The Northern Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio), a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today asked Americans to stand in solidarity with a Toledo resident whose family home in the occupied West Bank has been illegally besieged by terrorist Israeli squatters.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to Protect American Citizen Loui Ridi and Family
SEE: Trapped and cut off: Palestinian families under settler siege in the West Bank
Loui Ridi, a U.S. Citizen and Toledo resident has been trapped inside his West Bank home after terrorist Israeli colonizers attempted to seize his house. The harassment from Israeli settlers began in January of this year and escalated to physical violence over the last few weeks.
In a statement given to CAIR Ohio on Aug. 19, Loui Ridi said:
“I am under siege right now. I am in my house. I own this house, I built it and settlers came to this area in January of this year and have been trespassing. My brother lives in this house to protect it for me. They broke in, did damage and broke the security cameras. Last week they set up outside, so I decided to fly from Ohio to my home in Palestine. There are a lot of Israeli troops in this area but I’m not allowed to leave the property at all. I have soldiers in front of my house right now. It’s a closed military zone, every time I need to leave the house I have to call the local authority to get military coordination. There are three other families that this is happening to that live in this area. I have children in the house. The Israeli military forced a family from one of the neighboring houses to leave and they had nowhere to go so they are staying with me now. There are a two and four-year-old with their parents and they are not allowed to go back to their house yet. I tried to get the embassy to see what’s going on and come to my house, they said they would try but they are not giving me any confirmation.”
“I am an American citizen, I’ve been in America for 23 years. I got my citizenship in 2009. I purchased this land in 2014, I have a legal document for this, a permit and a license to build this house. The area designated under area B is under Palestinian authority according to the Oslo agreement. I did everything correctly through the correct legal channels. The Israeli military told us they are here to protect the residents and move the settlers, however, this is my fourth day and every day the settlers manage to make it to the house and around the house and the Israeli troops aren’t doing anything to them, they just ask them to leave. They threw my neighbor’s belongings out of his house. The Israeli military is making it harder on the Palestinians suffering from this but not doing anything to stop the settlers.”
In a statement, CAIR-Northern Ohio Executive Director Faten Odeh said:
“This is an American in distress and we are calling on our U.S. lawmakers and diplomats to help secure Mr. Ridi’s home and his safety. If ever there was a time for our senators and representatives to step up, now is that time.”
Odeh added that an action alert has been circulating throughout the country to members of Congress to take action and support the Ridi family.
“I have been disappointed in the response from Senator Husted and Senator Moreno’s offices, which show no sympathy for their constituents who are facing this horrific crisis. We are waiting on Rep. Kaptur to respond to a request to meet with us and the family and remain hopeful that she will do the right thing.”
She recommended that everyone continue to sign and share the action alert and call the offices of their lawmakers to take action.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR-Northern Ohio Executive Director, Faten Odeh (216) 830-2247, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]