Israeli activist faces treason charge trial
1988 1988-10Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 13 →
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14 SOCIALIST ACTION OCTOBER 1988 On Oct. 19, the trial of Michel Warschawsky, the director of the Alterative Information Center (AIC) in Israel, enters its most decisive phase. Warschawsky and the AIC are charged with "services to an illegal organization and support for a terrorist organization."
Warschawsky and his co-workers were arrested on Feb. 17, 1987. Their arrest marks the first time that the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance of 1948 has been used to suppress an Israeli journalist. The trial was opened or July 5 with a reading of the indictment.
The accusation against the AIC and Warschawsky concerns written material that they have allegedly distributed. But these "subversive materials" used as evidence are journals available to every member of the Israeli Knesset.
While a year ago an acquittal may have been likely, the situation has changed radically since the Palestinian uprising. The Israeli government has declared a total war on the Palestinian people and on any political expression of their views.
Key elements in this policy are the administrative detention of some 3000 political cadres, deportations, and the outlawing of the People's Committees. In order to be effective, this repressive policy has to extend to Israelis who offer political or material aid to the uprising.
Average sentences are 10 times more severe than they were a year ago. Acquittals are getting rarer.
The most striking example of the dangers facing Warschawsky is the sentence received by four peace activists who met a P.L.O. delegation in Romania. They were handed 18-month sentences, six months of which had to be served in prison. This judgment may have a direct effect on Warschawsky's trial.
Another element that has to be taken into account is the trial of the members of the Derech Hanitzotz group, who were charged with joining the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Under torture, the defendants made admissions of "guilt" that they have now retracted. Both the Derech Hanitzotz and the Warschawsky cases are before the same court.
In San Francisco the Ad-hoc Committee to Defend Michel Warschawsky is sponsoring a picketline at the Israeli consulate, 220 Montgomery St., on Wed., Oct. 19 at 5 p.m. Baltimore P.O. Box 16005 Baltimore, MD 21218 Boston P.O. Box 1046 GMF Boston, MA 02205 (617) 497-0230 Chicago P.O. Box 267848 Chicago, IL 60626 (312) 327-5752 Cincinnati P.O. Box 21015 Cincinnati, OH 45219 (513) 272-2596 We had a series of meetings in Brazilia, the nation's capital, with Dr. Farid Suwan, the P.L.O. representative in Brazil, and his associate Fawzi El-Mashimi. They introCleveland P.O. Box 6151 Cleveland, OH 44101 (216) 429-2167 Detroit P.O. Box 32546 Detroit, MI 48232 Grand Rapids P.O. Box 3505 Grand Rapids, MI 49501 Los Angeles P.O. Box 60605 Terminal Annex Los Angeles, CA 90060 (213) 250-4608 Bittar, Nat'l. Directorate, CUT; Robson Moreira, Pres., Journalists' Union, Sao Paulo; Paulo Schilling, CEDI; Francisco dos Santos, Pres., CUT, Brazilia; Luis Carlos Monia, Pres., Brazilian Communist Party, Sao Paulo; Maria José dos Santos Rossi,, Pres., Assn. of Brazilian Nurses.
Minneapolis
P.O. Box 14087 Dinkeytown Station Minneapolis, MN 55414 New York P.O. Box 20209 Ca. Finar: 693 Columbus Ave.
New York, N.Y. 10025 San Francisco 3435 Army St., Suite 308 San Francisco, CA 94110 (415) 821-0458 Santa Barbara P.O. Box 90644 Santa Barbara, CA 93190 (805) 962-4011
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enthusiastic about the "End All Aid" statement and the publication of "The Hidden History of Zionism."