Organizational endorsements are welcome for this statement. Please click here or email april17@palestinianprisoners.org to endorse.

“I hereby assert that I am confronting the occupiers not for my own sake as an individual, but for the sake of thousands of prisoners who are being deprived of their simplest human rights while the world and international community look on,” Sheikh Khader Adnan wrote from the bed that Israeli soldiers chained him to in the Ramleh prison hospital on 11 February.

“It is time the international community and the UN support prisoners and force the State of Israel to respect international human rights and stop treating prisoners as if they were not humans.” (Ma’an News Agency, “Hunger-striking prisoner not backing down,” 11 February 2012)

As we mark the 65th day of an ongoing hunger strike by Sheikh Khader Adnan, whose struggle has inspired millions and infused the Palestinian national and solidarity movements with new energy, we must reflect on his call to the world and prepare a meaningful international strategy to support Palestinian prisoners’ struggle for freedom, justice, and equality.

Khader Adnan is fighting for rights that should be guaranteed to all prisoners, including due process, fair and equal treatment, and freedom from torture and other coercive methods. Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank face a military justice system that is entirely separate from that for Jewish Israelis, including settlers, who are instead part of the Israeli civil justice system; this military justice system for Palestinian political prisoners includes systematic and arbitrary detention without charge, the acceptance of torture, an almost complete lack of due process, vague charges, very low standards of evidence including the use of secret evidence, and widely disparate and harsher sentencing than the civil justice system.In Israel’s domestic criminal justice system exists a system of apartheid Palestinian citizens of Israel charged with political offenses are deemed ‘security prisoners’ and treated very differently from Jewish citizens. Palestinians are subject to unjust and unequal trials using secret evidence, gag orders, and evidence obtained through torture. (Please see this comprehensive analysis by Addameer for further details.)

As of January 2012, 4,417 Palestinian political prisoners are held in jails in Israel, including 170 children and 6 women. Just like Khader, 310 prisoners are held – without charge or trial – under administrative detention including over 20 lawmakers. In solidarity with them, and to broaden Khader’s struggle, we will actively oppose their imprisonment and any detentions without fair trials.

We demand the immediate release of all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. They have been targeted by an unfair and unequal legal system. Their imprisonment reflects Israel’s inherent system of injustice and racism. In addition, Israel must immediately halt its practices of:

• Administrative detention.
• Torture and ill-treatment of detainees.
• Solitary confinement and isolation.
• The use of military courts in the occupied Palestinian territory that illegally try civilians.
• Undermining a fair trial by using secret evidence against the accused.
• Arresting vulnerable groups, such as children, disabled, elderly and ill people.

On Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, Tuesday, April 17, we ask that all supporters of the Palestinian political prisoners’ movement bring Khader Adnan’s spirit of resistance to the doorsteps of his captors and would-be killers:

• Organize a protest in front of your local Israeli embassy, consulate or mission.
• Write letters to protest the violations of rights of Palestinian political prisoners and to call for an intervention to the International Committee of the Red Cross, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and your government or parliamentarians.
• Raise awareness on your University campus or in your community about Palestinian political prisoners
• Picket and protest G4S, Motorola, the Volvo Group, and the Israeli Medical Association – all providing services to Israel’s prisons – as well as other targets of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which challenges the Israeli policies of occupation, colonization and apartheid these repressive institutions maintain.
• Write letters to Palestinian prisoners expressing your support.

We must not allow Khader’s struggle to pass, like so many before his, as one more brave stand crushed by the armed might of the Israeli apartheid regime, unremarkable and inconsequential. Rather let this historic moment mark the beginning of a revitalized global movement for Palestinian prisoners, their rights, their families, and their struggle. Together, we can make it so.

Khader lives.

Click here to endorse. Initiating Signatories:

Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association
Defence for Children International – Palestine Section
UFree Network
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
Free Ameer Makhoul Campaign
Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat
Al-Awda New York, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition 
Arab Organization for Human Rights
Camden Abu Dis Friendship Association
Canada Palestine Association
CAPPJPO-EuroPalestine
Coalition for a Free Palestine – South Africa
Existence is Resistance
Frantz Fanon Foundation, France
French Jewish Union for Peace
Intal
International Solidarity Movement – France
Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Labor for Palestine
Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights
Leeds Palestinian Solidarity Campaign
National Lawyers Guild International Committee/Free Palestine Subcommittee
Netherlands Palestine Committee
New York City Labor Against the War
“Palestina nel cuore” Committee
Palestine Solidarity Campaign (UK)
Palestinian Youth Movement-USA
PennBDS
Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Siegebusters
Students for Justice in Palestine National
Tower Hamlets Jenin Friendship Association
United 4 Palestine
US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
US Palestinian Community Network
Vermonters for a Just Peace
Yousef Alsedeeq Institute for Prisoners’ Protection

