If we are serious about using International Women’s Day, held annually on March 8, to campaign for the freedom and equality of women and girls, then we should not ignore Palestinians.
The violence and discrimination that women all over the world experience is worsened in Palestine by Israeli occupation and apartheid practices that affect all Palestinians — but women disproportionately. One example of the violence of Israel’s occupation is its treatment of women Palestinian prisoners.
As International Women’s Day approaches, there are a number of women prisoners whose fates are uncertain at best.
The article features background supporting Ahed Tamimi, Dareen Tatour, Khalida Jarrar.
International support for Palestinian prisoners is growing, causing Israel to go to sometimes bizarre lengths to discredit Palestinian dissidents. For instance, in what sounds like a claim from an obscure far right conspiracy site, Israel launched an official investigation two years ago alledging the Tamimi family — whose sustained protests were drawing attention — were in fact actors pretending to be Palestinians.
The Intercept reported on January 25: “Michael Oren, Israel’s senior official in charge of diplomacy, was roundly mocked on Thursday for admitting that he had opened a formal investigation of a family of Palestinian activists based on an internet conspiracy theory, which claims that they are not a real family but a troupe of actors paid to pretend that the occupation of their land in the West Bank upsets them…
Read the article in the Green Left Weekly.