1-Jaggi Singh Nabbed in Jerusalem 2-Canadian Human Rights Activist Kidnapped by Undercover Israeli Forces 3-ISM Activist speaking in Oakland 4-Jewish Americans Renounce Right to Israeli Citizenship 5-we need your urgent interference 6-STOP THE WALL! 7-Countdown to Muwasi- Chris - Rafah 8-They shot a reporter 9-Airport Stories - Carolyn Gelenter

1-Jaggi Singh
Nabbed in Jerusalem

Montreal, January 8th 2003 -- Jaggi Singh, a Montreal based
activist and organizer, was kidnapped today in Jerusalem by
a group of undercover Israeli police officers. He was on his way to
visit a friend, and was arrested as he arrived at his friend's
apartment. Jaggi traveled to Israel and the Occupied Territories on the
invitation of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). The ISM is a
Palestinian-led movement which brings together Palestinians and
Internationals to fight the Israeli occupation through non-
violent direct action.

Jaggi was also providing written and audio reports to various
independent news organizations and activist networks about the
situation on the ground in the Occupied Territories.

Jaggi's kidnapping comes after his trip to the Occupied Territories had
ended and as he prepared to leave Israel. He planned return to Canada on
January 11th. When Jaggi first arrived in Israel in mid- December, he was
refused entry to the country. He refused to be
refused andwas immediately detained; he spent two days fighting an
illegal deportation from Israel. Israel has refused 10,000
internationals over the past 2 years.

After winning a court battle with the assistance of Israeli lawyer
Shamai Leibowitz, Jaggi was granted entry into Israel with the
condition that he leave the country by December 23rd. The judge
also barred him from entering the Occupied Territories. This
condition, imposed by the Tel Aviv District Court, is illegal
according to Canadian and International Law. Israel has no has
absolutely no legal authority over the Palestinian Territories and
therefore cannot decide who is allowed entry and who is not.

Jaggi is currently being held at the Russian Compound in Jerusalem, an
Israeli Jail notorious for torturing Palestinians. No details are being
released as to the nature of Jaggi's charges -- if any are
being laid -- or how long he will be held.

Today's nabbing illustrates the lengths to which the state of Israel
will go to silence voices critical of the occupation.

Please call the following numbers and urge the Canada's Department of
Foreign Affairs to intervene politically and pressure the Israeli
government to ensure that Jaggi is released swiftly and returns home
safely.

===> The Canadian Embassy in Tel Aviv:
Phone: +011-972-3-636-3300
Fax: (011 9723) 636-3380
E-mail Address: taviv@d...

===> The 24/7 Operations Center at the

Department of Foreign Affairs in
Ottawa: Phone: 1-800-267-6788 or 613-944-6788.

===> Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham's

Office: 613-995-1851

You can also call the Russian Compound at

+011-972-2-539-1340 ask for
Shimi Marciano.

For more information please email Stefan at

christoff@t... or
Andrea at andrea@t...

For more information about the International

Solidarity Movement, check
out the website: http://www.palsolidarity.org.
==============================================================2-Canadian
Human Rights Activist Kidnapped by Undercover Israeli Forces
8/1/2003 West Jerusalem

Canadian activist Jaggi Singh was ambushed and forced into an
unmarked vehicle and taken to an unknown location by 3 Israelis
wearing plain clothes today when he arrived for a pre-arranged visit
with a friend in West Jerusalem.

His friend, `Jonathan', released this report:

"Jaggi was supposed to visit me this evening, after spending the day at
Yad Vashem. He called me to let me know that he would arrive at my
house in 15 minutes. His arrival was somewhat eventful. I heard him
yelling, and ran out to see three people in plain-clothes
stuffing him into a car, which had been parked just outside my
house.

They showed me police badges, refused to give their names,
and drove a car with plates 47-213-15.
I will call a lawyer."

His attorney, Shamlai Leibovitch, and the Canadian Consulate have been
contacted.

Jaggi arrived at Ben Gurion Airport on December 14th and was
initially refused entry by Israeli officials for `security reasons'. His
attorney took his case to court and Jaggi was eventually given a one
week visa with the condition that he not enter the occupied
territories.

