From the American South to the West Bank

A Freedom Rider bears witness to human rights in
Israel/Palestine

By Rabbi Brant Rosen
Mondoweiss
November 8, 2011

http://mondoweiss.net/2011/11/from-the-american-south-to-the-west-bank-a-freedom-rider-bears-witness-to-human-rights-in-israelpalestine.html

On November 15, Palestinian activists will attempt to
board segregated Israeli settler public transport
headed to occupied East Jerusalem in an act of civil
disobedience inspired by the Freedom Riders of the US
Civil Rights Movement.

Fifty years after the US Freedom Riders staged mixed-
race bus rides through the roads of the segregated
American South, Palestinian Freedom Riders will be
asserting their right for liberty and dignity by
disrupting the military regime of the Occupation
through peaceful civil disobedience. Organizers say
this ride to demand liberty, equality, and access to
Jerusalem is the first of many to come.

Ta'anit Tzedek - Jewish Fast for Gaza will stand in
solidarity with the West Bank Freedom Riders with a
very special conference call on the day of the
demonstration. Please join us Tuesday, November 15 at
12 pm Eastern Time  to join our conversation with Ellen
Broms, one of the original Freedom Riders for civil
rights in the American South and currently an activist
for a just peace in Israel/Palestine.

During our call, Ms. Broms will talk about her own
experiences as an activist/demonstrator for civil
rights in the 1960's and why her activism has led her
to take a stand on behalf of Palestinian human and
civil rights.

Ellen Broms is a retired state worker who resides in
Sacramento, CA. Her involvement in the civil rights
movement began when, as a student at Los Angeles City
College, she demonstrated at Woolworth lunch counters
in support of  similar sit-ins by students in the
South.

In June 1961, Ms. Brom attended a freedom rally at the
Sports Arena in Los Angeles where Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. gave the keynote speech.  After hearing a
freedom rider speak, she was inspired to participate in
the rides herself. On August 11, Ms. Brom was arrested
with other freedom riders after they sat down and
demonstrated in a Houston coffee shop.

In her words:

    The police arrived, having been summoned by the
    owner and we were charged with unlawful assembly
    and taken to the Houston city jail. We were
    fingerprinted, mugged, and classified at the city
    jail and then transferred to the Harris County
    Jail. Ironically, I was booked as a "Negro" because
    of my dark hair and complexion. We declined to
    state "race" and they classified me as "High
    Yellow". Marjorie, a very fair skinned, green eyed
    female rider of African American descent was
    classified and booked as white. I was placed in the
    "tank" for black women and Marjorie went to the
    white women's tank. If we did nothing else during
    that ride, we did succeed in briefly integrating
    the jail.

After spending eight days in jail, Ms. Brom was
released. The riders were found guilty of "unlawful
assembly" by an all-white jury and fined $100 each.
Their case was eventually appealed to a higher court
and overturned.

Ellen Broms has since been honored by Congress, the
state of Texas and the city of Houston for risking
incarceration and violence as a Freedom Rider. She
continues to work as an activist for peace and justice,
particularly in the area of a just peace in
Israel/Palestine. She is actively involved in the
Sacramento branch of Jewish Voice for Peace and is
campaigning on behalf of the West Bank Freedom Riders.

To participate in the call:

There will be opportunities for questions and answers
during the call.

Please click here for more information about how you
can get involved in support of the West Bank Freedom
Riders. Please share this information with others you
think may be interested in participating.

http://shalomrav.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/freedom20ride20solidarity20toolkit1.pdf

We looking forward to your joining the call!

___________

Next week, Palestinian freedom riders will board
segregated buses in West Bank

By Philip Weiss

How many times have we heard friends of the
Palestinians urge them to command American attention by
mimicking the freedom riders of Jim Crow? Well the
Palestinian movement has imagination, and it is taking
just that step. [Will Michael Walzer, who fervently
supported such direct actions for equality in the
American south, get on board?] From Jonathan Pollak of
the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee in
Palestine:

Palestinian activists will reenact the US Civil Rights
Movement's Freedom Rides to the American South by
boarding segregated Israeli public transportation in
the West Bank to travel to occupied East Jerusalem.

Next Tuesday [Nov. 15, 11 a.m.], Palestinian activists
will attempt to board segregated Israeli public
transportation headed from inside the West Bank to
occupied East Jerusalem in an act of civil disobedience
inspired by the Freedom Riders of the U.S. Civil Rights
Movement in the 60's.

Fifty years after the U.S. Freedom Riders staged mixed-
race bus rides through the roads of the segregated
American South, Palestinian Freedom Riders will be
asserting their right for liberty and dignity by
disrupting the military regime of the Occupation
through peaceful civil disobedience.

The Freedom Riders seek to highlight Israel's attempts
to illegally sever occupied East Jerusalem from the
rest of the West Bank, and the apartheid system that
Israel has imposed on Palestinians in the occupied
territories.

Several Israeli companies, among them Egged and Veolia,
operate dozens of lines that run through the occupied
West Bank and East Jerusalem, many of them subsidized
by the state. They run between different Israeli
settlements, connecting them to each other and cities
inside Israel. Some lines connecting Jerusalem to other
cities inside Israel, such as Eilat and Beit She'an,
are also routed to pass through the West Bank.

Israelis suffer almost no limitations on their freedom
of movement in the occupied Palestinian territory, and
are even allowed to settle in it, contrary to
international law. Palestinians, in contrast, are not
allowed to enter Israel without procuring a special
permit from Israeli authorities. Even Palestinian
movement inside the Occupied Territories is heavily
restricted, with access to occupied East Jerusalem and
some 8% of the West Bank in the border area also
forbidden without a similar permit.

While it is not officially forbidden for Palestinians
to use Israeli public transportation in the West Bank,
these lines are effectively segregated, since many of
them pass through Jewish-only settlements, to which
Palestinian entry is prohibited by a military decree.

___________________________________________

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