Three Activists Arrested at Miami Demonstration in Solidarity with Tristan

Three Activists Arrested at Miami Demonstration in Solidarity with Tristan

Tuesday, March 17 2009 @ 01:49 PM CDT

Contributed by: Everglades EF!

March 16, 2009; Miami, FL — Three people were arrested today outside of
the Israeli Consulate in Miami for protesting both U.S. and Israeli
involvement in human rights violations in Palestine. Along with
approximately thirty others, they demonstrated in solidarity with US
activist Tristan Anderson who was critically injured in Palestine last
Friday when a tear-gas canister fired by Israeli military forces hit him
in the head.

The protesters, including members of the South Florida Palestinian
Solidarity Network, South Florida Jews for Justice and Lake Worth Global
Justice Group, held a vigil on a public sidewalk outside the doors of the
consulate, lighting candles and sharing stories about Anderson and the
Palestinian struggle for freedom. When Miami police ordered the peaceful
demonstrators to leave the sidewalk, Cara Jennings, Mohammed Malik, and
Rich Morales remained and were arrested on unknown charges.

Says Jennings, a longtime friend of Anderson, “The Israeli government is
illegally killing hundreds of Palestinians, and now they have seriously
injured my friend. Who are the police to tell me that I do not have a
right to stand on a public sidewalk and peacefully express my grief to
those responsible?”

Anderson was protesting the construction of the border wall through the
Palestinian village Ni’lin. The wall will take a third of the village’s
land, affecting the livelihood and dignity of the local residents. In
2004, the International Court of Justice found all parts of the wall being
built on Palestinian land illegal and that these portions should be
removed.

According to one the demonstration’s organizers, Rebecca Wood, “While many
of the major newspapers in the West have covered the story of Tristan, we
must also remember the stories that never make the headlines. There are
hundreds of Palestinians killed every year, many for nothing more than
protesting the demolition of their own homes and livelihoods. We are here
today to carry out Tristan’s work of bringing their struggles to light.”

Today is also the anniversary of the death of Rachel Corrie, another U.S.
citizen who was killed while blocking a bulldozer from demolishing a
Palestinian family’s home. Demonstrations were held today in cities all
over the world.


*Video footage and High-resolution photos available.*