November 17, 2020
Dear Al-Bireh Society Members,
We are reaching out to our members to provide a recent update that will take place this week. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be visiting the city of Al-Bireh Palestine (Nov17-19), in an area that is illegally controlled by the settlement of Psagot. Pompeo will be visiting a part of our city Al-Bireh, known as Jabel Tawil. Jabil Tawil is a highly contested area that is under illegal occupation and violation of international law. Many members of the Al-Bireh Society have land that is illegally occupied in this area. The intent of this email is to provide our members with relevant information regarding this planned visit to the illegal settlement of Psagot. As the Al-Bireh Society, we want to provide relevant and timely information to our members about this planned visit. We want our members to stay-tunned on efforts and educational campaigns that will be initiated in the coming weeks. While this planned visit to the Psagot settlement is a provocation, we encourage you all to individually assist our educational efforts in one or more of the following campaigns:
- Letter to Congress Campaign: Please help us write to your local congressmen/women condemning Pompeo’s visit to the illegal settlement Psagot which is on Jabil Tawil which is on Al-Bireh stolen land. This visit is a continuation of Trump’s administration to “disregard international and humanitarian laws and conventions”.
- Educational Campaign about the Illegal Settlement of Psagot.Please help our educational campaign as we join several Palestinian organizations to denounce Pompeo’s planned visit to Psagot.
- Wine Produced on Stolen Land: Please aid the efforts of many community members to call companies that are selling wine from the illegal settlement of Psagot at local Whole Food markets and other retail stores. Please request these retail stores to stop selling goods that are manufactured on occupied territories.
- Share Your Story of Jabil Tawil. Did your family own land in this area. Share your story and use the #BirehandJabilTawil. We would love to share your family’s stories. You can email your story to albirehsociety@gmail.com.
The ABS society is committed to providing our members with relevant information regarding this visit and any additional administration visits from the United States. While the ABS is a nonprofit/non-political entity we still are committed to our members by providing them with educational material to inform them of current events that impact our beloved city of Al-Bireh. As the ABS, we will continue to keep our members informed about these current events. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our organization albirehsociety@gmail.com. We thank you for your assistance and cooperation. We also thank members of our community who have individually stepped up and ensured that accurate and complete information is disseminated to our members.
The Al-Bireh Society
Al Bireh Society
Board of Directors
Dr. Reema Wahdan
Maref Arafat Quran
Summer Hamad-Hamdan
Sana Kahook Ityem
Maha Hamad
Anas AmIera
Vivian Khalaf
Ahmad Farah
Murad Ottallah
Basel BahhOur
Nader Salem
For more information please view the individual statements by members of our board and our community. Attached below are statements by Maref Arafat and Vivian Khalaf.
Press Release from the Al-Bireh Association of the United States Regarding Secretary Pompeo’s visit to our Pillaged Land
17, November 2020
As Americans, we strongly condemn Secretary of State Michael Pompeo’s planned visit tomorrow to the settlement of Psagot, an illegal colony established on ancestral land and private property that has belonged to our families for centuries. This settlement, established on land belonging to over 400 families from the city of Al-Bireh, on a mountain named Jabal Al-Tawil, was established through the brute force of the Israeli military, in violation of international humanitarian law, and the basic values of liberty and equality that the United States was founded upon.
Regardless of Secretary Pompeo’s political beliefs, representatives of the American people are required to put citizens of this country before all else. The responsibilities of a Secretary of State include:
- Ensuring the protection of the U.S. Government to American citizens, property, and interests in foreign countries;
- Promotes beneficial economic intercourse between the United States and other countries;
Yet Secretary Pompeo is violating both of these principles. Instead of protecting our property, for which we have deeds dating decades before this settlement was forcefully established, Mr. Pompeo is legitimizing this land theft to achieve personal political gains. Instead of protecting American businesses from unfair competition from farmers in Israel profiting from stolen land and water, Mr. Pompeo is legitimizing them by visiting a winery that sells its products in the US with false labeling.
By conducting this visit, Secretary Pompeo is confirming that, as long as foreign actors benefit those in political power in the United States, it is ok for them to terrorize and abuse American citizens using force. The settlers Mr. Pompeo is visiting have terrorized our families, violated our basic property rights for decades, including stealing our main water sources and spilling sewage into our local community. This is not only a dangerous precedent signifying cronyism by America’s top Representative abroad, it is also a form of discrimination against Palestinian Americans that violates our basic civil rights.
