Closing Arguments in Holy Land Trial

FEEDBACK ON THE FINAL DAY OF CLOSING ARGUMENTS IN THE HLF CASE
El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan, Dallas Texas
November 11, 2008
The Peace and Justice Foundation

What follows are the transcripted remarks of a number of non-Muslims
who were in the courtroom on the final day of closing arguments in
the precedent-setting Holy Land Foundation case. Please give special
attention to the last respondent who really had a lot to say. One of
the things that stood out for me, was that all of these respondents
(and there were others that I didn't get a chance to speak with) were
middle and upper middle-aged folk - not young, energetic idealists.
These were older people who were equally concerned about the broader
issues that this case represents (issues that touch upon the health
and welfare of America as a so-called "Constitutional Democracy").

Question: Please identify yourself and your interest in this case.

My name is Dave Jensen, I'm a peace activist from Tyler Texas. I
haven't been comfortable over the years with what's been happening to
our First Amendment rights and the Constitution, and I was just
interested in seeing the outcome of this case, and lending some moral
support to the defendants in the case.

Question: Any particular thoughts on what you heard today from either
side?

Well, this is the first time I've been in the courtroom during this
case, I've just followed it [in the media]; so right now I guess it's
going to the jury, hopefully they'll listen to all the evidence and
issue an acquittal. From what I've seen throughout the case, the
accusations and the charges are just based on the fear of terrorism
and trumped up charges, to make an example for the world and the
country. I just feel these are trumped up charges and that justice
will prevail.

The next respondent was a lady by the name of Nell Labar, who said
the following:

I would just add to what he [Mr. Jensen] was saying about the fear –
the government presented the case as if it was all Palestine's fault;
and we know that Israel has as big a part in it as Palestine. I
didn't like to hear that it was all Palestine's fault.

Another gentleman by the name of Rusty Thomas from Dallas:

Well, this is the fifth week that I've been sitting in on this case,
and it's been very instructive. The government has prosecuted these
people for just giving charity to zakat committees that are
affiliated with Hamas, a designated terrorist group. The zakat
committees are not designated, but the government has put the
responsibility of knowing that they deal with Hamas on the
defendants. And the last witness for the defense was the [US] Counsel
to Palestine, who spent three or four years there and received daily
briefings on who was causing trouble there, of who people should not
deal with. He never got any word about any zakat committees that HLF
had been donating to, he never received any word that any of them
were any trouble. Nobody ever told HLF that any of these zakat
committees were any trouble. And so, it's interesting to note that
now our government will prosecute people for dealing with people who
are not designated as people that people should not deal with. It's
very interesting.

The last respondent was Diane Wood of Ft. Worth. (A face that I
recognized in the courtroom from both of my brief visits.) I asked
her if she was with any particular organization, or if she was just
following the case out of individual interest. Her response:

I've just been a supporter. I'm a member of the Hungry 4 Justice
coalition, and I'm with the Tarrent County Green Party. We joined the
Hungry 4 Justice coalition to support the Holy Land Foundation
defendants. We think they've done an unbelievable service to the
world, really. They've had so much compassion and so much
imagination, they've never broken any laws, and I know all their
families - these are some of the most gentle people I've ever known.
They've contributed more to this society than most other people,
they're wonderful parents, the children are wonderful; they have a
compassion for the suffering of the Palestinian people.

There's a genocide being done to Palestinian people by Israel, and
the United States supports that, they just stand by and let it
happen. These men had the creativity to give money to the charity
committees, which is the Muslim tradition, a part of their mandate as
being a Muslim; they had the compassion to do that, and there are
many zakat or charity committees throughout Palestine; they did it
lawfully, they did it in collaboration with other agencies – the
United Nation's charity relief agencies, the Red Cross, and many,
many others – and to this day they still, the Red Cross, the United
Nation's agencies and others, continue to give to those very same
committees that the Holy Land Foundation gave to. But they [HLF] were
stopped, they were closed down, and they were arrested, only because
they were Muslim, and the government wants to make a case, because
Israel told our government to do that. Israel didn't like what they
did because they were so powerful, and they began to expose the
reason why the Palestinian people were suffering, because of Israel's
genocide. And the fact that our government supports Israel in a huge
way is one of the worst crimes of the century.

