A Brief Statement by Free Professor Ghazi-Walid Falah

A Brief Statement by Free Professor Ghazi-Walid Falah

3 August 2005

I would like to make a brief statement. This was a political arrest and
detention. Because of what I reveal in my geographic research on Israeli
land policies, and the geography of the Occupation. I am a well-known
social scientist, a specialist on the Middle East and Israel, a citizen
of Canada, and tenured professor at the University of Akron, where I
have taught geography a number of years. I am also a Palestinian Arab,
born and raised in al-Jaliil, the Galilee, where I had returned in early
July to be with my ailing mother, awaiting brain surgery in Haifa.

The month of July was a terrible month for the Palestinian people in
Gaza and under the Occupation, and most especially for the Lebanese
nation. And also on a very personal level for me. I endured a nightmare
created and orchestrated for me by the Israeli police and Shin Bet
Secret Service. I believe I was arrested and put through this prolonged
ordeal of humiliation and psychological torture to teach me a lesson:
because I am a scholar who researches on Israeli geopolitics and its
treatment of Palestinians in Israel and under the Occupation, and I tell
the truth.
What are the facts? I was arrested without charge on July 8 and held in
detention for over three weeks (July 8-30, 2006) after taking some
photos in a resort area north of Nahariya, an area full of tourists,
with some panoramic views. For much of that time I had no access to
legal counsel. I was kept for prolonged periods without healthy food,
and for several days without sleep. I was interrogated repeatedly. Often
tied to a chair, there were five interrogators. In one session I was
kept 60 hours. Some of the psychological maltreatment and verbal abuse I
was subjected to was a form of psychological torture which I will not
detail here.

I was not allowed access to a lawyer for the first 18 days of my
detention. I was freed on July 30 because no charge could be brought.
There is no evidence against me because there cannot be.

I believe my rights have been gravely violated by this ordeal. It is an
affront to international scholarship in the social sciences. The
Israelis are proud of their universities and research. But there is
another dark side to the world of science pertaining to the realities of
Israel: the Israeli government would like to intimidate and silence
researchers who speak uncomfortable truths to power. That should not be
forgotten. At one level, it is what my detention, humiliation and
harassment were all about. Read what I write. Think about its
implications.

I am grateful to all those who joined in the international campaign to
help free me. The Israeli government was well aware of their efforts. I
am grateful to my family, wife Jamila and children for their love, and
perseverance together with me in this ordeal. They have suffered greatly
and now can breathe a sigh of relief. Thank God my mother passed through
her surgery OK, even though I could not be at her side. The Israeli
state has made a serious error in trying to cow and intimidate me. I
will seek legal redress, and redouble my efforts on researching its
brutal geopolitical realities. I will not be silenced!