By Palestine Chronicle Staff
On Monday, April 16, 2018, the Durham city council in the US, became the first US city council to ban police exchanges with the Israeli policy.
“After 3.5 hours and 50 powerful and inspiring testimonies, the Durham city council has just unanimously passed a resolution to end Durham police training in Israel,” said Eran Efrati, one of the organizers of the Demilitarize from Durham2Palestine campaign, which stood behind the vote, in a Facebook post.
BIG WIN: Durham, North Carolina is the 1st US city to ban its police dept. from intern'l exchanges w/ Israeli military or police. Israel's violent & racist tactics violate Palestinian human rights & hurt Black & Brown communities when imported to the US https://t.co/6LuguMwfnq pic.twitter.com/y8ntGNF13e
— BDS Movement (@BDSmovement) April 18, 2018
“After years of hard work, Durham becomes the first city in the US to ban American police forces exchanges with the Israeli military and police,” he added.
The campaign has launched a petition which was signed by 1,394 people, calling on the council to ban police exchanges with Israel.
The petition read,
“The Israeli Defense Forces and the Israel Police have a long history of violence and harm against Palestinian people and Jews of Color. They persist in using tactics of extrajudicial killing, excessive force, racial profiling, and repression of social justice movements. Such tactics have been condemned by international human rights organizations for violating the human rights of Palestinians.”
Durham, North Carolina city council unanimously passed a motion banning police exchanges between Israel and the its city police department, making it the first city in the US to do this. https://t.co/JD4HLKhkAy pic.twitter.com/nVbfk2DJZK
— The IMEU (@theIMEU) April 18, 2018
The petition added,
“These tactics further militarize U.S. police forces that train in Israel, and this training helps the police terrorize Black and Brown communities here in the US. Additionally, such practices erode our constitutional rights to due process, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly. Durham officials — including former Chief Lopez and current Chief Davis — have participated in these racist police exchange programs.”
The Palestine solidarity among minorities and marginalized communities has seen a growth in the last few years, with minorities and people of color joining the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement against Israel.
(PC)
