Message from "Friends of Amiram."
Dear Colleagues,
We would like to touch base with our circle of friends who share the plight of Amiram Ben-Uliel and pray for his release from well over eight years of solitary confinement. Our efforts to raise his profile and win prominent Westerners to support Amiram's battle for justice and human rights have been derailed by the Hamas war and the Iranian campaign against Israel. To say the least, it's been an uphill battle.
But we cannot be complacent, demoralized, or allow fatigue to suspend our campaign. We plan to relaunch our efforts after Passover and concentrate on several projects -- all meant to portray Amiram as a victim of injustice and cruelty who until this day remains bereft of basic rights.
Here are two of the projects:
-- Contacting members of the U.S. Congress to intervene to help Amiram. For better or worse, the State of Israel, which is lobbying for more than $14 billion, has made Washington the most important factor in its foreign and defense policy. When a member of the House or Senate raises an issue, the Israeli government listens. We have been in contact with several House members, but we must expand our efforts.
-- Petition for the United Nations and the West. Amiram's solitary confinement is a violation of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the Nelson Mandela Rules The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (unodc.org). They include Rules 1, 2 and 3, which forbid "torture and other cruel and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment for which no circumstances whatsoever may be invoked as a justification."
Rule 3 essentially bans the use of solitary confinement: "Therefore the prison system shall not, except as incidental to justifiable separation or the maintenance of discipline, aggravate the suffering inherent in such a situation."
Again, whatever we think of the UN, raising this issue could lead to significant changes in Amiram's incarceration and even a review of the torture that he underwent until he confessed to a crime he never committed. The House of Representatives contains a human rights commission, which might address this issue.
For this, we need your help. We need U.S. citizens willing to lobby their members of Congress to raise the Amiram issue with Israel. We need thousands of signatures for a petition to the UN, which can also be sent to members of the House's Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. The more persistent we are, the greater the chances of helping Amiram.
That's it, folks. We will reach out to you over the next few weeks to convene a session on Zoom. Meanwhile, we urge you to share this with everybody and become an ambassador for Amiram Ben-Uliel. The Torah says the redemption of a prisoner is the highest commandment from G-d.
We wish you all a healthy and kosher Passover,
Gila Slonim and Steven Rodan
pidyon.shvuyim180@gmail.com
For more information about Amiram's case, please click on this link: Justice for Amiram!
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