On December 18, 2017, in the middle of the night the Israeli army burst into the Tamimi family home and arrested 16-year-old girl, Ahed Tamimi. They beat her father, mother, older and younger brothers and confiscated the families laptops, phones and cameras. Today, when Ahed’s mother, Nariman, went to inquire which detention center her daughter was being held in, the military arrested her as well.
It is well documented that Palestinian children are beaten, abused, and tortured during their arrests by the Israeli military. For Ahed’s sake we need as many members of Congress as possible to sign onto the legislation congresswoman Betty McCollum just introduced to end the abuse and detention of Palestinian children.
Ahed is a high school student preparing for college. She lives in a Palestinian village famous for women leadership in resistance to the occupation. As a young girl, Ahed rose to headlines for her bravery to confront the Israeli soldiers who enter her village on a regular basis. In 2014, at the age of 13, she received the Hanzala Courage Award in Turkey. In 2015, she and her family were profiled by the New York Times Magazine. Now she and her mother are sitting in Israeli jails. No one knows where they are being held or if they are okay.
Tell your Member of the House of Representatives to sign onto H.R. 4391 to make the condition that US military aid to Israel not be used for the abuse and detention of Palestinian children in Israel’s military court system. Rep. Mark Pocan of the Wisconsin 2nd District is a cosponsor of this bill. Contact your Representative and Senators asking them to intervene for mother and daughter activists Ahed and Nariman Tamimi. Then share on Facebook and Twitter that the Israeli military must release them.