San Jose (CA) Activist Deported from Israel

San Jose (CA) resident Darlene Wallach, who was detained by the Israeli Navy while traveling with Palestinian fishermen on November 18th, has been deported via an El Al flight to New York.

While being held in a prison near Tel Aviv’s Lod Airport she gave to the outside world the following account of her kidnapping.

We were fishing about 7 miles off the shores of Gaza. The Israeli soldiers came on board the three boats via four Zodiacs. The frogmen came up and over each boat. They used a taser on Vik [another international observer] while he was still on the boat, then tried to push him backwards onto a sharp piece of wood. He jumped into the sea to avoid being hurt more than he already was and was in the water for quite a while.

Then they came for me and forced me into the Zodiac at the point of a gun. They said, "You are in Israeli territory," even though it was obvious that all three boats were in Palestinian territory. They kidnapped me and [two other international observers] and all of the Palestinian fishermen.

Under pressure, Israel released all 15 fishermen but refused to return their boats until November 27th, following an appeal filed in the Israeli Supreme Court on behalf of the vessels' owners for the return of their property. Lawyers intended to challenge the arbitrary limits imposed on Gazan fishermen by the Israeli Navy which are in conflict with agreements and international regulations.
The boats' captains reported damage to their vessels and the fishermen's loss of earnings over the last ten days is still being estimated.


Darlene and her identical twin sister Donna, pictured above filling olive oil bottles which they sell in the US to help raise much needed money for Palestine, are of Jewish Eastern-European descent. In their mid-fifties, they are described by friends who know them well as anti-Zionist activists for social and environmental justice. Both women have traveled to Palestine as human rights observers.

Darlene spent almost two months in Palestine from May to July 2002. She spent time first in Ramallah and then at the Balata Refugee camp. During her visit, she witnessed brutal collective punishment of Palestinians at the hands of Israeli authorities. She was subsequently arrested with seven other international human rights observers; all eight received deportation orders. Although Darlene fought the order with legal assistance and was the first of the group to be released on bail, she was ultimately deported.

On both occasions Ms. Wallach traveled as part of the International Solidarity Movement which encourages human rights activists to report on conditions in Palestine. Darlene and the two other internationals who were detained recently have now all been deported by the Israeli authorities.

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