When Ahed Tamimi was arrested and set before a closed court in a military tribunal, Israeli officials repeatedly announced they wouldn't let her make Israel look bad. Honestly, I don't think there's any need for Palestinian activists to make the excesses of Zionism look bad, the Zionists themselves seem to be doing a fine job of that on their own. Take the case of 48-year-old Palestinian social worker and human rights activist, Munther Amira. Amira has been arrested and detained after peacefully protesting in Palestine in December at a rally in Bethlehem in the West Bank. Amira was protesting the detention and alleged mistreatment of Tamimi and other children who were being held as political prisoners by Israel. Tamimi, now 17, was just 16 when she was first arrested.
Amira Munther is a resident of the Aida refugee camp in the West Bank. Munther is also the director of the Aida Youth Center and head of the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, a grassroots resistance movement. Formerly, Munther had been the secretary-general of the Palestinian Union of Social Workers and Psychologists. Amira's reputation precedes him, he has been recognized by the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) which described him as “a highly esteemed and respected colleague well-known to a number of BASW members”.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Unconditional Release of Palestinian Social Worker Munther Amira <a href="https://t.co/hCBCsPRpQG">https://t.co/hCBCsPRpQG</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/CdnChange?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CdnChange</a></p>— Paul Neill (@pauljneill) <a href="https://twitter.com/pauljneill/status/972063448682070016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Raed Amira, a human rights representative for the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) in Palestine helped share the news of Munther's arrest. The IFSW has issued a statement demanding Amira's release on January 7. Social work associations from Britain, New Zealand, Ireland, Palestine, Turkey and Latin America are also circulating similar statements. As of now, over 13,000 social workers and supporters worldwide have signed a petition to be sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Letters have also been sent to the United Nations, Amnesty International and other groups.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">he arrest and detention of Munther Amira, a 48-year-old Palestinian social worker and human rights defender, has provoked an outcry in the international social work community.<br>Amira was arrested by Israeli soldiers in Palestine on 27 December 2017– <a href="https://t.co/GCQnbQHF6n">https://t.co/GCQnbQHF6n</a></p>— Aoude (@AoudeA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AoudeA/status/972058636649422848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
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So far, Amira has had six court hearings since being arrested. Each time, the Israeli military prosecution extended his detention. His trial began on February 21 and he is being indicted with 13 charges for participating in rallies and protests with trumped-up charges like "participating in a march without a permit" and heavier allegations like throwing stones at IDF. Bear in mind, the military tribunals in the West Bank have a 99% conviction rate regarding Palestinians.
