Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Ezra Nawi, who is an Israeli peace activist living in the area of South Mt. Hebron, has been active in the area for almost 42 years will be sentenced this Wednesday, July 1st. He has been supporting Palestinians' cause against the Israeli occupation via settlements in the West Bank.
He has been jailed several times for his activism in the area; however, he is going to be jailed for a long time for assaulting an Israeli policeman two years ago during a confrontation over an attempt to bulldozing Palestinians shacks on Umm al-Kheir, in West Bank.
David Shulman, who is a professor at the Hebrew University and a peace activist, wrote in Haaretz on June 19th, 2009: "Nawi was convicted on March 19 in the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court of assaulting a police officer. Since I've known the man for decades and seen him in action in many extreme situations, I'm certain that the charge is untrue," Shulman also gave a picture of the Israeli occupation in the West Bank when the referred confrontation occurred in his comment.
Numerous peace activists and groups conduct web based support links to withdraw Nawi's sentence. The New York Times published a profile of Ezra Nawi which is perceived as a sign of increasing pressure on Israeli government.
NYT profile can be reached from the link below:
Unlikely Ally for Residents of West Bank
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/world/middleeast/28westbank.html?scp=1&sq=nawi&st=cse