Jaggi is from Montreal, Canada and traveled to the occupied
territories to write about the realities of the Israeli occupation of
Palestine. Jaggi is well known in Canada and abroad for speaking out
against injustice in the many forms it takes.

For more information call Jonathan at 972 2 563 2363 or Smalai
Leibovitch at 972 64 414 505
==============================================================3-ISM
Activist speaking in Oakland

For anyone who's interested, on January 12 there will be an event with
several ISM speakers in Oakland. The address is 552 Crofton Ave, near
Lake Merritt.

From 5 to 6 there will be a potluck dinner, and from 6 to 8
speakers will be presenting on the situation in Palestine. The
audience is a group of returned Peace Corps volunteers. All are
welcome!
Thanks,
Adam
===============================================================4-Jewish
Americans Renounce Right to Israeli Citizenship; Reject Israel's
Policies as "Barbaric"

In a letter to the Israeli government, nearly 60 Jewish Americans have
renounced their legal right to Israeli citizenship to
dissociate themselves from Israel's "barbaric" policies towards the
Palestinians. While support for Israel among most American Jews
continues to be nearly reflexive, a number of Jewish groups have
sprung up as a result of growing concern about Israel's violations of
Palestinian human rights. Groups such as Jews Against the
Occupation and Not in My Name, for instance, condemn the harsh
military occupation of the Gaza Strip and West Bank and protest
against the collective punishment of Palestinians.

The letter, originally circulated in England, goes further by
declaring that the legal right to citizenship, bestowed on all
Jews everywhere by Israel's "Law of Return," is "morally wrong." It
notes that "the very people who should have most right to a genuine
'return'" [the Palestinians] are excluded, having been "forced or
terrorised into fleeing" their homes. Finally, the letter expresses hope
for a democratic future and "solidarity with all those who are working
for a time when Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip can be lived in by
people without any restrictions based on so-called
racial, cultural, or ethnic origins."

LETTER:

We are Jews, born and raised outside Israel, who, under srael's "law of
return," have a legal right to Israeli residence and citizenship We wish
to renounce this unsought "right" because:

1) We regard it as morally wrong that this legal entitlement should be
bestowed on us while the very people who should have most right to a
genuine "return," having been forced or terrorised into
fleeing, are excluded.

2) Israel's policies towards the Palestinians are barbaric -- we do not
wish to identify ourselves in any way with what Israel is doing.

3) We disagree with the notion that Zionist emigration to Israel
is any kind of "solution" for diaspora Jews, anti-Semitism or
racism -- no matter to what extent Jews have been or are victims of
racism, they have no right to make anyone else victims.

4) We wish to express our solidarity with all those who are working for
a time when Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip can be lived in by
people without any restrictions based on so-called racial,
cultural, or ethnic origins.

We look forward to the day when all the peoples of the area are
enabled to live in peace with each other on this basis of
non-discrimination and mutual respect. Perhaps some of us would even
wish to live there, but only if the rights of the Palestinians are
respected. To those who consider Israel a "safe haven"
for Jews in the face of anti-Semitism, we say that there can be no
safety in taking on the role of occupier and oppressor. We hope that the
people while the very people who should have most right to a
genuine "return," having been forced or terrorised into fleeing, are
excluded of Israel and their leaders will come to realize this soon.
================================================================5-we need
your urgent interference.................

From: Issa Samandar [mailto:ldc@p-ol.com]
Dear friends

the village of Al-Daba' in Qalqilya district is facing now huge
destruction that will destroy everything in the way of the Israeli
bulldozers, near the "WALL" ...... the following will be destroyed if
the bulldozers are not stopped:42 houses --an area of 600 -700 dunums of
agricultural land- the mosque- the shared mixed
elementary school (Al- Daba' and Ras Atiyyeh) of 132
schoolchildren.

