Gscene News Archive

A final decision on sentencing Palestinian human rights defender Ezra Nawi - an openly gay Israeli Jew - will now take place on September 21. An online petition with 20,000 signatures from the UK, US and all over the world has urged the court to not jail Ezra.

Human rights activist Peter Tatchell said:
"The online petition was organised and coordinated by the Jewish Voices for Peace campaign group.

"Ezra faces imprisonment over an alleged riot during his attempts to stop the demolition of Palestinian homes by the Israeli army and over an alleged assault on a police officer during his arrest - charges that Ezra, a well known pacifist, strongly denies.

"Among the witnesses who testified in court yesterday on Ezra's behalf were Yehudit Karp, a former deputy attorney-general of Israel, and Hebrew University professors Galit Hazan-Rokem and David Shulman.

"Several of the witnesses explained to the court that Ezra's actions in trying to stop Israel's bulldozing of Palestinian homes had to be understood in the context of Israel's military occupation of the West Bank, aggressive Israeli settlers trying to force the Palestinians off their land, and the extreme poverty of the displaced Palestinian families.

"In an apparent response to the global outpouring of support for Ezra Nawi, the prosecution has indicated that it is now not asking for the maximum sentence of 18 months to two years imprisonment; although it remains insistent that he should still serve a custodial sentence.

"Ezra has become a legendary figure among the Palestinians in South Hebron, left-wing and pro-peace Israeli activists, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) campaigners and international opponents of Israel's occupation of the West Bank.

"Being an out gay man is mostly easy in London or New York. But in the Middle East, it takes real guts, especially when there are fundamentalists on both sides who want to kill gay people.

"By supporting the human rights of the Palestinian people as an out gay man, Ezra is probably doing more than anyone else to undermine the homophobia that undoubtedly exists in sections of Palestinian society. His acceptance by growing numbers of Palestinians illustrates that homophobia can be overcome, even in very traditional communities. It refutes the common stereotype that all Arabs and Muslims are anti-gay.

"Ezra's exemplary life shows the possibility of unity, solidarity and respect between gays and straights and between Palestinians and Israelis. It suggests that prejudice and division can be conquered; that a kinder, gentler, fairer future can be won for all the people of the Middle East."

The petition can be signed at: www.freeezra.org

For more background about Ezra's case view:
peter-tatchell.livejournal.com/874.html