Today women’s and civic groups from across Israel and Palestine, along with European Union diplomats, Israeli Knesset members, international solidarity activists and press, flooded the village of Bil’in to mourn the death of Jawaher Abu Rahma, who was killed at a weekly demonstration against Israel’s land confiscations and separation wall on New Year's Eve when she was hit with tear gas fumes and collapsed.
Jawaher is only the most recent unarmed civilian killed or seriously injured by the tear gas purchased from Pennsylvania-based company Combined Systems Inc. and fired by the Israeli military. Jawaher’s brother Bassem was killed almost two years ago and two US citizens, Tristan Anderson and Emily Henochowicz, were injured last year, all of them directly hit by high-velocity tear gas canisters.
Take action with CODEPINK and our allies at Adalah-NY to stop the gas and the tears:
Sign our petition to executives at CSI and their investors telling them to stop selling to the Israeli military.
Combined Systems Inc. (CSI) is located in Jamestown, Pennsylvania, but the tear gas canisters it makes litter the villages of Palestinians thousands of miles away. The Israeli military is using CSI’s tear gas as a weapon as it tries to crush the growing movement of unarmed protest against Israel’s illegal confiscation of Palestinian land for Israeli settlements.
Even more disturbing, you as a US taxpayer are paying for at least some of the tear gas that Israel is shooting at Palestinian, Israeli and international protesters. In 2007 and 2008, the US State Department provided $1.85 million worth of "tear gasses and riot control agents" to Israel as part of the US's $3 billion in annual military aid to Israel. The peaceful movement for justice in Palestine will not be crushed. Today you can support this movement: Tell CSI to stop selling to the Israeli Military!
For Jawaher and her struggle for freedom and human rights,
Medea, Jean, Jodie, Nancy, Rae, and Tighe
