| AIC Campaign for Palestinian Residency Rights in Jerusalem US-Campaign for Palestinian Residency Rights Well on its Way
In October 1993, the Alternative Information Center and the AFSC-Chicago decided to launch a joint campaign for Palestinian residency rights among the US public, with a focus on Palestinians’ right to live in Jerusalem. In the meantime, the organizational framework for this campaign has been established, and our joint efforts are beginning to bear fruit.
+ Action for Support of Former Political Prisoners’ Right to Family Reunification:
In a letter and mailgram campaign addressed to Yitzhak Rabin and the Jerusalem Interior Ministry, hundreds of US citizens have protested the Israeli authorities’ persistent denial of family reunification for wives of Jerusalem ex-political prisoners.
+ Informing the US-public about the violations against the Palestinian people’s right to live united with their families in their homeland by means of an information package mailed to 2,500 addresses.
+ Informing the Arab/Palestinian community in the US about the availability of the AIC’s Guidelines for Palestinians Who Wish to Reside in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, or in Jerusalem, which includes useful advice for those who wish to return to their families in Jerusalem or in any other place in the Occupied Territories.
+ Countering the Celebrations of “Jerusalem’s 27th Anniversary of Reunification”
organized by the Zionist lobby in the US, by means of a moderate media campaign and a Jerusalem Conference scheduled for May 14 aiming to expose the devastating effects of Israeli policy on Arab Jerusalem since 1967. News from the AIC-Campaign for Political Prisoners’ Right to Family Reunification - The Jerusalem Interior Ministry makes a first move ...
(For background information see ARTICLE 74/7)
In a letter sent in April, we informed the Interior Ministry that this would be our last request for information about the current situation of the nine cases of former Jerusalem political prisoners who were denied family reunification for their wives in the past, and that, unless we receive a definite answer, we would take these cases to the High Court. This time the Interior Ministry responded: “Following is our answer to your letter:
1. The application of Ata Qaymari (No. 1) has been granted, as well as the application of Eyad Obeidi (No. 6).
2. Concerning the applications of No. 2, 3, 4, [Mahmoud Salamat, Samir Abu Diab, Ribhi Abu Humous] we do not have documentation.
3. The application of No. 5 [Amin al-Ghoul] in the list was refused for reasons which we cannot detail further.
Respectfully yours,
S. Matanya
Department for Visa and Foreigners” While we welcome the Ministry’s decision to finally grant family reunification to two of the nine cases, we regard this only as a preliminary and modest success in our continuing struggle for the residency rights of all Palestinian political activists in Jerusalem. |
