what?!? the Israelis aren't allowed to treat prisoners the way we do in Gitmo!
On 8/7/06, Jayson Funke <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
A Brief Statement by Free Professor Ghazi-Walid Falah 3 August 2005 I would like to make a brief statement. This was a political arrest and detention. Because of what I reveal in my geographic research on Israeli land policies, and the geography of the Occupation. I am a well-known social scientist, a specialist on the Middle East and Israel, a citizen of Canada, and tenured professor at the University of Akron, where I have taught geography a number of years. I am also a Palestinian Arab, born and raised in al-Jaliil, the Galilee, where I had returned in early July to be with my ailing mother, awaiting brain surgery in Haifa. The month of July was a terrible month for the Palestinian people in Gaza and under the Occupation, and most especially for the Lebanese nation. And also on a very personal level for me. I endured a nightmare created and orchestrated for me by the Israeli police and Shin Bet Secret Service. I believe I was arrested and put through this prolonged ordeal of humiliation and psychological torture to teach me a lesson: because I am a scholar who researches on Israeli geopolitics and its treatment of Palestinians in Israel and under the Occupation, and I tell the truth. What are the facts? I was arrested without charge on July 8 and held in detention for over three weeks (July 8-30, 2006) after taking some photos in a resort area north of Nahariya, an area full of tourists, with some panoramic views. For much of that time I had no access to legal counsel. I was kept for prolonged periods without healthy food, and for several days without sleep. I was interrogated repeatedly. Often tied to a chair, there were five interrogators. In one session I was kept 60 hours. Some of the psychological maltreatment and verbal abuse I was subjected to was a form of psychological torture which I will not detail here. I was not allowed access to a lawyer for the first 18 days of my detention. I was freed on July 30 because no charge could be brought. There is no evidence against me because there cannot be. I believe my rights have been gravely violated by this ordeal. It is an affront to international scholarship in the social sciences. The Israelis are proud of their universities and research. But there is another dark side to the world of science pertaining to the realities of Israel: the Israeli government would like to intimidate and silence researchers who speak uncomfortable truths to power. That should not be forgotten. At one level, it is what my detention, humiliation and harassment were all about. Read what I write. Think about its implications. I am grateful to all those who joined in the international campaign to help free me. The Israeli government was well aware of their efforts. I am grateful to my family, wife Jamila and children for their love, and perseverance together with me in this ordeal. They have suffered greatly and now can breathe a sigh of relief. Thank God my mother passed through her surgery OK, even though I could not be at her side. The Israeli state has made a serious error in trying to cow and intimidate me. I will seek legal redress, and redouble my efforts on researching its brutal geopolitical realities. I will not be silenced --------------- Jayson Funke Graduate School of Geography Clark University 950 Main Street Worcester, MA 01610
-- Jim Devine / "In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in business schools, it's the exact opposite." --- Paul Dirac [edited]