The direction of the University Paris 8 yields to pressure from the CRIF and cancels a conference

We learn with consternation that the President of the University Paris 8 has decided to retract the authorization that had been previously granted for a conference entitled “Israel, a state of apartheid?” This initiative, to be held on the 27th and 28th February, intended to bring together specialists from France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Belgium in order to have a rational discussion about the aforementioned subject matter.

Using the pretext of possible “trouble to public order”, the President of Paris 8 has retracted permission for the conference, despite there having been detailed knowledge of the program, the speakers and a budget allocated by the management of the university for the event.

What is clear is that the intolerable pressure exerted by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) has led the President of Paris 8 to retract its permission for the event. In a recently published statement, the CRIF denounced the conference, waving the threat of possible disturbance to “public order”.

Is it no longer possible to exercise freedom of speech in French universities in relation to the field of the politics of Israel and Palestine? According to the CRIF and its followers, the response is no. This buckling in the face of pressure from the CRIF is not unusual. Last year it succeeded in shutting down a forum for discussion, which resulted in the cancellation of a conference at the Ecole Normal Supérieur (ENS).

The cancellation of the upcoming conference and last year’s at the ENS is a clear demonstration of how the management of a public academic institution will yield to the injunctions and threats from a corpus that presents itself as the voice of the entire Jewish community in France but is in reality a mouthpiece for the Israeli embassy.

We ask the President of Paris 8 to reverse this decision and permit the conference to take place. Freedom of expression and academic liberties are far too precious to be smothered by intimidation campaigns.

Endorsing organizations (in alphabetical order) :

14 Friends of Palestine, Marin, California

Al Awda, The Netherlands

Al Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition

Al-Awda NY- The Palestine Right to Return Coalition

Al-Nakba Awareness Project

American Arab Forum, New Jersey, USA

Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine.

Association Belgo-Palestinienne (ABP)

Bay Area Chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace

Bay Area Women in Black, Oakland, California, USA

BDS Catalonia

BDS Group Berlin

BDS South Africa

Birmingham Peace Project

Birthright Unplugged

Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign – Vancouver

Breed Platform Palestina (Haarlem), The Netherlands

BRICUP, British Committee for the Universities of Palestine

Central New York Working for a Just Peace in Palestine & Israel – Syracuse New York, USA

Centre international d’études pédagogiques – CIEP

Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA), Toronto, Canada

CODEPINK Women for Peace

Comitato Pace, Disarmo e Smilitarizzazione del Territorio- Campania

Comitato Palestina Bologna, Italy

Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine, Oak Park Illinois

COMMIT – Community Leadership Institute: Growing Justice & Accountability

Coordinamento Pace e Solidarieta, Parma, Italia

Cornell Student for Justice in Palestine (JSP)

CU-Divest! Don’t Invest in Israeli Apartheid

Ecumenical Working Group for Middle East Peace, Philadelphia, PA USA

EPACBI, European Platform for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel

Forum Palestina, Italy

Free Palestine and Secure Israel

Free Palestine Movement

Friends of Palestine (WI)

Haags Vredesplatform, The Netherlands

Hope Foundation, The Netherlands

Humanistisch Vredesberaad, The Netherlands

ICACBI, Italian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel

Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter

InterDenominational Advocates for Peace in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

International Committee of the National Lawyers Guild, US

International Socialist Organization (ISO), USA

International Solidarity Movement – Italy (Turin)

International Solidarity Movement – Italy (Udine)

International Solidarity Movement – Northern California

Internationale Socialisten (IS), The Netherlands

Israel Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (USA)

Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions-USA

Justice First Foundation, Inc.

Jews for Justice for Palestinians, London

Justice for Palestinians, San Jose, CA USA

Justice Voices

Keep Hope Alive Olive Tree Campaign-USA

Labor for Palestine – New York City Labor Against the War

Labor for Palestine (U.S.)

