TWITTER STORM:
Tuesday, August 19th: 7p-8p Central time
                     (8p EST, 5p PST)


Background:
Sixty-six year old Rasmea Odeh is a Palestinian-American feminist, activist, educator and community leader. She has served as the associate director of the Arab American Action Network (AAAN) in Chicago since 2004. For the past 10 years, Rasmea has built unprecedented community support for close to 600 Arab immigrant women on issues related to English literacy, gender violence, inter-generational cultural conflicts, racial profiling, immigrant rights, and access to social and economic resources. In 2013, Rasmea received the "Outstanding Community Leader Award" from the Chicago Cultural Alliance, which described her as a woman who has "dedicated over 40 years of her life to the empowerment of Arab women, first in her homes of Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon, where she was an activist, and then the past 10 years in Chicago."

On October 22, the Department of Homeland Security arrested Rasmea in her home for alleged immigration fraud as part of an ongoing witch-hunt that targets Arabs and Muslims who criticize U.S. and Israeli policy and labels them “terrorists.”

The U.S. government's portrayal of Palestinians as violent and inhuman fuels the case against Rasmea and as a result, the U.S. mainstream betrays Palestinians like Rasmea, leaving them with little support. The corporate media makes matters worse. By telling the story of Rasmea’s past as though she was a possible terrorist legitimately and legally arrested by the Israeli government, the media covers up that Israel occupies Palestinian land and arrests and tortures Palestinians systematically and illegally. The sensationalized media portrayal of Rasmea’s “terrorist past” dehumanizes Rasmea and justifies the ongoing state violence committed against her and the larger Arab American and Arab immigrant communities.



Instructions:

Copy + Paste these tweets. If you are writing your own tweets, make sure to include the #Justice4Rasmea hashtag. A list of resources for you to use if you wish to craft your own tweets are below.


Tweets (more being added):

VIDEO: 10 years ago, Rasmea became a US citizen. Why is the US backtracking? #Justice4Rasmea | bit.ly/1ptm57J

Rasmea, community organizer & winner of “Outstanding Community Leader Award,” is an icon in Chicago  #Justice4Rasmea| trib.in/1rfHJiJ

AUDIO: Lawyer Jim Fennerty and @Maureen_70 analyze Rasmea's case. Starts at 16:30 #Justice4Rasmea | bit.ly/1kKUcrx

Tortured into confession by Israel, then convicted in an Israeli military court #Justice4Rasmea | thebea.st/VuCEnU

Israel tortures & sexually assaults Palestinians as means to facilitate colonization of Palestine #Justice4Rasmea bit.ly/1w7TKU4

US excavating the naturalization of 67yr old sexual torture survivor to brand her as a criminal #Justice4Rasmea bit.ly/1w7TKU4

Rasmea represents the fight against sexual brutality in Israel @amnesty @hrw #Justice4Rasmea | bit.ly/1uHBYuE

99.7% of Palestinians put on trial in Israeli military courts are convicted #Justice4Rasmea | bit.ly/1m6L3oL

Immediately following Rasmea’s arrest in October, +64 groups publicly opposed Rasmea’s indictment #Justice4Rasmea | bit.ly/1pAT4qP

Solidarity with Rasmea! Communities leaders and organizations release statements in support of #Justice4Rasmea | bit.ly/1mVIGoF

Keep up with the latest updates to bring #Justice4Rasmea! Follow @Justice4Rasmea and on.fb.me/1t6Dym5.

Drop the charges NOW! Sign on to demand prosecutors bring #Justice4Rasmea | @stopfbi bit.ly/1ppCY2Y





Resources:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/11/01/prominent-palestinian-american-community-activist-arrested.html
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/rasmea-odeh-and-political-prosecutions-us
http://www.merip.org/justice-rasmea-odeh
http://socialistworker.org/2014/07/02/why-is-rasmea-odeh-a-target
http://mondoweiss.net/2013/11/palestinian-activist-immigration.html
http://mondoweiss.net/2013/11/cornell-charges-against.html
http://www.stopfbi.net/2013/10/23/all-out-detroit-defend-rasmea-odeh (twitter handle should be added)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xxrl8aj8aQ
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2013/11/a-statement-on-palestinian-activist-rasmea-yousef-odeh/
http://thearabdailynews.com/2014/05/05/community-organizing-rallies-support-rasmea-odeh/
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-07-21/news/ct-x-c-arab-womens-group-0721-20100721_1_arab-women-arab-american-action-network-american-culture?utm_source=announcing+rasmea%27s+cca+award&utm_campaign=rasmea+announcement&utm_medium=socialshare
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/palestinian-activist-rasmea-odeh-rejects-us-plea-deal-prepares-october-trial
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/policysocial-context/24345-palestinian-american-activist-faces-deportation.html
http://www.solidarity-us.org/site/node/4044
http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/06/23/368198/palestinianamerican-activist-to-appear-before-court-on-oct-21/
http://www.fightbacknews.org/2014/8/2/tampa-activists-show-solidarity-rasmea-odeh-and-palestine
http://www.fightbacknews.org/2014/8/1/rasmea-odeh-court-hearing-judge-borman-refuses-step-down?utm_source=Fight%20Back%21%20News%20Service&utm_campaign=e1d481e597-UA-743468-8&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_acdbc87f5c-e1d481e597-290322465
http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2014/05/arab-activist-balks-at-guilty-plea-in-detroit-188999.html
http://warisacrime.org/content/unac-statement-arrest-rasmea-odeh
http://joshruebner.com/?p=1133
http://vimeo.com/79674690
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rbo_JXaBr8U&feature=youtu.be
http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2014/07/defense-wants-proisrael-federal-judge-off-case-192135.html
http://www.fightbacknews.org/2014/8/1/rasmea-odeh-court-hearing-judge-borman-refuses-step-down
http://chicagomonitor.com/2014/08/usa-vs-rasmea-odeh-pro-israel-judge-refuses-to-step-down/
http://www.workers.org/articles/2014/08/07/detroit-rallies-rasmea-odeh-palestine/
http://jewishdetroit.org/pdf/2007-annual-report.pdf
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/charlotte-silver/judge-strong-israel-ties-refuses-step-down-case-against-palestinian-american
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/why-obama-administration-prosecuting-sexual-torture-victim-rasmea-odeh
http://www.addameer.org/admin_detention.php
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/international/208699-why-is-obamas-doj-prosecuting-a-torture-victim
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/01/criminalizing-resistance/
http://972mag.com/conviction-rate-for-palestinians-in-israels-military-courts-99-74-percent/28579/
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/palestinian-arrested-chicago-because-her-community-activism-groups-say
http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2014/07/31/judge-with-israeli-military-ties-refuses-to-recuse-himself-from-immigration-fraud-case-against-palestinian-american/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUTgdpW1TmE
http://ccrjustice.org/statement%3A-ccr%2C-psls%2C-33-groups-sign-statement-opposing-indictment-palestinian-american-activist-rasmea-o
http://www.iacenter.org/rasmeaodehpetition/
http://www.stopfbi.net/sign-petition-rasmea-odeh
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Drop-The-Charges-Against-Rasmea-Now/678264732186412
http://www.stopfbi.net/2013/10/23/all-out-detroit-defend-rasmea-odeh
http://www.stopfbi.net/sites/default/files/rasmeabrochure.pdf
http://thearabdailynews.com/2014/05/05/community-organizing-rallies-support-rasmea-odeh/