Freeing Avi Naftel...

Avi was a friend of mine before I knew he had also been a prisoner. He was committed as Arnold Naftel, #45287, to the AZ DOC  at the age of 28 for disarming and kidnapping a state trooper…which isn’t quite what it sounds like. He was trained as an Israeli soldier as well as a Navy Seal – of course he disarmed her when she drew on him and demanded his papers.
 

Avi survived over 26 years of violence, abuse, and gross medical neglect in Arizona's state prisons. He spent much of his time in the hole, but he was also a hell of a jailhouse lawyer. And he left a corrupt, brutal guard with a limp for years (warning - this is the man I learned self-defense from).  There were questions about how Avi died - the cops now say there was no foul play, at least. I think Avi made amends with the people he loved as best he could, and went out the way he wanted to - living freely. I hope I am so lucky when it‘s my time...


----------my original post to Prison Abolitionist   from 7/15/12-------
 

A couple of friends and I journeyed to the Kibbutz Elfrida today in search of our beloved Avi Naftel , who had fallen out of touch with everyone for several weeks. We discovered when we arrived that his body had been found near his camp by the Cochise County Sheriff's office at the end of June after a neighbor reported him missing.

The sergeant we spoke to in Elfrida at the Sheriff's department substation suggested that his death was being looked at as a possible homicide for several reasons he shouldn't have disclosed to us. In any case, despite that and the news reports  of his "suspicious" death  at the time, I think the man died on his own terms out there. Here's an excerpt from Avi to another friend (from the Kibbutz Elfrida Facebook page) that kind of sums up why I think this...

“I'm very sick and painful and won't be able to get there for BCR4 as I'm broke. However I bought that land in S AZ so that I can die in peace there. The doctors told me not to lose hope but get my affairs in order. At this time I'm not sad at all, I'm very finding serenity and not afraid at all. In fact I may welcome death as I'm tired of being sick and though I have loving friends and would love to continue traveling around, its getting too difficult for me. My guitar is my gift for you since its such a sweet sound, it is a blessing for me to do this."

Visit Avi's Spacebook  page for updates and to leave good thoughts for his family. I'll post more here later, once I'm really ready to let this good soul go.

Blessings to you as you continue your journey, Avi: so glad you lived and died a free man. 

Thanks for letting me spend a bit of time with you along the way - it was a  great ride.

Avi and Cookie, Phoenix   

 Cookie biker, in doggles

Cookie was specially trained and provided by the VA Hospital to alert Avi when his blood sugar levels endangered him...
She is such a lovely soul, as well, and has been adopted out to a good family.

The Seawright Prison Justice Project: ideas from Audre Lorde

Prison abolition in practice, from the good people at the Audre Lorde Project...this is the kind of thing I'd much rather spend time on, not fighting with the FBI. I am reminded that when we look to the state to define and achieve "justice" for us, we validate and reinforce that very system we wish to destroy. This group below offers one alternative to looking to the police to make us safer in our communities....

------------from the Audre Lorde Project-----------

Safe OUTside the System: The SOS Collective

The Safe OUTside the System (SOS) Collective is an anti-violence program led by and for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans, and Gender Non Conforming people of color. We are devoted to challenging hate and police violence by using community based strategies rather than relying on the police.

 

Join Us

• Membership within the SOS Collective is open to all LGBTSTGNC people of color who live in Bed-Stuy or surrounding neighborhoods in Brooklyn.
• We have open meetings every 2nd Tuesday of the month.
• Although our meetings are not open to allies, we welcome the support of our non-LGBTSTGNC and white allies. Please contact us at 718.596.0342 ext. 22 to learn how you can support our work.

 

Current Work

• Safe Neighborhood Campaign: The S.O.S. Collective organizes and educates local businesses and community organizations on how to stop violence without relying on law enforcement. Want to become a Safe Space? Interested in recruiting more Safe Spaces? Join us in stopping violence one Safe Space at a time!
• Save Starlite: Join us in fighting the eviction of one of our Safe Spaces the Starlite Lounge. The Starlite Lounge is the oldest, black owned, non-discriminating, gay-friendly bar in Brooklyn.
• Community Support: The S.O.S. Collective works to support LGBTSTGNC people of color survivors of police and hate violence in Central Brooklyn. From fundraising, to referrals, to outside of the system organizing strategies feel free to call on us for assistance.
• Reclaiming Safety: The Audre Lorde Project, CUAV, and several organizations around the country opposed the Matthew Shepard/James Byrd Act. We believe that sending more resources to law enforcement make us less safe instead of more. The S.O.S. Collective and Communities United Against Violence (CUAV) in San Francisco have been strategizing, organizing, and educating our communities to shift the national discussion on ending hate violence towards community led strategies.

History

• The Working Group on Police and State Violence (now SOS Collective) began in 1997 in response to a rash of street violence, repressive state violence tactics, an increase of police harassment, and brutality, and the “Quality of Life” policies of the Giuliani administration.
• In working to build a citywide movement, the WGPV participated in founding the Coalition Against Police Brutality (CAPB). With the other POC based organizations part of CAPB, the working group helped organized People’s Justice 2000, 41 days of action in the wake of Diallo and Louima, and annual Racial Justice Day (RJD) events, where the families of those who have been brutalized and killed at the hands of the NYPD raise their voices and demand justice.
• In our work, we have also taken on cases of community members, such as Jalea Lamot, a trans woman who, along with her family, was brutalized and arrested in her home by the NYCHA police.
• In addressing the broader issues of State Violence, we have collaborated with other POC organizations both citywide and nationally (TWW-Peace Action Coalition and Racial Justice 911, respectively) in response to post September 11th government policies and practices.
• We also held two War Against Terror Meetings, which worked to build and make visible an analysis of how homophobia and trans-phobia are cornerstones of the right wing agenda. And that this agenda is responsible for the repressive practices the “war on terror” and how LGBTSTGNC people are impacted on a daily basis.
• The WGPV also helped coordinate Operation Homeland Resistance, a civil disobedience after the invasion of Iraq, which connected oppressive tactics at home to imperialist war of aggression abroad.