ThTalab El Sana as just concluded a four day visit to the UK to follow up the case of Sheikh Raed Salah.
Talab Al-Sana is currently the longest serving Arab member of the Israeli Knesset (parliament). He has just concluded a four day visit to the UK to follow up the case of Sheikh Raed Salah, the leader of the Islamic movement who is now held in detention by the British authorities. In an exclusive interview with the Middle East Monitor (MEMO) Mr El Sana said;
Had Sheikh Raed Salah come to sing in support of Israeli policy, he would have received a warm welcome from the British authorities. However, because he endeavoured to convey the Palestinian narrative and message which opposes the occupation and settlements, alongside freedom of worship and the protection of Christian and Muslim holy places, specifically Al-Aqsa Mosque, he was attacked in the media and the decision was taken to deport him.
Interview
MEMO: What did you come to London to do?
Talab Al-Sana: I came to London specifically to provide support to the efforts to free Sheikh Raed Salah. I do not view this as an issue personal to the Sheikh, but rather as a national political issue; it’s about our rights as Palestinians to articulate our cause and put across our point of view.
Had Sheikh Raed Salah come to sing in support of Israeli policy, he would have received a warm welcome from the British authorities. However, because he endeavoured to convey the Palestinian narrative and message which opposes the occupation and settlements, alongside freedom of worship and the protection of Christian and Muslim holy places, specifically Al-Aqsa Mosque, he was attacked in the media and the decision was taken to deport him.
All Palestinians and many free-thinking individuals in the world share his views and principles. The attempt to deport him is an attempt to exclude his discourse, which is our Palestinian discourse, from a wider audience. Because of the wider implications, I saw the danger of this arbitrary decision by Britain’s Home Secretary and decided to be on the side of Sheikh Raed Salah and his just cause.
MEMO: What activities have you carried out and what do you intend to do to support Sheikh Salah?
TS: In partnership with civil society organisations and members of parliament committed to supporting humanitarian values, we submitted a protest document to the Home Office challenging the deportation order. We also visited the Sheikh at the prison in Bedford, strengthening his hand and stressing that while Israelis were fleeing from Britain fearful of arrest on serious criminal charges, Sheikh Salah was heading towards British justice with the view to challenging the deportation order as he has committed no crime that will prompt him to flee or have any fear. Moreover, his is a just cause which we hope the British justice system will redress, thereby countering the repressive decision made by the Home Secretary, which we believe was a direct result of Zionist influence within the British establishment.
I was also present at the first court hearing and will be attending a meeting at the House of Commons during which I intend raise the issue of the undemocratic laws and racist practices of the Israeli government, including the deliberate targeting of the strong political leadership of Palestinian citizens of Israel.
MEMO: What is the Sheikh’s message?
TS: The Sheikh confirmed that although he does not like being in prison, if his imprisonment is of service to the Palestinian cause and the principles that he believes in, then he is prepared to pay the price. He came to Britain as a visitor by invitation and not as a refugee, therefore the deportation order affects not only him, but also the rights of the British public to hear him speak.
He has stressed that the order was based on flimsy evidence and distorted statements from the Israeli media. It is clear, he believes, that Zionist influence is behind the Home Secretary’s decision; however, his arrest has played a part in exposing these practices and conveying his message to a much wider section of society than originally expected. He intends to continue the struggle on a political and legal level until the deportation order is rescinded.
Sheikh Salah thanked all those who have helped and supported his cause from various parts of the world, including individuals, institutions and the media. This gives him strength and is a light at the end of the tunnel.
MEMO: What was the impact of Sheikh Salah’s detention on Palestinians in Israel?
TS: The arrest hit us like a thunderbolt because Britain was regarded as a state with ancient democratic values and a refuge for those being persecuted wherein they could have their voices and messages heard.
However, the deportation order has affected Britain’s position and its credibility as a freedom-loving democratic state; it suggests that the British government speaks about freedoms, while being directed by the Zionist lobby’s agenda, and that freedom and democratic values stop at the borders of Israel.
Similarly, the deportation order has encouraged the Israeli right-wing to bring forward a draft law prohibiting Sheikh Salah from visiting educational and cultural institutions to debate the position of Palestinians in Israel; the right-wing politicians are using British action against the Sheikh to justify their action.
MEMO: You represent the Negev region in the Israeli Knesset, what is the latest situation there?
TS: The Negev is a flash point where the government is escalating efforts to confiscate what remains of Arab land evacuating seventeen villages which are home to over 30,000 Arab citizens, under the pretext that they are unauthorised buildings. To this end, the government established a commission under the leadership of retired Judge Goldberg, but when it’s recommendations failed to live up to expectations, it established an additional commission to look into the recommendations of the first commission. And when the right-wing also objected to these recommendations, they appointed a third commission to look into the recommendations of the previous commission under the leadership of the head of National Security, General Yaakov Amidarour, known for his right-wing anti-Arab views.
The National Security Council discusses strategic security issues, such as the Iranian threat. The appointed head of this institution is responsible for the Arabs of the Negev, meaning that the government deals with the Arabs of the Negev through the prism of security and with the mentality of an enemy. Similarly, the appointment of a military figure to resolve civil matters constituted a negative message and coincided with an intensified house demolition campaign in the Negev and the abandonment of women and children in the open without providing an alternative solution to fulfil their right to housing.
We in the Negev have decided to boycott this military figure and demand that the head of the government dismiss him and deal with us on the basis of citizenship, the civil right to housing and the recognition of ownership. We stated that the government has two choices; either a solution through agreement or a solution that is imposed. In order to reach an agreed upon solution, then it is their responsibility to sit down with us and to end the logic of directives, as all previous government attempts at a solution based on such directives have failed.
At the same time that the government threatens to deport the Arabs from the Negev and confiscate 500,000 dunums of land belonging to them, it recognises the individual farms of Jewish farmers; each farm obtains 2000-3000 dunums of land in addition to utilities services. It recognises over 51 individual farms and is working toward establishing Jewish cities and military bases transferred from Tel Aviv to the Negev and built on Arab land.
