Monday 11 October 2010

Mairead stands up to Israel

Mairead Maguire Nobel Peace Laureate is home safely after her most recent visit to Israel. She had arrived there for a Nobel women's Initiative intended to support people working in Israel and the Occupied Territories, for human rights and justice, - especially women's groups, . But human rights and justice issues are not popular with the Israeli government, particularly where the rights of Palestinians are concerned.

So, having arrived at Ben Gurion airport, she was detained in the airport's detention centre where she was held in solitary confinement for seven days. Earlier, Israeli security guards had attempted to put her on a KLM plane to deport her but, after she reused to comply and sat quietly beside the plane, the pilot refused to allow the guards to force her on to it.

Her lawyer appealed in the District court and in the Supreme court but the appeal was lost.

Not before Mairead made it clear to the court that she loved both Israelis and Palestinians,and she appealed to the Israeli Government "to end Apartheid and Ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people'.

As the "peace talks" stall and stall and stall, Israel continue to defy US President Obama and all of his "peacemakers", continues to violate human rights of Palestinians, continues its illegal occupation of Palestine, continues to besiege Gaza with absolute impunity.

But last week, one woman's voice was raised within Israel, the voice of Mairead Maguire, making a call for justice that world leaders have been afraid to make