(lettere in ordine cronològico)



sono Erik dei Fiati.

Vi scrivo per spiegarvi la situazione di Jamie (una cara amica mia e di Tuia/clarinetto; per chi la conosce e' la sorella di Allison, che un paio di anni fa suonava con i Fiati)

Jamie vive a San Francisco ed e' una componente di B.L.O. (la banda di S.Francisco con cui suonavo la')nonche' una militante dell'International Solidariety Moviment cioe' una organizzazione pacifista che aiuta il popolo palestinese organizzando dei gruppi di aiuto nei campi profughi ,



Per chi ne vuole sapere di piu' puo' parlare con Tuia (che e' stata insieme a Jamie in palestina due anni fa)oppure con Lena/clarinetto che li conosce. Anche quest'anno Jamie e' voluta partire per aiutare la popolazione palestinese ma a differenza di due anni fa non e' riuscita ad entrare ma e' stata arrestata e portata in carcere dell'aeroporto (e' successo sabato scorso 10/7) per poi in teoria essere rimpatriata per gli U.S., ma come risposta e presa di posizione insieme ad altri due militanti nella stessa situazione si e' opposta a tale decisione e tramite avvocato ha fatto ricorso ribadendo il suo diritto di entrare in israele dato che non e' accusata di nulla e contemporaneamente ha iniziato uno sciopero della fame.



Fin che non ci sara' il processo e il verdetto Jamie sara' detenuta (si pensa per due tre settimane vedendo anche i casi precedenti)sempre nel carcere dell'aeroporto di Tel Aviv. Con i ragazzi di San Francisco si sta' raccogliendo una colletta per aiutarla a pagare le spese processuali e io chiedevo prima di tutto ai Fiati, e poi a tutte le altre Bande, di parteciparvi, magari facendo dei cappelli. Non occorre che vi dica che ve ne sarei molto grato sia come solidale al popolo palestinese sia come amico della persona in questione. Spero se ne possa parlare giovedi alle prove oppure telefonatemi (xxxxxxx casa , xxxxxx cellulare) per qualsiasi domanda dato che vorrei riuscire a fare colletta entro una settimana. Intanto vi mando anche un e-mail speditami da un mio amico attivista da San Fra in contatto con Jamie che esplica un po' la situazione. Ciao a tutti.

Erik Bombardino.



************************************

Hello' This is Jeff Giaquinto. Jamie has given me access to her email account s o that we could contact you with an update about her situation. Maherah an d I spoke to her this morning (9am Pacific Daylight time= 7pm in Palestine/Israel.) She sounded great and was in high spirits. She is in a detention facility near the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv with 2 other activists, and they are strategizing about how to proceed. They are bein g fed, have beds to sleep in, and are being treated relatively well.



Her lawyer’s name is Yael Berda, who also worked on Brooke Atherton’s cas e. Ms. Berda will do what she can to try to help Jamie stay in the country. She has filed for an injunction to stop the deportation proceedings—we will know the result of that tomorrow. Jamie wants everyone to know that even if she is forced to leave, she doe s not consider this time to be wasted, but rather that this time is “part of the work” toward the goals of ISM. She knows that we are with her, and appreciates the outpouring of support you have shown. Thank you for the kind words and concerned telephone calls we’ve been receiving. Jamie made this statement today: “As a Jewish person, I can understand how Israelis are concerned for th eir security, given the long history of our oppression. At the same time, this is not the whole story of the Jews. Jewish people have fought for social justice, in the communities where we live and in support of others .



It is to this Jewish heritage that I am most connected. As a Jewish person of conscience, I see the illegal apartheid wall that is being buil t as a modern Warsaw Ghetto. As a Jewish person, it is my responsibility t o do everything I can to oppose this wall, and the unjust occupation of Palestinians. I will struggle nonviolently alongside the thousands of Palestinians who are nonviolently protesting everyday.” We will keep you informed as we learn more. We are preparing a press release, and any help we can get accessing media would be great. In solidarity, Jeff Giaquinto jeffgiaquinto@yahoo.com



*******************************************************

Da www.indymedia.org



Jamie Spector, an activist and social worker from San Francisco, arrived in Israel on Sunday. She was detained for 9 hours at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, interrogated for 1 hour, denied entry into the country, and is still being held. She is one of a dozen or more human rights advocates who have been stopped from entering Israel in the last month. It is believed that she and others have been targeted for deportation because of their membership in the International Solidarity Movement. She also works with Jews for a Free Palestine and the Brass Liberation Orchestra in the Bay Area. Brooke Atherton, who is also an ISM activist from the Bay Area, was refused entry into Israel in June.



Jamie Spector was planning to take part in non-violent demonstrations with Palestinians, Israelis, and other internationals against the "Apartheid Wall", the barrier Israel is building in the occupied West Bank. She says, "Jewish people have fought for social justice, in the communities where we live and in support of others. It is to this Jewish heritage that I am most connected. As a Jewish person of conscience, I see the illegal Apartheid Wall that is being built as a modern Warsaw Ghetto. As a Jewish person, it is my responsibility to do everything I can to oppose this wall, and the unjust occupation of Palestinians." Read Jamie's full statements from July 11th and 12th. Christine Grefer, an activist from Holland was also detained this weekend, while American Ann Petter has a hearing on Thursday July 15th.





********************************************



Lettere da Jemie Spector :: 29-luglio-2004



(Da parte di Jemie Spector/trombone della Brass Liberation Orchestra di S.Francisco)

(From Jemie Spector/trombone of B.L.O. from San Francisco)



Dear b.l.o. bandmates and banda comrades in italia, i can't thank you all enough for all your support over the past few weeks during my detention in israel. all of your messages of support, incredibly generous financial donations, playing on the streets to help raise funds for my legal fees, picking me up in the middle of the night in milano, massive hugs, emails and phone calls...i couldn't have made it through without the support that i felt from my comunita di bande. while i am very sad that i was not able to do what i had orginally intended to do in israel and palestine, i feel very fortunate that i was able to use my detention as an opportunity to raise awareness about the horrible injustices of the occupation and aparthied wall. i also hope that i was able to make a very small contribution to the fight to expose the undemocratic practices of the israeli government towards palestinians and its own citizens.



During my short stay in milano, with enrico from ottoni a scopio (grazie enrico!!!), we discussed our hope to continue building the network and solidarity community between all of our bands and the many others that we have not yet met. this is what international solidarity means, and we can use it to struggle together for global justice and an end to oppression.



I very much look forward to playing on the streets with my BLO comrades and look forward to the day when i stand with hundreds of band-mates from around the world and make the streets shake with the sounds of liberation!



thank you all again for your amazing support!

free palestine!



in solidarity,

jamie spector

brass liberation orchestra, san francisco, trombone