[GushShalom] PLEASE PROTEST raid on Al-Quds university offices

[Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)]

GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - http://www.gush-shalom.org/

======================================================
PROTEST STARTED AGAINST ATTACK ON SARI NUSSEIBEH, AND THE EAST 
JERUSALEM OFFICES OF AL-QUDS UNIVERSITY
===========================

[The following contains a request for protest letters - with a special emphasis on Israeli 
and international universities.] 

This afternoon, several dozen Israeli peace activists, hastily mobilized by
Peace Now  and joined by members of Meretz and Gush Shalom, gathered for a 
protest vigil outside the offices of the Al-quds University in East Jerusalem. 

A few hours earlier, these offices were raided by the Israeli police, which
evicted all university employees at gunpoint, and proceeded to confiscate the
university's administrative records, which were placed in some forty carton 
boxes and taken away, as well as the university computers. Afterwards, heavy steel 
shutters were installed, making the entire three-storey building 
inaccesible. 

The raid was authorized by a closure order signed by Uzi Landau, Minister of
Police. Landau cited the fact that Sari Nusseibeh, President of the Al-Quds 
University whose own office was located in the invaded building, is a member 
of the Palestinian Authority; this, in the minister's view, made the entire 
university into "an agency of the Palestinian Authoity", and the maintenance 
of such an "agency" in annexed East Jerusalem was "in contravention to the 
Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement". (How would the minister regard the 
presence of massive Israeli forces, occupying and imposing curfew over all 
the Palestinian cities which under the same agreement should have been 
under exclusive Palestinian control?).
The protesters outside the invaded building carried signs reading "Landau -
Minister of State Terrorism". 

What distinguishes this latest act of oppression from earlier ones is the 
entire lack of even a pretence at 'fighting terrorism'. The police came to 
disrupt a recognized academic institution, which had its beginnings in the 
1950's, which carries out intensive teaching and research and maintaints 
contacts with numerous academic institutions throughout the world as well 
ass in Israel - the only such academic institution available to the Palestinian 
population in East Jerusalem and its suburbs. Also, the police raid targeted 
one person in particular - Dr. Sari Nusseibeh, the most outspoken of 
Palestinian moderates, who a few weeks ago initiated a petition of 
Palestinians condemning the suicide bombings. 
The raid, in short, laid bare the true aims of the Sharon government:
not "reform" of the Palestinian Authority but breaking down all Palestinian
leaders, moderate and extremist indiscriminatingly; not "fighting against
terrorism", but destroying the infrastructure of Palestinian civil society. 

We ask you, this time, to write protests not only to government 
representatives but also to Israeli and international unverstities, and 
encourage them to protest this gross violation of academic freedom. You can 
use the following text or make your own.

--------[sample text]-------------
I strongly protest the raid by the Israeli police upon and closure of the offices 
of the Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem. This is a severe violation of
academic freedom as well as yet another provocative action, further 
embittering the already tense relations between Israelis and Palestinians.  I 
call upon academics worlwide, and upon Israeli academics in particular, to 
make their protest known.
--------[end sample text]-------------

email addresses:

To:
pm_eng at pmo.gov.il, dover at pmo.gov.il, pniot at pmo.gov.il, sar at mofa.gov.il, 
ssar at mfa.gov.il, dover at mfa.gov.il, pniot at mofa.gov.il, sar at mops.gov.il,  
dover at mops.gov.il, pniot at mops.gov.il

Copies to:
ecu at un.org, coi at un.org, inquiries at un.org, commond at un.org,  
<secretary at state.gov>, tauinfo at post.tau.ac.il, 
webmaster at bgumail.bgu.ac.il, webmaster at www.huji.ac.il,  
press at technion.ac.il, mzieashr at research.haifa.ac.il, + (if you are an 
international supporter) ADDRESSES OF UNIVERSITIES ETC. IN YOUR 
OWN COUNTRY

Blind copies to: <khuloud at planet.edu>, info at gush-shalom.org
--

The above addresses specified:

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon: pm_eng at pmo.gov.il
Spokesperson for the PM's Office
         Arnon Pearlman-Tzadok dover at pmo.gov.il
Public relations for the PM's Office Ms. Rutti Bait pniot at pmo.gov.il


Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Minister Shimon Peres sar at mofa.gov.il
Deputy Minister Rabbi Michael Melchior ssar at mfa.gov.il
Spokesperson Ms. Yaffa Ben-Ari dover at mfa.gov.il
Public Relations <pniot at mofa.gov.il>


Ministry of Police (Public Safety) 
Minister: Uzi Landau: sar at mops.gov.il
Spokesperson Ms Ifra Matityahu: dover at mops.gov.il
Public relations Mr. Kobi Shiber: pniot at mops.gov.il 

Copies to:

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan ecu at un.org, coi at un.org, 
inquiries at un.org, commond at un.org

"Secretary of State,  Colin Powell" <secretary at state.gov>,

Tel Aviv University
P.O. Box 39040
Tel Aviv 69978
ISRAEL

ph: +972-(0)3-640-8111 
tauinfo at post.tau.ac.il 

---

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
P.O. Box 653
Beer-Sheva 84105
Israel

ph: 972-8-646-1111
webmaster at bgumail.bgu.ac.il

--

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
webmaster at www.huji.ac.il
Or: write to them on their feedback page: 
http://www.huji.ac.il/unew/feedback.html

-- 

The Haifa Technion (Instittute of Technology)
press at technion.ac.il

--

Haifa University
mzieashr at research.haifa.ac.il

--

Universities in you own country

bcc to: 
Dr. Khuloud Dajani of the Al-Quds University <khuloud at planet.edu>, 
Gush Shalom <info at gush-shalom.org>




		     		
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