From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Jan 1 23:29:35 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:08 2004 Subject: (Fwd) Urgent! Call to prevent deportation Message-ID: <3FF4AD5F.26737.2D6B243@localhost> We just verified it, it's not yet too late to act. ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Wed, 31 Dec 2003 18:28:20 +0100 From: cat To: info@gush-shalom.org Subject: Urgent! Call to prevent deportation Send reply to: cat Hi It'd be great if you could forward this message Thanks, Jonathan English Follows בכפר בודרוס נעצרו היום ארבעה ישראלים וארבעה פעילים בינלאומיים כאשר ניסו לעצור את הבולדוזרים מלעקור עצים. הכפר בודרוס, יחד עם הכפרים מידיה, נעילין וקיביה עומדים להיות כלואים ע"י החומה מארבעה כיוונים. ארבעת הישראלים שוחררו משהסכימו לחתום על איסור כניסה לשטחים הכבושים למשך 14 יום. הפעילים הבינלאומיים הועברו לתחנת המשטרה גבעת זאב, שם הם ממתינים לשימוע של משרד הפנים, ולהחלטה בדבר גירושם. הפעילים הם: פרדריק בטזלר קטרין רפאל גוסטב פרידולין קימברלי אן גריי אנא התקשרו אל משרד הפנים, ומחאו על הכוונה לגרש את הפעילים. 02-6701400 או בפקס: 02-5666376 ניתן להתקשר גם לתחנת המשטרה בגבעת זאב: 02-5361438 Four International activists and four Israeli activist were arrested today while try to stop the bulldozers from uprooting trees at the west bank village of Budrus. Budrus, together with the villages of Midya, N'ilin and Kibya, is about to be imprisoned by the wall from all directions. The four Israelis were released after they've agreed not enter the occupied territories for 14 days. The international activists however were transferred to Giv'at Zeev police station, where they await a hearing with a Ministry of Interior representative regarding their deportation. Pressure on the ministry and the minister are crucial. The activists are: Frederick Batzler Kathryn Raphael Gustav Fridolin Kimberley Anne Gray Please call the Ministry of Interior to protest at: 02-6701400 Fax: 02-5666376 Calling the Giv'at Zeev police station may also prove helpful: 02-5361438 _____________________ "Brothers and Sisters, what are your real desires? Sit in the drugstore, look distant, empty, bored, drinking some tasteless coffee? Or perhaps BLOW IT UP OR BURN IT DOWN. [...] You can't reform profit capitalism and inhumanity. Just kick it till it breaks." Angry Brigades, Communique 8 ------- End of forwarded message ------- From info at gush-shalom.org Sat Jan 3 15:32:50 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:08 2004 Subject: (Fwd) [TOI-Billboard] A Breaking Consensus - The Other Israel Message-ID: <3FF6E0A2.14070.7DDBF47@localhost> FYI ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "The Other Israel" Date sent: Sat, 3 Jan 2004 15:27:13 +0200 \\// //\\ \\// //\\ TOI Billboard //\\ \\// //\\ Tel-Aviv, January 3, 2004 The Other Israel's December-January issue: 28 pages summarizing and analyzing the developments of the past months - in English. N.B.: IF you didn't see one before: Ask for a free sample: Just reply and include your complete postal address AND write "free TOI-sample" in the subject line. The lead article: A Breaking Consensus Further it includes reports on - direct action including the shooting of Gil Na'amati - human shielding in the Muqata'a - several joint Israeli-Palestinian anti-Wall events & articles - about the COs' struggle through the military court - about dissent from within the army & the impact on Israeli society --'letter of the pilots' --the 13 elite commandos' refusal --a reservist's struggle leading to a roadblack demo - an in-depth comparison of peace initiatives & more -- Selected articles The Other Israel August/September issue on site: http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/ One time free sample (hardcopy) via: otherisr@actcom.co.il >From US addresses via: aicipp@igc.org -- TOI-Billboard is monthly forwarding updates & articles of a variety of sources. Subscribe to TOI-Billboard by sending one blank mail to TOI_Billboard-subscribe@topica.com [next three lines explain how Hebrew readers can obtain items in Hebrew from original senders] אנחנו שולחים ה"בילבורד" רק באנגלית לרשימה בינלאומית. אבל יש לך האופציה לבקש - מהשולח האוריגינלי - אייתם מסוים בעברית The Other Israel peace movement magazine pob 2542, Holon 58125, Israel; ph/fx: +972-3-5565804; for free sample hardcopy mailto: otherisr@actcom.co.il for selected articles http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/ Archive of issues since 1994 available at http://israelipalestinianpeace.org ------- End of forwarded message ------- From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Jan 4 03:27:22 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:08 2004 Subject: (Fwd) Urgent Appeal from Nablus! & 5 refusers to be given prison terms today Message-ID: <3FF7881A.23018.A6C04C8@localhost> International release Sunday Jan.4, at 3pm in the Jaffa Military Court the sentence will be passed upon the Five Occupation Refusers (Noam Bahat, Matan Kaminer, Adam Maor, Haggai Matar, and Shimri Tzameret) who already spent more than a year as prisoners. What is happening in Nablus on this very day (see forwarded report) is a painful illustration of what they refuse to take part in. Please, pass this on to the press in your environment & organize protest (re the Nablus ordeal) & solidarity (with the refusers). ------- Forwarded message follows ------- To: Organization: International Solidarity Movement From: "Huwaida" Date sent: Sat, 3 Jan 2004 18:44:53 -0500 Subject: [palmedialert] Urgent Appeal from Nablus! Send reply to: palmedialert-owner@yahoogroups.com Please Act Immediately to Lift the Siege off Nablus, Balata and Beit Foreek! This is a Humanitarian Crisis!   Greetings from Nablus Under Siege.   Nablus has been under siege for the last 10 days while Balata refugee camp has been under siege for the last 18 consecutive days. We have just heard that every single entrance/exit to Balata has been sealed off completely. No food or medicine is allowed in. Medical relief teams are being obstructed and at times completely prevented from passing through. Activists from ISM (the International Solidarity Movement) were attacked while carrying out their missions to observe and bear witness on what the Israeli occupation authorities are brutalizing the Palestinian population. Beit Foreek has been completely sealed off; its mayor reports that there are signs of starvation.  Two men and a boy were killed by Israeli military fire since this morning. The first, Amjad Bilal Masri is a 15 year old boy who was shot while standing in front of his house. The sniper bullet hit Amjad in the back. He  died on his way to the hospital. The second is Amer Kathym Arafat who was  also shot in the back by a sniper bullet. The third is Rouhi Hazem Shouman,  25, who was also shot in the back by a sniper. Ms. Majida Masri, spokeswomen  for the Coordinating Committee of Palestinian Political Faction, called a  couple of minutes ago on all Nabulis who are able to get to Rafidiya  Hospital to defy the curfew and join the families of the martyrs in a  collective funeral for the three. "They were all shot in the back by  cowardly snipers. Their only crime was to refuse to succumb to Israeli  occupation designs to empty Palestine from its people."   Reports from Balata indicate that a deliberate starvation campaign is being  carried by the Israeli military which has sealed off the Camp and refuses to  allow food and medicine to get through every single allyway, formal or  informal entrances. A few days ago, the Israeli military shot and injured 4  people who were walking a funeral for an old woman who passed away. No  demonstrations or political events were taking place in or around the  funeral.   The siege of the old city of Nablus and its neighborhoods (Yasmeeneh,  Qaryoun, Habaleh) has been intensified since December 30, 2003. The Israeli  military claims that they were looking for the leader of the Aksa Martyrs  Brigade, Abu Sharkh. They took his brother and wife as hostages, paraded the  wife in a jeep in the old city and forced to call out to her husband over  loud speakers to surrender in return for her freedom. She has been released  only yesterday. No one can get into the old city, but Dr. Ghassan Hamdan of  the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committee, who is in the old city  has called on the whole world to immediately intervene to support the people  of Nablus. He condemned media outlets for neglecting to cover what's going  on, including the largest Palestinian daily, Al-Quds, which has not reported  on what's going in Nablus in its front page. Dr. Hamdan  criticized the Palestinian Authority who have not done anything to aid  Nablus and demanded that "Abu Alaa, the Palestinian Prime Minister, hold a  ministrial meeting in Nablus to highlight the horrible conditions the city  is experiencing under this brutal Israeli campaign."   We have just heard explosions in the old city. It was in Qaryoun  neighborhood inside the Abdelhadi Palace that houses 75 people. The Palace,  built 400 years ago, is a waqf, endowed by Mahmoud Abdelhadi for the use of  Abdelhadi women who have no place to live and no sources of income (widows,  single women who do not work or have no income, and women whose main  breadwinners are disabled). The Israeli military has ordered the 75 people  to vacate the palace at 3:30 in the mooring and left them out in the cold.  Mr. Aslan, a neighbor, invited took in all the 75 people and offered them  hospitality and warmth. The families are scattered throughout the old city  (before the more strict siege) and unable to go home. Dr. Mahdi Abdelhadi,  Director of PASSIA, has gone to the Israeli supreme court. The Court ordered  an injunction against the destruction of the Palace but the military  appealed the decision and received a permission from the court to destroy this  historic building "if security needs call for such action." This also  requires your immediate attention.   Nablus has been split again into two parts near Maha's Gate, which is names  after Mrs. Maha Nimr who lived nearby and whose son has been arrested and is  currently being interrogated in Ofer settlement prison (near Ramallah); no  family members or lawyers are allowed to see him until the "interrogation is  completed."   "Tora Bora," as the residents call it, is the mount of dirt Israeli  occupation army has compiled near the destroyed Governate of Nablus (as well  as the prison that was bombed with prisoners inside in 2002 resulting in the  killing of 10 Palestinian policemen who were guarding the prison). Tora Bora  literally separates the two parts of the city and no one can come or go  without risking being shot at by the Israeli military. Children (including  my own nephew Ibrahim and nieces Widad, Noura, and Nada who live in the  eastern part beyond Tora Bora) have been risking their lives to get to  school to take their final exams. Ibrahim, 10 year old, and other kids  almost got killed on December 23, 2003 as he tried to get home. He was  finally able to reach his home a few hours later and only after the  international media, medical relief workers, my other brother, Amer, and  Amal, my sister-in-law and Ibrahim's mother risked their lives, argued with  the soldiers and insisted on getting all the kids home across a checkpoint.   Mustapha Barghouti has described the bloody campaign against Nablus as a  "real war on this city whose other name, the Mountain of Fire, has basis in the steadfastness of Palestinians and their refusal to allow the Israeli military to break the  Palestinian collective will to continue struggling for their rights." "There  is a completely news blockage of what's going in Nablus," Barghouti added,  explaining that lack of news coverage has to do with "the negligence of the  Palestinian Authority, PA, to assume its responsibility for the protection  of the population." "Instead," Barghouti added, "the PA is wasting time and  energy in useless meetings with the Israeli occupation government that is  intent on destroying our people's will."   Reporter's Note: This report is partly drawn from word of mouth of relatives  and friends, and partly from Radio Tariq Mahabbeh (you can listen to the  radio station at www.tmfm.net). For interviews and more information, you may  call: Amer Abdelhadi at (+972-59-371-372) Tariq Mahabbeh (Radio station) at (+972 57 830 333).  Rabab Abdulhadi(no later than 9:30 p.m.) at (+972 9 237 2891).   Please bear with us; phone lines and internet connections are not working as well as we are told they should. The People of Nablus appeal to you to declare today (Saturday, Jan. 3rd), tomorrow (Sunday, Jan. 4th), and Monday, Jan. 5th international daysin solidarity with thepeople in Nablus and Palestine.  From info at gush-shalom.org Mon Jan 5 04:45:08 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:08 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Harsh punishment for "undermining legitimacy" Message-ID: <3FF8EBD4.8815.4E6BBA3@localhost> GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org Gush Shalom is expressing it's shock about the harsh punishment of the five courageous young Occupation Objectors - on the same day where the army announces that the soldier who shot and severely wounded demonstrator Gil Na'amati will not be prosecuted, or punished in any way. The rest of this message consist of two parts: A - Last day in court - report by Adam Keller B - The Parents Forum letter (which we forward) 1. Short summary of what happened in and around the court 2. Call for action – Fax to Brigadier General Gil Regev 3. Our new site with our new petition and call for action 4. Yesh Gvul demo on January 10th \\// //\\ \\// //\\ \\// A - Last day in court - report by Adam Keller >From Colonel Avi Levi's first words there was no doubt left: "From analyzing the testimonies of the accused we have come to the conclusion that their acts are mainly motivated by the wish to extend opposition against government policy in the Territories and draw a stream of others to follow in their footsteps, either by refusing to enlist or refusing to serve in the territories." Those who heard him last week already knew that there was nothing more heinous and deserving harsh punishment. "The accused made their refusal public so as to put in question the justification for the army's operations and the morality of taking part in the army. Further, by so doing they undermine the international legitimacy of the state's actions and help hostile nations by providing them with new arguments. (...) The accused refused to be numbered among the ranks of the IDF and share in the burden of defending their country out of their thoughts that the acts of the state and the army immoral and illegal. In this way they are putting their own moral criteria above those of the other soldiers who do serve in the army, above those of their commanders, and even above those of the political echelon which guides the activity of the army. They do these acts both in order to cause a change of heart among the general public but also in order to influence and indeed impose their view upon the political echelon, under the threat that the military system will collapse as a result of the extension of the phenomenon of refusal. (...) Freedom of speech is guaranteed by the law, but some forms of it are still illegal. Making use of it for racist expressions is illegal. Making use of military service - and refusal to it - as part of the freedom of speech is also illegal. (...) Punishment in order to deter others is an old principle in the history of law, but recently it has been called into doubt - as the learned council for the defence has pointed out. Nevertheless, in the case of the offence here under discussion, an offence committed for the specific purpose of drawing the general public into mass law-breaking, when there is a concrete reason to worry about a large number of people, and in that way causing incalculable damage to the army and the state, it is undoubtedly justifiable to mete out a more severe punishment, in order to let the masses at whom the accused directed their call see and understand that the price of refusal is a severe and painful punishment." After these firm words, Colonel Levi had to reveal that there had been a dissenting judge in the panel of three. "The third judge suggested to his colleagues to content themselves with a punishment of six months. That judge accepted the majority of the arguments of the defence, stating that no punishment whatsoever will deter the accused from persisting with their refusal; that the time of detention which they already spent had been a heavy burden on them. That judge considered the fact that many people avoid military service in "grey" ways without undergoing imprisonment requires some considerations towards the accused, and that it is utterly impermissible to punish them severely in order to deter others. According to that judge, their motives "to change the public opinion" are utterly irrelevant, and the possibility of rehabilitation - which must be a relevant consideration in passing judgment - requires giving a relatively short term so that the accused, basically positive characters full of values, could give a real contribution to the society by the performance of an alternative service as they have undertaken to do. Finally that judge recommended that the Incompatibility Committee discuss their case while they serve their prison term." The verdict did not name the dissenter. The general impression is that it must have been Major Lirit Interter, not form what she had been saying but from the expressions on her face. The verdict also revealed the existence of a hard-liner on the judges' panel who had considered the act of the accused to be "a very severe crime which constitutes a manifest and concrete danger to our existence and our survival" to be punished with the maximum of three years, though he did agree to deduct the fourteen months they already served. After that - according to him - they should be kicked out of the army. That would fit with the impression made during the past year by Captain Yaron Dumai, who made a few remarks - all of them utterly hostile. With the three judges having different positions, the one which won out was the middle position, apparently Levi himself. His proposal: to accept many arguments for severity, but still to take into consideration "that the accused are acting out of belief in the justice of their way, out of mistaken belief that by their acts they are furthering a just cause", and last but not least: "that their illegal acts derived among other things from their being young and inexperienced." (At this point a spontaneous laughter burst out among the audience.) The conclusion: twelve months behind bars, in addition to the already served fourteen. Colonel Levi sounded a bit apologetic when he asserted that the judges acted "not only as military judges or as military officers but also as citizens in a democratic country, a state of law"; that they also follow the dictates of their conscience and that they have acted as judges guided by the principles of justice and honesty and ... did not try to please the military establishment or the governmental one." So he said - and there it ended. The Five will have to present themselves at Military Prison-6 (Atlit) on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 1pm. Whatever was the mood of Haggai Matar, Matan Kaminer, Shimri Tzameret, Adam Maor and Noam Bahat - or their parents - it was shown only in defiance. "Even if we had been told that we are set free and go home, this would not make me really happy. After all, we started this not for personal comfort but to fight the occupation which is destroying the Israeli and the Palestinian society alike" was the way Haggai Matar expressed it on the stairs of the military court. "We have been punished for speaking out, for wanting not only to have no share in the evil ourselves, but to get rid of the evil. They said in the verdict that we are undermining the legitimacy of what the government and the army are doing. That's absolutely true, and that's what we intend to continue doing." And Adam Maor on the prime time evening news: "The army is afraid of our ideals. Ideals of peace and freedom are a threat to generals." B - The Parents Forum letter ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "snehab3" Date sent: Sun, 04 Jan 2004 22:33:58 -0000 Subject: The 5 were sentenced to another year in jail The Parents Forum January 4th 2004 In this letter you will find: 1. Short summary of what happened in court on January 4th, 2004. 2. Call for action – Fax to Brigadier General Gil Regev 3. Our new site with our new petition and call for action www.refuz.org.il 4. Yesh Gvul demo on January 10th ============= 1. Short Summary ===================== The Central District Military Court of the Israel Defence Forces sentenced the five refusenicks, Noam Bahat, Hagai Matar, Adam Maor, Shimri Tsameret and Matan Kaminer to one year in jail for refusing to join the occupation army. The court declared that the actions of the five put a question mark over the justice and the morality of the army's actions and challenge the legitimacy of the state's behavior. In an impromptu press conference attended by tens of journalists, the refusenicks declared, that this was indeed their intention and that they are proud of their actions and that they will continue to challenge the occupation until it ends. Today's sentence is actually for a second year of imprisonment, since the five have already been under detention for approximately a year. The court recommended that, after the year, the army consider their discharge, but the prosecutor stated that after a year the IDF will demand that they be mobilized or face additional jail time. The sentence was read out before a jam-packed courtroom filled with families of the defendants, supporters and representatives of the media. A crowd of more than a hundred composed of mainly young people crowded the entrance to the court building and greeted the refusenicks with cheers of support and encouragement. This battle is very far from being over….. ===========2. Fax Gil Regev +972 3 569 2933================ We need your urgent help. Write to Brigadier General Gil Regev. He has the authority to allow or disallow the carrying out of the sentence. Regev's fax number is +972 3 569 2933. Below is a sample letter you can download print sign and fax. ==================== To: Brigadier General Gil Regev Head of the Manpower Department, I.D.F. Hakirya Tel Aviv M.P. 02919 I.D.F Dear Sir, I was appalled to hear about the draconian sentence that was meted out to the five conscientious objectors, Adam, Noam, Haggai, Matan, and Shimri. These young men have been sentenced to a year in military prison in addition to already having been imprisoned for over a year. In the past 30 years, no country priding itself as a democracy has handed out such a severe punishment to conscientious objectors. These 5 CO's were found to be guilty for (daring to declare) their opposition to Israel's policy of occupation in the territories. The decision to incur upon them such a harsh sentence is politically motivated and therefore unjustifiable. In the past, you, yourself, have spoken out on the need for a framework to allow civilian service for young Israeli citizens. THIS IS ALL THAT THESE YOUNG MEN ARE REQUESTING. In your hands lies the authority to allow or disallow the carrying out of the sentence. I ask you to nullify the decision of the military court and thereby prevent this gross miscarriage of justice. undersigned =========== 3. The new petition on: www.refuz.org.il============ 5 COs jailed to deter a generation of conscripts to the Israeli Army. On 4 January, 2004, for their refusal to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), 5 conscripted Conscientious Objectors were sentenced to a year in prison. The sentence is, in effect, an unlimited one as the prosecution intend to jail them till they agree to serve. That's the price they will pay for refusing to be part of the brutal occupation. The 5 COs are being punished because of their convictions - the severity of the punishment reflects the Israeli government's fear of those convictions. The Government needs programmed soldiers - its policy is to intimidate all conscripts by jailing these COs until they break. We will not let this happen !! Sign the Petition for the immediate release of the 5 conscientious objectors at www.refuz.org.il . How many people will it take to convince the Israeli government that intimidation of people with a conscience is unacceptable ... 1,000? 100,000? Or a million?? Whatever it takes we intend to get it! Be part of our campaign! Signing the petition will not be enough. We need you to open doors in your community - advise us who to approach - in what organization - perhaps using your name as an introduction -- and any other ideas that you have to spread the word. Together we can create "the great moral uprising" we need to get them out. Send us an email at alexmaor@refuz.org.il the Refusniks Parents' Forum Coordinator. Join us in www.refuz.org.il CHANGE A HISTORY OF OPPRESSION - FORWARD THIS LETTER TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW =================4. Yesh Gvoul ============================ Dear friend, An Israeli military court has handed down one-year prison sentences on draft-resisters Haggai Matar, Amir Kaminer, Shimri Zameret, Adam Maor and Noam Bahat, over their refusal to enlist in "the army of occupation". The sentence comes on top of a year and more of pre- trial detention. A military justice system that has remained indifferent to hundreds of incidents of injury and killing of unarmed Palestinian civilians, now proves its dedication to the rule of law by its savage treatment of five youngsters for the "offence" of remaining true to conscience and refusing to take a hand in the bloody campaign of repression. WE WILL PROTEST THE SENTENCE BY A SOLIDARITY VIGIL AT THE MILITARY PRISON #6 (ATHLIT) ON SATURDAY JAN. 10. AT 12:30 JOIN US ! We urge our friends and supporters in other countries to join in with solidarity actions ! -- To be among those from all over the world who prepare to welcome Mordechai Vanunu ("the nuclear whistleblower ") upon his release in April (imprisoned since 1986) - contact: freevanunu@mindspring.com; in Israel: Rayna Moss 051-368236 -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Tue Jan 6 02:01:46 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:08 2004 Subject: (Fwd) URGENT- Please help release the 5 COs Message-ID: <3FFA170A.5005.977B532@localhost> ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Send reply to: From: "Anat Biletzki" To: Subject: URGENT- Please help release the 5 COs Date sent: Tue, 6 Jan 2004 00:47:19 +0200 English follows כתבו לראש אכ"א בבקשה לשחרר את חמשת סרבני הכיבוש - והצטרפו להפגנה מול הכלא בשבת הקרובה ודאי כבר שמעתם שעל חמשת סרבני המצפון, המסרבים להתגייס לצבא כיבוש, הוטל מאסר של שנה תמימה - מבלי להתחשב ב-14 החודשים אותם ריצו כבר במאסרים ובמעצר. שבועיים לאחר מתן גזר הדין, על ראש אכ"א לאשר אותו, או להחליט על הקלה בעונש. בסמכותו של אלוף גיל רגב, ראש אכ"א, להמתיק את עונשם של החמישה לפי שיקול דעתו. אנא כיתבו אליו וציידו אותו בנימוקים. כזכור, החמישה ביקשו להמיר את שירותם הצבאי בשירות אזרחי, בדיוק מן הסוג בו תמך רגב עצמו לא פעם. כתובתו של ראש אכ"א: אלוף גיל רגב, ראש אגף כח אדם בצה"ל, הקריה, תל-אביב ד.