WATCH: From Ofer prison to the Knesset?

Activestills By Activestills February 27, 2015 | Edit

Attorney Gaby Lasky spends her days fighting the occupation in Israel’s military courts. Now she is fighting to make it into the next Knesset with the left-wing Meretz party. An elections special.

Video by Oren Ziv/Activestills.org

For Palestinians in the West Bank, Ofer Military Court has come to be known as a symbol of the banality and injustice that lies at the heart of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. For Attorney Gaby Lasky, however, Ofer is where much of her day-to-day work takes place. Lasky — a human rights attorney who previously served as the General Director of Peace Now, a current Tel Aviv council member and number seven on the left-wing Meretz party’s list for the upcoming elections — has spent much of the last decade defending Palestinian who lead the popular struggle against the occupation and the separation barrier in the West Bank, as well as the Israeli Jews who join them.

Activestills joined Lasky in Ofer for a hearing for popular struggle leader Abdullah Abu Rahmah, where she spoke about the “justice” of Israel’s military court system, why it is still important to fight in a court where 99.7 percent of suspects end up with convictions and the possibility of a Knesset without Meretz.

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Activestills is a collective of Israeli, Palestinian, and international photographers, united by a conviction that photography is a vehicle for political and social change. We believe in the power of images to shape public attitudes and to raise awareness on issues that are generally absent from public discourse. We view ourselves as part of the struggle against all forms of oppression, racism, and violations of the basic right to freedom. Our images are frequently published by many leading human rights, development, and advocacy agencies, as well as by alternative and leading news media. To stay updated on our latest images, like Activestills on Facebook or visit our Flickr photostream.

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