Leidse Actiegroep Stop de Bezetting, The Netherlands

Miami-Dade Green Party

MidEast: JustPeace (Traverse City, Michigan, USA)

Nederlands Arabische Stichting (NAS), The Netherlands

Nederlands Palestina Komitee, The Netherlands

New Profile

New School Students for Justice in Palestine,

New School University, New York, NY, USA.

Osservatorio EuroMediterraneo e del Mar Nero

Palestijnse Gemeenschap Nederland (PGN), The Netherlands

Palestina Komitee Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Palestina Komitee Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Palestina nel cuore (Rome, Italy)

Palestine Solidarity Committee – Harvard College

Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI)

Peace Action Montgomery (Montgomery County, Maryland, USA)

Penn for Palestine, University of Pennsylvania

PennBDS, University of Pennsylvania

People of Faith CT

Right To Education, Birzeit University, Palestine

Saint Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

San José Peace and Justice Center

Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights – University of British Columbia (SPHR – UBC)

Stanford Students for Palestinian Equal Rights

Stichting Palestijnse Vrouwen in Nederland, The Netherlands

Stichting Palestina, The Netherlands

Stichting Stop de Bezetting, The Netherlands

Students Allied for Freedom & Equality, University of Michigan

Students for Justice in Palestine-  University of New Mexico

Talliq, The Netherlands

Task Force on Peace with Justice in Palestine/Israel of United Methodist Upper New York Conference

Temple University Students for Justice in Palestine

The Committee for Peace in Israel of East Hampton, NY USA

The Free Palestine Subcommittee, US

The Norwegian comitee for academic and cultural boycott of the state of Israel (AKULBI), Norway

Tiye International, The Netherlands

Trade Union Friends of Palestine (Irish Congress of Trade Unions)

Transnational Institute (TNI), The Netherlands

U4P, The Netherlands

Un ponte per…

Universitaire Activisten, The Netherlands

US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel

US Palestine Community Network- (USPCN)

US Palestinian Community Network

VAMEP – Virginains for Middle East Peace,  Arlington, VA

Verenigde Wereldburgers voor Internationaal Recht, The Netherlands

Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel

Veterans for Peace in the USA, New Hampshire

Vrijwillige Internationale Aktie (VIA), The Netherlands

Vrouwen in het Zwart, The Netherlands

Way to Jerusalem – Church of the Savior , Washington DC

Werkgroep Keerpunt, The Netherlands

WILPF Nederland, The Netherlands

Yorkshire Palestine Cultural Exchange, Sheffield

800 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10017

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/374439785901155/

Existence is Resistance and Al Awda NY are calling for all to support our brother Khader Adnan, demand his release and stand together in solidarity this Monday outside the Israeli Embassy in New York.

Sixty-two days. That is how long it’s been since Khader Adnan has eaten.

The 33-year-old Palestinian was taken from his home in Arrabeh village near Jenin in the occupied West Bank at 3:30am on December 17. One day later he began his hunger strike to protest against the “humiliation and policy of administrative detention”. Adnan, like hundreds of other Palestinians, was arrested under a military order that Israel has named “administrative detention”, which allows prisoners to be held without charge or trial for periods of up to six months, spells that can be renewed indefinitely.

Sahar Francis is a lawyer with Addameer, a prisoner rights groups based in the West Bank city of Ramallah, and a member of Khader Adnan’s legal team. She visited the hunger striker in Ziv hospital in Safad, Israel, on Friday.

She described her client, who remains shackled to his hospital bed, as “mentally perfect, but physically very weak”.

If you would like to endorse this action please contact us at questions@existenceisresistance.org

Khader’s case is extremely urgent. Please see the following sites for updates and information:
http://addameer.org/etemplate.php?id=439

http://samidoun.ca/2012/02/urgent-heed-randa-adnans-call-military-court-rejects-khader-adnans-appeal-in-de-facto-death-sentence/

New York City is protesting for Khader Adnan, TODAY, Wednesday, Feb. 8, from 5.30PM UNTIL 7PM.

125th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd (outside State building), Harlem, NY

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/310058675710535/

Please join Existence is Resistance and stand with us to demand the release of Khader Adnan.

As he enters day 53 Khader Adnan is in critical condition.

On the 17th of December 2011 (53 days ago), Khader Adnan began his hunger strike in protest of his ill-treatment in Israeli detention and his arbitrary detention without charge or trial.