we urge all people with conscious to interfere against this new
attack of Israel on Palestinian citizens.......................the
implementation is even in contradiction of the map and the military
order which were issued before one month. that order had put the
destruction distance of about 50 meters away from the " WALL"...but now
they have entered about 500 meters inside the village
itself.......... the village has 250 habitants...... LDC is warning that
this is "ethnic cleansing" ..and our fear of the isolated small villages
to be deported has become more clear...... this is not
about politics only but it is crossing all parameters of human
behavior.........and all human rights and international laws...... we are
tired to mention always that these activities are in
contradiction of international laws........since the "guardians
" are still sleeping......we only wish that people facing these
atrocities will still keep some hope in their minds and
spirits.........please send, now, messages of support for the
village of Daba' to the following addresses
demanding for intervention:

1- American Consulate ,Jerusalem
Email: keenme@state.gov
Fax: +972-(0)2-6277230

2- European Union Office , Jerusalem
I-mail: mailto@delwbg.cec.eu.int
Fax: +972-(0) 2 - 5326249

3- UN Special Coordinator Office, Gaza
I-mail: unsco@palnet.com
Fax: + 972- (0) 8 - 2820966
===============================================================6-STOP THE
WALL!

Latest News from the Apartheid Wall Campaign January 2003 The
Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network's (PENGON) Apartheid Wall
Campaign is a national and international mobilization effort to stop the
massive operation by the State of Israel to confiscate and
destroy hundreds of thousands of dunums of Palestinian land by the
creation of the Apartheid Wall, which if completed will bring to the
Israeli annexation of some 10% of the West Bank. Bulldozers, land razing
and tree uprooting are a daily scene, as are the handing out of
devastating land confiscation and house demolition orders by the Israeli
military.

The Wall is a tragic Ć"advancement of the closure and siege policy and
will leave thousands of families landless, jobless, hungry, and
hopeless. The image of cities and villages encircled by checkpoints,
by-pass roads, and settlements is now being accompanied by an 8-
meter high concrete wall with trenches, electric fences, sensors,
cameras, and armed watchtowers. The prospects of a completed wall are
horrific.

We estimate that at the current rate Israel is working, the Wall
could be completed by the end of 2003. To date, less than 4
kilometers of the expected minimum 350 kilometers of the actual Wall has
been built but destruction for the groundwork of the Wall,
marked by land confiscation and razing, is taking place on a massive
scale and there are tens of communities today that need support to
safeguard their lands from total destruction.
================================================================7-Countdown
to Muwasi- Chris - Rafah

Humor has become a little more prominent today. Probably because the
Muwasi action is tomorrow and we're all really stressed about it. I
think, also, that we're starting to realize that, yes, the
Occupation is horrible, but you have to deal with the reality of it
somehow, and humor does a great job of it. So we were all joking
around today (I made a comment about it being Saturday night and
hitting the gay bars of Rafah).

We did more planning for Muwasi today. We also had a few moments
throughout the day where we heard that there were tanks entering the
city in the neighborhood where we were at yesterday. Each time was a
false alarm; they left as soon as they came.

We haven't seen any sort of retaliation for the attack on the
illegal settlement in the West Bank yesterday. One interesting bit of
fallout from it, though. Many of the ISM people here are "peace" type
activists (you know… the conflict could be solved if the
Israelis and the Palestinians could just talk to one another). One of
them, Carla (from Seattle) made an interesting comment. She said that
she opposes all attacks on civilians, but soldiers are
attackers and that assaults on them are justified (presumably as
self-defense). She then took it a step further and said that
settlers are attackers, too, and although she wouldn't promote going
after settlers, it's not necessarily a bad thing.

It's nice to see this sort of realization. Obviously it would be
great if the conflict could be ended peacefully, but that's
simply not going to happen. That doesn't mean that the Palestinians
should overwhelm and kill all Israelis, just that Palestinians, as
people dispossessed of their land, have the right to self-defense. At
the minimum, that includes going after settlers who continue to take
their land.

Tomorrow's Muwasi. In all honesty, I'll be quite pleased if I don't have
to treat any gunshot wounds.
===============================================================8-They
shot a reporter.

