Update Oct/2015:
Eight months ago, Canada Palestine Association-Vancouver started the Tamam Defense Fund to help Tamam and Kenza al Zobaidi challenge Israel’s arbitrary denial of their legitimate Jerusalem residency rights. The response of supporters across Canada has been heartening; your support not only helped the family meet the financial costs for the legal process, but also let them know that they are not alone and that many people are committed to standing up to Israel’s outrageous policies that can render a family stateless and status-less.
The current escalating Israeli repression in Palestine, particularly in East Jerusalem, highlights the vulnerability of Palestinians under occupation but also shows Palestinians’ determination to hold onto and cherish their birthright, their heritage and their homeland. The case of Tamam and Kenza has now gone to the next stage in the Israeli legal system, as the Israeli tribunal judge upheld the original Ministry of Interior decision and even ordered the family to pay an extra penalty. They must now spend further time and money in appealing all of this to the Israeli district court, which is both expensive and stressful (the appeal to the district court will cost around $10,000).
We know that your political and financial support has been pivotal in helping to keep this case moving forward and we are asking all friends and supporters to continue with publicizing and donating to this campaign. Please also approach any groups you are part of and ask them to consider making a donation and highlighting the case on their websites and social media. We have been able to raise over $5000 towards the family’s legal fees so far, but more is needed; $4200.00 was already forwarded to the family and over $1300 is currently in our Crowdfunding account. Together we can continue to challenge Israeli ethnic cleansing and finally put a stop to these cruel measures that divide families, separate parents from children and ultimately have the goal of making daily life impossible for Palestinian Jerusalemites.
Please donate generously to this fund which will go towards the al Zobaidis’ legal expenses, and make your checks payable to:
Canada Palestine Association
(write in the Memo: Tamam Defense Fund)
and mail to:
CPA
c/o BC Market
930 12th St., New Westminster, B.C., V3M 4K6
Cheques can also be dropped at BC Market address
Or Donate online
=================================================================================================================
Canada Palestine Association (CPA)-Vancouver is starting a Defense Fund for Tamam and Kenza al Zobaidi (mother and daughter), who were denied their legitimate residency status in Jerusalem by the Israeli occupation authorities and accordingly their birthright. Also, Tamam has now “become, essentially, stateless, and risked falling out of ‘legal’ status in Canada, which would render her unable to work, receive health care or enroll her child…in school” (Electronic Intifada, Oct. 6, 2014). Sobhi and Tamam al Zobaidi are well-known in the Vancouver Palestinian and progressive community and their friends are shocked by this development.
East Jerusalem is recognized by all countries in the world including Canada as illegally occupied territory; in spite of this, Israel continues to act as the rightful owner of Jerusalem against all international humanitarian laws, UN resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention. Israel continues with its settler colonialist policy and ethnically cleansing Palestinians from their historic homeland.
Please donate generously to this fund which will go towards the al Zobaidis’ legal expenses, and make your checks payable to:
Canada Palestine Association
(write in the Memo: Tamam Defense Fund)
and mail to:
CPA
c/o BC Market
930 12th St., New Westminster,
B. C., V3M 4K6
Cheques can also be dropped at BC Market address
Or Donate online
For more information on these racist policies towards the indigenous Palestinian people of Jerusalem (both Christians and Muslims), see the report from the Israeli Human Rights group B’Tselem:
Revocation of Residency in East Jerusalem
And the report by the Society of St. Yves, Catholic Center for Human Rights, Jerusalem.
The legal status of Palestinians in Jerusalem