צ. 02919 צה"ל פקס: 03-5692933 פרטים נוספים, נוסח סטנדרטי למכתב כזה, ובעיקר - עצומה הקוראת לשחרור החמישה, תוכלו למצוא באתר שכתובתו www.refuz.org.il אנא בקרו באתר ושילחו את הלינק לכל מכריכם. בשבת הקרובה, ב- 12:30, נעלה, מאות מאתנו, עם תנועת יש גבול, על ההר המשקיף על כלא 6 ליד עתלית. הצטרפו אלינו לתמיכה קולנית בסרבנים, בקריאה לשחרורם! תודה הורי הסרבנים Write to the IDF Head of Manpower Dept, and Join our vigil near the prison on Saturday You've probably heard already that the 5 draft resisters, who refuse to enlist to an army of occupation, were sentenced to a whole year in the military prison - this is on top of the 14 months they already spent in prison and detention. Two weeks after the sentence is given, the head of the manpower department in the IDF has to either approve it or decide on a lighter punishment. It is hence in the hands Bridadier General Gil Regev to act according to his own judgement and nullilfy the court's decision. Please write to him, helping him with convincing arguments. You may recall that the 5 offered to serve their society in an alternative, civil service, of the kind that Regev himself recommended as an option, more than once. His address: Brigadier General Gil Regev Head of the Manpower Department, I.D.F. Hakirya Tel Aviv M.P. 02919 I.D.F Fax: 972-3-5692933 More details, a suggested version of such a letter, and especially a petition calling for the 5's release you will find at www.refuz.org.il Please visit this site and send the link to everyone you know. This coming saturday we'll all demonstrate, with Yesh-Gvul, at the military prison, near Athlit. Do join us in a loud call, supporting the refusers and calling for their release! Thanking you - The refusers' parents forum From info at gush-shalom.org Fri Jan 9 01:46:44 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:08 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Conscience imprisoned - from Nablus to Atlit Message-ID: <3FFE0804.28805.1E287B2@localhost> GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org International release CONSCIENCE IMPRISONED - FROM NABLUS TO ATLIT [The "imaginary pacifist" CO Yoni Ben Artzi was sent home today by the military authorities - until there will be a new decision of the Conscience Committee. Maybe they think that this way they can prevent us from coming in big numbers, furious all - to demonstrate Saturday on the mountain overlooking the Atlit prison encampment. There the Five yesterday went to begin their 12-month term, in the middle of the present storm and rain and cold. But we just receive a message from Yesh Gvul (the organizers of the protest together with the Refusnik Parents' Forum) that whatever the weather, we will go.] [] Gush Shalom ad in Ha'aretz, tomorrow January 9, 2004 NOT IN OUR NAME! This week, the soldiers continued to shoot and kill in the alleys of Nablus. This week, the bulldozers continued to destroy fields and olive groves, and to build walls and fences that rob hundreds of thousands of their livelihood. This week, Sharon made more promises that he has no intention of keeping. This week, the IDF announced that soldiers are permitted to shoot at demonstrators, both Palestinians and Israelis. This week, five courageous youngsters, who are not ready to take part in all this, were sent to prison for one year. Freedom for the Conscientious Objectors! Tomorrow, Saturday, at 12.30, a protest demonstration against the verdict will take place at Military Prison No. 6, at Athlit, were the conscientious objectors are held. Transportation: 10 .00 at Binyanei Ha-Umah, Jerusalem; 11.15 Arlozorov corner Namir, Tel-Aviv. Gush Shalom, Help us with donations to P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033, Phone 972-3-5221732. www.gush-shalom.org Requests for information about current actions: info@gush-shalom.org -- New on the gush Shalom website: Q & A re security: http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/index.html (עברית) http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/english.html (English) -- For our member Dan Shohet's eyewitness account of the shooting of peace activist Gil Na'amati: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2310.shtml gil@riseup.net - for sending support-emails to Gil Na'amati נפתח לאלו שמעוניינים לשלוח לגיל דואל gil@riseup.net -- To be among those from all over the world who prepare to welcome Mordechai Vanunu ("the nuclear whistleblower ") upon his release in April (imprisoned since 1986) - contact: freevanunu@mindspring.com; in Israel: Rayna Moss 051-368236 -- Buy Olive Oil From Palestinian Villagers from villages around Nablus 1 jerican (17 liter) = 320 NIS 1 liter = 20 NIS for details please contact: keren, 064-465650, mali_assaf@usa.net Gili, 054-506540, gili@lama-lo.co.il (not for overseas) -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Fri Jan 9 20:44:21 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:08 2004 Subject: (Fwd) OCHA reports on what was going on in Nablus in the past two weeks Message-ID: <3FFF12A5.12629.5F4202B@localhost> GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org It's painful to read this, exactly because it is reported so factually, without emotional language. Here follows the report by the Jerusalem-based United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairts (OCHA) - about what was going on in Nablus in the past two weeks and which hardly got any media coverage. ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Subject: Nablus Old City - Initial Status Report, 08 January 2004 To: ochaopt@un.org From: "OCHAoPt" Date sent: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 11:38:00 -0500 Please find attached OCHA oPt special report on the latest IDF operation in Nablus. (See attached file: NABLUS OLD CITY- status report_080104.pdf) Regards United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairts (OCHA) Tel:02-5829962 Fax:02-5825841 Email: ochaopt@un.org Website:www.ochaopt.org ------- End of forwarded message ------- -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: NABLUS OLD CITY- status report_080104.pdf Type: application/octet-stream Size: 85613 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040109/45dc3f47/NABLUSOLDCITY-statusreport_080104.obj From info at gush-shalom.org Sat Jan 10 23:21:39 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:08 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Protest at prison gate + the danger of speaking Message-ID: <40008903.13935.C77682@localhost> GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org [Here follow an action report and two articles. They have in common that each touches upon one of the nightmares of the Israeli government: the growing refusal to serve the occupation; the possibility that talking peace may be inavoidable; the chance that Vanunu will open his mouth.] [] Hundreds demonstrate on hill overlooking Military Prison-6 [] For Sharon's Israel, peace is the biggest danger - Avnery's weekly [] How to keep Vanunu from telling what everybody knows \\// //\\ \\// //\\ \\// [] Hundreds demonstrate on hill overlooking Military Prison-6 עברית על פי בקשה Climbing the mountain opposite Military Prison 6 at Atlit, from where protesters could be visible (and audible) inside the prison, is a tradition going back to the time of Lebanon War - before many of today's refusniks were born. But last week's verdict condemning five young people to spend a whole year behind these grey prison walls there gave today's protest a feeling of special urgency, and quite a few people had come who were not seen at the mountain before. The call of Yesh Gvul and the Refusnik Parents' Forum was joined by ourselves of Gush Shalom as well as Courage to Refuse and Ta'ayush. Altogether, hundreds of people - among them two Knesset Members, Barake and Makhoul - traveled hours in order to climb the rocky slopes, now slippery with the past few days' rainfall. Among the crowd were parents and grandparents and siblings and some girlfriends of the prisoners. Dr. Gadi Elgazi was there, who was sentenced to a year back in 1981 and got pardoned after half a year of intensive campaigning. And quite a few refusnik prisoners from more recent years. Yoni Ben Artzi had come - set free just a few days ago after a year and half behind bars, with the military authorities apparently about to grant him the long-denied CO status. If army intended to create a split in the refusers' ranks by making this gesture at the same time that the Five were dealt with so harshly, it failed - Ben Artzi was warmly greeted and congratulated. There were also quite a few potential prisoners, on whom the next steps in the struggle may depend. Many signatories of the Shministim (highschool seniors) letter of refusal were there. Some of them, scheduled for conscription within a few months, were especially indignant and defiant: "The judges wanted to frighten us by imposing such a long term on the Five. Well, we are not frightened of prison, they will soon see we're not!". This was followed by the familiar strains of "No thank you, Mr. Sharon/Go yourself to Hebron/damn your schemes all to Hell/off we go to prison cell". "Stop - Apartheid Ahead" was the big banner of Yesh Gvul, and Courage to Refuse had "Refusal to the Occupation is Zionism". And there were smaller, hand-painted signs: "Long live the refusers", "We are all refusers", "Release the refusers - imprison the ministers!". A big rainbow flag fluttered above, with the big word "Pace" - Italian for "Peace". "These flags were all over Europe during the Iraq War and later, we should have some here too" said the activist who brought it. An excited shout on the megaphone: "Look at the guard tower on the right, and the white shack near it! There are people waving over there, four or five!" Were they our five? And then, waving from another part of the prison complex, identified by a former prisoner as the officers' enclosure. That might have been reserve Captain Dan Tamir, imprisoned for refusal to go to the West Bank. (Except for the famous Five, there are six reservists in the military prison, on terms of 28 or 35 days each). "I know how it feels to be in there and see a demonstration up here on the mountain. I know what a wonderful warm feeling of support it gives" said Yigal Rosenberg, who spent several months at prison 6 in 2002. "The military court imposed a whole year's imprisonment on the five who refused to take part in occupation and oppression. Soldiers who shot unarmed Palestinians to death got a suspended sentence - if they were prosecuted at all. Those who killed a five-year old child at Nablus last week were not even investigated, much less punished" said Yishai Menuchin of Yesh Gvul. "The army hopes that after the immediate media upsurge, these five young people will be forgotten behind the prison wall. We will not let them be forgotten, we will maintain an ongoing campaign in the country and all over the world, we will not give the military and civil authorities a moment of rest " said Alex Ma'or, father of the imprisoned Adam Ma'or; he also called upon those present to keep up to date on the struggle by regularly visiting the new website - http://www.refuz.org.il - of the Refusers' Parents Forum *** [] For Sharon's Israel, peace is the biggest danger - Avnery's weekly Uri Avnery 10/1/04 A Fox called Lion עברית על פי בקשה או בקרוב באתר You really can't rely on these Arabs. Take this fellow, Qaddafi. For decades he played the clown. The whole world laughed at him (except when he downed a French plane in Chad and the Pan-Am jet over Lockerbie.) His Libya was a "rogue state", an international pariah. He was working on Weapons of Mass Destruction. The Americans hated him, and from time to time bombed him, killing his daughter on one such occasions. You could rely on good old Qaddafi. He supplied us with an alibi for producing all kinds of interesting weapons. Everybody understood that with such people around, Israel needs the doomsday weapon, and that it's useless to talk about peace. And then, suddenly… Suddenly Qaddafi becomes the darling of the world. Look at him, in his Bedouin robes: a serious man, a sober and pragmatic statesman. Pays a fortune to the families of the victims in the planes he has downed. Invites the Americans along to see for themselves how he destroys his stock of WMD. Flatters President Bush. Makes advances to Israel. Tomorrow - God forbid! - he may invite Bush to mediate between himself and his dear colleague, Ariel Sharon. If Bush starts to pamper Qaddafi, he will coddle Sharon less. He might get the idea that Israel, too, get rid of its Weapons of Mass Destruction. Perish the thought! Or take Iran. Well, they aren't really Arabs, but they are Muslims, and all Muslims are the same, aren't they? Anti-Semites. Israel-haters. Plotting to destroy us. One used to be able to rely on Iran. There is always somebody there shouting "Death to America! Death to Israel!" They are trying to produce nuclear bombs. They vow to bury the Great Satan together with the Small Satan (us). True, we did sell them some arms, quite quietly, with American blessing (see: Irangate), but that doesn't count. President Bush even included them in his "Axis of Evil". We were hoping that after the occupation of Iraq, the Americans would deal with them. Between Afghanistan and Iraq, Iran sits like an almond between the jaws of a nutcracker. And then, suddenly… Suddenly Iran is dripping honey. They thank the Americans for the generous assistance sent to the victims of the big earthquake. They invite international inspectors to check their nuclear installations. And the Americans - who can believe it? - let themselves be seduced. They emit conciliatory noises. And there are already some people who expect us to behave like Libya and Iran, to open our nuclear installations to inspection. Perish the thought! But all this is nothing compared to Syria. If there was one Arab nation you could rely on without reservation it was the Syrians. Born Israel-haters. Tough. Uncompromising. Stockpiling chemical and biological weapons. True, they respect the cease-fire line with Israel, but they use the Hizbollah against us instead. And they play host to the headquarters of the militant Palestinian organizations in Damascus. The Bush administration has officially labeled Syria a terrorist state. It has targeted them. Our friends in the Pentagon, Wolfowitz and the other Neo-Zionists, promised us that Syria would be the next candidate for an American invasion, right after Iraq. Our good friends, the Turks, were also to join in the party. After all, they have had an ongoing quarrel with Syria since the late 1930s, when the French (who controlled Syria at the time) gave them the Syrian Alexandretta region. And this conflict deepened even more when Syria began supporting the Kurdish revolt in Turkey and demanded a bigger share of the Euphrates water. And now, suddenly… Suddenly this youngster, Bashar, changes direction overnight. Suddenly al-Assad ("the Lion") turns into al-Taleb ("the Fox"). Says he wants peace. Wants to help the Americans. Invites Israel to renew negotiations. Visits Turkey and forges an alliance with them against Kurdish independence in northern Iraq. That is dangerous. Terribly dangerous. The American might pressure us to make peace with Syria and give the Golan back to them. True, up to now, the Americans have reacted coolly to the Syrian overtures, but that may change. As the American elections draw nearer, and Bush's adversaries increasingly paint the Iraq war as one big fiasco, Bush will be keen to demonstrate that the war was actually an enormous success. To wit: It has created a New Middle East (alas, without Shimon Peres). The wicked states, Iran, Syria and Libya, have forsaken their bad old ways and are basking in the Pax Americana. All the Weapons of Mass Destruction in the region have been abolished, except for Israel's. No wonder the Sharon government is in a dilemma. They are doing what they can to foil this plot. They publish Qaddafi's overtures, so as to embarrass him into denying them. They reject Assad's peace stratagem. "Don't run and jump!" Sharon admonished his ministers this week, commanding them not to get excited about it. Assad is not serious. He only wants to suck up to the Americans. He wants to use us in order to reach Bush. For him, Israel is only "a stair of the White House", as Sharon put it. Defeatists might say: let's seize the opportunity. Assad is weak? Assad is afraid? Assad want to appease the Americans? All the better, that is the opportunity to make peace. What have we got to lose? If Assad is serious, we can put an end to our conflict with a dangerous enemy. And if he isn't, we will unmask him. (The same defeatists proposed in 1972, too, that we should accept the peace offers sent by Anwar Sadat via the UN emissary, Gunnar Jaring. But Israel had a tough leader, Golda Meir, who rejected them "out of hand". True, this led to the Yom-Kippur war and the deaths of some 2000 young Israelis, not to mention the tens of thousands of Egyptians and Syrians, but it certainly screwed the defeatists.) Sharon will not accept the Syrian proposal, because that might lead to peace. And peace with the Syrians would mean the return of the Golan and the dismantling of all the settlements there. That would be awful. It would also be a dangerous precedent for the Palestinians. Bashar Assad, the fox in lion's clothing, wants to renew the negotiations at the point where they were broken off by Ehud Barak. At the time, Barak just managed to save himself from the threat of peace in the nick of time. Assad Sr. would accept nothing less than regaining the shores of Lake Tiberias (the June 4, 1967 line) instead of staying ten meters short of it (the 1949 line). Barak couldn't stand the idea of Assad dipping his long feet in the waters of this lake. Now Assad Jr. is hinting that he is prepared to forgo the pleasure. He can dip his long feet somewhere else. Perhaps in the waters of the Euphrates. Sharon will not repeat the mistake of Barak, who barely extricated himself by the skin of his teeth. He will not start negotiations at all. And indeed, if Assad is weak, why negotiate with him? Catch 23: If the Arabs are strong, you can't make peace with them. You have to defeat them. And if the Arabs are weak, there is no need to make peace with them. Why offer them anything? Catch 24: If the Arabs say they want war, you have to believe them. But if the Arabs say they want peace, they are clearly lying. And how can you make peace with liars? *** [] How to keep Vanunu from telling what everybody knows [These days both mass circulation papers, Ma'ariv and Yediot Aharonot write a lot about what life Mordechai Vanunu can expect after his release from the 18-year prison sentence. Rayna Moss, a years-long anti-nuclear activist sent us the following translation.] ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Sat, 10 Jan 2004 04:07:46 +0200 From: rayna moss תרגום מידיעות אחרונות של יום חמישי Atomic Problem Yediot Ahronot (p. 4) by Ronen Bergman -- Jan. 8 Three years ago I went to Shikma Prison in Ashkelon to interview an Arab prisoner. And there, in the middle of the well-tended garden made by the prisoners, I saw him-Mordechai Vanunu. For a short moment I saw a bucolic scene, as if taken from some other reality. A serene, smilin g man, sitting on a bench in a garden and reading Nietzsche in English. I approached him and extended my hand. Vanunu smiled and shook my han d weakly. "Pleased to meet you, my name is Ronen," I said. "I'm Motti," the most confined prisoner in the State of Israel replied. Before we c ould continue to talk, screaming wardens rushed over and grabbed him away from what could have been an exclusive interview. Just like the picture in the garden was misleading, so too, those who think that the war over I srael's ambiguity has died down, are misled. This war is being waged full steam on a number of fronts. One of the most important is abou t to flare up. Mordechai Vanunu, the atomic spy who revealed Israel's nuclear secrets to the entire world, is about to complete the 18 year se ntence he was given and to go free. Concern that Vanunu Will Want Revenge The Defense Ministry and the Justice Ministry began three years ago to think what to do about V anunu. As Yehiel Horev, in charge of security at the Defense Ministry and responsible for nuclear ambiguity, says, Vanunu is like a bull who has already tasted blood. He has never expressed remorse, he has only continued to justify his acts, he has accrued great anger toward the State of Israel for imprisoning him under harsh conditions for so many years, and according to some versions, has lost his reason in the cou rse of those long years. The security establishment is almost certain that if Vanunu is allowed to go on his way, he wil l leave Israel (as he has said he will do, in order to teach history in the US) and begin to sing. To prevent this future problem from coming true, the Justice Ministry and Defense Ministry are examining a number of possibilities, all based on the emergency regulations. One possibility, not highly likely, came up in the first meetings, and that is to put Vanunu under administrative detention, as is done to Palestinian wanted men. This is problematic from a number off aspects. First, such a move would arouse great protest in Israel and in the world, since this would mean continuing his imprisonment, which was completed in full. Not only that, since the secur ity establishment does not believe the danger Vanunu poses will pass one day, this means he would have to be held in detention until his dying da y. Another possibility, more likely, is based on the regulation that allows the interior minister to stop a person from leaving the country. Vanunu could then be released tomorrow, and if he again lets his tongue loose, he can be t ried and thrown into jail. The last time use was made of this Draconian measure was when the previous interior minister, E li Yishai, prevented the head of the Islamic Movement, Sheikh Raed Salah, from leaving the country because of the investigation against the Islamic Movement. The State Attorney's Office is considering making use of another regulation as well, making it possible to restrict the movements of somebody to a specific geographical location in Israel. Use of this rule was made in the past again st extreme right wing activists and underworld figures. Why Are They Scared of Him? Why, actually, are they so afraid of Vanunu? The whole issue of nuclear ambiguity is in fact a g ame of let's pretend, carried to absurdity. On the face of it, what we have is the most classified secret in the State of Israel. In practice, anyone on the globe who is interested, thinks he knows not only what Israel has, but also where exactly it is storing it. Yehiel Horev considers himself as standing on the front line, keeper of the seal of Israel's de epest secrets. In closed forums, Horev compares Israel's ambiguity to a glass of water. "My job," Horev said, "is to ensure that the water doesn't spill over the glass. Up until the Vanunu affair, the water was at a very low level. The affair caused the water l evel to rise significantly and caused Israel great damage, but the water still didn't overflow. If we let certain people act in the matte r, the water will spill." Horev watches the "water level" and every year publishes a report with an updated "ambiguity index." As Horev sees it, the very preoccupation with the Vanunu affair will reawaken the whole nuclear issue for an international debate. All this interest, Horev says, makes the water level rise and therefore affects state security. To mini mize the damage, Vanunu must be silenced. The very thought that the nuclear spy will talk on television the day after his release, is Horev's nightmare. The gist of the problem, Horev believes, is not that he will reveal some detail or another. Van unu, after all, has already said everything he knows. The Americans, so the security establishment claims, deliberately ignore what Israel does, in exchange for a promise given them back during Golda Meir's time, to maintain ambiguity. This is getting harder and harder: Horev claims that today there are already a great many items , such as certain kinds of computers, that Israel finds hard to obtain because of its refusal to sign the NPT. Relinquishing ambiguity will ma ke this impossible. Horev says that the principle of ambiguity is even convenient for Egypt: breaking this principle will obligate Egypt to cool its relations with Israel even further. On the other hand, other experts contend that since in any case this is a game of let's pretend , in which the Americans look away from what is under their noses, then only an official declaration by Israel about its capabilities can dispel the nuclear ambiguity. The fact is, these experts say-among them Dr. Avner Cohen, who wrote the most comprehensive book on Israel' s nuclear history-Vanunu went public in 1986 and even this didn't completely dispel the nuclear ambiguity. The battle over Vanunu's fate becomes more significant in light of recent developments in the M iddle East. Iranian consent, at least on the surface, to stop enriching uranium and to sign the convention, along with Libya's abandoning its ef forts to obtain such weapons, puts Israel with its back to the wall. Today Israel is even considering deviating from its usual policy and sig ning the convention against the proliferation of chemical weapons, just so long as it does not have to sign the convention against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. This is How the Nuclear Spy Can Be Restricted Yedioth Ahronoth (p. 5) by Tova Tzimuki -- On April 21, in 105 days, the gates of Shikma Prison wi ll open and atomic spy Mordechai Vanunu will go free after 18 years. But the closer his release comes, so the confusion and uncertainty in the legal establishment increases. At this stage, the security establishment is considering an unofficial appeal to State Attorne y Edna Arbel to plan the restrictions that will be imposed on Vanunu. Arbel has not held a discussion on the matter yet, and it is believed it will take place in a month. "We are facing an unprecedented legal challenge," admit senior legal officials. "The problem is twofold: it is clear to us that any means we take to restrict Vanunu's freedom-after he has paid his debt society-will be examined meti culously by the High Court of Justice and by human rights organizations all over the world." The legal establishment is considering a "package of restrictions" to prevent Vanunu from conti nuing to reveal the secrets he has. The following are the possible actions that could be taken: 1. Ban on leaving the country. Mordechai would not be able to get a passport on the grounds tha t he still poses a risk to state security. This measure will likely be adopted. 