Khader Adnan, the father of two daughters and with a third child on the way, is a baker, a Masters student in Economics at Birzeit University, and a political activist. Khader, was arrested on December 17, 2011 by masked soldiers who raided his home in the middle of the night (the village of Arrabe near Jenin in the occupied West Bank). Between the 18th and the 29th of January 2012, he was subjected to almost daily cruel and inhumane interrogations. During interrogations, he was shackled to a crooked chair with his hands tied behind his back in a position that caused him back pain. He said that interrogators threatened him constantly and verbally abused him and his family.

Khader was given a four-month administrative detention order on January 8, 2012. Khader’s interrogation period has ended but he refuses to accept the unjust system of administrative detention [more details], continuing his strike on the principle that such detention is a violation of his rights and identity. Administrative detention, a regular practice of the Israeli occupation, violates the internationally-recognized right to a fair trial. International standards for fair trial must be upheld for all political detainees, including those accused of violence, even under states of emergency. A military judge reviewed the administrative detention order on February 1, 2012 and is expected to inform lawyers of her decision later on this week.

Meanwhile, Khader’s health is deteriorating rapidly and doctors don’t expect him to be able to survive for much longer.

• ACT NOW at the Action Alert for Adnan Khader
• Protests in DC and Chicago

The Majlis ash-Shura, a network of 36 different multi-ethnic mosques in the NYC area, and DRUM, a social justice community organizing groups of over 1,200 low-income South Asian immigrants, jointly called for the resignation of NYPD Commissioner Kelly and Spokesperson Paul Browne for repeated instances of lying on the public record, and demanded an oversight mechanism for the NYPD. Speaking at the rally were Councilmembers Charles Barron, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Ydanis Rodriguez, Daniel Dromm, Robert Jackson, as well as NY State Senator Bill Perkins, along with representatives from the interfaith, civil rights, and multi-ethnic communities.

The Rally started with an acknowledgement of the NYPD’s killing of Ramarley Graham on Thursday. Fahd Ahmed, Legal and Policy Director at DRUM, stated “we come here to voice the experiences of Muslim communities, but we do so with full understanding that the NYPD has brutalized other communities of color for decades. We stand together with the Graham family and community. An injustice to one of us is an injustice to all of us!”

A member of the Majlis ash-Shura, and representative of Muslim American Society, Abdel-Hafidd Djemil expressed the frustration of many communities and said that “it is time for real action to take place starting with the immediate resignation of Commissioner Kelly and NYPD spokesperson Paul Browne.”

The rally included those who had been targeted by the NYPD, through their surveillance programs or through their incidents of street brutality. Jazz Hayden and Shaka Shakur talked about their own experiences with the NYPD on the streets. Shahina Parveen, mother of Shahawar Matin Siraj, and a leader of DRUM, stated that “it is no surprise that the NYPD would be caught lying. They have consistently lied for years, from details about so-called terrorism cases, to their spying program, to their tactics in other communities. They used an paid informant to entrap my son, who has an IQ of 78, in a terrorism case that they manufactured can lie all they want, because there is no one and no way to hold them accountable. So who is policing the police?”

The President of the Majlis ash-Shura, Imam Talib Abdur-Rashid said that real changes were needed and that “Commissioner Kelly’s apology was necessary but not sufficient. The NYPD has yet to make amends to New Yorkers generally, and Muslim New Yorkers in particular, for lying about the surveillance of Muslims, and for lying about their role in the making and extensive showing of the film, The Third Jihad, to 1500 police officers.”

The protestors marched to One Police Plaza, and chanted “Ray Kelly has got to go!”

“This report is not a revelation at all, but a confirmation of what we have come to know of the policies and practices that define the New York City Police Department. As justice seeking individuals we must band together and demand a systematic and structural change of the NYPD, calling an end to all of it’s subversive and racist tactics. The rally at Foley Square is a strong step in a larger, more collaborative move towards bringing justice and accountability to the NYPD.” — Syed Hasan Naqvi, community organizer, Jafria Association of North America (JANA)

CONTACT: Fahd Ahmed, 940-391-2660, fahd@drumnyc.org

[Show as slideshow]

The confidential 10-page document outlines a systematic plan to investigate ties between local mosques, Iran, and other groups that the NYPD perceives as threats. The report specifically documents efforts by the NYPD to monitor 15 different mosques throughout the Tri-State Area. This is despite the fact that no illegal, or even suspicious activity, has ever been reported at these religious centers. This news comes at the heels of the recent controversy around the training of NYPD officers through racially charged and bigoted videos such as “The Third Jihad.”