Two hundred meters away and they grazed the back of his head. One
centimeter lower and we're attending his funeral instead of visiting his
hospital room. He's going to be fine. He was in very good
spirits in the hospital, but I'm still really pissed. Let me take it
from the top.

We went to the meeting spot about one kilometer away from the
checkpoint where we met up with the villagers. We had apparently
been misinformed: 100-200 people want to come with us, but almost all
wanted to see us in action before joining us. So, we had five women with
flags there. No matter, though, these five women along with big bags of
medical supplies would accompany us. We also had local reporters as well
as the Refuters news agency there with us. We began walking towards the
checkpoint.

We made it about half of the way there when we got our first
notification that we weren't welcome: a rifle shot off to our right. We
ignored the warning shot and continued. They Israeli Occupation Forces
fired several more shots, each progressively closer. One of them was so
close that the bullet kicked up a small stone that
bounced along the ground and hit me lightly on my right ankle. With each
shot, we stopped for a few seconds and then proceeded slowly. Finally
the IOF had had enough and fired the nearly fatal shot.

We were scared and angry at that point, and further reflection has made
me even angrier. As we approached the checkpoint, we seemed to have more
power than the IOF. Obviously they're the ones with the guns, jeeps,
tanks, helicopter, F-16s and training, but on our side we had world
opinion. We were escorting older women while carrying medical supplies
and world opinion simply wouldn't stand for a
bloodbath. The IOF wanted to get rid of the media in order to tip the
scales their way. Of course, they couldn't shoot an
international media member, because that would be a huge story,
so they went after a local Palestinian reporter. Their sharpshooter
grazed his head (intentionally or unintentionally, meaning they may have
meant to kill him), and all of the media immediately took off (not that
I blame them). Now we were just a bunch of activists with a few video
cameras,which clearly gave the IOF the advantage. They used this man as
a pawn in their game.

They were so determined to keep residents and medical supplies out of
Tel Sultan that they shot and nearly killed a reporter.

After this we tried talking to them with our bullhorn. After several
minutes of this while we continued slowly approaching, they
responded over their loudspeaker. Naturally, they told us that we
couldn't come through and that we should turn around and go back. We
refused and the situation came to a standstill.

After a while they sent a jeep out to negotiate with us. Angela
(from New York) went out and came back several times.

After a standstill in negotiations and a few more warning shots the
Palestinians and we decided to back off and go home. The whole thing
took about two hours.

I got about an hour and a half of it on tape.

American cops in riot gear will never frighten me again.

Although this poor man was shot and we didn't get through, the
action was in many ways a success. We showed the villagers that we are
serious and aren't going to run at the first sign of danger. We also
showed the IOF the same thing. This sets us up for a more
successful run at it in the future. Furthermore, it helps build our
reputation in the community, which will make it much easier to help the
city now that they know we're not Israeli collaborators.

Naturally, we're all sad and pissed about what happened, but this was
still a good action.

Hopefully, this will be the most excitement we see today, inshallah.
There's a good chance that won't be the case, though.

There was a jeep scouting in Hiasalaama, a neighborhood that is
right up against the Egyptian border (the apartheid wall hasn't been
built this far yet). This usually me and that they're demolishing houses
that night. Of course, it's 10:00 PM and they haven't cut
power to the city like they always do when enacting these sorts of
things, so who knows? There have been several extended periods of
gunfire in the distance (maybe one or two kilometers away), but n
othing too close. It's mostly been M-16's along with occasional fire
from the heavy machine guns on the tanks. There is also at least one
Apache helicopter in the sky, but that isn't too out of the ordinary.

We got going to our houses late tonight and it was already dark as we
were moving through Hiasalaama. At one point we actually had to duck a
few bullets. I think this is the first time that I've been shot at,
rather than been given warnings. Yes, it's as unpleasant as you think.
I'm going to have a few words with our coordinator
tomorrow.

I'm exhausted from today's action and I'm going to bed early. I
really hope I sleep through the night.

