Al Haqeeqa
On December 19, 2017 16 year old Ahed Tamimi was arrested from her home in a pre-dawn raid at approximately 3am. Her father, Bassem Tamimi who was previously declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International in 2012, reported that 30 soldiers were sent it to arrest her. The family was forced into one room in their home, while the soldiers ransacked the rest of the rooms, confiscating phones, laptops, and other possessions. Mohammed Tamimi, Ahed’s 14 year old brother was violently thrown on the ground when he tried to resist the soldiers’ attempts to take his property.
Ahed was handcuffed and taken out into a military Jeep, while her family was prevented from following her outside. Later that day, when her mother Nariman went to visit her in the police station and attend her interrogation, she too was arrested and has been in prison ever since. Days later her cousin Nour, a journalism student and fellow activist, was also arrested. Ahed’s father Bassem was also detained when he attempted to attend his daughter’s hearing, but later released.
Those among us who have the ability to bring more public attention to this case should take the time to do, and they should do it immediately. tweet
Prominent Israeli authorities and journalists have called for the Tamimi women to spend the rest of their days in prison, and suggested that “we should exact a price at some other opportunity, in the dark, without witnesses and cameras”
Are you outraged yet? No? Try this one on for size.
The Muslim community is one of great wealth. We have among us giants in all fields. We have those who take to the pulpits in our mosques every day and put out messages that reach hundreds. We host conferences and conventions with thousands in attendance. We have those who can reach millions with a single tweet or Facebook livestream. We are a community of doctors, lawyers, diplomats, social justice activists, CEOs, professors, scholars, and more. We have the ability to turn the world’s attention to Ahed and her family on our fingertips and in our smartphones. Those among us who have the ability to bring more public attention to this case should take the time to do, and they should do it immediately.
But we don’t.
Curiously, there has been a deafening silence from the leaders of the Muslim community on Ahed’s case. We all have our responsibilities, jobs, families, causes to attend to. I truly understand that. But I also understand that no one among us is feeling the burden of that silence like Ahed and her family are right now. And whatever small price we would be paying (time sacrificed, other work put on hold) to make some noise about her case is nothing compared to their plight.
…Our brotherhood, our compassion, our obligation to stand up for the rights of others. tweet
Ahed Tamimi is 16 years old. She is our daughter. Her mother is our mother. The fact that we have been silent on her case is disturbing to say the least. I challenge everyone reading this to take action now. If you are an individual who Allah (SWT) has blessed with a voice, a platform, a following, lend it to your sister and spread this information to your followers so that they too can take action. We pride ourselves the values our faith instills in us: Our brotherhood, our compassion, our obligation to stand up for the rights of others.
“The parable of the believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion for each other is that of a body; when any limb of it aches, the whole body reacts with sleeplessness and fever.” [Sahih Muslim, Book 32, Number 6258]
It is time for us to act. Please see the list of action items below and share this information far and wide. The more action we have on her case, the more pressure we are putting on the authorities to release Ahed. Every night we do not act is another night she spend on the floor of a cold dark cell. I am humbly asking you to do your part to change that.
ACTION ITEMS:
- Join the Twitterstorm! Every day, a Twitterstorm is being organized with a new hashtag released at the moment the campaign begins to raise awareness and urge action to free Ahed and Nariman Tamimi. You can join in and follow the campaign at the Free the Tamimi Women facebook page and @YASHebron on Twitter. The twitterstorms are currently scheduled for 10
AM Pacific, 1 PM Eastern, 6 PM UK, 7 PM in Europe, 8 PM in Palestine – updates and hashtags are posted regularly on Facebook and Twitter.
- For supporters in the US: Call your member of the House of Representatives to support H.R. 4391, the Promoting Human Rights by Ending Israeli Military Detention of Palestinian Children Act. Tell them specifically about Ahed’s arrest, and urge them to act for her release. Tell them to pressure Israel to free Ahed and other detained Palestinian kids. Call the House switchboard at
(202) 224-3121 and ask to speak to your Representative’s office. CODEPINK has an action to highlight this case specifically.
- Call your nearest Israeli embassyand let them know that you know about the detention of Ahed Tamimi in Nabi Saleh and other Palestinian child prisoners. Demand Ahed, her mother Nariman, and the other detained children be immediately released. Contact information here:
https://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-of/israel
- Sign the petition. Over 150,000 people have already signed on to demand freedom for Ahed:
https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/free_ahed/?feiNukb
- Write to Ahed and Nariman. While Zionist jailers frequently censor Palestinian prisoners’ mail, these letters can help bolster morale and even send a message to the jailers and censors themselves. Write to Ahed Tamimi, or Nariman Tamimi (choose one and address your letter to one only) at:
HaSharon prison
Ben Yehuda, P.O. Box 7
40 330 Israel
*This list of action items has been compiled by Samidoun.
