WUNRN
Nobel Women's Initiative Article:
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ISRAEL
- DEPORTATION OF NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WOMAN
By Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH, Oct 5, 2010 (IPS) - Irish Nobel Laureate
Mairead Corrigan Maguire was deported from Israel Tuesday after spending more
than a week in detention at Tel Aviv Airport as she attempted to fight the
deportation order.
Last week four Israeli security men tried to force the Nobel
Peace prize winner to board an airplane after she arrived in the country as
part of the Nobel Womens' Initiative (NWI) delegation to Israel and Palestine.
Maguire put up fierce resistance and stated she would fight
the deportation through an Israeli court. She was supported by the captain of
the airplane on which she was to be deported after he witnessed the event and
refused to allow any passengers to be forcefully boarded against their will.
Following an urgent appeal by her lawyer to an Israeli
district court the deportation was temporarily halted. While the Petah Tikva
district court ordered the Israeli authorities to return Maguire's personal
effects to her, it upheld the deportation order.
Her lawyer then filed an appeal with the Israeli Supreme
Court, but this court too upheld the deportation while accusing the
internationally renowned human rights campaigner of indulging in propaganda.
This was not Maguire's first experience with being deported
from Israel. Four months earlier she was deported after the humanitarian
flotilla from the Free Gaza movement was intercepted in international waters by
Israeli navy commandos as it tried to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. Nine
activists were shot dead.
The Nobel Laureate, along with hundreds of other
international activists, was forcibly taken to Israel's Ashdod Port from where
they were subsequently deported, and warned they would not be able to enter
Israel again for ten years.
This was her second participation in a humanitarian flotilla
to Gaza. Maguire had also previously taken part in a non-violent protest
against Israel's separation barrier in the village of Bili'in near Ramallah,
making her a target of the Israeli authorities.
Maguire is not deterred. She has reiterated her
determination to pursue peace wherever she sees children suffering following
her experiences in her native Northern Ireland. Three of her nephews, all young
boys, were killed during a targeted assassination carried out by British
security forces. Their mother (Maguire's sister) committed suicide shortly
afterwards.
Maguire's subsequent work in helping the peace process in
Northern Ireland earned her a Nobel Peace Prize. In 2006 Maguire together with
sister laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchu
Tum and Betty Williams established NWI. The women decided to bring together
their extraordinary experiences in a united effort for peace with justice and
equality.
"We believe peace is much more than the absence of
armed conflict. Peace is the commitment to equality and justice; a democratic
world free of physical, economic, cultural, political, religious, sexual and
environmental violence and the constant threat of these forms of violence
against women -- indeed against all of humanity," read a statement
released by NWI to journalists in Ramallah.
The NWI delegation visited Israel and Palestine to meet with
Israeli and Palestinian women in an effort to further the cause of peace in
this troubled region and to try and bridge the yawning chasm between the two
communities.
IPS spoke with Jaclyn Friedman, executive director of Women,
Action, and the Media (WAM) about her experiences and impressions during the
tour.
"We decided it was important to continue with our work
in the region despite Maguire's incarceration. We also believe as mothers and
women we have a unique perspective on conflict and are concerned about the
security of women here due to the political situation and cultural
constraints," Friedman told IPS.
"One of our primary objectives was to see how we could
support a coalition of Palestinian and Israeli women in an effort to improve
their lives and strengthen non-violent protest. We met with a large group of
Palestinian women in Ramallah who are working for change through social
services and job training."
NWI also met with Israeli and Arab women at Isha La Isha
Feminist centre in Haifa which is trying to change Israeli society by fighting
for the emancipation of women.
One of the issues which concerns Friedman is the status of
women in Gaza as honour killings and the marrying off of young Gazan girls to
old men continues.
In the West Bank Friedman believes that institutionalised
discrimination against Palestinian women can be helped by the Palestinian
Authority (PA) being held more accountable.
"Holding municipal elections and implementing
programmes to increase the participation of Palestinian women in governance
would help build up a true democracy in Palestine," said Friedman.
She acknowledged being shocked at seeing the living
conditions in the West Bank first-hand.
"As an American Jew, witnessing the impact of the
occupation on the daily lives of Palestinians was tough. Conditions are far
harsher than I had been led to believe.
"This is another area we can offer support by lobbying
our governments and speaking out against the occupation through the American
media. It is imperative that the international community hold Israel
accountable for its actions and war crimes," Friedman told IPS.
However, the activist was also uplifted by witnessing
Israeli and Palestinian women working together and managing to bridge the huge
political and geographical divide between the two communities to a certain
degree.
"Despite the militaristic culture here and the endless
conflict, the ability of these women to work together has been inspirational
and given me some hope for the region and for its future."