Tomorrow we're meeting up with people from the World Social Forum. The
Porto Alegre people are having a conference in Ramallah and
tomorrow they'll be in Gaza City for a demonstration in which we'll take
part. Should be no problem after today.
Chris
Rafah, Occupied Palestine
===================================================================9-Airport
Stories - Carolyn Gelenter

last time i sat down to write a report i was interrupted by a call to go
out on the streets of nablus because there were tanks in askar refugee
camp and some people were being held by the idf. that seems like another
lifetime.

i am now back in london and apart from the fact that it is snowing for
the first time in 10 years, there is nothing here that will
disturb my writing tonight. i did not bother finishing my last
report about the goings-on in nablus as i have read several reports
about the situation from others. there is a lot of news reports
about nablus and gaza and i have to say that media seems to be
reporting if not on the side of the palestinians, certainly not
favourably towards the israeli's either. there is a definite shift here
in the media reporting.

i thought i would mention a couple of airport stories and also
write a little about my reflections after leaving palestine. when i left
nablus and got back to jerusalem, i got into a taxi with two americans.
one had cuban ancestry and the other indian. i mention this because they
were not white skinned but they did hold american passports. when they
arrived at ben gurion their bags were
confiscated and they were told they would not get them back until they
left the country.

they were given 800 ns each as compensation. the airlines and
insurance companies had tried to intervene on their behalf but were told
it was under the jurisdiction of israeli security.

as some of you know i also had a humorous airport story of my own. when
i arrived at ben gurion i made the mistake of telling the
security officer when she asked if i had any relatives in israel
that i had been married to an israeli but had been divorced for 25
years. she asked if i had lived in israel and again i replied that i had
25 years ago. she insisted that i must have a security number. no manner
of convincing from me that i did not want a bloody
security number (which in fact means i am an israeli citizen and
must have an israeli passport) was enough to stop her from ringing her
officer who then relayed my security number back to her. this was
stamped in my australian passport as she informed me that i
must go to the ministry of the interior and pick up my israeli
passport! i told her that i didn't want an israeli passport. i told her
that as an australian i couldn't hold dual nationality (a white lie but
i thought i would give it a try) give up your australian
passport she told me! no! i said. i am divorced i said. according to
their records there was no record of my divorce, which is an
interesting dilemma for my ex husband who has subsequently remarried 3
times! she told me if i didn't want the passport i could go with my
divorce papers and present them to the ministry. who carries
their divorce papers around with them! she finally let me in with the
words that if i didn't pick up my passport i would be in big
trouble when i tried to leave. after speaking to a few people
(thankyou susan) i decided i would take a chance and not spend a
precious day at the ministry trying to chase up a bloody passport i
didn't even want. i had no trouble at the airport - i will come back to
this later. but when i reached passport control the security officer
informed me that as i didn't have a visa in my australian passport and
that i should have an israeli passport because i had an id number she
couldn't let me leave the country. i have to say i did think this was
rather funny given that if they knew what i
had been up to i think they would have happily bundled me on the
next plane to anywhere.

after about 10 minutes i managed to convice her that i would go
straight away to the israeli consulate in london and get my israeli
passport there. before i come to israel next time, i plan to apply for a
british passport which i am also entitled to and lie through my teeth.

on a more serious note i didn't get hassled at all at the airport
although theresa who left the week before got body searched and all her
bags were also thoroughly searched. i couldn't see any pattern. maybe it
is random, or maybe a particular answer to a question
triggers off the need for a search, it is really difficult
to say. if you get a blue sticker you have no worries.

finally some reflections on my time in nablus. maybe this is not the
sort of thing you wish to put out on the ism lists? i know there is so
much going on there and it is really really terrible. but maybe it is
also good to hear how people feel and think when they have a little
distance from the situation? if you do not want this to go out then feel
free to edit this email, even though i know it is not something you
normally do. but if you feel it is not relevant then i completely
understand if you wish to delete this part of the email before you send
it out.

of course my passport story is a funny story but behind lies the
real intent of the racist and facist state of israel. those like myself
who are born jewish and have very tentative ties to israel are entitled
to a homeland there, whilst others born in that land are unable to move
about freely, or return to their land of birth. but i also think that
this situation is not so far removed from
germany or britain for example, who choose now to exlude the most
vulnerable people from all parts of the world claiming refuge. this is
not to excuse the israeli state. indeed i witnessed a situation of
apartheid, i experienced the fascist nature of the israeli
army and truly the words ethnic cleansing are not out of place in what
is happening there.

