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Israeli Raid on Palestinian Prison Ignites Crisis in Occupied
Territories
People Across the Globe Stage Readings of Rachel Corrie's
Words on Third Anniversary of Her Death
Crackdown: Venezuelan Prof. Visited by Feds in Pomona, Bolivian
Prof. Denied U.S. Entry Visa
Janitors Strike at the University of Miami to Gain Living
Wage and Health Benefits
Israeli Raid on Palestinian Prison Ignites Crisis
in Occupied Territories
Violence continued in the Occupied Territories on Thursday,
two days after the Israeli military raided the main prison
in the West Bank city of Jericho, seizing five Palestinians
accused of assassinating former Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam
Zeevi. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the raid
"an unforgivable crime" and a humiliation to the
Palestinian people. We speak with University of Massachusetts
Dartmouth professor Naseer Aruri. [includes rush
transcript]
An Israeli soldier was killed in a fierce gun battle in
the West Bank city of Jenin Thursday during a raid by Israeli
forces. The raid came hours after gunmen shot and wounded
two Israeli motorists near a Jewish settlement.
The spike in violence followed Tuesday's assault on a prison
in Jericho by Israeli forces. In the raid, Israeli troops
seized five Palestinians accused of assassinating former Israeli
Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi. Israel used helicopters and
tanks to fire at the prison before smashing through its walls
with armed bulldozers. Two Palestinians were killed during
the assault and a third has since died of his injuries.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas angrily denounced the
raid on Wednesday. Speaking at the destroyed jail, Abbas called
the attack, "An ugly crime which cannot be forgiven and
a humiliation for the Palestinian people." Abbas also
said the raid had only been carried out to boost the Israeli
government's chances in the coming elections.
Meanwhile, Palestinians across Gaza and the West Bank have
gone on strike over Israel's seizure of militant Ahmed Saadat,
the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
and four others. Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert defended
the move saying, "We are proud that we have imposed justice
on these killers without hurting unfairly any other person
who was not involved,"
The five had been in the prison under guard from British
and US jailers. But early Tuesday, the British government
removed the supervisors, citing security reasons. The Israeli
government said it raided the prison to prevent a Hamas government
from carrying out a promise to release the prisoners.
Many Palestinians are accusing the British and U.S. governments
of colluding with Israel in the raid. President Abbas also
questioned how Israeli forces had known so precisely when
to start their attack, just minutes after the international
monitors were withdrawn. The British government has denied
any collusion.
Following the raid, armed Palestinians kidnapped at least
eleven foreigners in the West Bank and Gaza. All of the hostages
have since been released.
- Naseer Aruri, Professor Emeritus of Political Science
at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. He is author
of the book "Dishonest broker: America's Role in Israel
and Palestine." His forthcoming book is titled "Palestine
and the Palestinians."
People Across the Globe Stage Readings of Rachel
Corrie's Words on Third Anniversary of Her Death
American peace activist Rachel Corrie was crushed to death
by an Israeli bulldozer three years ago today. To celebrate
her life, people around the world are staging readings of
her words. We hear some of the organizers from New York, Bethlehem,
London, Amman and more. [includes rush
transcript]
Today is the third anniversary of the death of Rachel Corrie.
On March 16, 2003 an Israeli military bulldozer crushed her
to death as she was attempting to stop the demolition of the
home of a Palestinian doctor in the Gaza town of Rafah.
Eyewitnesses said at the time of her death Rachel was sitting
directly in the path of the bulldozer holding a megaphone
and wearing a fluorescent jacket. She was 23 years old.
Three years after her death, Rachel Corrie is at the center
of a new controversy. Two weeks ago a New York theater company
backed out of an agreement to stage the new play "My
Name is Rachel Corrie", based on Rachel"s writings.
It premiered in London in April 2005 and was supposed to
open soon at The New York Theater Workshop. But now the theater
says it has been "postponed indefinitely."
The play's producers are accusing the theater of censorship
but James Nicola, artistic director of the New York Theatre
Workshop has defended the decision saying it was made following
Ariel Sharon's recent stoke and the election of Hamas. Nicola
said, "We had a very edgy situation. We found that our
plan to present a work of art would be seen as us taking a
stand in a political conflict, that we didn't want to take."
Today, to commemorate the third anniversary of Rachel's death,
people around the world are remembering her life by staging
readings of Rachel's words. We reached some of the organizers
yesterday and asked them to describe the events.
- New York, NY: Jen Marlowe, founder of Rachelswords.org
- West Jerusalem: Angela Godfrey-Goldstein, member of the
Israeli Committee Against
House Demolitions.
- Amman, Jordan: Marcy Newman, University of Jordan researcher.
- London, England: Mike Cushman, London School of Economics
researcher.
- Bethlehem, West Bank: Abdel Fattah Abu Srour, director
of the Al-Rowwad Culture and Theatre Center.
- Olympia, WA: Rachel Corrie's former teacher at Evergreen
State College.
We turn now to Rachel in her own words. This is an excerpt
of the documentary "Rachel Corrie: "An American
Conscience" directed by Yahya Barakat. It includes excerpts
of Rachel speaking in Gaza about the plight of the Palestinian
people.
