It should be noted that it is a Jewish human rights lawyer, Justus Reid Weiner, and also Arab reporter Khaled Abu Toameh (who 'voted with his feet', choosing to work for a Jewish newspaper inside Israel, with freedom of the press, rather than under the suffocating and indeed frequently life-threatening censorship of the local Arab Muslim gangsters) who have repeatedly blown the whistle about Muslim persecution of the local Arab/ised Christians, in Gaza, in Judea and Samaria, and even in heavily Arabised locations within Israel.
Jewish NGOs, Human Rights, and Public Advocacy: A Comparative Inquiry - Irwin Cotler
Here is Justus Reid Weiner's landmark article:
"Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society" (he should have called it 'Human Rights of Christians in 'Palestinian' Arab Society').
PDF Format
HTML Version of Same
Good reading.
But the recent 42nd anniversary rally of the PFLP in Gaza, which attracted some 70,000 people, raised the profile of the Palestinian revolutionary left and also of the role of women: one young woman of the PFLP, called Shireen Said, stood on stage, giving a salute in military fatigues, and co-chaired the rally alongside her male comrade. In an interview with the writer, Said explained a little about her background, stating that she was born in 1985 in the Jabalya refugee camp, from which the "children of the stones" started the first Intifada. "My childhood memories are mostly of the first Intifada," she explains. In her early teens she became involved in one of the student movements associated with the PFLP.
Said explains further about herself:
I received my Bachelor in Sport from Al-Aqsa University. I worked at Progressive Student Labour Front with lots of comrades until I got the position of secretary at the students union. I was the first young woman in Gaza to get this position via democratic elections at the university. After my graduation I worked in the committees of the Union of Palestinian Women, which is part of a progressive feminist struggle for women's liberation, to bring women together and put them on an equal footing with men in all fields of national and democratic reform. Along with my professional work in many non-governmental organizations as an activist in youth issues, I am now a board member of the Palestinian Progressive Youth Union and I am studying for my Master's in Education at Al-Azhar University.
I was afraid to face such a big audience due to our conservative and traditional society, but also because it was the first time a young Palestinian woman wore military fatigues at such a rally, but nevertheless I insisted on going through with the experience.
Said explained how her decision was largely defined by the defiance and steadfastness of the masses in Gaza during the barbaric Zionist onslaught early last year:
The Zionist massacres in Gaza in January 2009 were still memories raw in the hearts and minds of the people, so I wanted to present a message that, despite all the killing, destruction, and terror of the Zionist war, we will assert that our men and women will stand side-by-side in the resistance which is our path to liberation and freedom. At the rally itself I was pleased that my personality could convey this message to millions through television and the internet across the world. My family were also very proud of me.
Leila Khaled and Shireen Said Interviewed by Sukant Chandan, "Palestinian Revolutionaries on International Women's Day"
