Thursday, March 10, 2011

Chicago Activists Rename Downtown Street Signs in Honor of Murdered Palestinian Youth




Thursday, March 10th, 2011, 7am: Responding to an international call to action, Palestinian solidarity activists in Chicago renamed street signs on downtown street corners commemorating a Palestinian youth killed two years ago by the Israeli military.


The activists used ladders just as rush hour commuters were starting to arrive in Chicago's loop, and replaced street signs that read "Honorary Ben Gurion Way" with "Honorary Mehdi Abu Ayyesh Way."

According to the activists, David Ben Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, was responsible for drafting policy which intentionally drove Palestinians from their homes and disallowed them from returning.


Mehdi Abu Ayyash, aged 17, from Beit Ommar, was shot in the head by Israeli Forces on March 4th, 2009 and died of his injuries several months later. A second youth from the same village, Yousef Ikhlyal, aged 17, was shot in the head by rampaging Israeli settlers on January 28th, 2011.

Hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers reside in the West Bank, a fact deemed illegal by International Law. These settlements are built on land stolen from Palestinians and settlers often harass and even murder Palestinian residents with impunity. To date, none of the soldiers responsible for killing Mehdi Aby Ayyash, nor the settlers responsible for killing Yousef Ikhlyal, have been brought to justice by the State of Israel.

More information here:
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/news/3395-chicago-activists-rename-downtown-street-signs-in-honor-of-murdered-palestinian-youth-

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