Monday, 27 September 2010 12:21 CAPJPO-EuroPalestine
The repression against BDS activists in France is reaching a new height with the prosecution of a French MP, Alima Boumediene-Thiery (member of the French Senate) who participated in a BDS action in the Paris region one year ago and who is a supporter of the BDS campaign. Her trial is due to take place in Pontoise (North of Paris) on Thursday October 14. She is accused (like all the other French BDS activists prosecuted) of “incitement to racial hatred” and “discrimination against the Israeli nation”.
The plaintiff, Zionist lobbyist Sammy Ghozlan, is supported by our government, which has asked all French judges to condemn the BDS militants. We have exposed this man as a boaster who has filed more than 80 complaints. He is a racist, a fanatic who writes insanities on Israeli settler websites not only against Palestinians, but also against Richard Goldstone (“scum” and bastard” according to him) and even against Obama (compared to Pharaoh who “transformed the Jewish people into slaves”) because he asked Israelis to freeze the settlements. For those who can read French you will find interesting and incredible texts he wrote on our website here.
This trial involving a member of parliament who can lose the right to be reelected in Parliament if she is condemned is a test, as you can understand. And many people would be happy to get rid of her because she is very active on various “disturbing” fronts, such as immigrants, Islamophobia, the situation in the prisons and all kind of discriminations and repressive laws. She is also the one who succeeded, when she was a member of the European Parliament in 2002, in having a vote in favor of the suspension of the commercial agreement between Europe and Israel (giving enormous taxes privileges to Israel) that our governments ignored even though it was voted by a majority of the European MPs. She went for missions in Gaza and the West Bank on several occasions and made alarming reports.
In spite of this clearly crucial challenge, we find it very hard right now to mobilize the rest of the BDS movement in France for a real counter offensive. Most of them keep silent, even many of those who participated in the BDS action with her and who should say “I did it too, sue me!”. We hope this will change and we are calling for protest actions to take place in the whole country before October 14, and for a huge meeting in front of the court the day itself.
We need your help ! Would it be possible for you to organize protests in your respective countries, for example in front of the French Tourist Offices and to send us messages and pictures of support. We can send you pictures of Alima Boumedien-Thiery and any other details. (Article in French and photo of Alima on http://www.europalestine.com/ spip.php?article5410 )
Are there any Israeli militants who could come and testify in French courts that the BDS campaign is not anti-Semitic ?
Best regards,
Olivia
CAPJPO-EuroPalestine