- Rachel Corrie, speaking Gaza before her death. From an
excerpt of the documentary "Rachel Corrie: "An
American Conscience."
Crackdown: Venezuelan Prof. Visited by Feds in Pomona,
Bolivian Prof. Denied U.S. Entry Visa
We look at two cases of U.S. government crackdown on university
professors: A prominent Bolivian scholar who was recently
barred from entering the U.S. while a Venezuelan-born professor
comes under the watch of federal agents in California. [includes
rush
transcript]
For the second time in two years, the U.S. government is
blocking a prominent foreign scholar from teaching in this
country due to so-called security reasons. Eighteen months
ago, the U.S. denied a visa to Tariq Ramadan to teach at the
University of Notre Dame. The Swiss-born Ramadan is considered
to be one of the leading Muslim scholars in Europe.
Now the U.S. government is blocking an indigenous Bolivian
professor from entering the country to teach at the University
of Nebraska.
The professor's name is Waskar Ari. He is a member of the
Aymara indigenous people in Bolivia and a leading authority
on religious beliefs and political activism in Bolivia. He
received his PhD at Georgetown and has spent many years studying
in the United States.
A State Department official told the Chronicle of Higher
Education that the government has "derogatory information
" about Ari that renders him ineligible for the visa.
But the government has not shared that information with Ari
or the university. The government has not officially rejected
Ari's visa but it has effectively blocked him from teaching
the past two semesters.
Meanwhile in California a Venezuelan-born professor has also
come under the watch of federal agents. Last week Pomona College
professor Miguel Tinker-Salas said he was visited and questioned
by two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies working for the
FBI's federal anti-terrorism task force. The agents questioned
the Latin American studies professor about the political situation
in Venezuela and his ties to the Venezuelan government.
The questioning has rattled the education community.
Pomona College President David Oxtoby said he was extremely
concerned about the chilling effect this could have on free
scholarly and political discourse.
Today we speak with both professors:
- Miguel Tinker-Salas, professor of Chicano and Latin American
Studies at Pomona College in California.
- Waskar Ari, a visiting professor at Universidad Mayor
de San Andrés in La Paz, Bolivia. As an Aymara activist,
he founded the Kechuaymara Foundation in La Paz and other
7 grassroots organizations in Bolivia and Peru. In addition,
he was the first director of the largest Internet site on
Aymara peoples, Aymaranet.org.
He is the author of a number of books, including some on
the issues of indigenous movements, human rights and the
Aymara people.
Janitors Strike at the University of Miami to Gain
Living Wage and Health Benefits
Nearly 200 janitors working for the UNICCO Service Company
are on strike at the University of Miami. The non-unionized
janitors - who are mostly Haitian and Cuban immigrants --
earn as little as $6.40 an hour and are not provided with
health insurance. We speak with one of the janitors and host
a debate between a UNICCO spokesperson and a director at the
Service Employees International Union. [includes rush transcript]
We turn now to Florida, where nearly 200 janitors working
for the UNICCO company are on strike at the University of
Miami. The non-unionized janitors - who are mostly Haitian
and Cuban immigrants -- earn as little as $6.40 an hour and
are not provided with health insurance.
Although the janitors officially work for UNICCO, they are
also calling on the University to pressure the company to
provide them with a livable wage and health benefits.
In particular, striking workers have criticized University
President Donna Shalala for refusing to get directly involved
in the dispute. Shalala has been a longtime advocate for the
poor -- during the 1990s Shalala served as President Clinton's
Secretary for Health and Human Services. In 2001 she said
her biggest regret was not being able to secure affordable
health coverage for all Americans.
But Shalala is now being criticized for living a life of
luxury while the school's janitorial stuff is living on about
$50 a day. The New York Times Magazine recently photographed
Shalala inside her 9,000 square foot residence. The house
is so big she says her dog has four beds. In the same article
she discusses vacationing in the kingdom of Bhutan, her new
29-foot motorboat and how she has hired staff to make her
bed each day.
Shalala's lifestyle has not gone unnoticed. A recent column
in the Miami Herald was titled, "While Shalala lives
in luxury, janitors struggle."
Meanwhile UNICCO has been highly critical of SEIU, the Service
Employees International Union, for its union organizing efforts
of the janitors. On a new website called UniversityTruth.com,
the company charged that "SEIU is most interested in
bloating its ranks and reaching into the pockets of our workers
for dues."
Meanwhile UNICCO has been accused of harassing workers who
have backed unionization. The Orlando Sentinel reports the
National Labor Relations Board has accused the UNICCO company
of interrogating workers about their union support; forcing
them to sign a statement disavowing the union; and calling
workers disloyal for attending union functions.
In February, one UNICCO employee, Zoila Mursuli, was fired
shortly after talking to the Orlando Sentinel about her efforts
to organize a strike among her fellow UM maintenance workers.
- Clara Vargas, a janitor on strike at the University of
Miami. She is a member of the Justice Leadership Council,
a committee of workers elected to represent the University
of Miami janitors.
- Jill Hurst, deputy director of the Property Services
division of SEIU (Service Employees International Union)
- Doug Bailey, a UNICCO spokesperson.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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