JEWISH ORGANIZATION STAGES SIT-IN AGAINST ISRAEL’S APARTHEID POLICIES

Austrian Jewish organization condemns the Israeli Separation Wall in the West Bank and Israel’s apartheid policy against the Palestinian people.(Photo: PIC)

Vienna, 18 Jumadal Awwal 1436/9 March 2015 (MINA) – Women in Black, a Jewish non-governmental organization, on Saturday (7/3) staged a sit-in in the Austrian capital Vienna condemning the Israeli Separation Wall in the West Bank and Israel’s apartheid policy against the Palestinian people.

The sit-in is part of activities of the annual Israel Apartheid Week which started on March 1 and ends today Sunday, March 8, Palestinian Information Center (PIC) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The participants lifted banners slamming Israel’s apartheid policy and demanding an end to the construction of the Separation Wall, according to Anadolu news agency.

The participants also distributed brochures to raise awareness of the Palestinian cause in general and the Israeli apartheid policy in particular.

For his part, Samuel Felber, 52, member of The Jewish Voice, a non-governmental anti-Zionism organization, said that he ran away from Israel to Austria because he “refused to serve in the Israeli army and kill unarmed Palestinians”.

He also pointed to the Israeli apartheid policy including establishing checkpoints and enforcing military laws against Palestinian civilians while enforcing civilian laws on settlers, residing in occupied lands; let alone the Apartheid Wall.

Israel started to build the Wall in 2002 to separate the West Bank from 1948 Palestinian lands under the pretext of preventing Palestinian attacks in these areas during al-Aqsa intifada (uprising) in 2000.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 2005 that the Wall is illegitimate.

The Israel Apartheid Week was first launched in February 2005 in Toronto University in Canada by a group of students in coordination with pro-Palestinian activists, and after the huge success in attracting the attention of local and international media, the events started to spread throughout the globe and now 250 cities participate in this week on annual basis.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistic more than 50,000 Jerusalemites are deprived from living in Occupied Jerusalem and are isolated in the West Bank on the other side of the Wall. (T/P006/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)