Jewish American Activist Still Held By Israel

Jewish American Activist Still Held By Israeli Authorities

[Beit Sahour, West Bank] Kristin (Flo) Razowsky, a Jewish American activist from Minneapolis, Minnesota, is currently being held facing deportation charges in an Israeli detention center, in Nazareth.

Flo was arrested on Sunday March, 14 in the village of Deir Qaddis near Budrus, west of Ramallah while participating in a nonviolent action to prevent Israeli army bulldozers from continuing their work on the Apartheid Wall that will completely encircle Deir Qaddis and eight other villages in an enclave.

Although Flo was `officially' arrested in the late afternoon on Sunday March 14, she has still not been brought before a judge as her rights outlined in Israeli law provide. However, while Flo was being detained in Talpiot Immigration Police Station in Jerusalem, she was visited by representatives of the Ministry of Interior who spoke with her and notified her that she would be deported. Flo immediately replied that she would appeal the deportation even though the Ministry of Interior representatives said criminal charges, such as inciting violence and assaulting a police officer, would be used against her in this case.

Flo's lawyer was not contacted or allowed to assist her during this process, and Flo was never informed clearly that her interactions with the Ministry of Interior representatives was the official hearing she is entitled to have within the 48 hours following her official arrest.

Legally, after a deportation order has been issued, Israeli authorities are allowed to detain an individual up to 14 days before appearing in front of a judge who would decide whether the deportation order stands or not. No court hearing has been scheduled so far.

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