Okay, briefly going political on a slightly personal note...

[loopychew]

Genc e-mailed this to me; apparently, an American friend of his was arrested for protesting. On US soil. I think it's something worth reading, and if anyone here knows what protest action this is and can link me to anything about it, I'd appreciate it.

I write on behalf of an American, Erica Weitzman. She is a peace
worker who has done humanitarian work in such war-torn places as
Kosovo and the Occupied Territories. She and 15 other protesters
were arrested and tried for a protest action in reponse to the Israeli
occupation of Palestine, the then-recent declaration of war in Iraq, and the
murder of Rachel Corrie, an American in Israel. They have been arrested, tried
and convicted in the US for protest action on US soil. She and her
co-defendents were convicted of disorderly conduct and obstructing government
activity, a misdemeanor that carries a charge of up to one year in prison. This
is an extremely harsh verdict for protest action.

This is an outrage. The Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, opinion,
and the right to peaceful assembly. For these 16 people to be placed in
prison for protest action is absurd and against the principles of the United
States, particularly the Bill of Rights.

I beseech you to do whatever you can to stop this from happening. Please
publicize this matter and bring it to the attention of those who can change
the situation. If these harmless protesters are sentenced to jailtime on
April 19, 2004, it will alter the circumstances for all non-violent action
in the future. It will compromise the ability of American citizens to express
their own opinions and oppose their government's actions, a right the founding
fathers guaranteed for all Americans.

Please do whatever you can to protect non-violent action in the United States,
an emblem of a free nation.

Attached is an email from Erica herself.


From: "Erica Weitzman" <lizzieboredom@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 20:42:48 -0500

hello,

i haven't been in touch with many of you for a while (and haven't
told
others), so for some this news may come as a surprise. for the past
year, i
have been in court proceedings, following a protest action in
response to
the israeli occupation of palestine, the then-recent declaration of
war on
iraq, and the murder of rachel corrie, an american human rights
activist who
was crushed to death by an israeli military bulldozer while
protecting a
civilian's house in gaza. this afternoon, after a week-long trial, a
jury
found me and my 15 co-defendents guilty on two counts of disorderly
conduct
and one count of obstructing government activity. the latter charge
is a
misdemeanor carrying a penalty of up to a year in jail. by all
accounts,
these charges were extraordinary for the action involved. this has
consequences not just for us, but generally for the future of
political
protest in this country.


i am writing first, of course, to let you know, in terms of both my
own life
and the wider implications; second, to ask for your good wishes and
support
in this time. third--especially for those of you who know me in some
professional capacity and/or for those of you who hold positions of
status
in this society--to write letters on my behalf, care of me or of our
lawyer.
sentencing will take place on april 19th, and character witness
testimony
may make a difference between a harsher and a lighter sentence. our
lawyer's name is stephen edwards: he can be reached at
stephenwedwards@juno.com.


forthly and most important--to all my friends out there fighting in
their
different ways for justice--we're with you.


my love to all,
erica

Comments

[malakim.livejournal.com]

Personally, since I've now officially been on both sides of the civilian/authority fence, I'd like to know what exactly they were doing in their 'peaceful protest'. No offense meant, LC, but that is an awfully one-sided view you're presenting/defending/whatever.

I agree that this could be an actual attack on their rights, in which case I would be as outraged as the next person. However, if they were actually breaking laws (and believe me, disorderly conduct can cover a lot; not sure about that other charge), they do need to take responsiblity for their actions.

[loopychew.livejournal.com]

See, this is why I'm asking to find out more about this. It's GOING to be one-sided, because for Genc and this person (obviously), it's very personal. Beyond that, though...

[schneeble.livejournal.com]

I wasn't able to find much. Here's a topic-heavy board (a small bit about Weitzman is halfway down the page): Human Rights 1st. It looks like she was arrested in Nablus, which is in the disputed territory of the West Bank. What's strange is that she is now on trial for obstruction of police activity, under US law, even though she wasn't on US soil. I'm pretty sure this isn't officially about freedom of speech, but about refusing to leave a house that was designated by Israel as a target of military or police action.

My first guess would be that the First Amendment has nothing to do with the trial proceedings (though I couldn't find anything that details the charges against her). As I said, she is probably on trial for obstruction and she will likely get the full sentence. The way I understand these things, Israel probably sent her back to the US because the US didn't want one of its citizens to be tried in Israel (where the punishment would likely have a bit firmer than a year in prison). As far as the law is concerned, this probably isn't about freedom of speech--no matter what the e-mail says--because these people were likely in a place they should not have been, and they likely refused to move to a place they could go.

On the other hand, I'm aware that there are LOTS of places that people "should not be" in the West Bank. I'm not saying that the situation is completely fair to Erica, but I am saying that this seems to be in no way an attack on anybody's right to free speech.

[abno.livejournal.com]

I dunno, man....

I'm gonna need more info before I take a side on this....

[loopychew.livejournal.com]

Pretty much what I'm thinking, too. Considering the incredible lack of info we've got here except for a first-hand account...

[abno.livejournal.com]

And the fact it doesn't say what this "protester" was doing.

Then again, it *was* a pretty vague term they used, but.....

One wonders where to begin.

[yamazakikun.livejournal.com]

There is indeed little information (at least freely available -- I don't have LexisNexis™ access anymore); this would seem to indicate that she was assisting a group of Palestinians who were attacking Israelis. (Settlers? IDF? No further information, but the obstruction charge implies the latter.) Since Ms. Weitzman, in her recap of current events, omits the crucial fact that St. Pancake committed suicide, one wonders what else she left out. Again, NFI, but I'd wager that the acts for which she was convicted could have just as well earned her a conviction for aggravated assault.