Through excessive stop and frisk practices, overzealous surveillance measures, and a complete lack of transparency, the NYPD has blatantly violated civil rights and destroyed the trust necessary for effective policing. Such acts of surveillance undermine trust between the Muslim community and the NYPD. These measures are merely the latest in the well-documented history of NYPD’s targeting of communities of color through discriminatory policing practices. The NYPD’s use of widespread ethnic, racial, and religious profiling is a threat to all Americans’ constitutional rights and freedoms. This behavior creates distrust and suspicion among all vulnerable communities and sends the message that law enforcement is not accountable for upholding the right of all Americans to be free from unwarranted police scrutiny. The NYPD should be focused on tracking down actual threats, not targeting innocent Americans for invasive investigations and surveillance.

We, a broad coalition of civil liberties, human rights, Muslim, and interfaith organizations, call for the NYPD to acknowledge this wrongdoing, immediately cease all such activities, and create more transparency. Furthermore, we demand an external investigation of the policies and practices employed by law enforcement, the development of an independent oversight mechanism over the NYPD, and the immediate resignation of NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who has demonstrated a complete lack of accountability, total disregard of jurisdictional limitations, and an inability to protect and serve members of his constituency.

Signed,

Al-Awda NY

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)

Arab Muslim American Federation

Arab American Association of New York

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)

Black Agenda Report

Creating Law Enforcement Accountability and Responsibility (CLEAR)

Council on American-Islamic Relations – New York (CAIR-NY)

Council of Shia Professionals

Desis Rising Up & Moving (DRUM)

Fellowship of Reconciliation USA

Imam-e-Zamana Foundation of North America

Independent Viewpoints

Islamic Circle of North America – New York

Islamic Information Center (IIC)

Jafria Association of North America (JANA)

Jersey City Peace Movement

Labor for Palestine

Majlis Ash-Shura (Islamic Leadership Council) of Greater New York

Middle East Crisis Committee, CT

Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA)

Muslim American Civil Liberties Coalition (MACLC)

Muslim American Society (MAS)

Muslim Bar Association of New York (MuBANY)

Muslim Foundation Inc.

Muslim Law Students Association at Fordham Law School

Muslim Leaders of New York

Muslim Progressive Traditionalist Alliance

Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)

Muslims for Peace

New York City Labor Against the War

New York Community of Muslim Progressives

New York Committee to Stop FBI Repression

NJ Labor Against War

NJ State Industrial Union Council

NYC Coalition to Stop Islamophobia

Pakistan Solidarity Network

Shia Association of North America

Turning Point for Women and Families

United National Antiwar Coalition

Universal Muslim Association of America (UMAA)

WESPAC Foundation

World Can’t Wait

Please join Hunter-SJP and LEAP volunteers for a report back and informational session. Returned LEAP volunteers will share their experiences working in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon during the summer of 2011 (Shatila and Bourj-el-Barajneh).  They will also provide information about the situation of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Topics covered will include legal status, health care, education, housing, preservation of cultural heritage, law enforcement, and ways to get actively involved.

New York City:

Saturday, February 4, 2012

1pm North end of Times Square – Duffy Square (47th St and 7th Ave).

March to the US & Israeli missions to UN.

List of events across the country and around the world: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1170/p/salsa/event/common/public/index.sjs?distributed_event_KEY=655

A broad spectrum of U.S.-based anti-imperialist and anti-war organizations, including the IAC, agreed on a Jan. 17 conference call to hold coordinated protests across the country on Saturday, Feb. 4. The demands will be: “No war, no sanctions, no intervention, no assassinations against Iran.”

The ad-hoc group that took part in the call decided that although there are only two weeks to organize, it will invite anti-war forces around the world to join in to make this emergency protest a global day of action.

All agreed on the need to stop U.S. imperialism and/or Israel from launching a military attack on Iran. There was also a consensus that the new sanctions President Barack Obama signed into law on Dec. 31 — with the goal of breaking the Iranian central bank — were themselves an act of war aimed at the Iranian people. The political activists on the call raised the danger of a wider war should fighting break out in or around Iran.
While the organizations involved had varied assessments of the Iranian government, they all saw any intervention from U.S. imperialism in the Southwest Asian country as a threat to the entire region and to peace. Some of the people on the call who are originally from Iran and who were in touch with family and friends there conveyed the Iranian people’s anger at the recent assassination of a young scientist.