So I feel that it's my obligation, for myself; I mean the
Constitution in this case has been violated, totally violated. They
called in secret witnesses that our defense attorneys had no way to
probe to find out their credentials or their expertise on anything,
and the government lied, they've done all kinds of misleading kinds
of things. And so for us in the United States, all of us, it's real
important that these people be exonerated; because if this case is
not won there's going to be a whole lot of other organizations that
are going to be targeted by the government unnecessarily. And so I'm
very grateful to the men who did this.

Ms. Wood was referring to the men who responded to a critical need in
Occupied Palestine. May ALLAH (swt) bless them and their families;
and may ALLAH (swt) also bless these kind-hearted non-Muslims who
demonstrated such insightful empathy with their Muslim neighbors.

_________________

FYI: What follows is yet another example of the deadly collective
punishment routinely imposed upon the Palestinian people by Israel; a
gross violation of well-established international law!

UN suspends food distribution in Gaza

GAZA CITY (AFP) — The United Nations announced it was suspending food
distribution to half of Gaza's 1.5 million people on Thursday after
Israel failed to allow emergency supplies into the Palestinian
territory.
Israel had said it would allow 30 trucks to deliver supplies to Gaza
on Thursday after it sealed off the Gaza Strip on November 5, but
later said rocket and mortar fire by Gaza militants made it
impossible to do so.
"They have told us the crossings are closed today. At the end of
today we will suspend our food distribution," said UN Relief and
Works Agency spokesman Chris Gunness. "Our warehouses are effectively
empty," he told AFP.

UNRWA usually distributes emergency food rations to about 750,000
people in the impoverished, overcrowded sliver of land whose economy
has been crippled by a tight blockade Israel says is aimed at forcing
militants to stop firing rockets and mortar rounds at the Jewish
state.

The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) said a truck it
sent to the Kerem Shalom crossing was turned back. Israel usually
allows some humanitarian supplies into Gaza, but even this has
stopped over the past week, leading to harsh criticism from aid
agencies. "Pushing people to the brink of desperation every few
months and forcing UNRWA into yet another cycle of crisis management
is not in the interest of anyone who believes in peace, moderation
and stability," said Gunness.

Israel also cut off European Union-funded fuel supplies to Gaza's
sole power plant on Thursday, prompting it to close down for want of
diesel. "It is completely shut down," Palestinian Energy Authority
official Qanaan Obeid told AFP.

The plant, which provides between a quarter and a third of Gaza's
power with the rest coming from the Egyptian and Israeli national
grids, shut down on Monday after Israel cut off fuel deliveries.
Israel allowed the supply of what it described as "minimal
quantities" of fuel to the plant on Tuesday and Wednesday before
cutting it off again on Thursday.

ICRC mission chief Katharina Ritz said that "every day the situation
is getting more and more precarious for Gazans," adding that there
was a desperate need for medical supplies.

The Israeli military confirmed the closure of Gaza continued. "The
crossings will remain closed today for security reasons," defence
ministry spokesman Peter Lerner said. Reopening the crossings "has
been delayed because of the mortar shelling that impedes the proper
functioning of the crossing points," he said.

The Israeli government generally responds to Gaza attacks by sealing
off the territory, cutting off the already limited basic supplies it
allows in under the blockade it imposed after Hamas seized control in
June last year. Israel had been expected to significantly ease its
embargo after a six-month truce went into effect on June 19, but it
argues that sporadic attacks by militants have made this impossible.

On Wednesday, four Gaza gunmen identified as Hamas members were
killed in an exchange of fire Israel said started after militants
tried to place a bomb near the border fence. Militants fired several
mortar rounds at Israel, prompting two air strikes on the coastal
strip.

A flare-up last week left seven Palestinians dead and prompted Israel
to close crossing points completely.
Both sides accuse each other of violating the truce, although Israel
has indicated it would like to extend the ceasefire beyond its
scheduled expiry on December 19.

"We hope the truce is not over, but we are going through a very
delicate period in which we are prepared to confront any situation,"
deputy defence minister Matan Vilnai told public radio.

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