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Ezra Nawi (born 1952) is an Israeli human rights activist who came to international attention after being convicted in 2007 of participating in a riot and assaulting a police officer, in connection with the demolition of an Arab home in the West Bank by Israeli border police. Nawi, a plumber by trade, had been active in the south Hebron region of the West Bank, where Palestinian residents have for years been attacked by Israeli settlers.
During the incident, which was filmed and broadcast on Israel's Channel 1, Nawi can be seen non-violently resisting the demolition of the home before being taken into custody. Despite the video evidence, he was found guilty by an Israeli court on March 19, 2009 of assaulting a police officer and participating in a riot. Initially scheduled for July 1, sentencing was moved to September 12, 2009, after the judge was presented with over 100,000 letters supporting Nawi, the product of an international campaign by his supporters.
Background
In his youth, Nawi was active in a communist youth movement and he became politically active after the outbreak of the First Intifada in the 1980s. After meeting and dating Fuad Mussa, a Palestinian man, Nawi joined the Jewish-Arab human rights organization Ta'ayush, where his fluency in both Hebrew and Arabic allowed him to serve as a liaison between local Palestinians in the Hebron area and outside activists. In this role he elicited scorn from both the military authorities, who have detained him on numerous occasions, and local settlers who have previously assaulted him and are suspected by the police of attempting to assassinate him. In 2007 a film about Nawi's life and work directed by Nissim Mossek and produced by Sharon Schaveet premiered at the Jerusalem Film Festival where it was received with a standing ovation and a Special Mention by the jury.
violent history
In 1992, Nawi was convicted for committing a sodomy act in a youth, and sat in prison for that.
2007 arrest
Nawi's case elicited the attention of several prominent international figures, including Noam Chomsky, Elle Flanders, Naomi Klein, Charles Grass, Sheldon Pollock, and Neve Gordon, who organized a campaign to protest what they view as his politically motivated arrest, conviction, and pending imprisonment.
References
- Levinson, Chaim. "Campaign seeks to keep rights activist out of prison". HAARETZ.com. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
- McGirk, Tim. Ezra Nawi: Jewish Pacifist Facing Jail for Aiding Arabs, Time, August 15, 2009.
- Gordon, Neve. Israeli activist to be jailed for caring, The Guardian, May 6 2009, retrieved June 14, 2009.
- Translation of the court procedings. Retrieved on 2009-6-14
- Gay Israeli Defender of Palestinian Human Rights Ezra Nawi Spared Jail … For Now, UK Gay News, August 17, 2009.
- ^ Citizen Nawi-Biblical Productions. Retrieved on 2009-6-14
- Haaretz, September 25, 2005. Retrieved on 2009-6-14
- Haaretz, April 6 2005. Retrieved on 2009-6-14
- Help Israel Human Rights Activist Ezra Nawi. Retrieved on 2009-6-14
External links
- Israel's Man of Conscience by Ezra Nawi, The Nation, June 29 2009
- Video of Nawi's arrest. YouTube.