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<b>Kate Raphael, Bay Area lesbian human rights activist, has been denied
reasonable bond conditions and remains imprisoned in Hadera, Israel
today</b> with little access to her lawyer and supporters. Kate was
arrested on December 31 for videotaping Israeli military attacking
Palestinian demonstrators in the West Bank. Israel is trying to
expel Kate, but she is determined to resist deportation and continue her
work in Palestine documenting human rights abuses and educating Israelis
on the occupation. <br>
<br>
<b><i>Bay Area organizations including ADC-SF (American Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee), Al-Awda-SF, Bay Area Coalition Against
the Wall, Bay Area Palestine Coalition for Justice, Global Exchange, the
International Solidarity Movement, LAGAI - Queer Insurrection, the
National Lawyers Guild, Out of Control - Lesbian Committee to Support
Women Political Prisoners, Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT!),
and San Francisco Women in Black have demanded a meeting with the Israeli
consul and are calling a <br>
</i></b> <br>
</font><font size=5><b>Demonstration today, Tuesday Jan. 6, 4-6 p.m.
<br>
Israeli Consulate, 456 Montgomery St. (/California), S.F.<br>
</b></font><font size=3> <br>
</font><font size=4>The groups demand that the Israeli
government:<br><br>
<b>-Immediately release Kate, annul her deportation order, and cease all
actions against her and other human rights workers <br>
-Stop the apartheid wall <br>
-Withdraw from the occupied territories <br>
-Recognize the right of return for all Palestinians<br>
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<b>IF YOU CAN'T ATTEND (or even if you can), CALL THE SF CONSULATE
GENERAL Yossi Amrani at (415)844-7500 and explain the importance of
Kate's work in Palestine.<br><br>
</b>Kate was arrested while videotaping at a demonstration in Budrus, a
village slated to be surrounded and cut off from essential services by
the Wall. The IDF opened fire on the unarmed demonstrators
resulting in the hospitalization of at least ten civilians. Four
internationals were arrested and ordered to be deported. Israel has
increasingly sought to deny entry to or deport foreign human rights and
humanitarian workers. Kate has been living in the West Bank as part of
the International Women's Peace Service (IWPS), which is documenting
human rights abuses, and taking non-violent actions to oppose land
confiscations, home demolitions, and other abuses. She has
initiated a project, Neighbor to Neighbor, bringing Israelis on reality
tours through occupied Palestine and training them to share what they
have learned about the occupation in their communities. Kate is
determined to continue this important work and will take her case to
remain in Palestine to the Israeli Supreme Court if necessary.<br>
For more information, 510-434-1304; for information on IWPS and Kate's
work in Palestine
<a href="http://www.womenspeacepalestine.org/">http://www.womenspeacepalestine.org/</a>;
Updates on Kate's case:
<a href="http://www.quitpalestine.org">www.quitpalestine.org</a>; info on
the campaign against the Wall and the demonstration in Budrus:
<a href="http://www.stopthewall.org/">http://www.stopthewall.org/</a>.
<br>
<br>
<br>
</font><font size=3 color="#FF0000">The Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br>
(415) 863-9977<br>
</font><font size=3><a href="http://www.freedomarchives.org/" eudora="autourl">www.freedomarchives.org</a></font></body>
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