A-Infos (en) US, BRUNSWICK, NJ Media: Anarchist Pies Israeli Official

[Worker <a-infos-en@ainfos.ca>]

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  Last night, Natan Sharansky, Minister without Portfolio in the Israeli
Government, was scheduled to speak at Rutgers University as part of
Rutgers Hillel's "Israel Inspires" campaign. A member of the right-wing Likud
party, Sharansky is known for his opposition to the internationally-backed
Roadmap to Peace, and for approving the construction of more than 800 illegal
settlement units in the West Bank, in violation ofn Israel's obligations under
the Roadmap. Sharansky's appearance drew protests from a wide variety of
individuals and organizations, and one Jewish student is accused of throwing
a pie at the Minster before being tackled and assaulted by members of
Sharansky's security team.

Organizations protesting Sharansky's appearance
included New Jersey Anti-Racist Action, New Jersey
Solidarity, and two Jewish organizations: Central
Jersey Jews Against the Occupation and Neturei
Karta. The demonstrations were attended by roughly 30
to 40 protestors, with many others inside the building
to observe the lecture. Jewish student Abe Greenhouse
is alleged to have thrown what was reportedly a kosher
strawberry cream pie at Minister Sharansky, after
shouting "Am Yisrael Pie" [the People of Israel pie]!
He was escorted from the scene by Rutgers University
police, who charged him with disorderly conduct before
sending him to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital for
medical treatment. Greenhouse received a black eye,
swollen lip, and broken nose in the assault through
blows delivered after he was already lying on the
floor with his hands held in the air.

Although Sharansky is widely known for his earlier,
commendable struggle for the rights of Soviet Jewry,
Sharansky currently represents the far-right wing that
perpetuates the cycle of violence that has killed too
many innocents on both sides. In addition to opposing
various manifestations of the peace process, from the
1993 Oslo Accords to the current "Roadmap for Peace",
Sharansky has also provoked the Palestinian populace
at the crucial moment in the fragile peace process by
supporting new settlement construction. He has been
quoted as saying, "I support the existence of Jewish
settlement in Hebron and in all the territories" and
that "the Jewish people must refuse to divide
Jerusalem", referring to any and all peace plans that
would place Arab East Jerusalem under Palestinian
control.

Greenhouse, the alleged pie-thrower, has recently
returned from a five-week fact-finding trip in Israel
and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. There he met
with Israelis and Palestinians, bearing witness to the
suffering of both peoples. He was an eyewitness to
the tragic bus bombing in Jerusalem on August 16th,
and was also arrested on August 4th, with 46 other
activists, while attempting to prevent the demolition
of a Palestinian home which lay in the path of
the wall Israel is currently constructing inside the
West Bank. He is a member of New Jersey Anti-Racist
Action and Central Jersey Jews Against the Occupation.

 > From: Skip <skip-A-nefac.net>



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