The ownership of this land by our families is not just a historical fact dating decades, we have the papers to prove it beyond any reasonable doubt. Many of the trees in that settlement were planted by our parent’s and grandparents’ bare hands. This is not a case of political disagreement, it is a clear case of oppression.
If Secretary of State Pompeo does not back down from taking this insidious, illegal and hurtful stuff step, we will take all legal measures available to us as Americans to defend this land. We also call on our members of Congress to demand that Secretary Pompeo cancel this visit. If he doesn’t, Congress must Subpoena him and investigate why he has decided to take this step that goes against US Foreign Policy Precedent of not recognizing these illegal settlements, which President Reagan, President Bush, and all Presidents have respected for decades. Are there personal political interests behind this step? Why is Secretary Pompeo supporting a foreign business entity that is violating international law?
We also call on all Al-Bireh families across the US, who have not provided us with legal documents pertaining to their ownership of land on the mountain to reach out to us urgently, as we take the necessary steps to prevent further harm from being caused to our community.
يان صادر عن جمعية البيرة- أميركا
تناهى إلى علمنا أن وزير خارجية أمريكا السيد مايك بومبيو وخلال زيارته المتوقعة لإسرائيل سيقوم بزيارة غير مبررة إلى مغتصبة بسيجوت المقامة على أراض فلسطينية في منطقة جبل الطويل في مدينة البيرة المصادرة بالقوة ودون وجه حق في مخالفة للشرائع والمواثيق الدولية ، حيث سيقوم بإفتتاح مصنع للخمور هناك في سابقة خطيرة من نوعها .
إننا في جمعية البيرة أميركا وبصفتنا مواطنين أميركيين نشجب وبشدة هذه الزيارة ، ونطالب السيد بومبيو بالتراجع عنها فوراً لما في ذلك من تعدي على مصالح وممتلكات مواطنين أميركان تم سرقة أراضيهم بالقوة ، وبغض النظر عن وجهة النظر السياسية التي يحملها السيد بومبيو فإن القانون الأميركي يحتم عليه إحترام مصالح المواطنين الاميركان لا بل حماية ممتلكاتهم في الخارج ،لا سيما حينما يتم سرقة هذه الممتلكات والاستيلاء عليها بقوة السلاح ،وهو حق إنساني يمتلكه أي مواطن أميركي . إننا نرى في هذه الخطوة نوع من التمييز ضد المواطنين الأميركيين من أصل فلسطيني .
كما نؤكد على أن ملكية هذه الاراضي مثبتة وموثقة بما لا يدع مجالا للشك في أحقية أصحابها بملكيتها والتصرف بها .
وفي حال عدم تراجع السيد بومبيو عن خطوته الاستفزازية وغير القانونية فإننا سنقوم باتخاذ كل الإجراءات القانونية المتاحة للحفاظ على حقوق أعضاء جمعيتنا بما في ذلك الطلب من ممثلينا في الكونغرس دعوة السيد بومبيو لجلسة استجواب والتوجه للقضاء لإرجاع الحقوق المغتصبة لأصحابها فلا يصح ولا يجوز لوزير خارجية أميركا أن يتجاوز القانون الاميركي ويخضعه لمناورات سياسية بائسة . كما نتوجه إلى أصحاب الاراضي من أعضاء جمعيتنا بتزويدنا بما لديهم من وثائق تثبت ملكيتهم لهذه الاراضي من أجل متابعة هذه المسألة وتقديم المساعدة المطلوبة .
جمعية البيرة – أميركا في ١٦/١١/٢٠٢٠
On Mon, Nov 16, 2020 at 7:56 PM Maref Arafat <marefarafat@gmail.com> wrote:
بيان صادر عن جمعية البيرة- أميركا
تناهى إلى علمنا أن وزير خارجية أمريكا السيد مايك بومبيو وخلال زيارته المتوقعة لإسرائيل سيقوم بزيارة غير مبررة إلى مغتصبة بسيجوت المقامة على أراض فلسطينية في منطقة جبل الطويل في مدينة البيرة المصادرة بالقوة ودون وجه حق في مخالفة للشرائع والمواثيق الدولية ، حيث سيقوم بإفتتاح مصنع للخمور هناك في سابقة خطيرة من نوعها .
