Tristan Anderson to Sue Israeli Military

In the coming weeks, a Jerusalem Civil Court will convene regarding the case of Tristan Anderson: an International Solidarity Activist from Oakland, California, wounded in March 2009 when he was shot in the head by Israeli Border Police in Ni'ilin, Palestine.

Tristan was shot with an experimental weapon- a High Velocity Tear Gas Grenade- designed to travel 300 meters (984 feet) and hit with enough force to break through barricades. Tristan was shot directly in the head from about 50 meters (164 feet). He survived the attack on his life, but has been left paralyzed on one side of his body and with significant damage to his brain.

In the weeks following his shooting, the family of Tristan Anderson initiated legal action against the Israeli Military in both Criminal and Civil Court.

As is the pattern, the Police's investigation into its own conduct yielded no criminal convictions against any of the officers or military personnel involved in the shooting. The investigation has been widely criticized as a sham.

To date, no one has been charged with any crime whatsoever related to the shooting of Tristan Anderson. The police, instead, chose to focus much of the attention of their so-called investigation on attempts at information gathering against activists.

We demand that the State answer for the unprovoked attack on our friend, and we maintain that Tristan's shooting was not an isolated incident but part of a pattern of deadly and illegal violence being used against protesters in Palestine.

We are taking the Military to court.

Supporting Tristan in Court

During this stage of hearings, both sides (the Activists and the Military) will be presenting evidence and giving testimony on the circumstances and larger context of Tristan's shooting.

We will tell the story of the events as they happened. The military is positioning itself for a smear trial, attacking the credibility of activists and arguing that Tristan's injury occurred not because they shot him, but that likely he was hit with a stone.

Court Begins November 17th, 2011 and extends through January 8th 2012

November 17- Activist Testimony

November 24- Activist Testimony

November 27- Military Testimony

December 18- Military Testimony

January 8- Closing Arguments

On November 17th....

We ask for support in the court room, in the media, on the internet, and in the streets. Organize locally.

On Thursday, Nov. 17 at 6:30 pm, an event in solidarity with the opening of Tristan Anderson's trial holding the Israeli military responsible for shooting him in the head with a tear gas cannister will be held at the Art House in Berkeley, 2905 Shattuck near Ashby.

Accompanying the update on legal challenges will be music, featuring David Rovics, Andrea Pritchett, Ayr, the Funky Nixons acoustic and others tba.

A panel discussion will start with a live update from the first day of trial in Israel from Tristan's friend Gabby who was with him when he was shot, and a statement from Tristan. Other panelists include Ayr, Paul Larudee from the International Solidarity Movement, and others, speaking about current situations in Palestine. We will also give a shout out to Occupy Oakland and Iraq veteren Scott Olson, who was injured in a similar way via police action at Occupy Oakland and remains in recovery.

This event is free.