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CANADIAN ISM ACTIVIST AND JOURNALIST BARRED FROM ISRAEL

EasyRider, Monday, December 1, 2003 - 22:22

the Internationnal Solidarity Movement

CANADIAN ISM ACTIVIST AND JOURNALIST BARRED FROM ISRAEL :
SYMPATHY WITH PALESTINIANS CONSTITUTES A "SECURITY THREAT"

A Montreal-based solidarity activist and alternative journalist was barred from entering Israel this past Saturday. Stefan Christoff, who is a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and a media activist, attempted to cross into Israel from Jordan.

[...]Stefan was unilaterally deemed a "security threat" to Israel; no proof or explanation was provided. Border guards threatened to remove Stefan by force if he did not return to Jordan.

CANADIAN ISM ACTIVIST AND JOURNALIST BARRED FROM ISRAEL :

SYMPATHY WITH PALESTINIANS CONSTITUTES A "SECURITY THREAT"

A Montreal-based solidarity activist and alternative journalist was barred from entering Israel this past Saturday. Stefan Christoff, who is a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and a media activist, attempted to cross into Israel from Jordan.

Border officials held Stefan for several hours, where he was interrogated and thoroughly searched before finally being barred entry. Stefan was unilaterally deemed a "security threat" to Israel; no proof or explanation was provided. Border guards threatened to remove Stefan by force if he did not return to Jordan.

Stefan has been very active with Palestinian solidarity issues in Montreal, raising awareness as a radio journalist and a member of the ISM. Stefan's reports have been broadcast widely on community and alternative radio outlets all over North America. He is a producer and host at CKUT Radio in Montreal as well as a correspondent for Free Speech Radio News in the United States.

Clearly, Stefan's only threat is that he is sympathetic to the Palestinian struggle for self-determination, and that he was attempting to witness and report first-hand the day-to-day reality of the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Stefan's refusal is part of the Israeli practice of systematically targeting Palestinian solidarity activists and alternative journalists. Israeli authorities have attempted to bar many from ever entering the country, while others are targeted for arrest for their work as observers and participants at non-violent actions against the illegal Israeli occupation. In one case, the Israeli Army murdered an ISM activist (Rachel Corrie), while another activist still lies in a coma as a
result of an Israeli sniper bullet to the head (Tom Hurndall).

Canadian ISM members have previously challenged the "security threat" designation in Israeli courts when they were in Israel, and have won favorable decisions. With his forced removal from the Israeli-Jordanian border, Stefan cannot effectively challenge his barring.

The systematic barring of Palestinian sympathizers continues the Israeli policy of isolating Palestinians from the rest of the world. Individuals seeking to visit the Palestinian people have no other access except through Israel, as Israel controls all entrance and exit to and from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Canadian authorities are complicit in this process by not assertively defending Canadian nationals who are arbitrarily barred from Israel or forcibly
removed. Moreover, based on previous cases, it is clear that information about non-violent activists in Canada is being passed on to the Israeli authorities.

ISM Montreal strongly encourages you to contact both Canadian and Israeli authorities to assertively and politely express your disapproval of the treatment of Palestinian solidarity activists, and in particular, Stefan Christoff. Always, please also denounce the context in which the barring of foreign activists occurs: the illegal occupation of Palestine by Israel, and the courageous refusal of Palestinians to cede their right to self-determination.

--> Please phone, e-mail and fax the Canadian Department of Foreign
Affairs, and the Israeli Embassy to complain about the systematic barring
of Palestinian solidarity activists and alternative journalists by Israel,
and to denounce the continued occupation of Palestine by Israel.

* Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAIT) at:
613-944-6788, or toll free (from within Canada only) at 1-800-267-6788.

* Canadian Embassy in Tel Aviv
(www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/telaviv)
Telephone : +011-972-3-636-3300
Fax : +011-972-3-636-3383
E-mail : tav...@dfait-maeci.gc.ca

* Israeli Embassy in Canada:
50 O'Connor Street,
Suite 1005,
Ottawa Ontario
KlP 6L2
Tel: (613) 567-6450
Fax: (613) 237-8865
E-mail: embi...@cyberus.ca

Please send copies of your correspondence to ism-...@resist.ca

More information about the International Solidarity Movement is available
at: http://www.palsolidarity.org or http://www.ismcanada.org

To stay in touch about the activities of ISM Montreal, please e-mail
ism-...@resist.ca or phone 514-781-2800.

The International Solidarity Movement is a Palestinian-led movement of Palestinian and International activists working to raise awareness of the struggle for Palestinian freedom and an end to Israeli occupation. The ISM
utilizes nonviolent, direct-action methods of resistance to confront and challenge illegal Israeli occupation forces and policies.

www.palsolidarity.org


Subject: 
Letter from Stefan.
Author: 
dragonfly
Date: 
Sun, 2003-12-07 08:58

CKUT Radio: From Gaza to Jordan Fighting for Palestine

Listen to an interview with Khaleel Frangi a Palestinian student from Gaza City studying in Amman Jordan. The interview focuses on the right of return and the condition of Palestinian refugee camps throughout Jordan. This interview was recorded in Amman Jordan for CKUT Radio in Montreal.

I came to Jordan two weeks ago from Montreal to travel to Palestine to work with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). The ISM is a Palestinian lead organization which facilitates campaigns of non-violent direct action against the daily workings of the Israeli occupation, such as taking direct action to tear down sections of the Apartheid Wall which is currently being constructed from the north of the west bank to the south, eventually annexing 20-40% of Palestinian West Bank land.

I attempted to enter Israel to work with the ISM at the end of November and was refused entry and deemed a security threat to the state of Israel. Since being refused entry into Israel I have been in Jordan staying with Palestinian students from Gaza and visiting the Palestinian refugee camps throughout Jordan, which are home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees displaced during the wars of 1948 & 1967. The Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan are the living memory of the history of displacement of Palestinians at the hands of Israel. Palestinian refugees living in the camps in Jordan and throughout the world have all come out strongly against the recent Geneva Accord which signs away the right of return of
Palestinian refugees to Palestine. Palestinian refugees throughout the
world make up 2/3 of all Palestinians throughout the world and have been one of the driving forces behind the Palestinian struggle for liberation.

To listen to the interview with Khaleel Frangi visit:
http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=8201

To get more information about the International Solidarity Movement
visit: http://www.palsolidarity.org

To get more information on the Right of Return Movement visit:
http://www.al-awda.org


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