إننا في جمعية البيرة أميركا وبصفتنا مواطنين أميركيين نشجب وبشدة هذه الزيارة ، ونطالب السيد بومبيو بالتراجع عنها فوراً لما في ذلك من تعدي على مصالح وممتلكات مواطنين أميركان تم سرقة أراضيهم بالقوة ، وبغض النظر عن وجهة النظر السياسية التي يحملها السيد بومبيو فإن القانون الأميركي يحتم عليه إحترام مصالح المواطنين الاميركان لا بل حماية ممتلكاتهم في الخارج ،لا سيما حينما يتم سرقة هذه الممتلكات والاستيلاء عليها بقوة السلاح ،وهو حق إنساني يمتلكه أي مواطن أميركي . إننا نرى في هذه الخطوة نوع من التمييز ضد المواطنين الأميركيين من أصل فلسطيني .
كما نؤكد على أن ملكية هذه الاراضي مثبتة وموثقة بما لا يدع مجالا للشك في أحقية أصحابها بملكيتها والتصرف بها .
وفي حال عدم تراجع السيد بومبيو عن خطوته الاستفزازية وغير القانونية فإننا سنقوم باتخاذ كل الإجراءات القانونية المتاحة للحفاظ على حقوق أعضاء جمعيتنا بما في ذلك الطلب من ممثلينا في الكونغرس دعوة السيد بومبيو لجلسة استجواب والتوجه للقضاء لإرجاع الحقوق المغتصبة لأصحابها فلا يصح ولا يجوز لوزير خارجية أميركا أن يتجاوز القانون الاميركي ويخضعه لمناورات سياسية بائسة . كما نتوجه إلى أصحاب الاراضي من أعضاء جمعيتنا بتزويدنا بما لديهم من وثائق تثبت ملكيتهم لهذه الاراضي من أجل متابعة هذه المسألة وتقديم المساعدة المطلوبة .
جمعية البيرة – أميركا في ١٦/١١/٢٠٢٠
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Is Secretary of State Pompeo kicking off a possible 2024 run for the White House from atop the illegal Israeli settlement of Psagot, located in my hometown of Albireh City? Is this lame-duck administration hell bent on leaving power with its head hung so low in disgrace due to the weight of illegal conduct it carries on its shoulders? Should Pompeo decide to move ahead with his plans to visit this illegal site, he would be the first U.S. Secretary of State and the highest US ranking official to visit a West Bank settlement or the Golan Heights. This is most likely, the last trip he will take to Israel in his official capacity as Secretary of State and wants to cement his legacy in the region in this way? I for one, just cannot wrap my Palestinian brain around it and I am not alone.
With Trump arrogantly touting himself as the “President of law and order”, it is beyond hypocritical that his Secretary of State would be the first to legitimize a settlement that is in direct violation of international law. Irrespective of any “national policy declarations”, Israeli settlement activities are a flagrant violation under international law pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 of 2016. It demands that Israel stop such activity and fulfill its obligations as an occupying power under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
My family is one of over 400 American families in the United States originally from Albireh City in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, who own land in “Jabal Altawil” – the name of the land area now housing the illegal settlement. My full legal name is Vivian Rasem Khalaf Altawil, further confirming the fact that our identity is firmly rooted in our land. We continue to hold on to the property deeds and documents which confer legal ownership of this land to us. The forceful taking of our property by the Israeli government to build an illegal settlement has not stopped us over the last half a century, from demanding the return of what is rightfully ours. As U.S. citizens of Palestinian descent, we have property ownership rights that should be defended by our own government, rather than unlawfully taking them away by legitimizing the illegal conduct of the Israeli government. We are Americans who have contributed much to this country, and as a bare minimum, expect our rights to be defended and not trampled upon by a foreign government. Pompeo can stay away from Jabal Altawil and the Psagot Winery* during his visit. In return, I would be more than happy to send him a bottle of the finest French wine, compliments of the Palestinian people living under occupation.
- Psagot Winery is currently embroiled in litigation in the Canadian Courts relating to the violation of consumer protection laws. It is accused by the plaintiff of mislabeling their wine as “Made in Israel”, when it in fact is produced in an Israeli settlement in Occupied Palestine and not in Israel.
By Attorney Vivian Khalaf