The Rebuilding Alliance/Combatants for Peace: Palestinian Family to Hold Vigil Outside Israeli Embassy Commemorating One Year Death Anniversary of 10-Year-Old Daughter Killed by Israeli Soldier
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 23, 2008
11:03 AM
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CONTACT: The Rebuilding Alliance / Combatants for Peace
Ateqah Khaki, Riptide Communications, 212-260-5000
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Palestinian Family to Hold Vigil Outside Israeli Embassy Commemorating One Year Death Anniversary of 10-Year-Old Daughter Killed by Israeli Soldier
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WASHINGTON, DC - January 23 - The family of Abir Aramin, a ten-year-old Palestinian girl who was shot by Israeli border police a year ago, will hold a vigil and protest outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC on Thursday, January 24 at 12:00pm. Abir's father, Bassam Aramin, a co-founder of Combatants for Peace, will be joined by his wife Salwa and 13-year-old daughter, Areen, as well as Yonatan Shapira, a former IDF pilot and co-founder of Combatants for Peace, and Donna Baranski-Walker, Executive Director of Rebuilding Alliance, a US-based NGO who is currently sponsoring a Combatants for Peace US Speaking Tour.
On January 16th 2007, Abir was shot in the head by Israeli border police as she left school in Anata, near East Jerusalem. The soldiers said they were fighting with children who they claimed were throwing rocks. They said that Abir had been attacking them, but witnesses and an independent autopsy demonstrate clearly that she was shot with a rubber bullet in the back of the head while running away. According to the Israeli Human Rights group, B'Tselem, 864 Palestinian minors have been killed since 2000, and not one case has been brought to justice.
The Aramin family is currently touring the US, as part of a multi-city speaking tour aimed at educating Americans about the Israeli occupation and advocating for a just resolution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people. They are urging Congress to investigate their daughter's death by invoking the Leahy Law, which would require the Israeli government to take the effective measures to bring the responsible members of their security forces unit to justice.
Combatants for Peace is a group of former Israeli soldiers and former Palestinian fighters who have joined in solidarity to end the violence which has engulfed Israel/Palestine for generations. They have dedicated their lives to ending the occupation and seeking peace through non-violent means. They have also rallied in pursuit of justice following the killing of Abir Aramin, the ten-year-old daughter of Bassam.
Mr. Aramin is a former Fatah fighter, who served seven years in jail from the age of seventeen for planning an attack against Israeli soldiers. Mr. Shapira served as a Captain in the Israeli Air Force and later authored the 2003 " Pilot's Letter" refusing to serve in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Despite the death of his child and the additional pain caused by the allegations of the soldiers involved, Mr. Aramin continues his quest for peace supported by his Israeli and Palestinian comrades. "I'm not going to lose my common sense, my direction, only because I've lost my heart, my child. I will do all I can to protect her friends, both Palestinian and Israeli. They are all our children."
The group comes to Washington, D.C. after previous speaking events in Baltimore, Vermont and New York City and will continue on to California. Speakers will also be raising funds for Abir's Garden, a project designed to memorialize Abir and to provide a safe place for her classmates and community to gather, play and heal.
The tour is sponsored by The Rebuilding Alliance, a non-profit organization that rebuilds homes and communities in regions of war and occupation, as well as advocating for government policies in these regions based on human rights and international law.
FULL TOUR SCHEDULE: http://ourspeakingtour.pbwiki.com/Agenda
WHAT
Vigil in front o f the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC
WHO
Bassam, Salwa and Areen Aramin, family of Abir
Yonatan Shapira, Co-founder of Combatants for Peace
Donna Baranski-Walker, Executive Director of Rebuilding Alliance
WHEN
Thursday, January 24, 2008 at 12:00pm
WHERE
Israeli Embassy in Washington DC (3514 International Dr NW, Washington, DC 20008)
VISUALS
Aramin family and supporters with a large poster of Abir in front of the Israeli Embassy
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