by Hannah Saunders
In the past week,, TtS published three articles on topics like the olive harvest in Palestine, ICE, and the midterm elections. Let’s take a look at what you may have missed!
PNW resident recounts Israeli settler brutalization of Palestinian olive farmers in Jamma’in
The olive harvest season kicked-off earlier than usual this year, and four solidarity activists who were supporting Palestinian farmers in Jamma’in were deported and returned with stories of destruction and violence.
“I witnessed large groups of masked settlers attack Palestinians with clubs and rocks,” Dima, a solidarity activist residing in the Pacific Northwest, told TtS. “They also called the IOF and made claims that the Palestinian farmers and international solidarity activists had attacked them.”
Dima, a clinical assistant at a residential mental health facility, said the goal of the international solidarity activists is to be present alongside Palestinians wherever they are requested, and to document the Israeli occupation’s brutality.
Read the full article here.
Burien resident faces barrel of ICE agent’s pistol during Oct. 25 kidnapping
During a kidnapping on Oct. 25, ICE agents whipped their vehicle head-on at a concerned neighbor, and one pulled out and pointed a pistol at them from the side. They remained in their vehicle during the entire interaction, and followed legal observer training by the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN), which recently laid off all hotline organizers and rapid response staff.
“I was already leaving when (the agent) raised his arm (to point the gun),” the neighbor said. “It felt more like leaving a carjacking or a stickup. He was giving no orders or giving any indication that he was involved in anything legal. He was just a threat.”
Washington state is experiencing an “historic surge” in ICE kidnappings, according to a University of Washington Center for Human Rights report released last month. During a previous incident, ICE slashed tires and broke all windows after kidnapping a community member.
Click here to learn more.
WA seeks to combat voting interference ahead of midterms
Concerns over election security are growing across the country as voters report problems at polling stations, and as Trump works to influence the election by promising voters a $5,000 “Trump dividend” if Republicans retain control of Congress.
For months, elected officials in Washington have been sounding the alarm about voting interference, and have taken measures to secure the election, like issuing a 32-page resource guide on state and federal powers during elections. But, King County Elections Director Julie Wise was recently notified that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is sending election monitors to Washington in a federal effort to monitor elections in jurisdictions across the country.
Gov. Bob Ferguson has offered counties the use of the National Guard as an “Election Neighborhood Watch” while voters head to the polls. The program is intended to provide additional security at voting locations and ballot drop boxes. The National Guard members will not be in uniform, will not act as law enforcement, will not handle ballots, or interfere with voters. Instead, they will observe locations and report concerns to local authorities.
Read more here.
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