2. Restricting his movement in Israel. The state may decide that Vanunu can only stay in a cert ain geographic area. This will make it easy to monitor him and know with whom he is meeting. This measure will also likely be taken. 3. Censorship restrictions. The Israeli media may not be allowed to publish interviews with Van unu in which he reveals sensitive information. The likelihood of this measure being taken is high. 4. Administrative detention. The state could leave Vanunu in prison claiming he still endangers security. The likelihood of such an unusual step is low: the security establishment would find it hard to explain to the High Court of Justice why someone who has served his sentence should not be released. In addition, such a step would arouse international protest. *** -- New on the gush Shalom website: Q & A re security: http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/index.html (עברית) http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/english.html (English) -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Tue Jan 13 04:26:03 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:08 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Today in Tulkarem Camp - not even breaking news Message-ID: <4003735B.22212.48DC80@localhost> GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org International release Two reports about what is going on right now. The one, a description from ISM volunteers who join in this difficult hour the people of the Tulkarem Camp. The other described from the army point of view on the Ha'aretz website . [] ISM report: Invasion and round-up in Tulkarem Camp [] Ha'aretz - Three Palestinians wounded by IDF in Tul Karm \\// //\\ \\// //\\ \\// [] ISM report: Invasion and round-up in Tulkarem Camp ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "International Solidarity Movement" Date sent: Tue, 13 Jan 2004 01:57:42 +0200 Subject: [palsolidarity] Invasion and round-up in Tulkarem Camp Send reply to: "Huwaida" Monday, January 12, 2004 ISRAELI ARMY OCCUPIES TULKAREM CAMP Massive round-up of men, women and children [Tulkarem] The Israeli Army invaded Tulkarem Refugee Camp shortly before 11:00 this morning. Approximately 20-30 military vehicles - APCs and jeeps - rolled into the camp, occupied its entirety and carried out operations in three neighborhoods in the central part of the camp – al-Hamam, al-Nadi and al- Balawni. Four international ISM volunteers, who had received an urgent call in the morning, arrived in the camp at 11AM to find that soldiers had called all men women and children in a section of the camp to come out of their homes. Soldiers rounded up the residents at a local building used as a daycare, which they had occupied and were using for interrogation. They then separated men from the women and children and sent the women and children over to the UNWRA building, which the Israeli military had also taken over. Shortly before 1PM soldiers loaded approximately 230 men, handcuffed and blindfolded in to military armored carriers and left the camp. The women and small children were kept in the streets in the cold and rain from 11AM until approximately 9PM, when they were allowed to disperse. However the women were prevented from reaching their homes by military cordons and were forced to seek other shelter. There has been Israeli military fire and explosions throughout the day as soldiers conducted house to house searches. One house in the camp caught on fire and Israeli soldiers let the house burn for a significant period of time before they would allow a fire truck to approach the house. Soldiers have not only taken over the camp daycare and UNWRA building, but have also occupied civilian homes, including the home of Abu Ghassan al-Sifareeni, who lives with his wife, son, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren. Currently the entire camp, home to 17,000 refugees is under house arrest and explosions can still be heard throughout the camp as soldiers continue their operation. Two international ISM volunteers are staying in a house across from UN building, where approximately 20 women and 30 children who couldn’t get to their own homes are also staying. For more information from the camp, please call: Flo - +972-67-361-708 or +972-64-309-753 or AbdelKarim - +972-59-836-783 END INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT www.palsolidarity.org *** [] Ha'aretz - Three Palestinians wounded by IDF in Tul Karm Ha'aretz Update: 13/01/2004 00:07 http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=382145&contras sID=1&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y From info at gush-shalom.org Tue Jan 13 18:14:51 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:08 2004 Subject: [Gush Shalom] British Airways billboards in West Bank settlement Message-ID: <4004359B.13695.10B7C92@localhost> GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org Following is the text of a letter sent today by Gush Shalom, to the British Airways company. In the end follow address details which you can use for adding your voice. What it is about: Huge billboards carrying ads of British Airwaves put up in the Ariel settlement. See for yourself at http://gush-shalom.org/ariel --- To The Management British Airways London, UK A few days ago, an Israeli peace activist monitoring the situation on the West Bank noticed two large billboards placed at the entrance to the West Bank settlement of Ariel, with a conspicuous British Airways logo. The ads bear mock London road signs with such place names as "Buckingham Palace", "Hyde Park" etc. and underneath them an ad offering cheap flights to London. I would like to point out the following: 1) Ariel is – according to international law - an illegal settlement, created on occupied Palestinian territory in contravention if the Fourth Geneva Convention (of which both Israel and your country are signatories) and which forbid an occupying power to settle its citizens in occupied territory. 2) The creation of Ariel and other West Bank settlements and their continued maintenance and extension is about the most hotly debated and controversial political subject in Israel. The majority wants to give up the settlements which take to high a price and endanger the country's chance of ever reaching peace with its Palestinian and Arab neighbors. 3) The settlement of Ariel, where the BA billboards have been placed, is mentioned as the reason for an especially deep penetration of the “Separation Wall” into Palestinian territory - a matter which was taken up both by the US Government and by your country's own Prime Minister Tony Blair. And it has even become more acute since it became part of the agenda of the World Court in the Hague. Given the above, the placing of very conspicuous British Airways billboards at Ariel could be taken - even if that was not the original intention - as an endorsement by your company of a phenomenon which, to say the least, does not deserve endorsement. The placing of billboards at that particular location may alienate a large number of potential customers worldwide. It might, therefore, be advisable for your company to order the removal of said billboards. (Photos of them can be seen at http://gush-shalom.org/ariel). Sincerely yours Adam Keller Spokesperson, Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc) Pob 2542, Holon 58125, Israel Phone & Fax 972-3-5565804 email info@gush-shalom.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you want to take up the matter yourself with British Airways: British Airwaves press office phone +44 (0)208 738 5100 fax +44 (0)208 738 9838; British Airwaves customer Service phone +44 191 490 7901 fax +44 (0)20 8759 4314 and/or emaul to: British Airwaves Corporate Responsibilty Department community.branch@britishairways.com Please, send copies of emails and faxes to: info@gush-shalom.org  -- חדש באתר: בטחון & החומה http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/index.html New on the site: Security & The Wall http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/english.html -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Wed Jan 14 21:15:25 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:08 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] British Airways to remove all billboards from settlements Message-ID: <4005B16D.7589.6D74F47@localhost> GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org [] British Airways removes billboards from settlements, following international campaign [] Supreme Court injunction re Aqaba house demolition * [The information which follows is about the success which we had asking British Airways to avoid putting up billboards in settlements. Meanwhile, this turned into another day of death - a Palestinian woman blowing herself up amidst soldiers at the Erez Checkpoint, in this senseless cycle which can only be ended by ending the occupation. It's also the day that in London Tom Hurndall died, months after he was shot by an IDF sniper while trying, as ISM activist, to remove a Palestinian child from the shooting range.] * [] British Airways removes billboards from settlements, following international campaign נוסח בעברית במסר נפרד This morning British Airways announced the removal of its advertising billboard placed at the entrance to the settlement of Ariel. These billboards had been at the focus of a short but intensive campaign. Gush Shalom (the Israeli Peace Bloc) had been alerted to the placing of the billboards by activists monitoring settlement activity. Thereupon, Gush Shalom sent a letter to the British Airways administration, asking for the billboards removal, and informing its network of international contacts of the addresses where they could add their voice. Within hours, hundreds of messages reached the BA offices by phone, fax and email, several of them from long-time regular passengers and at least one from a British Airways shareholder, all reiterating the call for removal of the billboards - with such arguments as: - that it is a cruel mockery to place, clearly visible to Palestinians who are subject to severe travel restrictions and hardly can't move from one village to another, billboards advertising cheap flights to London which are offered to the settlers living on these Palestinians' confiscated land. - that Ariel is an illegal settlement built on occupied Palestinian land in contravention of International Law; - that the desire to annex exactly the Ariel settlement it is one of the main reasons for erection of the "Separation Wall" which is soon coming up on the agenda of the International Court of Justice at the Hague. This morning, Gush Shalom Spokesperson Adam Keller got a phone call from David Tamir, director of the Tel-Aviv based Tamir-Cohen advertising agency which handles British Airways' Israeli advertising campaign. Tamir told that his employees had already been dispatched to remove the Ariel billboards. According to him, there had been no intention to advertise specifically at Ariel, and the billboards there had been part of 1,200 spread throughout the country, and that "the exact placing of billboards had been entrusted to a sub-contractor". Keller argued that his agency' advertising campaign had clearly been built on the assumption that Ariel is a normal Israeli town, to be included as a matter of course in any nation-wide advertising. "For us, this is an unacceptable assumption. Ariel is not part of Israel, either by International Law or by Israel's own law." Tamir stated that "We would have removed them immediately had you phoned us discreetly, without making such a fuss", and he promised to check whether any of his billboards had been placed at other settlements, and if so remove them as well. Gush Shalom had been maintaining an ongoing consumer boycott of products originating at settlements in the Occupied Territories, in which tens of thousands of Israeli families take part. The movement's aim is to make as clear and unmistakable a distinction as possible between Israel's internationally-recognized sovereign territory and the territories occupied in 1967 which are not part of Israel, which are subject to a more and more cruel occupation rule that must be terminated." For more information: Gush Shalom Spokesperson Adam Keller: 03-5565804 / 056-709603 [] Supreme Court injunction re Aqaba house demolition Some weeks ago, a mass of activists all over the world heeded our call (which was joined by Jewish Voice for Peace in the US) and sent protest letters to the government of Israel about the destruction of two houses and the threat to demolish another ten, at the quiet village of Aqaba, south-east of Jenin. The matter got some public attention due to the interest of Ha'aretz columnist Akiva Eldar, and also several Western embassies and consulates took it up with the Sharon government. For its part, the Israeli Teachers' Association expressed strong protest at the threat to demolish the village's only kindergarten. Meanwhile ICAHD (Committee Against House Demolitions) engaged the services of Adv. Eli Tusya-Cohen, a well-known Jerusalem lawyer who specializes in land ownership issues and who had not been previously involved in matters concerning Palestinians under occupation. He brought to the case a lot of energy and some innovative legal arguments not previously used in cases of this kind. Earlier this week, an appeal was lodged at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, which issued a temporary injunction forbidding any further demolitions pending substantive proceedings. So, all the efforts together seem to have bought some time for Aqaba, making it possible for a legal struggle to be effective. -- חדש באתר: בטחון & החומה http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/index.html New on the site: Security & The Wall http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/english.html -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Jan 15 15:47:44 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:08 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Another call for action & a very short ad Message-ID: <4006B620.14134.8B4167@localhost> GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org [] Budrus: Abu Ahmad and his brother Naeem lifted from their beds including: WHAT YOU CAN DO (forwarded from IWPS) [] About Peace versus War Resisters - Gush Shalom's ad of this week [] Interview with the father of Gil Na'amati \\// //\\ \\// //\\ \\// [] Budrus: Abu Ahmad and his brother Naeem lifted from their beds including: WHAT YOU CAN DO (forwarded from IWPS) ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "IWPS" Subject: Abu Ahmad and his brother Naeem arrested now at 2am in Budrus Date sent: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 01:58:32 +0200 http://www.womenspeacepalestine.org Thursday 15 January 2003 - 2am Ayed Morar (Abu Ahmad) of Budrus village has just been arrested and taken from his home by soldiers. Onegroup of soldierscame for him and another group went to re-arrest his brother Na'eem, who was only just released from Ofer prison at midnight on 11th January (without being charged after 10 days of being in jail). Six jeeps of soldiers have right now just leftthe village of Budrus, two minutes ago. This happened ahead of tomorrow's planned peaceful demonstration against the Apartheid Wall at 12 noon in Budrus. There is little other information available at this point. Ofer prison is alternatively not answering the phone and answering it and hanging up. Please call them as soon as you can and demand Na'eem and Ayed Morar's safe and immediate release from prison. Last week Na'eem wasremoved fromprison at one point, and beaten up before being taken back to prison. We are very much fearing for the safety and wellbeing of the brothers.Call Ofer on(972) (0)2-588-4325 or 588-4300 Background Information URGENT ACTION TO FREE PALESTINIAN POLITICAL PRISONERS AND STOP THE APARTHEID WALL Eight men from the village of Budrus are imprisoned by the Israeli army for their role as organizers of nonviolent resistance to the Apartheid Wall construction. Three havebeen held in Ketziot for one month: Bilal Sami Mustafa Raqan Tayseer Khalisa Behar Muhammed Abdallah Awad Sixothers were arrested over a week ago and are held in Ofer: Abdelrahim Omar Mustafa Awad Abdelrahman Omar Mustafa Awad Hamzi Omar Mustafa Awad Mustafa Sami Mustafa Awad Na'eem Morar (since released) Abdelnasser Ahmad Hussein Morar Defend the right of Palestinians to protest in defense oftheir land. Your calls really do make a difference! Call today to demand their release: Ofer Military Prison: +972-2-588-4325 or +972-2-588-4300 Ketziot Prison Camp: +972 (0)8-650-6715 [] About Peace versus War Resisters - Gush Shalom's ad of this week עברית על פי בקשה או בקרוב באתר www.gush-shalom.org [Ad to be published in Ha'aretz, tomorrow Jan. 16] Assad proposes to resume the negotiations. Sharon refuses. THE WAR RESISTERS ARE IN PRISON. THE PEACE RESISTERS ARE IN POWER. Gush Shalom, Help us with donations P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org [] Interview with the father of Gil Na'amati As his son Gil recovers from being shot by Israeli soldiers during an anti- fence protest, Uri Na'amati struggles to reconcile his mainstream beliefs with a harsh new reality - interview by Aviv Lavie full text of the interview in the Ha'aretz Friday magazine: (עברית /Hebrew) http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=382792&sw=%E 0%E1%E9%E1+%EC%E1%E9%E0 (English) http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/383142.html -- חדש באתר: בטחון & החומה http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/index.html New on the site: Security & The Wall http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/english.html -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Jan 15 23:20:07 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:08 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Reactions to Morris Message-ID: <40072027.27367.2297B4B@localhost> We so far hesitated to publish the Benny Morris interview. From revealer to justifier of evil. Why spread it further? But without it the many reactions are not understandable. in this week's Ha'aretz supplement (English) http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=383139&sw=Morris (Hebrew / ????? ) http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/Search.jhtml?searchWord=%EE%E5%F8%E9%F1&commNo=1 For the original interview in English: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/380986.html continued at: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/380984.html ?? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? And attached: "Genocide Hides Behind Expulsion" - a response by Philosophy Professor Adi Ophir (Hebrew & English). Ophir offered it to Ha'aretz. It includes a remark against Ha'aretz allowing Morris' cynicism on its pages. It was refused. -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: adiophir@post.tau.ac.il Subject: Re: [GushShalom] Another call for action & a very short ad Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 16:26:35 +0200 Size: 84456 Url: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040115/b335cc19/attachment.eml From info at gush-shalom.org Sat Jan 17 21:42:40 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:09 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Avnery on truth and abuse of antisemitism & the little racist in each of us Message-ID: <4009AC50.29556.FC03DC@localhost> GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 גוש שלום, ת.ד.,3322 תל אביב [a] On truth and abuse of antisemitism & the little racist in each of us Uri Avnery writes about the subject of his lifetime [b] Palestinian children in Israeli hospitals - activists take care of the families - Yosef Algazi in Ha'aretz about a too little noticed group [c] "Welcome to Abu Dis Ghetto" painter detained for incitement [d] Kate Raphael of IWPS was denied staying under Law of Return (Tonight last chance to do something) [e] Next week (24.1): a mass pro-Geneva demo in Tel-Aviv \\// //\\ \\// //\\ \\// [a] On truth and abuse of antisemitism & the little racist in each of us Uri Avnery writes about the subject of his lifetime Uri Avnery 17.1.04 עברית על פי בקשה או בקרוב באתר Anti-Semitism: A Practical Manual A Hungarian Joke: During the June 1967 war, a Hungarian meets his friend. "Why do you look so happy?" he asks. "I heard that the Israelis shot down six Soviet-made MiGs today," his friend replies. The next day, the friend looks even more jubilant. "The Israelis downed another eight MiGs," he announces. On the third day, the friend is crestfallen. "What happened? Didn't the Israelis down any MiGs today?" the man asks. "They did," the friend answers, "But today someone told me that the Israelis are Jews!" This is the whole story in a nutshell. The Anti-Semite hates the Jews because they are Jews, irrespective of their actions. Jews may be hated because they are rich and ostentatious or because they are poor and live in squalor. Because they played a major role in the Bolshevik revolution or because some of them became incredibly rich after the collapse of the Communist regime. Because they crucified Jesus or because they infected Western culture with the "Christian morality of compassion". Because they have no fatherland or because they created the State of Israel. That is in the nature of all kinds of racism and chauvinism: One hates someone for being a Jew, Arab, woman, black, Indian, Muslim, Hindu. His or her personal attributes, actions, achievements are unimportant. If he or she belongs to the abhorred race, religion or gender, they will be hated. The answers to all questions relating to anti-Semitism follow from this basic fact. For example: Is everybody who criticizes Israel an anti-Semite? Absolutely not. Somebody who criticizes Israel for certain of our actions cannot be accused of anti-Semitism for that. But somebody who hates Israel because it is a Jewish state, like the Hungarian in the joke, is an anti-Semite. It is not always easy to distinguish between the two kinds, because shrewd anti-Semites pose as bona fide critics of Israel's actions. But presenting all critics of Israel as anti-Semites is wrong and counter- productive, it damages the fight against anti-Semitism. Many deeply moral persons, the cream of humanity, criticize our behavior in the occupied territories. It is stupid to accuse them of anti- Semitism. Can a person be an anti-Zionist without being an anti-Semite? Absolutely yes. Zionism is a political creed and must be treated like any other. One can be anti-Communist without being anti-Chinese, anti- Capitalist without being anti-American, anti-Globalist, anti-Anything. Yet, again, it is not always easy to draw the line, because real anti-Semites often pretend just to be "anti-Zionists". They should not be helped by erasing the distinction. Can a person be an anti-Semite and a Zionist? Indeed, yes. The founder of modern Zionism, Theodor Herzl, already tried to enlist the support of notorious Russian anti-Semites, promising them to take the Jews off their hands. Before World War II, the Zionist underground organization IZL established military training camps in Poland under the auspices of the anti-Semitic generals, who also wanted to get rid of the Jews. Nowadays, the Zionist extreme Right receives and welcomes massive support from the American fundamentalist evangelists, whom the majority of American Jews, according to a poll published this week, consider profoundly anti-Semitic. Their theology prophesies that on the eve of the second coming of Christ, all Jews must convert to Christianity or be exterminated. Can a Jew be anti-Semitic? That sounds like an oxymoron. But history has known some instances of Jews who became ferocious Jew-haters. The Spanish Grand Inquisitor, Torquemada, was of Jewish descent. Karl Marx wrote some very nasty things about the Jews, as did Otto Weininger, an important Jewish writer in fin-de-siecle Vienna. Herzl, his contemporary and fellow-Viennese, wrote in his diaries some very uncomplimentary remarks about the Jews. If a person criticizes Israel more than other countries which do the same, is he an anti-Semite? Not necessarily. True, there should be one and the same moral standard for all countries and all human beings. Russian actions in Chechnya are not better than ours in Nablus, and may be worse. The trouble is that the Jews are pictured and picture themselves (and indeed were) a "nation of victims". Therefore, the world is shocked that yesterday's victims are today's victimizers. A higher moral standard is required from us than from other peoples. And rightly so. Has Europe become anti-Semitic again? Not really. The number of anti-Semites in Europe has not grown, perhaps it has even fallen. What has increased is the volume of criticism of Israel's behavior towards the Palestinians, who appear as "the victims of the victims". The situation in some suburbs of Paris, which is often cited as an example of the rise of anti-Semitism, is a quite different affair. When North African Muslims clash with North African Jews, they are transferring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to European soil. It is also a continuation of the feud between Arabs and Jews that started in Algeria when the Jews supported the French regime and Muslims considered them collaborators of the hated colonialists. Then why did most Europeans state in a recent poll that Israel endangers world peace more than any other country? That has a simple explanation: Europeans see on television every day what our soldiers are doing in the occupied Palestinian territories. This confrontation is covered more than any other conflict on earth (with the possible exception of Iraq, for the time being), because Israel is more "interesting", considering the long history of the Jews in Europe and because Israel is closer to the Western media than Muslim or African countries. The Palestinian resistance, which Israelis call "terrorism", seems to many Europeans very much like the French resistance to the German occupation. What about the anti-Semitic manifestations in the Arab world? No doubt, typically anti-Semitic indications have crept lately into Arab discourse. Suffice it to mention that the infamous "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" have been published in Arabic. That is a typically European import. The Protocols were invented by the secret police of Czarist Russia. Whatever inanities may be voiced by certain "experts", there never was any widespread Muslim anti-Semitism, such as existed in Christian Europe. In the course of his fight for power, the prophet Muhammad fought against neighboring Jewish tribes, and therefore there are some negative passages about the Jews in the Kor'an. But they cannot be compared to the anti-Jewish passages in the New Testament story about the crucifixion of Christ that have poisoned the Christian world and caused endless suffering. Muslim Spain was a paradise for the Jews, and there has never been a Jewish Holocaust in the Muslim world. Even pogroms were extremely rare. Muhammad decreed that the "Peoples of the Book" (Jews and Christians) be treated tolerantly, subject to conditions that were incomparably more liberal than those in contemporary Europe. The Muslims never imposed their religion by force on Jews and Christians, as shown by the fact that almost all the Jews expelled from Catholic Spain settled in the Muslim countries and flourished there. After centuries of Muslim rule, Greeks and Serbs remained thoroughly Christian. When peace is established between Israel and the Arab world, the poisonous fruits of anti-Semitism will most probably disappear from the Arab world (as will the poisonous fruits of Arab-hating in our society.) Aren't the utterances of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir bin Muhammad, about the Jews controlling the world, anti-Semitic? Yes and no. They certainly illustrate the difficulty of pinning anti- Semitism down. From a factual point of view, the man was right when he asserted that the Jews have a far bigger influence than their percentage of the world's population alone would warrant. It is true that the Jews have a large influence on the policy of the United States, the only super-power, as well as on the American and international media. One does not need the phony "Protocols" in order to face this fact and analyse its causes. But the sounds make the music, and Mahathir's music does indeed sound anti- Semitic. So should we ignore anti-Semitism? Definitely not. Racism is a kind of virus that exists in every nation and in every human being. Jean-Paul Sartre said that we are all racists, the difference being that some of us realize this and fight against it, while others succumb to the evil. In ordinary times, there is a small minority of blatant racists in every country, but in times of crisis their number can multiply rapidly. This is a perpetual danger, and every people must fight against the racists in their midst. We Israelis are like all other peoples. Each of us can find a small racist within himself, if he searches hard enough. We have in our country fanatical Arab-haters, and the historic confrontation that dominates our lives increases their power and influence. It is our duty to fight them, and leave it to the Europeans and Arabs to deal with their own racists. [b] Palestinian children in Israeli hospitals - activists take care of the families - Yosef Algazi in Ha'aretz about a too little noticed group ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 15:50:56 +0200 From: rayna moss Subject: Children Tel Hashomer, Ha'aretz Article, Friday 16.January English http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/382720.html Hebrew http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=383561 `An island of sanity' They are required to obtain entry permits, to be at the bedside of their sick children, and arrive at the checkpoints without any personal effects to shorten the wait there. A day in the hospital with Palestinian parents from Gaza By Joseph Algazy "I visited Tel Hashomer Hospital on Friday. As usual, most of the work was carried out in the intensive care unit, to which I brought cooked food and non-perishables (tea, coffee, sugar). The telephone cards were grabbed up, and even though I had brought a sufficient quantity, none were left for the other departments. All the adults in all the departments received food. I brought disposable diapers in two sizes - for newborn infants and for 2- year-olds." This was the report that volunteer Nava Harnam made to her colleagues about her most recent visit to Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer. For more than a year now, she has been part of a group of volunteers that has been regularly helping to care for Palestinian children from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank who are hospitalized there, and to assist the parents who are looking after them. Physicians for Human Rights has taken the entire project under its organizational - and material - wing. "In October 2002, I got a phone call from Widah al-Khatib, a Palestinian resident of Beit Iba, a small village west of Nablus. He told me that the parents of a 2-week-old infant from his village, Shihab Ishtawi, who was born with a heart defect and was hospitalized at Tel Hashomer, were crying for help," relates the coordinator of the volunteer group, Bilha Golan, describing how it was conceived and how it works. "When I met them the next day they were very worried about the baby's condition, and because they had left three small children behind in the village. To my astonishment, I discovered that for several days they had not eaten properly, had not bathed and had not changed clothes. Later I found out that other parents of Palestinian children from Gaza and the West Bank who are also inpatients at the hospital live in the same conditions." Golan decided to relate her experiences at the hospital to the public via the Internet communications network of the Actleft human rights organization, and called upon people to volunteer to help the families of the hospitalized children. In this way a group was organized, which works mostly in the intensive care, oncology, thoracic and cardiac surgery and rehabilitation units at Tel Hashomer. It is now comprised of about 12 people - women and men, Jews and Arabs. One of them, T.G., a conscripted soldier, came to visit Shihab Ishtawi at the hospital every day. Often he enlisted buddies from his unit to his aid. "After a few days, the mother had to go home to take care of the rest of her children," says Golan. "The father, Ka'ed Ishtawi, remained at [the child's] side. From him we learned about the obstacles encountered by family members who care for a Palestinian child hospitalized in Israel. He praised the hospital, but complained of the difficulties he encounters on the way to it. "Equipped with a hospitalization certificate from a hospital, a sick child's father, mother, grandfather or grandmother applies to the Israeli- Palestinian liaison committee and asks for an entry permit into Israel. After a few days they get the permit, but it is valid for only one day - from morning till evening. It can happen that the application is rejected `for security reasons.'" According to Golan, a resident of Moshav Beit Shearim and a public health nurse in Zarzir in the north, the Ishtawis came to the hospital without any personal effects in order to make the passage through the checkpoints easier for them selves and to spare detailed searches of their things and the consequent delay. At the entrance to the hospital, the parents deposit their identity cards. As they usually have to stay there - with the staff's knowledge - for days or weeks, they avoid leaving the hospital complex so as not to risk arrest as illegal sojourners. NIS 20 in their pockets "At the hospital, close to where their dear ones are patients, the Palestinians are protected, but the moment they leave, they are vulnerable," says Golan. Thus, for example, Ka'ed Ishtawi was caught outside the hospital when he went to get some food for himself and was arrested by security personnel who took him to the Ramat Gan police. With the intervention of the volunteers, who explained his situation, he was released. During the recent Ramadan month of fasting, Ishtawi went home, but then the baby's condition worsened and he was called back by the doctors. He was delayed at roadblocks, and only after Golan contacted the Civil Administration was he able to get to the hospital and be at his son's bedside. In the end, however, despite all the doctors' efforts, his son died. "The fact that their baby died was unbearably difficult for his parents, but they know that the doctors and nurses at the hospital gave their baby the best medical care and did all they could to save him," says Al-Khatib. On their way to Tel Hashomer, patients and their relatives who reside in Gaza pass through the Erez checkpoint; West Bank residents go through the Oranit roadblock. In either case, they are detained for anything from half an hour to two hours and often much longer. In an attempt to shorten the procedures there, most of them enter Israel without any personal effects, even though they will remain at the hospital for days or even weeks. Many of them, because of their economic distress, come into Israel with barely NIS 20 in their pockets. The volunteers try to provide them with what they need. Harnam, a retired teacher who lives in Herzliya, relates that on her shift on Friday two weeks ago, she brought along cooked food, disposable diapers, bars of soap and telephone cards. Like others in the group, it is she who pays for these items out of her own pocket. Her husband drives her to the hospital. Last Friday, one of the volunteers, Amal Shehadeh of Haifa, a master's student of translation at Bar-Ilan University, came along with her aunt with cooked food that her aunts had made, in her father's car. Sometimes neighbors also volunteer to prepare the food that is delivered, and add soap, sweets and toys for the sick children. Last week the volunteer group took care of 18 children. The needs of the parents who are tending them are great. Apart from the contributions provided by the members of the group, it also receives donations. In the explanatory page that is distributed to new volunteers, it says that the group members "do not give out money, cannot provide medications, treatment, entry permits into Israel, sojourning permits or payments to the hospital." Two ambulances, one body Yousra Dib, who lives in the Al-Zeitun neighborhood in Gaza, made arrangements by telephone to have an ambulance from Gaza bring her grandson - 3-month-old Abed al-Rahman Dib, who had died the previous day of cancer that had spread throughout his body - home from the hospital. She found out that under the new security regulations, the Red Crescent ambulance from Gaza would not be allowed to enter the hospital grounds. When the vehicle arrived at the hospital gate, therefore, another ambulance, from the hospital, transported her grandson's body to it. According to Dib, the doctors had treated her grandson devotedly and also told the family to bring his 4-year-old sister Nura to the hospital for examination. "They found a hole in the heart of my 2- year-old daughter Ranya, who suffers from Down syndrome," explains Iman Irba'I of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza. "She is the youngest of my eight children. My husband is unemployed. After great efforts, the Palestinian Authority agreed to pay for the surgery and for the girl's hospitalization in Israel. I'm worried, but I'm confident that the child is getting the best medical care." Golan and her colleagues stress that since the day it began, the group's volunteer activity has been carried out with the agreement and full cooperation of Tel Hashomer's management and the various units. As an example of the facility's openness, Golan cited the case of Muhammad Kot, 9, from the environs of Nablus, who suffered from pernicious anemia and urgently needed a bone marrow transplant. While the Palestinian Authority paid for the costs of the hospitalization and care - about NIS 95,000 - the hospital underwrote the cost of the transplant itself - over $50,000. The transplant was successful and Kot will receive follow-up care at the hospital. "Through the bone marrow transplant, the child received life," says Dr. Amos Toren, head of the pediatric hemato-oncology and bone marrow transplant unit at Tel Hashomer. "In recent years we have performed 5 bone marrow transplants on Palestinian children from the territories. The medical team relates in the most natural way to this medical activity, and the hospital management gives it full backing." Touching encounters In the pediatric intensive care department, the parents of the Palestinian children have at their disposal a waiting room, a kitchenette and two small bedrooms, one for men and one for women, where there are bunk beds. Last Wednesday a Jewish man wearing a skullcap and his wife sat down to rest in this waiting room. The man made efforts to engage the Palestinians who were also sitting there in a conversation. "Sometimes, we overcome the communications difficulties with the help of people who know both languages, Arabic and Hebrew, and sometimes we use English, and when there's no alternative, we use gestures like in a silent movie," explains one of the Palestinian mothers. "The attitude and the atmosphere in the department are really contagious. Girls who are doing National Service help us willingly," relates volunteer Rina Moss. "The illnesses of their children bring Israeli parents close to the Palestinians. Thus, for example, not long ago a mother from central Israel was standing in despair near the door to the intensive care unit where her 10-year-old daughter was being treated for a brain hemorrhage. The father of a Palestinian child who noticed her distress brought her some hot tea that he made himself and started a conversation with her. The two of them sat there, relating their troubles to each other and comforting each other. It was a wonderful scene." Moss also tells, however, of a certain group that distributes food only to the parents of sick Jewish and Israeli Arab children, but not to Palestinians from the territories. The Palestinians spare no praise and gratitude for the doctors, the nurses and the volunteers. They are wary when they speak about the difficulties at the roadblocks at the entrance to Israel and do not say anything specific about the conditions of their life in the territories. Indeed, to the direct question of whether they hate Israel and the Jews, a young Palestinian woman replies: "We hate, but not everybody, not the ones who treat us like human beings, for example, here at the hospital, but those who make us suffer." Says volunteer Shehadeh: "The people who come to the hospital and witness the medical care that their dear ones are given suffer from an inner conflict because of the gap between the reality in which they live in the territories, and the reality that they encounter here at the hospital." "The reality in the territories," adds Golan, "is familiar to me from the weekly volunteer medical project in which I have participated. The occupation creates a destructive reality, whereas here at the hospital, there is an island of sanity." Physicians for Human Rights,52 Golomb Str, Tel Aviv 66171, Israel Tel: 972 3 6873718 [c] "Welcome to Abu Dis Ghetto" For spraying this sentence on the nine meter high wall which cuts right through Abu Dis (suburb of Jerusalem) Israeli painter Angela Godfried was detained by the Border Guards. At the police station she was told: "This is incitement; if you say 'Ghetto', you say we are Nazis." "But isn't it true you are creating a ghetto?" answered Godfried... photos from: Heidi: +972-54-437590 & Mahpuz +972-57-748932 to contact Angela ph: +972-67-366393 [d] Kate Raphael of IWPS was denied staying under Law of Return (Tonight last chance to do something) -----Original Message----- From: IWPS [mailto:iwps@palnet.com] Sent: Sat, January 17, 2004 12:58 AM Subject: Defend the Right of Palestinians to International Jewish Support Defend the Right of Palestinians to International Jewish Support An Israeli administrative judge today rejected the petition of international peace activist Kate Raphael to remain in the country in order to establish residency under the "Law of Return," which guarantees all Jews the right to live in Israel. Saying that "I fear the appeal is without good will," the judge ordered her to leave the country today, January 17, as agreed under the terms of her release from Hadera prison one week ago. Kate was arrested on December 31, along with three other internationals, at a nonviolent protest against the destruction of olive groves in Budrus village in Ramallah District. She was jailed for 9 days. In the last two weeks, seven men who are organizers in the village have also been arrested and are held virtually incommunicado in military prisons. The Ministry of Interior and the judge are attempting to deny Kate's right to live in Israel/Palestine because she does not support the apartheid policies of the government. This is part of the campaign to isolate Palestinian activists from the outside world and crush their resistance. However, we maintain that Jews who stand against injustice must have equal rights with Jews who support it. Kate will leave the country as agreed, in order not to jeopardize her future ability to live in Palestine or Israel. She will attempt to return as soon as possible in order to file her application for residency with the Ministry of Interior.Our lawyer is requesting an immediate hearing on the appeal of the deportation order against her. Your support is urgently needed: Call or fax the Ministry of Interior (by Sunday morning if possible) and demand that they repeal the decision to cancel Kate's visa and deport her. Tell them to let her return to the country to live and work for peace. Minister of Interior Avraham Poraz Fax No. (972) (0)2-566-6376 Phone (972) (0)2-670-1402 sar@moin.gov.il To Minister of Interior Avraham Poraz Fax No. 02-566-6376 Please repeal your decision to cancel the visa of Kate (Kathryn Eve) Raphael and deport her from Israel. As a Jew, she has an equal right with every other Jew to live in Israel. Moreover, she is doing important volunteer work to promote a better society and support nonviolence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Kate has said for a long time that she wanted to live in Israel/Palestine. She requested information about aliyah before she left San Francisco in July. She said when she entered Israel on November 30 that she was considering making aliyah. She was unable to file her application for a residency visa before she was arrested on December 31 because the Ministry of Interior was closed. Israel should welcome Jews like Kate who want to come to Israel to build true democracy and peace. Sincerely, [e] Next week (24.1): a mass pro-Geneva demo in Tel-Aviv עברית באתר http://www.eurointeraction.co.il/geneva/?Mn=start YES TO AN AGREEMENT! In Support of the Geneva Initiative Saturday January 24th, 19:30, Tel-Aviv Intersection of Ibn-Gvirol and Rokach ("Sportek") [due to winter activities at Rabin Square, the demonstration is taking place at a new location] Free Parking For more information and Transportation: 03-7655070 -- Reservist refusers don't receive the IDF salary compensation for lost income. Many of them have a family to maintain. With an increasing number of refusers, the Keren Yesh Gvul (specific fund for compensations) is emptying rapidly. If you want the refusniks also in the future to receive at least something, send a cheque to: "Keren Yesh Gvul", POB 10276, Jerusalem 91102, Israel. More information at http://www.yesh-gvul.org/ -- פעולות נמשחות משוטפות ישראליות-פלסטיניות נגד החומה יונתן 066-327736 - פרנצ'סקה 064-494030 For participating in ongoing joint Israeli-Palestinian protest actions against the wall, call: Jonathan:066-327736 or Franceska:064-494030 -- חדש באתר: בטחון & החומה http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/index.html New on the site: Security & The Wall http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/english.html -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Tue Jan 20 19:35:31 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:09 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Behind smokescreen another 400 made homeless in Rafah Message-ID: <400D8303.5081.42B38AE@localhost> GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 גוש שלום, ת.ד.,3322 תל אביב [a] Behind smokescreen another 400 made homeless in Rafah [b] Short actvism news \\// //\\ \\// //\\ \\// [a] Behind smokescreen another 400 made homeless in Rafah Gush Shalom sent out today a press release pointing out the cynical approach, typical for the Sharon governemt: "While the spotlight is on the theatrical removal of the improvised "Kahane synagogue" in a recently founded illegal hilltop settlement, 30 houses are being demolished in Rafah's Refugee Camp, in the Gaza Strip, without allowing the 400 inhabitants to take out their few belongings." Here follows the report on the Ha'aretz website - http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/385036.html IDF bulldozers Tuesday flattened 30 houses and a mosque in the frequently targeted Rafa refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strio, Palestinian residents and security officials said. Frantic residents threw mattresses and blankets from second-floor windows as beams and walls come crashing down around them. One woman, standing just feet from a bulldozer, waved a white flag in a failed attempt to slow the demolition and buy time to salvage her belongings. A crying girl helped her mother carry a mattress. The military said it did not know how many buildings were demolished, but said it targeted only those from which shots were fired at soldiers overnight. Army officials initially insisted the houses that were razed had been abandoned some time ago, but then said that claim was still being checked. Israel has demolished hundreds of houses in the camp in three years of fighting, saying the buildings give cover to gunmen and weapons smugglers. The Palestinians say Israel is systematically clearing large swaths in the camp to distance built-up areas from the narrow strip Israeli troops patrol along the Egyptian border. Israel has erected a tall metal barrier south of the camp, as a shield for troops patrolling the border. The Palestinian governor of Rafah, Majed Agha, said 30 houses were demolished in an area near the metal wall, and that about 400 people were left homeless. Also razed Tuesday was a neighborhood mosque, Al Tawhid, which had been partially demolished Saturday, residents said. The mosque is about 70 meters Israeli metal barrier. "This is a crime against God's law and human law as well," said mosque preacher Ibrahim Abu Jazar. The military said it was still checking the report of the mosque demolition. In the past three years, troops have generally stayed clear of holy sites. In Tuesday's raid, three bulldozers and several tanks rumbled into the camp before dawn, witnesses said. Residents said there was shooting by Israeli troops. Those in the targeted homes hastily gathered their belongings, and some raised white flags to avoid being hit by tank fire, witnesses said. [b] Short actvism news # Tree planting in Budrus, Wednesday - Thursday ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Rabbis for Human Rights" Date sent: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 19:59:50 +0200 Dear Friends and Supporters, In addition to the tree planting advertised for Wednesday between the Green Line and the Barrier(Leaving Gan HaPaamon at 8:15 and the new Rosh HaAyin train station at 9:15), we will do an additional planting on Thursday. We will depart from Gan HaPaamon at 9:00 and from the new Rosh HaAyin train station at 10:15. Please call or email to reserve space. B'Vrakha, Arik # # The 5 imprisoned COs appeal to Military Appeals Court English http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=384767&contras sID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=384985&cont rassID=2&subContrassID=21&sbSubContrassID=0 Latest update which just came buy phone: The prison authorities want to get rid of the five, whom they say "are no soldiers, and never will become so." The five seem to cause problems for the "re-education" of the other inmates. The idea is to let them serve their year's term in a civilian prison - which is absurd after CO appeals to be judged by a civilian court were rejected in the past because "from the moment that they receive the call-up order they are soldiers." # # For participating in ongoing joint Israeli-Palestinian protest actions against the wall, call: Jonathan:066-327736 or Franceska:064-494030 # # Veteran peace activist Gila Svirsky will be in the Philadelphia area in February, on a speaking tour. She has still time for invitations to Jewish audiences, in private homes or synagogues/temples or wherever. Contact: gsvirsky@netvision.net.il # # Reservist refusers don't receive the IDF salary compensation for lost income. Many of them have a family to maintain. With an increasing number of refusers, the Keren Yesh Gvul (specific fund for compensations) is emptying rapidly. If you want the refusniks also in the future to receive at least something, send a cheque to: "Keren Yesh Gvul", POB 10276, Jerusalem 91102, Israel. More information at http://www.yesh-gvul.org/ # # New on the site: Security & The Wall http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/english.html # -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Wed Jan 21 22:02:06 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:09 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] "My affidavit to The Hague" Yossi Sarid in Ha'aretz Message-ID: <400EF6DE.6833.24BB16E@localhost> GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 גוש שלום, ת.