Israel Mum on Jailed Ohio College Professor

[havanagilla]

<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-prof21jul21,1,3188597.story?coll=la-headlines-world" target="top">WARFARE IN THE MIDDLE EAST</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br>Israel Mum on Jailed Ohio College Professor<br>From the Associated Press<br>July 21, 2006<br><br><br>WASHINGTON — An Ohio college professor has been in an Israeli jail since being arrested on unspecified charges July 8, his family said Thursday.<br><br>Israeli officials confirmed that Ghazi Falah, 53, an Arab Israeli associate professor at the University of Akron's geography and planning department, had been detained but declined to give specifics of his case.<br><br>ADVERTISEMENTShahar Shelef, the Israeli consul in Philadelphia, said an Israeli judge's gag order prohibited him from commenting on Falah's arrest. Israeli law allows such orders in cases that affect national security, Shelef said, and people detained for this reason can be denied access to a lawyer for as long as 21 days.<br><br>Falah's wife, Jamila, said in Wadsworth, Ohio, that her husband was arrested after taking photographs on a tourist beach near Nahariya and was taken to a jail in Haifa. She said he was given a hearing before a magistrate Sunday, but his attorney, Hussein Abu Hussein, was not allowed to enter the courtroom, to speak with Falah or to learn the charges against him. <br><br>Calls to the lawyer's home in Israel and to his cellphone went unanswered Thursday. <br><br>Jamila Falah said the lawyer told her that her husband would have a follow-up hearing this Sunday. <br><br>Joe Stork said the Middle East Studies Assn. of North America's Committee on Academic Freedom, which he chairs, was sending a letter to the Israeli government to ask whether Falah was being detained because of his academic writings, which have been criticized as having an anti-Israel bent.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> <br><br>first released for publication in Israel TODAY. Apparently the guy was shooting photos up north. NOw, in order to incite against him, the newspaper says he is also suspected of assisting hizbollah with calibration of rockets. BUT, he was detained<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong> before</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> the soldiers were kidnapped and before any rockets were fired. Press is doing some lynch on him with the gov. wonder what is behind this,<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong> if at all</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> ? anyone ?<br> <p></p><i></i>

[havanagilla]

Turns out he is accused of<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong> unwittingly spying</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->...for hizbullah, or something like that. <br><br>This opens up interesting paths for a new narrative. or maybe not so new.<br><br>The MC narrative that might strike people as "fantastic" is becoming part of the mainstream, in some ways.<br><br> <p></p><i></i>

[starroute]

<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.wtol.com/global/story.asp?s=5201930&ClientType=Printable">www.wtol.com/global/story...=Printable</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br>Israel Accuses Ohio College Professor of Spying<br><br>July 26, 2006, 07:43 PM<br><br>WASHINGTON (AP) -- An Ohio college professor has been accused by Israel of spying for Hezbollah and Iran, his lawyer and Israeli government officials in the United States told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Ghazi Falah, a geography professor at the University of Akron in Ohio, has not been charged with a crime but remains in an Israeli jail.<br><br>He was arrested July 8 in northern Israel, but Israeli officials and Falah's lawyer, Husein abu-Husein, were prohibited by an Israeli court from saying why. "He was taking pictures of Israeli installations along the northern border," said Nancy Goldfarb, spokeswoman for the Israeli Consulate General in Philadelphia. "He was arrested on suspicion that his pictures were taken for intelligence purposes. Currently, he is still under investigation and I don't know whether he will be indicted."<br><br>Falah's lawyer in Israel, Husein abu-Husein, confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday that Falah was taking photographs, but said they were for his academic research.<br><br>Falah is known in academic circles for his writings on the borders of Israel and a future Palestinian state. One of the photographs he took included a military antenna, Husein said, but Falah denies spying for Hezbollah and Iran.<br><br>"He is very clear that he is not a spy, that he did not have any intention to manage any espionage against the State of Israel," Husein told The AP in a telephone interview from Israel, shortly after meeting with his client for the first time since the arrest. "As a specialist in geography, he was documenting and taking pictures in the north area in Israel, just as he had in the south of Lebanon when he went there last June." <p></p><i></i>

[slimmouse]

He's possibly got pics showing proof of Israeli incursions into Lebanon, during which two of her soldiers allegedly got arrested by the Lebanese, the rest being history as they say.<br><br> Its a pity the western "impartial" media dont show more pics of our hostages snatched and held in Gitmo, Belmarsh and various locations in both Israel ( in a localised context) and throughout the world (in a "War on terror" context), often without having wandered within 1000 miles of the place, or with absolutely zero evidence against them. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=slimmouse@rigorousintuition>slimmouse</A> at: 7/26/06 7:59 pm<br></i>

[JD]

Apparently he is a Canadian citizen. On CBC radio they were discussing the incident. His family has been screaming to the Canadian government for weeks now but has been ignored. There has been no effort by Canada to secure his release.<br><br>Keeping up with that World Cup Spirit, here's the score on Canadians so far this month:<br><br>Israel<br><br>Canadians violently killed by Israeli Military - 9<br>Canadians Jailed by Israel - 1<br><br>Hezbollah/Lebanese <br><br>Canadians violently killed by Hezbollah - 0<br>Canadians Jailed ("Kidnapped") by Hezbollah - 0<br><br>Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper<br><br>Fawning and Overt Apologies for Israel - 3<br>Fawning and Overt Apologies for Hezbollah - 0<br><br>Looks like a slam dunk win for Israel, eh? Looks like they are headed for the finals.<br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>