There was agreement to make “no assassinations” one of the demands to show solidarity with the Iranian population as well as to condemn the U.S. and its allies for criminal activities against Iran and its people.

As of Jan. 19, the organizations that called the actions or endorsed later included the United National Anti-War Coalition (UNAC), the International Action Center (IAC), SI! Solidarity with Iran, Refugee Apostolic Catholic Church, Workers World Party, World Can’t Wait, American Iranian Friendship Committee, the Campaign Against Sanctions & Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII). ANSWER Coalition, Antiwar.com, Peace of the Action, ComeHomeAmerica.us, St. Pete for Peace, Women Against Military Madness (WAMM), Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality-Virginia, WESPAC Foundation, Peace Action Maine, Occupy Myrtle Beach, Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, Twin Cities Peace Campaign and Bail Out the People Movement (BOPM).

Individual endorsers include authors David Swanson, “When the World Outlawed War,” and Phil Wilayto, “In Defense of Iran: Notes from a U.S. Peace Delegation’s Journey through the Islamic Republic”; and U.N. Human Rights Award winner Ramsey Clark, a former U.S. attorney general.
The list is expected to grow steadily as word spreads.

Right now people can follow developments on the Facebook link:
No War On Iran: National Day of Action Feb 4, http://www.facebook.com/events/214341975322807/.

Join New Yorkers demanding a police department that is accountable to the public who fund it through our tax dollars.

WHAT: RALLY FOR JUSTICE & MARCH ON 1 POLICE PLAZA
WHEN: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2012, 3-5 PM (AFTER JUM’A)
WHERE: FOLEY SQUARE, LOWER MANHATTAN

The Majlis Ash-Shura of Metro NY and DRUM (Desis Rising Up & Moving) are co-organizing a rally with the support of other Muslim communities, leaders and activists, and allies, in order to demand the following:

1. The resignation of Commissioner Kelly and NYPD spokesperson Paul Browne
2. Demand for independent community control of the NYPD, and a well-funded oversight mechanism with subpoena power

WHY?

The NYPD has been exposed for participating in the making of, and the showing of the bigoted, Islamophobic film, “The Third Jihad” to 1,500 police officers, and then repeatedly lying about it. The NYPD has been spying on Muslim communities in mosques, schools, businesses, colleges, and community centers in the five boroughs.

The film depicts the majority of American Muslims as supportive of violent extremism, and specifically names several prominent Muslim organizations ICNA (Islamic Circle of North America), MAS (Muslim American Society), CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations), ISNA (Islamic Society of North America), and others as examples of this. It also accuses the majority of American Muslims of secretly being part of a conspiracy to take over the U.S. government.

Commissioner Ray Kelly willingly participated in the making of the film, and while he has apologized, he has not explained why the NYPD chose to lie, on the record, about his participation for well over a year. In the meantime, Commissioner Kelly has smugly dismissed community concerns by saying he has “excellent relations” with NYC Muslim communities on the basis of only talking and meeting with those hand-picked leaders who continue to support him without regards to the experiences and feelings of people in our communities. We know that the NYPD has operated without transparency or accountability, and often with brute force, with Black, Latino, and other communities of color, and youth for decades.

Supporters: List in formation (To endorse please email fahd@drumnyc.org)

Arab Muslim American Federation
Council on American Islamic Relations- New York (CAIR-NY)
Muslim American Society (MAS)
Al-Awda NY
The Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood
Social Justice Task Force of Muslim Alliance in North Americ
ICNA New York
National Lawyers Guild – Muslim Defense Committee
Muslim Peace Coalition-USA, NY
Pakistan Solidarity Network
National Lawyers Guild – NYC Chapter
National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights
PAKISTAN USA FREEDOM FORUM
The Justice Committee
Project SALAM
BAYAN USA
International Socialist Organization
Yemeni American Coalition for Change
Defending Dissent Foundation
May 1st Coalition for Worker & Immigrant Rights
NYC Coalition to Stop Islamophobia
World Can’t Wait
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
Arab American Action Network (AAAN)
Turning Point for Women and Families
Asian American Legal Defense Fund (AALDEF)
International Action Center
WESPAC Foundation
Ad Hoc Coalition to Defend the Egyptian Revolution
Committee to Stop FBI Repression-NY
Jews Against Islamophobia
Jews for Racial and Economic Justice
Black Unity
CAAAV