Give Ali Abunimah a Visa to speak in Australia
PETITIONING –
Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton MP
Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop MP
Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Varghese
Your help is urgently needed. Add your signature HERE
We, the undersigned, call on the Minister for Immigration Peter Dutton MP to issue a visa to Palestinian American writer and journalist Ali Abunimah to address public meetings in Australia between 21st March and 31st March 2016.
The denial of an entry visa to enable Mr Abunimah to speak in Australia about the Israeli occupation of Palestine amounts to a denial of his right to freedom of speech. We note that just last month former Chief of General Staff of the Israeli Defence Force, Ret. Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, was granted a visa by the Australian government to fund-raise for, and promote, illegal Israeli settlement expansion in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Mr Abunimah, a US citizen, was denied an Electronic Travel Authority by the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection in January. After being denied a visitor visa, Mr Abunimah applied for a Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity) visa on 13th February 2016, at the request of Immigration staff at the Australian High Commission in Ottawa. To date his visa has not been issued, despite his scheduled departure being less than one week away.
Mr Abunimah is a journalist and co-founder of the The Electronic Intifada, a nonprofit, independent online publication focusing on Palestine. He is the author of One Country, A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse and The Battle for Justice in Palestine. Mr Abunimah has been an active part of the movement for justice in Palestine for 20 years and is the recipient of a 2013 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship.
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Mr Abunimah is scheduled to speak at the following public events in Australia:
SYDNEY
Palestine: The Struggle for Freedom featuring Ali Abunimah
1pm Monday 21st March, University of NSW, Mathews Theatre C
https://www.facebook.com/events/1693961357510269/
The Struggle For Justice In Palestine: An evening with Ali Abunimah
6.30pm Monday 21st March, Sydney University, Carslaw Lecture Theatre 273
https://www.facebook.com/events/1661316384119180/
PERTH
The Battle for Justice in Palestine: a public meeting with Ali Abunimah
6.30pm Tuesday 22nd March, University of WA, Murdoch Lecture Theatre (Arts Bldg)
https://www.facebook.com/events/1693961357510269/
Palestinian Community of WA dinner with Ali Abunimah
6.30 pm Wednesday March 23, Beiyrut Lebanese Restaurant, 75 Wanneroo Rd, Tuart Hill
Tickets available from: https://www.trybooking.com/KSAS
MELBOURNE
Marxism Conference: Ideas to Change the System (with Ramzy Baroud)
2pm Saturday 26th March, Victorian College of the Arts
Tickets available from: http://marxismconference.org
In the Eye of the Storm: Palestine and the New Media
an Australians for Palestine Symposium
9am-5.30pm Thursday, 31st March, 242 Telstra Conference Centre, Cnr Exhibition & Lonsdale Streets
Tickets available from: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/in-the-eye-of-the-storm-palestine-and-the-new-media-tickets-22185866524
SIGN PETITION HERE
This petition was initiated by Friends of Palestine WA.
Independent Australian Jewish Voices 