DEATH THREAT RESULTS FROM UC BERKELEY DEBATE ON ISRAEL-PALESTINE
by Samia Lebrahab Friday October 03, 2003 at 11:48 PM
Militants Make Death Threats to Berkeley Based Non-Profit After Israel-Palestine Debate on UC Campus
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OCT. 3
CONTACT: Scott Campbell or Alison Weir
510-655-6384; 415-847-1782 (cell)
contact@ifamericansknew.org
LOCAL GROUP WORKING FOR MIDEAST PEACE RECEIVES DEATH THREAT
After debating last night on „How to can peace be achieved between
Israelis and Palestinians,‰ a local woman and her organization received a
voice mail message saying: „Don‚t be in your office Monday at 2 pm. Me and
my buddies, trained by the Israeli army, are going to come in and kill you.‰
The caller went on to say, „This is no joke. We‚re going to kill every one
of you. Close down your organization.‰
The recipient of the threat is Alison Weir, who speaks widely on the
Israeli-Palestinian issue. She is executive director of If Americans Knew,
a nonprofit organization known for providing information on the Middle East.
In last night‚s debate she predicted that Israelis and Palestinians
searching for a just peace will succeed when US tax money no longer goes
to fuel Israeli militarists such as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Sharon
was found guilty by the Israeli Knesset in 1982 for his role in the Sabra
and Shatila massacre in Lebanon.
Weir said that she takes the caller seriously. „I am named an Œenemy‚ on a
website of the Jewish Defense League, a group known for violent acts –
most recently, police are investigating charges that its members planned
to firebomb Congressman Darrell Issa‚s office in southern California.‰
Weir says that there has long been a concerted effort to intimidate people
speaking out on this issue, but says, „We will not be silenced. I hope
others will join us.‰
Weir says that she plans to be in her office all day Monday, working to
inform the public on this urgent issue.
Berkeley police and the FBI are investigating the death threat.
FULL TRANSCRIPT OF THE DEATH THREAT:
„Hi. I heard your speech today in UC-Berkeley; the debate. And I‚m
telling you this right now. On Monday, at 2 PM, you better not be in your
office.
Because me and my buddies, who were trained in the Israeli Army and we support DAFKA. We will come
and kill every single one of you son-of-bitches for what you are doing
to destroy Israel. So watch out.
This is not a joke. On Monday you better watch out. Don‚t come to work.
And close your organization or you‚re going to die." |