ד.,3322 תל אביב [] Affidavit to The Hague [] Update One corrected & three new items N.B.: TIME CHANGE Trees Planting B'tselem's eye opener video clip Geneva demo postponed Aviv Lavie looking for harassment stories \\// //\\ \\// //\\ \\// [] Affidavit to The Hague עברית באתר http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=385245&cont rassID=2&subContrassID=3&sbSubContrassID=0 [We have held quite some disputes with Meretz members about our rejection, not only of the route of the wall, but of the idea of a separation wall altogether. In the following article Yossi Sarid, after years no longer the Meretz leader, expresses somehow regret that he has been among those who favoured the building of a fence, though not the existing one. But the reason to forward it is above all: his speaking via the Haaretz pages to the International Court in The Hague.] My affidavit to The Hague By Yossi Sarid Ha'aretz, Wed., January 21, 2004 Lately, I've been wondering what I would do if the International Court in The Hague, on its own initiative, asked for my opinion on the separation fence. I find these thoughts oppressive. On the one hand, every human being with a conscience has to do everything he can to topple this bad fence. On the other hand, even those who, like me, feel the Sharon government is an Israeli tragedy, are usually also infected with the patriotic germ, which dissuades them from collaborating with outside parties in the struggle against the evils committed by the government of Israel. The International Court does not have any authority to subpoena me against my will, of course. Nor is its moral jurisdiction on especially solid footing. However, our silence would not be considered moral, either - not in our own eyes, and not in those of others. What should I do? When the idea of the fence was first raised, I hesitated about taking a stand, in either direction. For a while, I "fence straddled." The idea in itself is correct and effective, and no one is entitled to deny the citizens of Israel protection from terrorists. But I took into account the gloomy fact that it was not me who was going to build the fence and determine its route, but Ariel Sharon. And as I know him, his character and his plans, I presumed that this essential fence would come out crooked. If Sharon is able to take something straight and twist it out of shape, he will unquestionably do so. At the time, I even warned Haim Ramon and the other fence advocates that, when it was built, they would have a hard time recognizing their original intent, and that we would come to regret our support for it, just as many people have come to regret their support for various Sharon initiatives over the years, having always come out on the short end of the stick. While engaged in my fence straddling, I was confronted by many fine people: if, as has already been proven, the fence prevents terrorist attacks and saves lives, how do you allow yourself to oppose it; and they were right , I had no ready response. And what would I say in the face of all the murdered victims of terrorism - that I am by nature suspicious, that Sharon doesn't deserve any trust, that this fence may begin with protection but e nds with a brutal attack on Palestinians who have committed no sin, that the roots of the fence may be "separation" but that it ends in annexation? The terrorist attacks grew more frequent, the pressure grew more intense, and then I drafted the Meretz platform, exactly one year ago, writing the following: "During the interim period and until the situation calms down, Meretz supports the accelerated construction of a complete, encompassing and sophisticated separation fence. This fence would be a protective measure against acts of terror. It is preferable for Israel that the route of the fence not include Palestinian population or territories. In addition, Meretz demands that during this period of time, the settlements on the other side of the fence and all of the illegal outposts be dismantled immediately. In the Gaza Strip, all of the settlements would be evacuated, as well as the Jewish settlement in Hebron, which is a recurring, dangerous focus of sever e lawlessness." In an accompanying article, I wrote, in the interests of greater clarification, that the fence should follow along the 1967 lines. I admit that even in my worst nightmares, I never imagined that Ariel Sharon would go so f ar as he has in his fencing efforts. Sharon is larger than our nightmares: not the `67 lines, not even anything that resembles `67, but an invasive eruption by a brute without inhibition or tether, one suited to serve as prime minister of South Africa in the blackest days of the apartheid that conceived the reprehensible Bantustans. Now a Palestinian awakens in the morning, every morning, and sees the monstrous wall that separates him from members of his family, from his fields and orchards, from his business dealings; separates his children from the ir school, sees his destitute piece of land robbed from him, his world closed up, dark and devastated, and he certainly blames us, as well, who were a party to the despicable undertaking of building the fence. How can you explain to him that this is not the fence we intended, that we intended a completely different fence, and that our good intentions led to his hell. An apology is in order. It is stated in the Talmudic tractate of Gittin: "It was not the thief who stole, it was the hole that stole," and we will say, it is not the fence that is stealing the land and the basic human rights, but its route. Without a doubt, on the basis of the concepts that I know and accept, Sharon's fence is a crime against humanity. There is no other way to define it. I will not make my way to the International Court in The Hague, due to the "disease of patriotism" from which we are unable to cure ourselves. But this is the written affidavit of a member of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, a former minister of education in the State of Israel, a Zionist without "post." My testimony is translated in this newspaper into English (an unpatriotic act), and if it is brought before the judges, I would not change it one iota. Maybe I will first bring it before the justices of our High Court of Justice. To this I sign my name. The writer is an MK and the former chairman of Meretz. http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=385245&cont rassID=2&subContrassID=3&sbSubContrassID=0 [] Update One corrected & three new items N.B.: TIME CHANGE Trees Planting B'tselem's eye opener video clip Geneva demo postponed Aviv Lavie looking for harassment stories # N.B.: TIME CHANGE Trees Planting - Tomorrow - Thursday ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Rabbis for Human Rights" To: Subject: FW: Trees Planting - Tomorrow - Thursday 22/1/04 - In Budrus. נטיעת עצים - מחר - 22 /1/04 - בבודרוס Date sent: Wed, 21 Jan 2004 19:08:53 +0200 English Follows Hebrew, לחברים ולתומכים, שלום. מחר - יום חמישי- 22 ינואר 2004, נצא לנטוע עצים בבודרוס, מדרום למודיעין. שימו לב לשינוי בזמני היציאה: היציאה, ממגרש החניה בגן-הפעמון, ירושלים - בשעה 10:00. מתחנת הרכבת החדשה בראש-העין - בשעה 11:15. למצטרפים, שטרם נרשמו במשרדנו, נא להתקשר לאריק: טל': 607034-050. בברכה, אריק. Dear Members and Supporters, Tomorrow, Thursday - 22 January 2004, We'll be planting trees on Budrus, South of Moddin. There is a change in the meeting Schedule: We'll meet at the 'Liberty Bell Park', at the parking plot, at 10:00. And at the new train station in Rosh-Aain, at 11:15. People that haven't registered yet, Please call Arik: at: 050-607034. B'Vrakha, Arik. # # B'Tselem's “Eyes Wide Open” Project ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Wed, 21 Jan 2004 14:51:44 +0200 From: "Noam Hoffstater" “Eyes Wide Open” Project - Leading Israeli Artists in Music Video Illustrating Israel’s Siege Policy ong is regularly played on the various radio stations. their time to the project. In the coming weeks, B’Tselem will distribute over 100,000 copies of the video to the public. I was glad to have the opportunity to combine my art with my beliefs. We artists must speak out about what is happening. I hope that this will get people to open their eyes, even slightly, to see the reality as it is,” says Arik Dor-Davidovitch, who directed the video together with Maor Keshet. “We have to open our eyes and see the whole picture. We cannot continue to make the lives of Palestinians miserable. We cannot deny three million people their human dignity, their right to education, to earn a living, and obtain a medical treatment,” Yossi Pollack adds. B’Tselem calls on the Israeli government to end its siege policy and remove the roadblocks and checkpoints restricting movement within the West Bank. # # Rally in support of Geneva Accord planned for Saturday in Tel Aviv postponed due to expected foul weather [and maybe anyway better to do it when the Rabin Square is available (?)] # # Harassment at the airport - Aviv Lavie needs your story דרושים סיפורים על הטרדות ועיכובים בשדה התעופה אם עוכבתם, חופשתם, נחקרתם, הוטרדתם והוצקתם באופן בלתי סביר בשדה התעופה, אם פתאום גיליתם שאתם רדופים על ידי זרועות הביטחון, אביב לביא (מוסף "הארץ") ישמח לדעת מזה ולשמוע את סיפוריכם לכל היותר עד יום ראשון. 051-244926  If you have been unreasonably delayed, searched, investigated and so forth or persecuted in any other way by the security establishment, Aviv Lavie (Ha'aretz supplement) would be happy to know about it and hear your stories: 051-244926 # # פעולות נמשחות משוטפות ישראליות-פלסטיניות נגד החומה יונתן 066-327736 - פרנצ'סקה 064-494030 For participating in ongoing joint Israeli-Palestinian protest actions against the wall, call: Jonathan:066-327736 or Franceska:064-494030 # # Veteran peace activist Gila Svirsky will be in the Philadelphia area in February, on a speaking tour. She has still time for invitations to Jewish audiences, in private homes or synagogues/temples or wherever. Contact: gsvirsky@netvision.net.il # # Reservist refusers don't receive the IDF salary compensation for lost income. Many of them have a family to maintain. With an increasing number of refusers, the Keren Yesh Gvul (specific fund for compensations) is emptying rapidly. If you want the refusniks also in the future to receive at least something, send a cheque to: "Keren Yesh Gvul", POB 10276, Jerusalem 91102, Israel. More information at http://www.yesh-gvul.org/ # # חדש באתר: בטחון & החומה http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/index.html New on the site: Security & The Wall http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/english.html # -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sat Jan 24 02:54:52 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:09 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Something is very rotten Message-ID: <200401240055.i0O0t88p001502@smtp2.actcom.co.il> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - http://www.gush-shalom.org/ ????? ???? www.gush-shalom.org ad in "Haaretz" 23/01 ORDER OF PRIORITIES This week: -- An Israeli ambassador disconnects the lights  in a Stockholm museum - giant headlines. -- The murderer of Rabin wants to marry - stormy debate. -- The army destroys 30 homes in Rafah and throws 400 human beings into the street, without even giving them time to remove their belongings - most of the media ignore it, others publish miniscule stories. SOMETHING IS ROTTEN IN THIS STATE. Gush Shalom these ads are paid for by your donations *** The following link leads to the clearcut statement by the UNWRA about the latest Rafah house domolitions http://www0.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=9517&Cr=UNRWA&Cr1= # Rally in support of Geneva Accord planned for Saturday in Tel Aviv postponed # # ?????? ?????? ??????? ????????-????????? ??? ????? ????? 066-327736 - ????'??? 064-494030 For participating in ongoing joint Israeli-Palestinian protest actions against the wall, call: Jonathan:066-327736 or Franceska:064-494030 # # Veteran peace activist Gila Svirsky will be in the Philadelphia area in February, on a speaking tour. She has still time for invitations to Jewish audiences, in private homes or synagogues/temples or wherever. Contact: gsvirsky@netvision.net.il # # Reservist refusers don't receive the IDF salary compensation for lost income. Many of them have a family to maintain. With an increasing number of refusers, the Keren Yesh Gvul (specific fund for compensations) is emptying rapidly. If you want the refusniks also in the future to receive at least something, send a cheque to: "Keren Yesh Gvul", POB 10276, Jerusalem 91102, Israel. More information at http://www.yesh-gvul.org/ # # ??? ????: ????? & ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/index.html New on the site: Security & The Wall http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/english.html # -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. Read also the From otherisr at actcom.co.il Sun Jan 25 20:37:46 2004 From: otherisr at actcom.co.il (otherisr@actcom.co.il) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:09 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Gideon Levy writes from terrorized Nablus & updates Message-ID: <4014291A.3600.240472@localhost> GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 ??? ????, ?.?.,3322 ?? ???? #Only the knafeh is still sweet - Gideon Levy writes from terrorized Nablus #Update on the five COs who started a year's prison term + Tuesday Haifa action + anti-wall coalition news #A Breaking Consensus - Editorial overview of The Other Israel Now on line. # # # Only the knafeh is still sweet Gideon Levy http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/386462.html Hebrew\????? http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=386531&cont rassID=2&subContrassID=3&sbSubContrassID=0 Sun., January 25 NABLUS, West Bank - The knafeh here is still the best in the world, living up to its reputation. In the early evening, Abu Salha's pastry shop, by the side of the road that climbs to the Refidiya neighborhood, is deserted, the shelves almost empty. A salesperson wearing transparent gloves slices the traditional sweet oriental hot cheese delicacy, the taste of which is the only thing that remains unchanged in this beaten and battered city. >From one visit to the next, one sees Nablus declining relentlessly into its death throes. This is not a village that's dying behind the concrete obstacles and earth ramparts that cut it off from the world; this is a city with an ancient history, which until just recently was a vibrant, bustling metropolis that boasted an intense commercial life, a large major university, hospitals, a captivating urban landscape and age-old objects of beauty. An hour's drive from Tel Aviv, a great Palestinian city is dying, and another of the occupation's goals is being realized. It's not only that the splendid ancient homes have been laid waste, not only that such a large number of the city's residents, many of them innocent, have been killed; the entire society is flickering and will soon be extinguished. A similar fate has visited Jenin, Qalqilyah, Tul Karm and Bethlehem, but in Nablus the impact of the death throes is more powerful because of the city's importance as a district capital and because of its beauty. A cloud of dust and sand envelops the city, which gives the impression of being a combat zone during a cease-fire; its roads are scarred, its electricity poles and telephone booths are shattered, government buildings have been reduced to heaps of rubble. But the true wound lies far deeper than the physical destruction: an economic, cultural and social fabric that is disintegrating and a generation that has known only a life of emptiness and despair. More than any other place in the territories, a state of anarchy is palpably close here. There is no city as blocked and sealed as Nablus. For the past three and a half years it has been impossible to maintain even a semblance of ordinary day-to-day life here. It is impossible to leave or enter. Some 200,000 people are prisoners in their city. The checkpoints at Beit Iba, Azmurt and Hawara, which cut off the city from all directions, are the strictest roadblocks in the West Bank. Even women in labor and elderly people have a hard time crossing, and most of the city's residents no longer even try. Nablus also suffers from a very large number of casualties. In the latest Israel Defense Forces operation in the city, which was given the devilish name of "Still Waters," no fewer than 19 civilians were killed, six of them children, and 200 were wounded, according to a report of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group. These are the dimensions of a large- scale terrorist attack, only without the public attention, and it's all happening in a period of significant respite in Palestinian terrorism. Who is going to investigate this wholesale killing and the killing of children, including Mohammed Aarj, 6, who was shot while standing in his yard, eating a sandwich? Afterward, the IDF refused to allow an ambulance to evacuate him, according to the Palestinians. Atrocities have been perpetrated here under cover of the total media disregard of the events, residents of Nablus claim. Neighbors saw Abud Kassim being held by soldiers, and then a gunshot was suddenly heard: he was killed in his yard; Ala Dawiya was found dead with nine bullets in his chest; Fadi Hanani, Jibril Awad and Majdi al-Bash were shot to death at short range, according to the testimonies; the civilian Muain al-Hadi and his cousin Basel were ordered to escort Israeli soldiers as a "human shield," contrary to the explicit ban on the use of this procedure. No one in Israel heard about any of these events and no one will investigate them. Within this reality live tens of thousands of people who have done no wrong. What's being inflicted on them is known as collective punishment and it is considered a war crime. They get up in the morning without knowing what the IDF has wrought in their city during the night and what it will do during the day. Most residents have long since lost their livelihood. Of course, it's possible to argue that they brought it all on themselves because of the terrorist attacks that originated in the city, but that argument cannot justify all the killing and wrongdoing. In the meantime, despite everything, some people are still buying delightful knafeh from Abu Salha. #Update on the five COs who started a year's prison term + Tuesday Haifa action + anti-wall coalition news See attachments Some is only in Hebrew or English - this is the way we got it. # A BREAKING CONSENSUS - Editorial overview of The Other Israel 111- 112 by Adam Keller Now available at http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/ed.html # # ?????? ?????? ??????? ????????-????????? ??? ????? ????? 066-327736 - ????'??? 064-494030 For participating in ongoing joint Israeli-Palestinian protest actions against the wall, call: Jonathan:066-327736 or Franceska:064-494030 # # Veteran peace activist Gila Svirsky will be in the Philadelphia area in February, on a speaking tour. She has still time for invitations to Jewish audiences, in private homes or synagogues/temples or wherever. Contact: gsvirsky@netvision.net.il # # Reservist refusers don't receive the IDF salary compensation for lost income. Many of them have a family to maintain. With an increasing number of refusers, the Keren Yesh Gvul (specific fund for compensations) is emptying rapidly. If you want the refusniks also in the future to receive at least something, send a cheque to: "Keren Yesh Gvul", POB 10276, Jerusalem 91102, Israel. More information at http://www.yesh-gvul.org/ # # ??? ????: ????? & ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/index.html New on the site: Security & The Wall http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/english.html # -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: "Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)" Subject: 3 updates Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 20:30:58 +0200 Size: 38168 Url: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040125/32192420/attachment.eml From info at gush-shalom.org Mon Jan 26 14:46:52 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:09 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] In al Nabi Saleh: 500 old & young forced to stand in the cold Message-ID: <200401261247.i0QCl49A016185@smtp2.actcom.co.il> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - http://www.gush-shalom.org/ Nobody killed in al Nabi Saleh; just 500 old and young forced to stand hours in the cold - in the middle of night. The children, who stood there in the rain, in the range of the sniper on the watchtower, will remember this all their life. We want you to read this press release - received from the well-known Palestinian human rights watch LAW - because it shows what the occupation routinely does to Israeli-Palestinian relations. At this moment 5 draft refusers prefer to spend years in military jail than participating in such actions - and hundreds of reservists share with them alternating terms of a month at a time. ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: info@law-society.org Subject: Press Release Date sent: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 11:17:52 +0200 Law Society condemns Israeli troops? incursion into al Nabi Saleh January 25, 2004 Early Sunday morning, January 25, 2004 Israeli troops positioned at a watchtower and a gate near the Palestinian village of al Nabi Saleh raided the village and forced its 500 residents out of their homes and held them in cold weather for more than two hours. Al Nabi Saleh is 20 kilometers west of Ramallah; the gate near al Nabi Saleh is the only way out for al Nabi Saleh and a number of surrounding villages such as Beit Reema, Qarawa, Dir Ghasani, and Kufur Ain. Eyewitness Mrs. Awatef al Tamimi, the principal of al Nabi Saleh School, told Law Society that Israeli military jeeps raided the village at 02:15 Sunday morning. Using megaphones, Israeli troops ordered the village?s residents to leave their homes and gather in the piazza of the village. The troops then searched the houses in order to ensure that every person in al Nabi Saleh, including women, children, and the elderly are out in the cold. Mrs. al Tamimi, who lives near the piazza, added that her husband, children as well as herself were forced to evacuate their home. The troops then told females to go home. Then they wrote down the males names and photographed them and took their fingerprints. All the time people were insulted, humiliated, b eaten, and forced to stand up. Law Society strongly condemns the Israeli raid on al Nabi Saleh; Law demands the Israeli government to stop its crimes and collective punishment against Palestinian people; and demands an international investigation committee to be formed based on UN Security Council?s Resolution number 1322 to investigate the Israeli crimes in the Palestinian territories; Law also demands that Palestinian civilians be placed under international protection. # ??? ????: ????? & ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/index.html New on the site: Security & The Wall http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/english.html # # A BREAKING CONSENSUS - End of year overview by Adam Keller in The Other Israel http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/ed.html # # ?????? ?????? ??????? ????????-????????? ??? ????? ????? 066-327736 - ????'??? 064-494030 For participating in ongoing joint Israeli-Palestinian protest actions against the wall, call: Jonathan:066-327736 or Franceska:064-494030 # # Veteran peace activist Gila Svirsky will be in the Philadelphia area in February, on a speaking tour. She has still time for invitations to Jewish audiences, in private homes or synagogues/temples or wherever. Contact: gsvirsky@netvision.net.il # # Reservist refusers don't receive the IDF salary compensation for lost income. Many of them have a family to maintain. With an increasing number of refusers, the Keren Yesh Gvul (specific fund for compensations) is emptying rapidly. If you want the refusniks also in the future to receive at least something, send a cheque to: "Keren Yesh Gvul", POB 10276, Jerusalem 91102, Israel. More information at http://www.yesh-gvul.org/ # -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Jan 29 16:14:51 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:09 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Amidst the revenge cycle an Israeli anti-Wall statement Message-ID: <20040129141511.B28A142912@smtp4.wanadoo.nl> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - http://www.gush-shalom.org/ International release # The blood cycle rolls again # We also want to be represented in The Hague # Only by Force? - Gush Shalom weekly ad in Haaretz *** # The blood cycle rolls again Again - as on so many terrible occasions - the cycle of bloodshed is set rolling precisely when new peace initiatives are in the offing. Yesterday, Israel's armed forces launched a massive invasion of the city of Gaza, in order - so the generals declared - to defend the settlement enclave of Netzarim (an absurd enclave which Sharon himself reportedly took the decision to evacuate). Nine Palestinians were killed in the raid, including an eleven year old child.* This morning - another madness - a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up inside a Jerusalem bus, killing ten random Israelis and wounding many others. This afternoon Sharon's cabinet is due to meet and - of course - to decide on another punitive action... Meanwhile, the far-reaching peace initiative, mooted by the Saudi Crown Prince in preparation for the March Arab summit seems swept off the agenda, and the latest efforts to revive the literally dead-locked Road Map for Peace are set at naught. For Sharon the terrorist attack comes as "additional justification" of his Wall. We beg to differ: the Wall is part of the provocative government poilicies. *See Ha'aretz Editorial "Indiscriminate Killing": http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/388246.html *** # We also want to be represented in The Hague ????