on May 30 granted prison doctors 12 days to allow independent doctors to visit the prisoners, further prolonging their suffering and isolation.

Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, which has done a remarkable job battling the draconian rules of Israeli military courts, petitioned the court to meet with both al-Sarsak and al-Rekhawi.

Sadly, the story here becomes typical. PHRI, along with other prisoners' rights groups, are doing all that civil society organizations can do within such an oppressive legal and political situation.

Families are praying. Social media activists are sending constant updates and declaring solidarity. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is merely looking on -- not due to any lack of concern for human rights, but due to the selective sympathy of Western governments and media.

Think of the uproar made by US media over the fate of blind Chinese political activist Chen Guangcheng. When he took shelter in the US embassy in Beijing, a near-diplomatic crisis ensued.

Guangcheng was finally flown to the US on May 19, and he recently delivered a talk in New York before an astounded audience.

"The 40-year-old, blind activist said that his lengthy detention (of seven years) demonstrates that lawlessness is still the norm in China," reported the New York Post.

"Is there any justice? Is there any rationale in any of this?" Chen asked. Few in the US media would contend with the statement. But somehow the logic becomes entirely irrelevant when the perpetrator of injustice is Israel, and the victim is a Palestinian.

Al-Rekhawi is not blind, but he has many medical ailments. He has been in Ramle prison clinic since his detention in 2004, receiving severely inadequate medical care.

Al-Sarsak, who has been a witness to many tragedies, is now becoming one.

The 25-year old had once hoped to push the ranking of his national team back to a reasonable standing. If Palestinians ever deserve to be called 'fanatics', it would be in reference to soccer.

As a child growing up in Gaza, I remember playing soccer in few minute increments, braving Israeli military curfews, risking arrests, injury and even death. Somehow, in a very crowded refugee camp, soccer becomes tantamount to freedom.

Palestine's soccer ranking at 164th in the world is testament not to any lack of passion for the game, but to the constant Israeli attempts at destroying even that national aspiration.

The examples of Israeli war on Palestinian soccer are too many to count, although most of them receive little or no media coverage whatsoever.

In 2004 Israel blocked several essential players from accompanying the national team out of Gaza for a second match against Chinese Taipei. (Palestine had won the first match 8-0.)

The obstacles culminated in the March 2006 bombing of the Palestinian Football Stadium in Gaza, which reduced the grass field to a massive crater. Then, in the 2008 war on Gaza, things turned bloody as Israel killed three national soccer players: Ayman Alkurd, Shadi Sbakhe and Wajeh Moshtahe. It also bombed their stadium again.

Al-Sarsak was a promising new face of Palestinian soccer. In times of Palestinian disunity and factionalism, it was the national team that kept a symbolic unity between Gaza and the West Bank – and indeed Palestinians everywhere.

These young men exemplify hope that better times are ahead. But Sarsak's star is now fading, as is his life. His mother, who hasn't seen him since his arrest, told Ma'an that she thinks of him every minute of each day. "Why is there no one moving to save his life?" she asked.

Writing in the Nation on May 10, Dave Zirin wrote, "Imagine if a member of Team USA Basketball—let's say Kobe Bryant—had been traveling to an international tournament only to be seized by a foreign government and held in prison for three years without trial or even hearing the charges for which he was imprisoned ... Chances are all the powerful international sports organizations—the IOC, FIFA—would treat the jailing nation as a pariah until Kobe was free. And chances are that even Laker-haters would wear buttons that read, 'Free Kobe.'"

Al-Sarsak is the Bryant of his people. But ask any political commentator and he will tell you why Mahmoud al-Sarsak is not Kobe Bryant, and why al-Rekhawi is not Chen. It is the same prevalent logic of a powerful Washington-based pro-Israel lobby and all the rest.

Even if the logic was founded, why are international sports institutions not standing in complete solidarity with the dying al-Sarsak? Why don't soccer matches include a moment of solidarity with killed Palestinian players, and the dying young man aching to join his teammates on the field once more?

Why is Israel not fully and comprehensively boycotted by every international sports organization?

"As long as al-Sarsak remains indefinitely detained and as long as Israel targets sport and athletes as legitimate targets of war, they have no business being rewarded by FIFA or the UEFA, let alone even being a part of the community of international sports," wrote Zirin.

It would be a belated step, but an unequivocally urgent one, for Palestinian sportsmen are literally dying.

Ramzy Baroud is an internationally syndicated columnist and the editor of PalestineChronicle.com

[give her dixie]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-bars-palestinian-athlete-from-paralympic-celebration-7827289.html


Israel has barred a paralyzed Palestinian athlete who lives in Gaza
from an Olympics celebration sponsored by the British government.

Khamis Zakout says the British Consulate in Jerusalem invited him and five fellow athletes on the Palestinian Paralympics team to a pre-Olympics celebration in Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah. He says he was the only one banned from attending.

The Israeli military says Zakout was barred for security reasons. The Shin Bet internal security service had no immediate comment.

The 47-year-old Zakout says he has no security record and worked in Israel before his legs were paralyzed in a work accident there in 1992.

Zakout competes in the javelin and shot put. He plans to travel from Gaza by way of Egypt to attend the London Olympics.

[dillinger]

Carlos Latuff produced the following image to demonstrate the solidarity from the Irish Hunger Strikers to the Palestinian Hunger Strikers.

Can't see much support from the Unionists with this image being used.