URGENT ALERT: Minnesota activists jailed in Israel

here's an update from all the calls i've been making:

calling the israeli consulate in chicago is useless.  the phone is on an endless loop where you get the greeting and are told "in an emergency and only an emergency press 8" and when you press 8 you get a few seconds of silence and then the original greeting again.

i talked to someone at the state department in d.c. who knew about the situation and said they were getting the consular support u.s. citizens are entitled to but that israel is a sovereign country... i told him a sovereign country we give $15 million a day in aid to!  he ignored that.

i asked what sort of democracy deports people who are not guilty of any crime.  he said they are a sovereign country but he was sure that they wouldn't deport people for no reason.  i said but i know these women and they have never been to israel before so they could not be wanted for any crime in israel and they were stopped at the airport and told to go back so they couldn't have done anything on the ground there.  he said he had another emergency call to take but assured me they were keeping informed.

i made the international long distance call to israel.  i could not get through to the department of the interior but i did reach the "duty officer" at the u.s. embassy.  she said after hours there is only one staff person there and she is it til tomorrow morning israel time (and she was getting ready to go out to a movie!).  but she had spoken with sarah and said they were being sent back because they lied on their "entry forms."  she said she isn't sure what would have happened if they told the truth on the forms but the fact is they lied and the u.s. would do the same thing if they caught someone lying on their entry forms (i.e. deny them entry). she said the first woman (that would be karen) signed the voluntary departure form and was sent back last night (there are delta flights to the u.s. from israel departing at 10:30 and 11:30 pm).  she felt it was "too bad" sarah and katrina refused to sign the forms because they will be sent home anyway and now they will never be able to return.  she said she didn't think there would be any hearing because they had not asked for an "appeal" of the decision, so they will probably just be sent home against their will on the plane tonight but that the detention authorities would not tell her for sure (or couldn't).  she said they would not call her with updates but that she will probably check in with them after she returns from the movie. i told her i would report to others because many of us in minnesota are very concerned.  she said we don't have to worry.  israel is not a third world country.  they are in no danger.  they are being well treated.  they would have been in much more danger if they actually got in to the west bank.  i said i'm pretty sure they had friends to visit in the west bank and she said that didn't matter the state department warns u.s. citizens about traveling to the west bank for a reason, it is not safe.  she said she is a government official and she is not allowed to travel there.  i mentioned to her that the u.s gives massive aid to israel and u.s. citizens and certainly u.s. officials have a right to check up on how that money is being spent.  she said she had to go.

i tried to calls sarah's cell but got her voice mail.  the u.s. embassy woman had told me that sarah and katrina would certainly have access to their stuff, including their cell phones. that's all for now.   if they manage to stay until tomorrow it will be possible to reach a lot more people.  i can't get through to anyone helpful on a sunday (sunday night in israel).

thanks for the efforts,  please keep me posted
 

Looks like they WILL be appealing:

http://www.minneapolis.indymedia.org/2009/aug/added-information-calls-protest-jailing-mn-peace-activists