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ???? Defending The Wall At The International Court Of Justice: Not In Our Name! This week Gush Shalom and 12 other Israeli peace & human rights organizations sent a request to the Israeli government to represent at the International Court of Justice in The Hague also our view on the wall. And the request was made public in a press release to the Israeli press. Because only governments are entitled to submit materials to the Court, we asked the Israeli government to submit a letter in our name. We pointed out that there are diverse voices in Israel on the matter, and that many, if not most, Israelis (including the Minister of Justice in Sharon?s government) oppose the building of the Wall deep inside Palestinian territory, which is indefensible on ?security? grounds. Even if Israel claims ?military necessity? in constructing the ?Separation Barrier,? it is enjoined by the Fourth Geneva Convention to ensure the well-being of the civilian population under its control which is clearly not the case here, where hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians will be displaced, enclosed in locked enclaves and financially ruined (let alone the political implications of the Wall). Here follows the full text of what we sent: 1) Letter to the government 2) Appendix (Statement for the court in The Hague) 3) Translation of the press release to the Israeli press 1) Letter to the government January 25, 2004 To: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Foreign Minister Sylvan Shalom DEFENDING THE WALL AT THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE NOT IN OUR NAME! Towards the end of February the International Court of Justice in The Hague will begin its proceedings on the issue of the ?"Separation Wall? that your government is constructing in the depths of the Palestinian areas of West Bank at an accelerated pace. According to the Israeli media, you intend to defend your policies on the grounds that the Wall is a security matter intended to prevent terrorist attacks. It seems appropriate, in the spirit of democratic rules, that you also inform the Court that in their arguments your representatives do not speak for the entire Israeli public. In your building of the Wall especially to the degree that it constitutes a political ?fact?" rather than a true security barrier and in your defiance of international law and international public opinion, your government and its lawyers do not speak in our name. We, the undersigned, citizens of Israel to whom the Wall is supposed to give security, reject your claims completely. If you sincerely sought to prevent the entry of suicide bombers to Israel, you could have erected the Wall along the Green Line, the recognized de facto border of the State of Israel, as the most prominent of your generals urged and at a greatly reduced cost. The Wall you are constructing robs land and livelihood from hundreds of thousands of Palestinians but also eliminates crucial resources from your own increasing impoverished and desperate society. If your government sincerely desired an end to terrorism and security for our people, it would have actively engaged in a political process and refrained from a unilateral act of constructing a Wall that only perpetuates the Occupation and the conflict. In this way you would have dried up the swamp of misery, hatred and repression that motivates the attacks and endangers our lives. This may have saved us from even the perception that we needed such a Wall. There is no conclusion other than your true objective in constructing the Wall along its present intrusive and indefensible route are motivated by political aims rather than genuine security concerns. The aim is to grab more and more Palestinian land, to annex large settlement blocs and in the end to foreclose the possibility of a viable Palestinian state. We refuse to be part of any of these endeavors, which we utterly oppose. Your representatives before the International Court of Justice do not speak in our names or in the names of millions of Israelis who yearn for an end to the conflict. We demand that you convey the attached letter expressing our opposition to the Wall as a grave violation of Palestinian human rights, of international humanitarian law and of the desire of both our peoples for a just and lasting peace. We await your reply. The Alternative Information Center  (A joint Israeli-Palestinian organization) Bat Shalom The Coalition of Women for a Just Peace The Fifth Mother Gush Shalom The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) MachsomWatch New Profile Noga Rabbis for Human Rights Tandi Women in Black Yesh Gvul 2) Appendix (Statement for the court in The Hague) Statement by Israeli Peace and Human Rights Organizations On The Construction Of The Wall In Occupied Palestinian Territory We, the undersigned Israeli peace and human rights organizations, wish to make our views known to the International Court of Justice concerning the Wall currently under construction by the Israeli government in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. As Israeli citizens, we are troubled that the position of the Israeli government regarding this Wall does not reflect our views, nor does it necessarily reflect the views of the Israeli public. We represent a significant segment of the population in Israel who object to construction of this Wall, and we call upon the Court to demand that it be dismantled, for the reasons that follow. The construction and location of the Wall are in grave breach of international humanitarian law as articulated inter alia by the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Wall is actually a complex system of walls and electronic fences that surround and isolate tens of thousands of Palestinians who are innocent of all wrongdoing. While Israel clearly has the responsibility to defend its citizens against terrorist and other attacks, we hold that the Wall although presented to the public as a security measure in actuality constitutes a political border that defines the Bantustan-like state that Israel is planning for the Palestinians in the West Bank. This is evident from the route of the Wall which, by surrounding Areas A and B, creates ?cantons? (as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has referred to them) in which the Palestinians will be confined. Indeed, the Wall reaches deep into Palestinian territory in order to encompass ?settlement blocs,? thus extending the Israeli civilian and military presence far inside Palestinian territory. This route clearly reveals that the Wall is designed to serve political, not security, objectives. It will unilaterally define a boundary that ensures Israeli control of the entire region between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River. Israel argues ?military necessity? in its defense of the Wall. International humanitarian law, however, mandates proportionality between military necessity and the well-being of the civilian population under occupation. The Fourth Geneva Convention obligates the occupying power to respect and ensure the fundamental rights of the civilian population to personal security, dignity, a livelihood, freedom of movement, and access to property, education and medical care all irreparably harmed by the route and scale of the Wall, as well as the constraints on movement that it entails. Despite the serious repercussions of its construction, no study was undertaken by the Israeli government to survey the impact of the Wall on the civilian Palestinian population.  In addition, the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits an Occupying Power from making its occupation permanent. The erection of a $2-3 billion system of massive barriers, walls, electronic fences, security roads, roadblocks, checkpoints, and military installations constitutes such permanent presence, especially when taking into account the dramatic alteration in land use, demography, induced population transfer, and other irreversible changes in Palestinian life emanating from the presence of the Wall. We the undersigned have approached the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs with our request to include this statement in the materials presented to the Court. It is our contention, based upon incontrovertible evidence, that the Wall in its present route constitutes a severe violation of fundamental human rights, serves political rather than security ends, and throws up a major obstacle to a just and sustainable peace between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. We say to the Israeli government and to the Court as one: Not in our name. Justice requires not only condemnation of the Wall, but its immediate dismantling. For a Just Peace, [the signed organizations] 3) Translation of the press release to the Israeli press PRESS RELEASE - January 27, 2004 ISRAELI PEACE ORGANIZATIONS TO PRIME MINISTER SHARON: NOT IN OUR NAME! DO NOT JUSTIFY THE WALL AT THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE The ?Separation Wall?" violates international law which holds Occupying Powers responsible for the well being of the civilian population living under their control. The Israeli peace and human rights organizations demand that the Government include their opposition to the Wall in Israel?s brief to the International Court in The Hague . We declare to both the Israeli Government and the Court: ?Not In Our Name? will you justify the Wall in its present route that creates political facts on the ground whose implications are a permanent occupation, repression of the Palestinians? basic human rights and the perpetuation of the conflict. Yesterday, January 26, a dozen Israeli peace and human rights organizations presented a letter to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Sylvan Shalom stating that the Separation Wall constitutes a brutal violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention that requires proportionality between the security concerns of an Occupying Power and the well-being of the civilian population under their control. The Israeli peace and human rights organizations turned to the Israeli government with the demand that it include their opposition to the Wall, based on detailed objections arising from international humanitarian law, in the materials presented to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The letter states: We say to the Israeli government and to the Court as one: Not in our name. Justice requires not only condemnation of the Wall, but its immediate dismantling. As Israeli citizens, we are troubled that the position of the Israeli government regarding this Wall does not reflect our views, nor does it necessarily reflect the views of the Israeli public. We represent a significant segment of the population in Israel who object to construction of this Wall, and we call upon the Court to demand that it be dismantled [signed: the 13 organizations] # Only by Force? - Gush Shalom weekly ad in Haaretz ????? ????? ???? ONLY BY FORCE If the Sharon government had voluntarily released hundreds of prisoners when it accepted - or pretended to accept - the Road Map, the credit for the act would have gone to Israel and it would have created a lot of good will. When it releases the same prisoners within the framework of a prisoners' swap, it looks (using the language so often employed by Sharon himself) like "rewarding terrorism". All the credit is going to Hizballah. It seems that the Palestinians are right: Sharon indeed understands only the language of power. Gush Shalom, Help us placing ads with donations to P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033, Phone 972-3-5221732. www.gush-shalom.org Gush Shalom ad to be published in Ha'aretz tomorrow, Jan. 30 # ?????? ?????? ??????? ????????-????????? ??? ????? ????? 066-327736 - ????'??? 064-494030 For participating in ongoing joint Israeli-Palestinian protest actions against the wall, call: Jonathan:066-327736 or Franceska:064-494030 # # ??? ????: ????? & ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/index.html New on the site: Security & The Wall http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/english.html # -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Wed Feb 4 01:33:52 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:09 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Saturday Jerusalem: joint march + demo against the Wall Message-ID: <20040203233410.B16E2415F1@smtp4.wanadoo.nl> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - http://www.gush-shalom.org/ Gush Shalom calls upon you to participate in this Saturday's action by the Coalition against the Wall together with the Committee of East Jerusalem Neighborhoods. Here follow the details:  It is not a Security Wall ? it is a Wall against Peace! Don?t say: we didn?t know! An 8 meters wall is erected in the heart of Arab Neighborhoods in Jerusalem. It separates Palestinians from their families, from their place of work, from their schools, hospitals and even cemeteries. The wall is bringing Palestinian residents of Jerusalem in prisons, it strangles them and converts their lives into hell, it increases rage and hatred and removes any chance of reconciliation.??? ? Come and see with your own eyes! Join Israelis and Palestinians together against the Wall In a mass demonstration That will take place on Saturday 7.2.04 ? We cannot keep silent when terrible things are done in our name! ? Gathering point in Jerusalem: Last bus stop of line 4 in French Hill, Bar Kochba St. at 10:00 Please be on time! The Demonstration is organized by the Coalition against the Wall and the Committee of East Jerusalem Neighborhoods Transportation: Jerusalem: Liberty Bell Garden, at 9:15 ? 054 - 405777 Haifa: Solel Boneh, at 7:30 ? 052 ? 477689 Tel Aviv: Arlozorov Station, at 8:30 ? 053 ? 554815 ? The plan is to march together along the Wall to the demonstration area. Bring walking shoes. www.gader.org # ??? ????: ????? & ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/index.html New on the site: Security & The Wall http://www.gush-shalom.org/security/english.html # -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Feb 5 00:37:03 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:09 2004 Subject: (Fwd) At Nablus roadblocks a day before the holiday, by Victoria Buch, Message-ID: <20040204223716.9730977D7B@smtp6.wanadoo.nl> ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Tue, 3 Feb 2004 03:50:27 -0800 (PST) From: Victoria Buch Subject: Please consider posting on your e-mail net (from MachsomWatch) To: info@gush-shalom.org Copies to: nmayorek@zahav.net.il At roadblocks around Nablus a day before the holiday, by Victoria Buch, MachsomWatch Friends, This Sunday was a big Moslem holiday called the Feast of Sacrifice. I should like to tell you about what we, the MachsomWatch women, observed on Saturday, the day before the feast, at roadblocks around Nablus. The roadblocks separate Nablus from the surrounding villages. The official raison d'etre of these roadblocks is prevention of terror. I happen to think that turning holiday shopping into a string of humiliation and misery, for masses of people, is more likely to increase the level of terror. Please judge for yourself. Our shift consisted of six women, plus a French TV team. At the Huwara roadblock, we encountered a large angry crowd of people who needed to get to Nablus to shop, get money from the bank etc., for the holiday; and an army unit that could not handle the pressure. An officer who used to be quite decent when we first saw him a few weeks ago, was displaying the usual "who is the boss" ego trip: "The checkpoint is closed until everybody moves back into line!!!"; and meanwhile more and more people were streaming into the CP, desperate folks were pushing from all the sides, and extending towards the soldiers medical referrals and whatever pieces of paper they could muster for the purpose. At some point the crowd broke through the barrier. Luckily the soldiers were not the worst lot, but it was scary enough. We kept calling frantically the DCO (District Coordinating Office) for help. Finally, a DCO officer showed up. On the scale of this horrible place, this was a significant improvement. The officer was doing his best in this difficult situation, standing at the top of the line, looking at referrals, trying to expediate things, passing women and elderly quickly. Most importantly - the queue was moving forward. However he was carrying out the usual orders - men aged 16-35 could NOT pass into Nablus without a permit. Why should not an Arab villager go to an Arab town? Army logic: "He may come back with explosives!" Many men in the "dangerous" age range who approached the checkpoint got detained for "ID checkups". That is, a person's ID is confiscated and its number fed via phone into some unbelievably slow General Security Service (Shabbak) computer. Then the "culprit" has to wait for hours, until the security clearance arrives. And GSS is very busy these days - it services some 700 roadblocks. Two teenage boys who tried to pass again and again without documents, were detained by soldiers, with hands bound behind their backs, as a punishment. A second roadblock which we visited is in the middle of nowhere, near a village of Sarra. It was quite deserted, with two very unfriendly soldiers on a hill top above the road, pointing guns. They tried to order us off, then to scare us off with improvised conversations about nearby terrorists. This is "Wild West", a soldier is a king here and hates infringement on his authority. A middle-aged Arab couple were not allowed to meet their son, who happened to have an Israeli ID; the son was waiting in a car downhill with some money - a present for the holiday. The soldiers looked so hostile, that we did not even try to help. Too easy to cause damage, instead. A third roadblock which we reached, at Deir Sharaf, is much more populous. A bitter elderly man on the way to shopping said "This is my 3-rd checkpoint this morning". The queue was waiting at a large distance from a metal cage - the ID checking station, which services two queues incoming from both directions. A person waiting in the Nablus direction does not see the soldier inside, so he or she has to guess: "Did my turn arrive?" and risk approaching at a danger of being yelled at. Inside, a very rude (female) soldier was checking people's IDs at a rate of one per 5-15 minutes. We saw her throwing a plastic ID into a face of a man who approached her "out of order". Quite a few male soldiers hung around, talking to each other, and checking passing cars at a leasurely pace. Our appeals to post another ID checker to expediate things, to help people with medical problems, etc., met with stony silence, or threats to call the police. We did not manage to elicit any human response from these soldiers. A sizable group of detained included a man with two pregnant wives and a pile of shopping bags. They arrived from a side road, which - unbeknownst to them - has become forbidden. Three male detainees were sent downroad (withoud IDs, to guarantee obedience), to guard this road against new arrivals! We could do nothing, help from DCO was promised but never arrived, phone calls to human rights offices and to politicians did not avail. Finally, a TV camera seemed to help. The French TV crew arrived with the second MachsomWatch group, and started filming. The confiscated IDs resurfaced, and a soldier returned them with a most humanitarian and benevolent of facial expressions. We returned home thorougly depressed. In the evening, desperate phone calls arrived from the Huwara roadblock. Again, hundreds of people were stranded there and the queue was not moving. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/ ------- End of forwarded message ------- From info at gush-shalom.org Wed Feb 11 02:26:36 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:09 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Growing on-the-ground anti-Wall protest // 'Go to Gaza!' Message-ID: <402992DC.23304.192D527@localhost> GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 גוש שלום, ת.ד.,3322 תל אביב [Being a bit late with the weekend reporting, we combine here the reports on the mass joint Israeli-Palestinian anti-wall demonstration in Abu Dis - with photos and explanation on the Gush Shalom website and the joint press release of the anti-wall coalition; you also find here the text of 'Go to Gaza', Avnery's witty and biting comment on Sharon's latest ploy.] # Mass rally against the Wall in Abu Dis - 07/02 -- English and Hebrew, photos with text - on the Gush website http://www.gush-shalom.org/actions/abudis_eng.html http://www.gush-shalom.org/actions/abudis_heb.html -- Summary on behalf of the anti-wall coalition for the international press Forwarded by angela godfrey MASS RALLY AT ABU DIS Over 3,000 Israeli and Palestinian demonstrators marched together yesterday in Abu Dis, in solidarity, to the concrete wall which does not mark any border, but instead creates a huge prison. Participants, carrying flags and posters, marched 2 kms from Al Quds University to Ras Kubsa in Abu Dis. Marchers chanted: "Peace - yes! Fence - no!" holding signs stating "They are suffocating Jerusalem", "Jerusalem is Stronger than a Wall" and "No to a Ghetto". At the end of the march, a solidarity rally took place under the shadow of the Wall. "This huge demonstration takes place on the evening of the Supreme Court hearings and those at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, proving there's no Israeli public consensus about the legality and morality of the Wall" said Ta'ayush ("Co-existence") activist, Dr. Neve Gordon. "Whoever today has seen the Wall at Abu Dis understands that it doesn't divide Jews from Arabs, but makes a huge prison dividing Palestinians from Palestinians." Former Knesset member, Tamar Gozansky, addressed the rally: "This Wall isn't a barrier against terror, it's a barrier against peace. Sharon is a coward. One who is not a coward stretches out a hand in peace. One who fears, builds a wall. The two peoples want a land without walls, want to live side by side in two states." Nihad Abu Ghosh spoke on behalf of Palestinian Jerusalem political organizations. According to him: "This Wall won't bring peace, and won't bring security. Participation of thousands of Israelis today proves that we can make peace together, but this Wall will create more hatred and more violence in the future. The Wall isn't marking a border but creating a prison. Dividing Palestinians from Palestinians and preventing us from getting to Jerusalem, but not providing any real barrier to suicide bombers. The Palestinian people will continue their struggle against the Wall, just as we are struggling against the Israeli Occupation." Uri Avnery of Gush Shalom said "We stand at the foot of a monster and call on the Israeli public: "Don't say 'We didn't know!' Don't say 'We didn't see!' Don't say 'We didn't hear!' This monster Wall is torpedoing peace. To those building the Wall, we say: You talk of security but think about war. We demand a future without walls, a single future shared together by all of us."*** Itai Reeb, from the Yesh Gvul movement, spoke on behalf of those refusing to do military service. He said, "We have a duty to break down the eight awful metres of the Wall. They aren't going to succeed in imprisoning the Palestinians behind walls, or the refuseniks in prison. Displacement is an injustice; walls are not peace." Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, director of the Palestinian Medical Relief Committee said the struggle against the Wall must be taken up even more in the run-up to the Hague hearings. He described problems of sick people and emergency crews reaching hospitals in East Jerusalem and said treatment of 17,000 handicapped had been disrupted by the Wall. Father Atallah Hanna, spokesman for the Greek Orthodox Church, and Tayseer Althamimi, Chief Qadi of Jerusalem, spoke of blocked access to all religious sites in Jerusalem. Fatma Siva, a representative of women's organizations, spoke of hundreds of students who can no longer reach schools in East Jerusalem and students now having huge problems getting to Al Quds University. The Coalition Against the Fence is organizing another huge rally on the day marking the commencement of the hearings at The Hague, 23.2.2004. *** full text of this speech - Hebrew & English translation - at the Gush site ~~~~~ # Go to Gaza! - Uri Avnery 7.2.04 English http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/article289.html Hebrew: http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/article289_heb.html Do you want to make the deal of a lifetime? Go to Gaza! The government has kindly laid on armored vehicles for this purpose. Once there, you can obtain the villa you have dreamt about all your life, with two floors and a green lawn, for next to nothing. The State is rich. You can put up greenhouses and produce flowers or vegetables. Once upon a time you could engage Palestinian workers, who would work for a pittance. They had no alternative, because their land was taken away from them. Now this is too dangerous, so you will engage workers from Thailand, who get even less. There are no legal problems, such as a minimum wage, annual vacations, dismissal indemnities or any of that nonsense. Israeli law does not apply. The prevailing law is a relic of the pre-1967 Egyptian occupation, and the conditions are Egyptian, too. You can export your products to Europe. True, that has to be done discreetly, under false names, but it will get to the markets. The bureaucrats in Brussels will fume, because this violates the trade agreement between Israel and the European Union. Let them fume. Who cares? The main thing is getting your hands on those crisp Euro notes. Of course, there is a security problem. You and the other 7000 settlers in the Gaza strip sit among a million Palestinians. You took away their essential land reserves and half of their water. So they don't like you. But never mind, the IDF will defend you - a whole battalion to defend a settlement of a few dozen families, a whole division for the Gaza Strip. Many soldiers. Many headquarters. Many armored vehicles. A lot of money. But the State pays. If your settlement is too close to an Arab neighborhood and there is a problem, not to worry. The army will blow up all the nearby houses and "clean" the area. That will allow the settlement to expand, when the whole thing will repeat itself. The main thing is your security. And the money you make. And that is only the beginning. If it really is decided to evacuate the settlements in the Gaza Strip, and if the decision is implemented (as you know, decision and implementation are two different things, not necessarily connected with each other), the real money will start rolling in. The State will pay you a lot just to leave quietly. That's how it was when Menachem Begin dismantled the settlements in Sinai. The settlers got a fortune. Some refused and declared that they would never, ever give up their homes. They got double and more. In the end, not a single settler refused to take the money. Many of the Sinai evacuees took the money and settled in America or Australia. The clever ones went to the adjoining Gaza Strip and are looking forward to their second helping of compensation. But in the meantime the settlers crowd the TV studios, roll their eyes to high heaven and proclaim that they are defending Askalon, defending Ashdod, defending Tel-Aviv, and that, therefore, the bankrupt state must invest more billions in the settlements. Because, after all, they are the Real Zionists. Dear settlers. Dear Zionism. But is Ariel Sharon really serious about his "decision" to evacuate almost all the settlements in Gaza? "Almost", because he wants to keep three settlements which are located near the 1967 Green Line. This is a typical Israeli method: when we do, after much commotion, evacuate some territories, we always keep one little piece, so that the conflict goes on. But in the end we leave. When we evacuated all the vast area of Sinai, including the oil wells, the town of Yamit and the settlements, we refused to give up the tiny Taba beauty spot. The quarrel went on for a long time, and then we left. When we left Lebanon, we kept a Security Zone. When we left the Security Zone, after a few hundred more deaths, we kept the Shebaa Farms, where our soldiers are still being killed. Now, when Sharon promises to evacuate the settlements in the Gaza Strip, he wants to keep three settlements as souvenirs. (There was this person whose teeth were all rotten. He had them all taken out except for one, just to remind him how much it hurt.) And so, for the umpteenth time, everyone is guessing: What is his intention? Is he really serious this time? Does he deserve all the (verbal) hugs and kisses of Shimon Peres? Is he, at long last, revealing himself as the Israeli de Gaulle? Well, everyone knows it's spin. It is designed to draw attention away from the bribery affair, for which he was interrogated this week by high-ranking police officers. It is also designed to hint to the brand-new Attorney General that if he indicts Sharon, he will be sabotaging a historic step towards peace. It also serves to tell the President of the United States, on the eve of Sharon's planned visit to the White House, that Sharon is now ready to make a serious move, and that Bush must give him his blessing and some more billions of dollars (to pay the settlers off.) But it is not only spin. This move suits Sharon's grand strategy. He is ready to sacrifice a finger to save the whole body. He is ready to give up Gaza, with its million unwanted Palestinians, and also a few isolated West Bank settlements, in order to get the Americans to agree to the annexation of most of the West Bank. This is not a new strategy. David Ben-Gurion "gave up" 22% of Palestine in order to take over the other 78%, instead of the 55% allocated to us by the UN. Menahem Begin gave up the whole of Sinai in order to get Egypt out of the war and to concentrate on the takeover of the West Bank. Sharon is ready to "give up" all the Gaza Strip and 45% of the West Bank in order to annex 55% of the West Bank to Israel. That is supposed to be a "unilateral step" - without the agreement of the Palestinians, who will be enclosed in enclaves surrounded by walls and electrified fences. This is the idea Sharon is going to sell to Bush: See, I am evacuating settlements, both in the Gaza Strip and in the heart of the West Bank, in spite of the fact that it hurts me so very much. That is a huge step towards peace. Shimon Peres is kissing me (verbally, verbally!) But in order to execute such a daring political act, I need an official and public American endorsement. And you must promise me not to interfere when I annex the major part of the West Bank. Of course, this will not bring peace. Nor will it bring security. It will bring a Hamas takeover of Gaza and the Palestinian enclaves in the West Bank. It will bring many more attacks in Israel and all over the world. It will bring a war without end. But in the eyes of Sharon, this is the decisive stage in the realization of Zionism as he understands it. The State of Israel will comprise 90% of the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan. As for the other 10% - God is great. -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Wed Feb 11 15:25:07 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:09 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] ד י ל ה ר ג / TODAY 6pm, protest re Gaza killings Message-ID: <402A4953.24241.45B9CDF@localhost> GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 גוש שלום, ת.