joeskillet: MLK Day Protest Against Deadly Tear Gas at CSI Headquarters

*Please send me a note if you will need a ride from Pittsburgh (joeskillet@riseup.net)

For Immediate Release

Regional Palestine solidarity groups to protest PA manufacturer of tear gas on MLK Day
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On January 1, 2011, 36-year-old Palestinian Jawaher Abu Rahmah from the West Bank village of Bil’in died from tear gas inhalation suffered at a protest against the construction of Israel’s apartheid wall and Israeli settlements. Jawaher is the most recent protester killed by tear gas fired by the Israeli military. Jawaher’s brother Bassem was also killed in 2009 when an extended range CSI tear gas canister was fired at his chest. US citizens Tristan Anderson and Emily Henochowicz were seriously injured by tear gas canisters.

The US company Combined Systems Inc. (CSI) located in Jamestown, PA provides much of Israel’s tear gas. The Israeli military uses CSI tear gas as a weapon during the nonviolent demonstrations in the West Bank against Israel’s illegal confiscation of Palestinian land for Israeli settlements. Bil’in’s nonviolent demonstrations occur every Friday.

In solidarity with Palestinian nonviolent demonstrations and in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, a broad coalition of human rights groups in Pittsburgh, Erie, Youngstown, and Cleveland are calling for a mass protest at CSI headquarters in Jamestown, PA on Monday, January 17 at 12:00 PM. There will be a march and nonviolent demonstration where activists will carry signs and distribute literature to CSI workers and the public.

In 2007 and 2008, the US State Department provided $1.85 million worth of tear gasses and riot control agents to Israel as part of the US’s $3 billion in annual military aid to Israel. Some of the protestors’ demands include immediate cessation of production and sale of tear gas by CSI and the immediate suspension of all trade by CSI with Israel. Activists sent a letter to CSI which stated their demands and requested a meeting and are awaiting a response.

On Friday, January 14, Pitt Students for Justice in Palestine will host “Tear Gas Teach-In,” a panel discussion with activists who have witnessed firsthand the use of CSI tear gas at the nonviolent demonstrations in Palestine. This event will be held at 5:00 PM in the University of Pittsburgh’s William Pitt Union.

CSI Headquarters is located at 388 Kinsman Rd Jamestown, PA
For more information on the killing of Jawaher Abu Rahmah visit: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11710.shtml

For more information, contact:

Jonas Moffat, Pitt Students for Justice in Palestine: joeskillet@riseup.net

Kate Daher, Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Committee: katedaher@yahoo.com

FLYER HERE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeskillet/5340657491/

joeskillet: MLK Day Protest Against Deadly Tear Gas at CSI Headquarters.