Democracy Now! April 4, 2002

Program Title:
Democracy Now! April 4, 2002
Series Title:
PRA Archive #: 
PZ0450.134
Description: 

A 21-year-old Palestinian-American is shot and killed by Israeli soldiers in Ramallah, with her 9-month-old baby on her lap. Well speak to her sister and her cousin, who live in Brooklyn. As food supplies dwindle in the Occupied Territories, Israelis and Palestinians make a human chain across the Ramallah border to hand over food and medicine. And, protest from the Arab States to the United States: Tens of thousands take to the streets in Lebanon and Egypt while Americans protest billions of dollars in US military aid to Israel.

9:01-9:06 HEADLINES GUEST: KRISTEN SCHURR, activist with the International Solidarity Movement 9:06-9:07 ONE-MINUTE MUSIC BREAK 9:07-9:20 A 21 YEAR OLD PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN IS SHOT AND KILLED BY ISRAELI SOLDIERS IN RAMALLAH: HER FAMILY SPEAKS OUT The massive assault on the city of Nablus last night is just the latest step in Israels methodical offensive against the Palestinians. Israeli forces have taken over six major West Bank towns and cities Ramallah, Qalqiliya, Jenin, Tulkarem, Bethlehem, Nablus. The towns of Jericho and Hebron remain the last islands in Palestinian control. Thousands of Palestinians have been arrested, and countless others have been killed and injured. Yesterday on Democracy Now! we spoke to the father of the first victim of Israels latest siege on Ramallah . 21-year-old Suraida Saleh was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers in Ramallah last Friday. She was holding her 9-month old baby in her lap. And as the group American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice discovered, Suraida Saleh was also a US citizen, born in George Washington Hospital in Washington DC. The Office of Consular Affairs at the State Department told Democracy Now! on Tuesday that they were aware that Suraida was a U.S. citizen, but did not plan to release a statement or take any action. We asked a State department spokesperson to appear on the show today, but they declined our offer. Instead, we are joined today by two of Sureidas US-based relatives: her sister Samar is on the phone from her Brooklyn home, where she is watching her two children. Suraidas cousin, Suhad, joins us in the studio. GUEST: SAMAR SALEH, sister of Suraida Saleh, the 21-year-old woman gunned down by Israeli soldiers. GUEST: SUHAD SARSOUR, cousin of Suraida Saleh, IN STUDIO GUEST: HUSSEIN IBISH, communications director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee CONTACTS: www.global-peace.org www.state.gov www.adc.org www.electronicintifada.net www.alternativenews.org 9:20-9:21 ONE-MINUTE MUSIC BREAK 9:21-9:40 ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS MAKE A HUMAN CHAIN ACROSS THE RAMULLAH BORDER TO BRING FOOD AND MEDICINE TO THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES In Lebanon, ten thousand people took to the streets and tried to charge the heavily guarded US embassy. Security forces used batons, tear gas and water cannon to drive them back. Dozens were injured. Meanwhile, there are signs that a second front could be opened in the Middle East conflict: the Israeli army and the Lebanese-based guerrilla group Hizbullah exchanged fire yesterday, and the Syrian president announced the redeployment of 20,000 Syrian troops in Lebanon.Egypt announced it is suspending diplomatic contacts Israel. Egypt will only maintain diplomatic channels which could directly help Palestinians. The announcement came as tens of thousands of students launched a sixth day of demonstrations across the country, demanding the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador. Egypt is Israels largest and most important ally in the Middle East. Well spend the rest of the hour talking about what people are doing to protest Israels invasion and occupation of Israel. GUEST: LANA AL-KHALIL, founder of FIST, Fight Israeli State Terror and organizer with a new group, Tents of Resistance. She also works with Al Awda, the Palestinian Right of Return group in the U.S. CONTACT: email tentsofresistance@altern.org , www.al-awda.org Today is the seventh day of the most recent invasion of the Occupied Territories. For a week, its cities and villages have been cut off from the world by a wall of tanks, troops, and helicopters. A military curfew makes movement almost impossible. Food is scarce. Medical supplies have basically run out. And yesterday, the Israelis turned off the water supply for all of Ramallah. But yesterday, thousands of Israeli Jews and Arabs marched to the border of Ramallah, with trucks full of food and medicine. As they approached the checkpoint, Israeli police fired tear gas and began hitting protesters with batons. Some 20 demonstrators were injured. Among the injured were 3 Israeli Knesset Members. Meanwhile, the phones of the Jerusalem-based Palestinian Counseling Center were ringing non-stop. The Center is one of the few mental health facilities still able to provide services to Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. The calls come fast and furious: "I need milk for my two month old baby; I need medicine because I have diabetes; I'm alone trapped in a restaurant in Ramallah and the Israeli snipers are on the rooftop." The staff of the Palestinian Counseling Center have been working around the clock. We go now to a counselor in the Center who has already been on call for several hours today. GUEST: SIHAM RASHID, counselor, Palestinian Counseling Center in Jerusalem. Siham has been working round the clock to provide support services and assistance to Palestinians under siege in the Occupied Territories.CONTACT: www.pcc-jer.org/index11.htm, PHONE: 011-972-2-656-2272 GUEST: HAGIT GUR-ZIV, co-founder, New Profile, the Movement for the Civilization of Israeli society, speaking on the phone from Tel Aviv. CONTACT: www.newprofile.org 9:40-9:41 ONE-MINUTE MUSIC BREAK 9:41-9:58 BUSH ADMINISTRATION SPURNS PEACE PROCESS BUT SENDS BILLIONS IN MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL EVERY YEAR: A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ON PROTESTING US MILITARY, CORPORATE, AND UNIVERSITY SUPPORT TO ISRAEL It is not only Arabs and Israelis who are protesting the Israeli invasion of the Occupied Territories. People in this country are also gearing up to protest U.S. military and corporate support for Israel. Despite the mainstream medias portrayal of the Bush Administration as apart from the conflict, the US could hardly be more involved. The US gives more aid to Israel than to any other country in the world, over $3 billion every year. With that money, Israel buys American stinger missiles, F16 jets, and Apache and Blackhawk helicopters. All have been used against civilians. Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, and GE all sell arms to Israel, and Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, and Nokia provide information and communications technology to the Israeli Defense Forces. GUEST: MARC LANCE, founding member of SUSTAIN, Stop US-Tax Aid to Israel Now! CONTACT: www.sustaincampaign.org , PHONE 202 777 2641, ext. 9779 GUEST: MARTY ROSENBLUTH, country specialist for Israel, the Occupied Territories, and the Palestinian Authority for Amnesty International-USA CONTACT: www.amnesty.org GUEST: ROBERT CHLALA, 3rd year undergraduate at University of California Berkeley and member of Justice in Palestine CONTACT: www.justiceinpalestine.org GUEST: VINCENT LLOYD, junior, Princeton University. He is one of the lead organizers of the schools divestment campaign CONTACT: www.princeton.edu/~speac MUSIC 6: PUT A LITTLE LOVE IN YOUR HEART The Isleys Brother, Brother, Brother (Epic associated/Legacy CD) 20: LOVE, PUT ON YOUR FACES (E.E.CUMMINGS) Patricia Barber Modern Cool (www.premonitionandmusic.com) 40: WAR Luciano End: LET IT RAIN Patricia Barber Modern Cool (www.premonitionandmusic.com) 9:58-9:59 OUTRO AND CREDITS

Date Recorded on: 
April 4, 2002
Date Broadcast on: 
April 4, 2002
Item duration: 
59 min.
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Distributor: 
WPFW; Amy Goodman, host. April 4, 2002
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