ד.,3322 תל אביב [English after Hebrew] ד י ל ה ר ג עדכון אחרון - 13:31 11/02/04 הרוגים ועשרות פצועים בפעולות צה"ל בעזה 13 http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/393163.html אנא הצטרפו למשמרת מחאה דחופה היום, יום רביעי 11.2 שעה 6.00 בערב מול משרד הביטחון, רחוב קפלן תל אביב, והעבירו את המסר הלאה. תודה *** STOP THE KILLING Last Update: 13:31 IDF troops kill 13 Palestinians in Gaza http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/393162.html PLEASE, JOIN PROTEST TODAY: Tel-Aviv Ministry of Defence at 6pm and spread the message!! See you there. From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Feb 12 01:22:28 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:09 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Another round of madness in Gaza & a protest in Tel-Aviv Message-ID: <402AD554.25944.67E9085@localhost> GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 גוש שלום, ת.ד.,3322 תל אביב Tel-Aviv, February 11, 2004 Another round of madness in Gaza & a protest in Tel-Aviv Some days of Sharon babbling about withdrawing from the Gaza Strip, and we are once more in the middle of a cycle of bloodshed; 14 Gazans killed by the Israeli army; many more wounded; no Israeli casualties whatsoever; the cries for revenge already in the air. It began with a prominent morning radio news item: "Large IDF forces are operating at the Sajaiyah Neighborhood of Gaza City as well as at Rafah on the Egyptian border". In official communiques, as broadcast verbatim by the Kol Yisrael state radio, the army never attacks, or invades, or raids a Palestinian city, it is simply "Operating". At 10.00 AM the radio mentioned that nine Palestinians had been killed so far, and according to unnamed "security sources" this was not yet all: "Our forces will continue the operation until the objectives have been met." After ten, the Gaza developments disappeared almost from the radio, to make place for extensive coverage of an earthquake which hit Israel. Not a particularly severe one but apparently much more newsworthy than another raid in Gaza. But still the death toll mounted in Gaza, as those who anxiously searched the internet found out. At two o'clock thirteen dead. By then, hasty phone consultations reached the conclusion of mobilizing an emergency protest. "It must be already today; there must be an immediate response." At six, we were for the umpteenth time on the dreary parking lot opposite the Defence Ministry gates, on Tel-Aviv's Kaplan Street. The Gush Shalom two-flag signs were supplemented with specific signs written on the spot on the backs of posters from an artistic performance. "Stop the killing! Stop the madness!" - "Killing in Gaza today, killing in Israel tomorrow!" - "13 dead - why?" - "Stop the war crimes!" - "Sharon is inviting suicide bombings!" - "Soldiers, stop killing!" - "Stop the murder of Palestinians!" - "13 dead in Gaza, 13 unilateral steps!" (A participant who listened to the latest news pointed out that the number 13 was already outdated.) The Gush Shalom hard-core were joined by former Knesset Member Tamar Gozanski, as well as by a contingent of young anarchists. A pensioner from Be'er Sheva in the Negev saw the email alert and embarked immediately on the train to Tel-Aviv, to join the protest. There were some discussions with passing motorists. "Why are you only talking about the murder of Palestinians." But most of the passers-by seemed more or less to understand that maybe it's not the leftists who are crazy; that Sharon is actually zigzagging in a very dangerous way. "Don't listen to what Sharon is saying; watch what his hands are doing" was the typical comment of Uri Avnery. The measurable result of the frantic organizing: on the Ha'aretz site the gloomy news from Gaza was interrupted with the following one-liner: 22:14 (in Hebrew:) עתי"ם: עשרות פעילי ``גוש שלום`` הפגינו מול משרד הביטחון במחאה על הפעולה בעזה. נשאו שלטים עם הכתובות ``די להרג המטורף`` ו``שרון פושע מלחמה`` 22:33 (in English:) Dozens of Gush Shalom activists demonstrate outside Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv to protest Gaza raids [Photos of the protest on the Gush Shalom website soon.] Here follows the Ha'aretz report on this bloody day: http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/393162.html for Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=393163&contrassID=1&subC ontrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=0 IDF troops kill 14 Palestinians in Gaza By Haaretz Service and Agencies Hamas vowed revenge Wednesday after at least 14 Palestinians, including 10 militants, were killed by the Israel Defense Forces, in two separate incidents in the Gaza Strip. In a neighborhood at the eastern edge of Gaza City, 12 Palestinians were killed and at least 50 wounded in an exchange of fire with IDF soldiers. In Rafah, two men were killed in an operation aimed at demolishing tunnels used by Palestinians to smuggle arms over the border from Egypt. Also Wednesday, Palestinians fired two mortar shells at the Gaza settlement of Karni and eight Qassam rockets at Israeli territory, Israel Radio reported. There were no injuries. The fighting in Gaza City erupted before dawn and continued for several hours. By early afternoon, the troops pulled out, the army and witnesses said. During the fighting, dozens of youths stood in the streets watching the battle as gunfire whizzed by. Masked gunmen took up positions in front of a building and ordered civilians out of the area. At one point, a gunman picked up a young schoolboy by his backpack and whisked him out of the battle zone. Later in the day, the army blew up the house of a Hamas militant who was killed and sent tanks into Gaza City. The dead Palestinians included 10 militants, Palestinian sources said. They included Mohammed Hilles, 18, the son of Ahmed Hilles, the top leader of Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction in Gaza, and senior Hamas activist Hani Abu Skhaila, who was suspected of involvement in the October 2003 attack on a convoy carrying U.S. diplomats in Gaza in which three American security guards were killed. Hamas said Abu Skhaila had survived two previous Israeli attempts to kill him, including a missile strike on his car last June, in which he suffered shrapnel wounds. Hamas, which called Abu Skhaila "the great brave hero," said he had participated in several deadly attacks on Israelis, including a suicide bombing last month that killed four people at the Erez border checkpoint. At least nine of the wounded were in critical condition, doctors said. The wounded included at least three youths who were hit as they watched the battle from side streets, witnesses and doctors said. In a statement, Hamas' militant wing called on all of its cells to carry out "huge martyrdom operations." Thousands of people participated in funeral prayers later in the day. Masked men in military uniforms carried bodies on stretchers, while others fired machine guns into the air. "God willing, our retaliation will be soon and [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon should prepare plastic bags to collect the remains of his soldiers," said one of the gunmen. The IDF said it had entered Gaza City to search for militants who fired rockets at nearby settlements. It said the fighting broke out after anti-tank missiles were fired at Israeli tanks. "There was great resistance by armed cells in a very densely populated area," said Col. Yoel Strick, a division commander in the Gaza Strip. He said everyone who was killed was a militant. Strick said that troops shot and killed gunmen in a house. Searching the house later, troops found an explosives belt of the type worn by suicide bombers and other weapons. Soldiers arrested the family living in the house and blew up the building. There were no Israeli casualties in the fighting, Strick said. In the early hours of Wednesday morning, forces also carried out arrest operations in the northern Gaza Strip against militants suspected of planting roadside bombs and firing mortar shells into nearby Israeli towns. During the course of the operation, an anti-tank rocket was fired at troops, but no injuries were reported. -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sat Feb 14 20:11:54 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:09 2004 Subject: (Fwd) Hope Flowers School needs help! Message-ID: <402E810A.9572.5008448@localhost> International alert (English-only) We only found this now - but were informed that it is not yet too late to send protest letters: The Hope Flowers School is again threatened - and again your action could make a difference... [1] Ami Isseroff: Hope Flowers School needs help! [2] listed emails [3] letter of Ibrahim Issa [4] sample letter of protest [We inserted the address details of Colin Powell, and listed the email addresses to make life easier for you - but please use also the fax nrs (if you have that option) since faxes are less easily discarded. ] [1] Ami Isseroff: Hope Flowers School needs help! ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: Ami Isseroff [mailto:ami_iss@netvision.net.il] Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2004 9:12 PM Subject: Hope Flowers School needs help! Importance: High RE: URGENT - YOUR INTERVENTION IS NEEDED FOR HOPE FLOWERS PEACE SCHOOL Dear friends, Hope Flowers school in El Khader is facing demolition of their cafeteria, which is adjacent to the planned route of the Israeli security barrier. Because it teaches peace and democracy, Hope Flowers has been a favorite of the US government in the past. They need your help. Please write to US and Israeli officials and ask them to rescind the demolition order. Contact information (Hopefully up to date) is below. Thank you. Sincerely, Ami Isseroff www.mideastweb.org Please forward this letter. listed emails below Secretary of State Colin Powell , Fax: +1-202-261-8577 U.S. Consulate General, Jerusalem, at 18 Agron Road, Jerusalem 94190 / 27 Nablus Road, Jerusalem 94190; PHONE: 972-2-6227230 / 972-2-6253288; FAX: 972-2-6259270 / +972-(0)2- 627-7230 Mr. Shaul Mofaz, Minister of Defense Ministry of Defense 37 Kaplan St. Tel-Aviv 61909 Israel E-mail1 (sar@mod.gov.il) or E-mail2 (pniot@mod.gov.il ) Fax : ++972-3-696-27-57 ++972-3-691-69-40 ++972-3-691-79-15 Mr. Ariel Sharon Prime Minister Prime Ministers' Office Qiriat David Ben-Gurion Jerusalem Israel E-mail webmaster@pmo.gov.il (I think nobody does anything with that mail) Fax : ++972-2-566-48-38 ++972-2-651-26-31 Brig. Gen. Menachem Finklestein Chief Military Attorney General Military postal code 9605 IDF Israel Fax : ++972-3-569-43-70 Coordinator of Activities in Judea and Samaria General Yaakov Orr Ministry of Defense Ha-Kirya Tel Aviv, Israel Phone: 972-3-697-5351 Fax: 972-3-697-6306; Spokesperson: Mr. Shlomo Dror Mobile: 972 2 50-398-652 _______________________________ Civil Administration Commander Beit El Israel Tel: 972 2 9977071 Fax: 972 2 9977326 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. Shlomo Politis Legal Advisor to the Civil Administration P.O. Box 10482, Beit El, Israel Tel: 972-2-997-7071 Mobile: 972 2 50-511782 Fax: 972-2-997-7326 _______________________________ Mr. Shlomo Moskovitch The Office of the Executive Planning Council; Civil Administration P.O. Box 16; Beit El Israel _______________________________ Mr. Yossi Hasson Coordinator, Planning Committee: Civil Administration P.O. Box 16, Beit El, Israel Tel: 972-2-997-7307 Fax: 972-2-997-7344 _______________________________ Captain Peter Lerner Spokesperson Civil Administration: Beit El, West Bank, Israel, Tel: 972-2-997-7398; Fax: 02-9977018 [May have been changed - A.I.] ---end forwarded message------ [2] listed emails secretaryofstate@USA.gov keenme@state.gov sar@mod.gov.il pniot@mod.gov.il webmaster@pmo.gov.il pm_eng@pmo.gov.il [3] letter of Ibrahim Issa [As background the Jan. 30 letter of Ibrahim Issa, co- director of the school] Dear Friends, Lots of thanks for your support to the Hope Flowers School. I want just to inform you about the demolition process of the School cafeteria. On the afternoon of November 4th, 2003 , and after the school day, the neighbours of the school informed us that a force from the Israeli army came to the school cafeteria and left a paper there. The paper was written in Hebrew and with some translation in Arabic. The paper was about a final warning to demolish a building and gave the characteristics of that building. The demolition notice had only a number; the owner of the building was not listed in that warning, nor were there any other details. The Hope Flowers School contacted immediately an Israeli lawyer (Mr. Andre Rosenthal) and informed him about that notice. Mr. Rosenthal started his contacts with the Israeli civil administration in order to get more information whether the Hope Flowers School Cafeteria is the building in question, especially since the Israelis wanted to demolish the same building in 1999 and after a long process, an Israeli military court stopped the demolition of that Cafeteria. After few weeks and several faxes and phone calls to the Israeli civil administration, the Israeli civil administration confirmed that the warning relates to the Cafeteria building of the Hope Flowers School. The cafeteria is a separate building of the school with an area of 500 square meters. The reason given in the notice was that the building does not have a building license, but we suspect two actual reasons: one: the building is very close to an Israeli settlement(Efrat), making that area a highly sensitive one. Two: the building would be close to the segregation wall that the Israeli government is building in the West Bank. We suspect that the segregation wall will be built very close to the Hope Flowers School. This is according to (unofficial) maps published recently by the Israeli army. Yesterday I was in the Applied Research Institute in Bethlehem. I spoke to surveyors who had the maps, and they confirmed that the wall will be very close to the school. They said that these maps, nevertheless, are subject to ongoing change by the army. This is, I believe, the actual motivation for the demolition warning that we received, but the demolition warning does not mention the wall as a reason. Today I had a phone call from the school lawyer. He is going to start a process to stop the demolition of the school Cafeteria in Beit El (Command Center of the Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank). This is needed to prevent any unilateral action from the Israeli army before any juridical process takes place. Meanwhile, the lawyer advised us to apply for an Israeli building permit for the school cafeteria, because the Israelis are using this lack of a permit as an excuse for demolition. The school cannot afford the costs of the juridical process, neither the building license fees and the related engineer's work on its own. The school depends for the past three years on donations to keep its doors open, and this problem is only adding more and more pressure on the school. We are now in urgent need of funds to pay the expenses of the engineering work to submit for the Israeli building permit. We are looking to our friends for support in this matter. I want to inform you that the school has an approved building permit (building license) from the Palestinian Authority, but the school is located in Area C (totally Israeli controlled area with entirely Palestinian population) which means the Palestinian building license does not help to save the Hope Flowers Cafeteria building or the main school building either. The Israelis are taking this as an excuse to prevent any Palestinian expansion in area C. Soon we are going to start a protest letters campaign to stop the demolition of the school cafeteria. We will send you a draft of the protest letters, the case number, and the mailing addresses. The letters should be sent to the Head of the Civil Administaration in Beit El and to Israeli embassies. We are also asking our friends to write to their governments to encourage them to protest to the Israeli government. More information will follow soon. Just to close; When Hussein founded the Hope Flowers School he was attacked many times by Palestinian radical groups; his home was attacked, his car was burned, he was accused of being a collaborator and was even jailed by the PNA as pressure to change the school philospohy. Once, after a bad day of treatment in the prison, I asked Hussein if he feels sorry after all this pain and he answered: " To suffer for Peace is much better than to suffer for war" As his son now following in my fathers footsteps, I want you to know that the Hope Flowers dedication for peace education will never waver. It will always remain rock solid, and the Hope Flowers School will remain the home of peace education in the Middle East. In Peace, Ibrahim Issa Co-director [4]sample letter of protest - to be used as it is, or for inspiration - To... We have been informed that the Hope Flowers school in El Khader, well-known for its excellent record of educating for peace and democracy, is facing demolition of their cafeteria, which is adjacent to the planned route of the Separation Fence. In light of the disputed status of this wall and its route, we urge you to do everything to stop such a senseless demolition. [your name] From info at gush-shalom.org Mon Feb 16 01:56:47 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:09 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Gaza - the IDF's shooting range Gideon Levy Message-ID: <4030235F.11128.5C40A0D@localhost> GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 גוש שלום, ת.ד.,3322 תל אביב We have demonstrated against it on the same day; we placed an ad against it in the Friday Ha'aretz [Hebrew original at www.gush-shalom.org] Sharon babbles about evacuating the Israeli settlements In the Gaza Strip - And in the meantime He kills 15 Palestinians in one single day. But to really understand what is going on in Gaza, read Gideon Levy. The IDF's shooting range By Gideon Levy Sun., February 15, 2004 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/394153.html Hebrew http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=394230&sw=%F 2%E6%E4 It sometimes seems the Gaza Strip has become the central shooting range of the Israel Defense Forces, the IDF's firing zone and training field. The weapons in use there are of dubious legality, the rules of engagement lack the element of restraint, and punitive measures that Israel would not conceive of inflicting in the West Bank are par for the course, in a region that produces far less terrorism than the West Bank. The operation last Wednesday, in the Sajiyeh quarter of Gaza City, in which 15 Palestinians were killed - including at least seven civilians - was the latest illustration, for the time being, of what Israel allows itself to do in Gaza. Fifteen dead for the sake of liquidating one Hamas man who wasn't very senior in the organization is an intolerable price. In Gaza, though, it has become routine: Once every week or two, the IDF moves in, kills, demolishes and pulls out, and no one knows exactly what it was all in aid of. Why do wanted individuals have to be liquidated now in Gaza altogether? Is it only to bring about more revenge terrorism? The fact that not one terrorist attack against Israel has originated from the Gaza Strip, because of the fence there, only heightens these questions. One begins to suspect that the IDF is behaving like this in Gaza simply because it can do whatever it fancies there. The Gaza Strip and the West Bank have always been differentiated in the Israeli consciousness. Whereas Ramallah and Bethlehem are considered cities inhabited by people, Gaza has always been portrayed as a "nest of terrorists." The fact that nearly 1.5 million people live there, among them farmers and intellectuals, merchants and craftsmen, religious and secular people - just like anywhere else - has been deliberately distorted here. Try to tell an Israeli that the beaches of the Gaza Strip are among the most beautiful in the Middle East and that the majority of the Gazans are cordial, especially warm people. Who will believe that? The demonization to which Gaza has been subjected, going back to the period before the occupation, has made it possible to behave differently there. Just as in the Israeli- occupied areas of Lebanon, which were remote and where almost everything was allowed, the occupation of Gaza, too, has always been marked by a sense of anarchy, dating back to the operations carried out there by Ariel Sharon and Meir Dagan (the current head of the Mossad) in the 1970s. According to the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group, there were five liquidations in the Gaza Strip in the past four months, as compared with only one in the West Bank. Why this ratio? Is it because the Gazans are more dangerous, or because more is allowed in Gaza? The streets of Rafah resemble the set of a violent war movie. It's the Grozny of Gaza. To date, Israel has demolished hundreds of homes, including 40 in one day two weeks ago. The declared pretext - the arms- smuggling tunnels from Sinai - can't justify destruction on this scale. The IDF would never dare carry out demolitions of this scope in the West Bank. Suffice it to recall how Jenin became a worldwide symbol two years ago, in Operation Defensive Shield. In Rafah the suffering is greater than in Jenin, but no one takes an interest. There are hardly any foreign correspondents there, and of course no Israeli journalists. It's not by chance that peace activists Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurndall and the cameraman James Miller were killed there. It's there that Israel renews its arsenal, too. The miniature black steel darts that scattered in every direction in September 2002, in the vineyard of the Hagin family, killing a mother, two sons and their cousin who were picking grapes, were semi-flechette shells - an illegal antipersonnel weapon generally fired from tanks. At least twice the IDF used the destructive shell, whose scattered darts I saw stuck in the sides of buildings a great distance from the place where the family members were killed. The IDF has not dared to use flechette shells in the West Bank. Similarly, the bombing of population centers from the air has been authorized on a number of occasions in Gaza. The air force, even under the command of the unrestrained Major General Dan Halutz, would not have the temerity to drop a half-ton bomb on a crowded residential area in Ramallah. But it's okay in Gaza, as in the liquidation of Hamas activist Saleh Shehadeh in July 2002 with a one-ton bomb. The rules of engagement are different in Gaza, too. In November 2001 the deputy military judge advocate general admitted that there is a "vast difference" in the guidelines for opening fire between Central Command (the West Bank) and Southern Command (the Gaza Strip). Why