but i also see that it is on a continuum of what is going on all
over the west. what happens to many people when they arrive in
israel and are immediately deported at the airport for example is what
happens to vulnerable people from all parts of the globe,
except to people from the west of course, who apply for refuge in
fortress europe or other parts of the western world. of course we are
not directly in a situation of war either - but i am positive that if
western governments could justify bringing in more brutal security
measures - even more so than the new anti terrorist laws - they would
happily see roadblocks and checkpoints and armed soldiers roaming the
streets of london.

i spent some days in nablus and a few days in jerusalem and
bethlehem. i left feeling incredibly hopeless and distressed. most of
the people i spoke to in israel who were doing work with
palestinians, were not israeli born.

many of the soldiers are deeply brutalised and see all palestinians as
potential terrorists. yet some of them were open to listening. when
soldiers spoke to me about how they had no choice, i always
responded by saying there is always a choice. of course those words, i
have no choice, were deeply embedded in my psyche from having read much
literature about the holocaust and it is impossible not to make a
connection between what the israeli soldiers said and what the
nazi's had said 60 years before. but it is important for me to
understand the bigger picture of the development of consciousness, the
use of power and oppression and not to see things in simple
black and white. for we are all capable of behaving just as the
nazi's did and just as the israeli's are doing today. if i were
brought up amongst racist propaganda and got to carry a semi-
automatic machine gun slung around my neck at 18 years of age, i
would also abuse my power. i am no different from them although i would
like to think myself capable of being one of those small
minority of incredibly courageous people who for some reason are
able to rise above the processes of socialisation, who refuse to
serve or who maintain links with palestinians across physical
divides and risk of arrest. it is important to keep understanding in all
this horror and desparation, not to excuse or condone, but to
understand. for if i lose my sense of understanding then i lose my
ability to maintain my humanity. and for me it became most important to
keep seeing the humanity in these young soldiers, for it is easy to
become like them in these situation - to want to steal their guns and
shoot them. watching them embarrass and humiliate and shout for no
reason other than the person they are doing this to is not a
person to them, but a potential terrorist, whether they are 2 or 9
months pregnant or 82. of course not all the soldiers behaved like this,
but shamefully many did.

so it is not a story of hope or optimism. i cannot stop thinking about
these experiences. i hang on to the few glimmers of hope that i did
manage to salvage amongst all this brutality. meeting with
palestinian women who called me their sister and after i explained i was
jewish and was indeed their sister, their acceptance and
hospitality offered to me was a real privilege and a reason to hope. the
few israeli women i met who get up at some ungodly hour of the morning
before work to go and do checkpoint watch. the soldier who walked around
the holocaust museum with myself (the daughter of a holocaust survivor),
a german judge who was our guide and who had converted to judaism and
had been living in israel for 12 years, a christian chaplain and a
muslim, all walking around a museum filled with a story of horror and
despair, with a possibility of hope that we could walk together and
discuss our differences and that if we had the time we could figure a
way forward in all this pain and
devastation.

but i have to say mostly i felt an overwhelming sense that for the time
being it is not possible to find a path of peace. the israeli government
will not let israeli's into the occupied territories or palestinians
into israel and there is a tiny minority of people
who risks their lives to cross this divide.but somehow if i can
maintain an honesty and be as real as i can not to pretend then
maybe i can salvage hope. and mostly i believe i have a
responsibility to use my privilege to try and raise awareness in
britain. i am really glad that i went - it was an amazing and never to
be forgotten experience. perhaps i made little difference,
sometimes the international presence helps, sometimes not. but i
will never forget what i witnessed there or the brave people that i met.
my promise to myself and to them,is to keep real and keep
doing those little things together with others that may someday add up
to more than peace, but a different world based on values of
love, sharing and tenderness towards all. in solidarity and
heartfelt wishes to all the wonderful people i met, carolyn