should this be so? In the area of the isolated Gaza Strip settlement of Netzarim and along the fence around the Gaza Strip, the order is to shoot anything that moves, with no prior warning. The latest victims were a group of children who approached the fence in the A-Salem neighborhood of Rafah on the weekend. A 10-year-old boy was killed and three of his friends were wounded because the soldiers saw them as "suspicious figures." Testimony of the "anything goes" atmosphere was given by a senior IDF officer back in 1998, during a tour of the Gaza Strip by representatives of human rights organizations. Asked whether Gaza Strip terrorists were more dangerous, he replied, "No, but here we can do more." (photo) Relatives of a Palestinian who died during a gunfight with Israeli forces praying in front of the family home, which was destroyed during an incursion into Gaza last week. Fifteen Palestinians were killed, an illustration of what Israel allows itself to do in Gaza. (AP) -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Wed Feb 18 04:37:58 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:09 2004 Subject: (fwd) Refusers' presence - threat to military prison system Message-ID: <4032EC26.14190.2C34529@localhost> Tel-Aviv, February 17, 2004. In early 2003, with the occupation becoming increasingly grim, the military authorities sought to stem the tide of refusal by court-martialing some of the "trouble makers". A year later, the army seems to have a bad case of indigestion, trying to get rid of them. [Report by Adam Keller on behalf of the Refusers Parents’ Forum.] #The five: a bone in the throat of the military prison # Ben Artzi: still "not a pacifist" but to be released, so it now seems \\// //\\ \\// //\\ \\// #The five: a bone in the throat of the military prison Early morning at one Tel-Aviv's main arteries. On one side the Twin Towers of the Azrieli Commercial Center. On the other side, a monster of concrete and glass being constructed to house the expanding Ministry of Defence. In between, a group of demonstrators holding up the placards "Release the Prisoners of Conscience". Leaflets were handed out to the big stream of mostly rear-echelon soldiers on their way to the morning shift. At nine, not far from there - in the courtroom of the Military Appeals Court - a surrealistic scene - the testimony by Colonel Major Ochana, Deputy Commander of the Israeli Military Police Corps. "Ever since these five arrived at Military Prison-6, in January, their presence is completely undermining discipline and good order in the prison. The prison commandant and the entire staff are mainly concerned with them, and have no time and energy left for the rest of the five hundred prisoners. They are political activists with their own agenda, completely unfitting for the conditions of a military prison, governed by military discipline. Therefore, we demand that they be forthwith be transferred to a civilian prison." He was addressing the committee concerned with such prisoner transfers, convened at the Appeals Court hall. Persistently questioned by advocate Avner Pinchuk appointed by the civil rights association ACRI to defend the five, Colonel Ochana could mention no other example than Shimri Tzameret publishing a prison blog on the internet "in contravention of prison regulations." The military authorities had been quite tardy in stamping upon this dangerous subversive activity which Tzameret maintained with the mediation of his grandmother. It had gone on for nearly a year, and in fact during the five's court martial the prosecutor had extensively quoted from the blog in his speeches. "There is much more, but I can't disclose it right now for fear of compromising intelligence sources" was the Colonel's way of saving his face. In fact, the committee obliged him by holding a session in camera, expelling the five, their lawyer, and the entire audience of supporters and family members. The five, Noam Bahat, Matan Kaminer, Adam Maor, Haggai Matar and Shimri Tzameret, seemed rather amused, as they sat in the sun on the lawn outside the courtroom, surrounded by parents and girl friends. Their good spirits were undampened by their being handcuffed two by two (the sixth one being a non-political transfer case). "The prison intelligence officer does maintain a network of spies and informers, and tries to give the prisoners the impression that he knows everything. But I doubt that they have anything real on us to say in there", said Haggai Matar. One by one, the five were called back in, to give their own testimony and state their position towards the possibility of going to a civilian prison. Each in turn repeated the position which they had agreed upon: "We consider the intention of transferring us to a civilian prison as part of the campaign of harassment by the military authorities." Colonel Elisha Caspi, presiding judge grew impatient: "Why do you persist in throwing out this abstract principles? Do you have no personal preferences? No practical considerations?" The five did not oblige him. "But why?" exclaimed the military prosecution representative, Lieutenant Colonel Inbar. "You don't want to be soldiers. You don't accept military discipline. Why then are you trying to stick to the military prison? Would you not rather move to a civilian prison where you will not will have to get up at 5am, stand at roll calls the whole day, and address every guard with 'Sir', and where you will have a much better chance to have your term reduced for good behavior?" "If we are not fitting for a military framework and military discipline, then the army really should send us out of the military prison, not to a civilian prison - but home. After all, our entire court martial turned on the issue whether or not we are to be soldiers, and there the army firmly insisted that we should. The civilian prison is a place for people who have done something wrong in civil society. We have not committed a light traffic offence." This was followed by a speech of adv. Pinchuk. "The military system is exhibiting a completely irrational hysteria towards these five guys, as if they carry in their pocket atomic bombs, ready to explode. The claim of "secret intelligence material" is void of any substance. They are not on trial here, they have already been tried and sentenced. They are not here because of any activity on their part, but because of their very essence as refusers, as people who follow the dictates of their conscience. Their integrity and courage to refuse is perceived as a threat." Lieutenant Colonel Inbar addressed an identical question to each of the five in turn: "If you stay in Prison-6, would you be willing to oblige yourself to the prison commandant to adhere to military discipline without exception?" The answers were very much alike: "In the month and half that we are in Prison-6 we have obeyed the orders given to us, but we can't give a blanket promise for the future. If we get an order contradicting our conscience, we will not obey." Colonel Ochana pounced upon this answer. "You see! They are not willing to abide by the most basic obligation, keeping military discipline in the prison. For example, we have started a project of taking prisoners out to do work on the Security Fence. Do you think that if we ordered these five to do it, they would obey?" The faces of some of the other officers present showed some consternation. To threaten imprisoned refusers with being sent to work on the very disputed fence, due next week to be on the agenda of the International Court in The Hague, that seemed to be going a bit far for them. The members of the military committee remained closeted for more than an hour, to come out and announce that the decision will be given on an other day. On March 3, the next act is due on the same place: the appeal prepared by adv. Dov Chenin against both the conviction of the five and the length of their term. http://www.refuz.org.il/ *** # Ben Artzi: still "not a pacifist" but to be released, so it now seems It began yesterday with the curious decision of the army's Conscience Committee which had dealt for the fourth consecutive time with the case of Yoni Ben Artzi. The committee had no wish to deal with the issue again, but they were obliged to do it by the unanimous verdict of the military court, whose three judges declared themselves convinced of the sincerity of Ben Artzi's pacifist convictions and threw the ball back into the committee' court. The resolution, transmitted by fax to the office of advocate Avigdor Feldman, was an unparalleled piece of convoluted thinking and narrow- mindedness. "He is not a pacifist, but an egocentric person, to be discharged on grounds of incompatibility, rather than conscience." In order to proof their point they cited his being kept in open detention at the Michve Alon Camp, where soldiers lacking basic education are brought to learn. "He preferred to spend months in complete idleness, rather than help these unfortunates." The truth is a bit different: upon his arrival at this camp, Ben Artzi offered to teach them basic mathematics (his specialty). After two weeks the lessons were discontinued by the camp authorities - officially because "Ben Artzi is not a qualified teacher." "They are letting me go with as bad a grace as they could manage. I expected nothing else from them" said Yoni Ben Artzi when asked for comment. For more information: mbartzi@yahoo.com see also Ha'aretz: Panel: Exempt Ben-Artzi due to 'incompatibility' By Lili Galili, Haaretz Correspondent Hebrew http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=395269&contrassID=1&subC ontrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0 English http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=395276&contrassID=1& subContrassID=7&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y Jerusalem Post: Feb. 17, 2004 IDF recommends releasing conscientious objector By {HYPERLINK "mailto:updates@jpost.com"}JPost.com Staff http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=10769 92948841&p=1008596981749 *** From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Feb 19 04:12:21 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:09 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] anti-wall petition to be published on day international court starts Message-ID: <403437A5.15354.B46592@localhost> A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 4333 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040219/f278df38/attachment.bin From info at gush-shalom.org Fri Feb 20 19:25:36 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:09 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Not in our Name ! לא בשמנו last chance to sign & more Message-ID: <40365F30.29456.F69409@localhost> GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 גוש שלום, ת.ד.,3322 תל אביב Gush Shalom and the other groups forming together the Anti-Wall Coalition invite you to TWO EQUALLY IMPORTANT ACTIVITIES: -- Signing the petition (if you didn't yet) which has to published already Monday (start of proceedings re the wall by the International Court) -- Showing up at the protest rally Monday 7.30 pm outside the PMs Residence J'lem [Read also about an action Sunday & important developments in the refuser movement] 1# Not in our Name ! לא בשמנו Does your name appear already among Israelis Against The Wall? Sign up Hebrew/English / / חיתמו עברית/אנגלית or by sending email to: checks made out to “Ha’aretz Newspaper” to the address: POB 2030, Jerusalem 91020 [NB: earlier we had a mistake in the zip!] . Further information: Itay 067-300697. 2# Monday 23.02 at 7.30 pm - Protest Rally outside the Prime Minister’s Residence J'lem N.B.: There will be transportation from Tel-Aviv and Haifa. 3# Refusers-update & action Sunday 1# Not in our Name ! לא בשמנו We, the undersigned, citizens of Israel, completely reject Sharon government’s claim that the “Separation Fence” which is being built in the occupied territories is intended to defend our safety and security. This fence is being built deep inside the Palestinian territory. It is cutting through towns and villages, it is destroying and confiscating fields and olive groves, it separates between farmers and their lands, between students and their schools, between patients and hospitals, and it is turning the life of a whole population into hell. This fence is annexing settlements to Israel and imprisoning the Palestinians in enclaves with the aim of preventing any future possibility of creating a viable Palestinian state. While the government is wasting billions of dollars from the almost empty treasury in order to construct the fence, it is cruelly slashing welfare allocations, thus dealing a lethal blow to the poor and disadvantaged Israeli citizens. This is not the way to prevent suicide bombings, but rather to further aggravate the misery, despair and hatred and to perpetuate the conflict for further generations. Today we say to the Israeli government: this evil wall is not being built in our name! The true and only way to stop the suicide bombings and bloodshed is through a mutual agreement that will end the occupation and oppression, which give birth to the endless bloodshed. Does your name appear already? If not you can stilkl do it: Sign up Hebrew/English / / חיתמו עברית/אנגלית or by sending email to: checks made out to “Ha’aretz Newspaper” to the address: POB 2030, Jerusalem 91020 [NB: earlier we had a mistake in the zip!] . Further information: Itay 067-300697. 2# Monday 23.02 at 7.30 pm - Protest Rally outside the Prime Minister’s Residence J'lem N.B.: There will be transportation from Tel-Aviv and Haifa. RESERVE YOUR SEAT *and* receive details re where & when via the Gush answering machine: 03-5221732 3# Refusers-update & action Sunday A new refusenik, Laura Milo - join us on Sunday ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Anat Matar" “On Sunday, I’ll report to the induction base and say once again that I refuse to enlist.” Laura Milo, age 19, Ending a year of community service in Yerucham Will report to the main induction base (“Bakum”) On Sunday February 22nd, at 7.30 a.m. We’ll accompany Laura with a protest vigil At the gate to the Tel-Hashomer induction center (“Lishkat hagiyus”) Affirming her right to exemption from service on grounds of conscience; Calling the army “Conscience Committee” to retract its decision that, “Her problem isn’t one of conscience.” Laura wrote: I cannot take part in the injustices that our country carries out through the IDF. I am not a pacifist; my objection is to the occupation. I went to Yerucham … with a sense of pioneering, forming a new model of community work Through the young people I worked with and my personal experience I encountered the ugliness of our society The injustice guiding the policies of our government The work … reinforced my sense of duty to create something different. It is my conscientious duty to tell my truth fully. I will refuse out of a deeply personal motive: So I can go on living in this country At peace with what my conscience tells me. *** Inbal Gelbert is serving a third term in military prison; Adam Maor, Haggai Matar, Matan Kaminer, Noam Bahat and Shimri Tzameret are serving a second year in prison - All denied the right to exemptions on grounds of conscience. The “Shministim”; New Profile; The Refusers’ Parents Forum; Yesh Gvul Ask you to join the our call for: Freedom to live by one’s conscience - Freedom to refuse crimes of oppression and occupation. For additional details: Lotahn 053-257242 Buses to the “Bakum” gate: 45, 55, 64, 70 Donations to New Profile and to The Refusers’ Parents Forum Can be sent to: POB 3454, Ramat Hasharon 47100 P.S. re the exemption of the army (at last) of Yoni Ben-Artzi English Hebrew and re the five being transfered to a civilian prison: English only -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Feb 22 17:55:10 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:10 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Israeli Voice Against the Wall - plans for tomorrow Message-ID: <4038ECFE.24520.3739A21@localhost> GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org [We hereby forward the press release of the Israeli Coalition Against the Wall - a wide coaltion of peace groups of which Gush Shalom is part.] Hebrew at request / ????? ?? ?? ???? Press Release Tel-Aviv, February 22. 2004 ISRAELI VOICE AGAINST THE WALL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tomorrow, Monday, 23 February 2004 at 8.00 p.m. Opening Day of the Hearing in Hague about the Legality of the Wall Demonstration against the Wall Opposite the Prime Minister's Residence, Jerusalem ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The terrible attack in Jerusalem today strengthens our opinion that the policy of Occupation and dispossession of the Palestinians, as expressed in the building of the Wall within the Palestinian Territories, does not bring us peace," say activist organizations holding protest activities against the Separation Wall. Tomorrow, 23 February at 8.00 p.m., activist organizations participating in the "Israeli Voice against the Wall" will hold a protest demonstration opposite the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem. Protesters will demand the immediate cessation of the building of the Wall and removal of those sections already built which cause indescribable suffering to the Palestinian population. For the demonstration, a symbolic wall will be built in front of the Prime Minister's residence, and during the demonstration protesters will call for its removal. "This is what will eventually occur to the real Wall, it will fall as did the Berlin Wall", say demonstration organizers. "On this day, in which the most respected international legal forum will commence discussions concerning the legality of the Wall which tears apart the Occupied Territories, we chose not to travel to the Hague, but to demonstrate here in Jerusalem against the man who brought us this sorrow: Ariel Sharon. As Israelis concerned for the future and security of Israel, we want to send a strong and clear message to the Prime Minister: "You are not building this evil Wall in our name, we completely and utterly reject the contention that it is meant to protect us". The demonstration planned in Jerusalem is the height of a series of protest events which include other demonstrations and a mass petition of Israeli citizens against the Wall (full text attached). The following organizations participate in this Coalition against the Wall: Alternative Information Center, Gush Shalom, Israeli Committee against House Demolitions, MachsomWatch, Rabbis for Human Rights, Ta'ayush (Arab-Jewish Partnership), Women's Coalition for a Just Peace and Yesh Gvul. For additional details: Niv Gordon: 053-368603 / 02-5812275 Yana Zifferblat: 065-620972 Hulud Badawi: 067-469738 Na'ama Nagar: 052-245788 Adam Keller: 03-5565804 / 056-709603 Leena: 057 255218, 02 6241159 In order to receive regularly Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: antiWall petition English version.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 21504 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040222/8f6d1162/antiWallpetitionEnglishversion.obj From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Feb 22 21:53:39 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:10 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Saluting the judges / Avnery column / Amira Hass in Gaza Message-ID: <403924E3.21569.44DFAC3@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ #1# Gush Shalom ad salutes judges of the International Court #2# The dancing bear / Avnery's sarcastic analysis of US-Israel relations #3# Israeli roulette - By Amira Hass \\// //\\ \\// //\\ \\// #1# Gush Shalom ad salutes judges of the International Court [Hebrew attached - ????? ??"? ] "Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother? An abomination is committed in Israel and Jerusalem!" (Malachia, 2, 10-11) [Graffiti painted in Hebrew on the Separation Wall at Abu Dis.] Judgement Day at The Hague Gush Shalom salutes the judges of the International Court at The Hague as they start their deliberations today about the Wall that is being built inside the occupied territories. Gush Shalom opposes this wall and demands the demolition of the part already built. Gush Shalom strives for peace and reconciliation between the two peoples of this country, for a life of equality, cooperation and mutual respect between two states, Israel and Palestine. We are consequently opposed in principle to any barrier of separation between us. A wall might be acceptable if it were built on the Green Line, as a temporary security measure until peace is achieved. However, the Separation Wall that is now snaking through the West Bank is not being built for security reasons. The Sharon government is abusing the demand for security as a pretext for annexing territories, confining the Palestinians in isolated enclaves and expanding the settlements. This wall will not bring security to the State of Israel and its citizens. It is creating more hatred, reducing still further the prospects for peace and perpetuating the interminable cycle of bloodshed. This is a monstrous wall, inhuman and illegal. Anyone who supports it is not serving the cause of Israel's security, but the destructive tendencies of extreme elements that threaten our future. We, Israelis who care about peace, the future and the security of our state, call upon the citizens of Israel and the international community to raise their voices for peace and against this wall. THE WALL MUST FALL! Gush Shalom P.O.Box 3322,Tel-Aviv 61033 info@gush-shalom.org / www.gush-shalom.org Checks to the pob - or via charity in your country [list of charities at request] *** #2# The dancing bear / Avnery's sarcastic analysis of US-Israel relations English Hebrew *** #3# Israeli roulette - By Amira Hass English http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/396328.html Hebrew / ????? http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=39623 *** -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ad'Feb23_heb.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 25600 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040222/af27ad65/adFeb23_heb.obj From info at gush-shalom.org Tue Feb 24 06:05:13 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:10 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Trampling on the wall at Sharon's doorstep Message-ID: <403AE999.26269.F7A693@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ Febr. 23, Jerusalem Trampling on the wall at Sharon's doorstep "The wall around the Gaza Strip works!" I hear people say. "But do you know how many thousands died in Gaza in the past years, and that the army needs a whole division there? Do you want to make of the West Bank a bigger Gaza, imprisoning two million people behind walls and barbed wire, leaving them bitter and without hope? How many divisions will that require?" exclaimed Oren Medicks, who spoke for Gush Shalom. Meir Margalit of the Committee Against House Demolition had spoken before him on this cold Monday evening during the demonstration in front of the Prime Minister's Residence: "On this day of the funerals after the suicide bombing of yesterday which happened more or less around the corner from here, I call upon the inhabitant of the house before we stand: Mr Prime Minister, the wall does not stop terrorism. It invigorates it. For every stopped terrorist the wall is creating twelve new ones." Opposite the makeshift podium, a replica of the Wall was erected - and during the speeches demonstrators were busily covering it with graffiti: Wall is War / The Wall = No Peace = No Security = More Hatred / The Wall, Prison for Palestinians - Ghetto for Israelis. "The Sharon-Netanyahu government is creating walls of poverty and misery - to finance the walls of concrete" - Sigal Haroush, on behalf of the Democratic Oriental Rainbow. A religious note, from Yael Nechoushtan, Rabbis for Human Rights. "Know you not the heart of the stranger? Were you not a stranger in Egypt? - This is what we read this week in the Synagogue. And what do we see when we go to the Wall? Palestinian farmers waiting to be allowed to go through a gate so they can cultivate their land - one day just the humiliation and waiting; another day the gate remaining closed, leaving them nothing but to go home and leave the land untilled." "The struggle against the Wall and against the occupation is becoming more and more a common struggle of Israelis and Palestinians. In many demonstrations we see Israeli activists standing by our side and we very much appreciate it," said Fadwah Haddad of the Palestinian Committee Against The Wall in East Jerusalem. Shai Gorski of Ta'ayush added: "In many places today, Israelis have joined with Palestinians in protesting against the Wall: outside the US Consulate in East-Jerusalem; in Abu-Dis, where no less than hundred Israelis came in working hours to protest the 8-meter high Wall cutting this town in two; at Budrus village, where the olive groves are dally destroyed by bulldozers; at Dir el-Rasun near Tulkarem, and also at villages in the Bethlehem District. Nearly everywhere it ended the same way: the army using violence and tear gas to disperse the rallies." Moderator Hulud Badawi called upon participants to show up tomorrow at half past eight at the Tel-Aviv Court where 14 Anarchists Against Fences are to be remanded in custody, after having blocked the street in front the Tel-Aviv Defence Ministry. She also mentioned the five refusers spending another year behind bars, who were this morning transferred to a civilian prison, as well as the woman refuser Laura Milo who yesterday joined the new series of imprisoned refusers - it seems that the gloves are off also for the female refusniks. "And now, let's teach Sharon and his ministers and generals what to do with Apartheid Walls" cried Badawi. Hundreds of participants turned to the cardboard Wall gleefully tearing it into pieces. "With the real Wall it won't be that easy, but fall it will, like the Berlin Wall! And now please help clear up the mess" were the words with which Badawi ended the rally. photos: http://www.gush-shalom.org/actions/jeruwall_eng.html http://www.gush-shalom.org/actions/jeruwall_heb.html The petition against the wall initiated by the anti-Wall Coalition and signed by 1000 - as appearing in the Monday papers: http://www.gader.org/downloads/petition_heb.pdf Gush Shalom also placed a separate special ad at the occasion of the start of proceedings in The Hague: http://www.gush-shalom.org/media/pics/ad_heb.gif http://www.gush-shalom.org/media/pics/ad_eng.gif -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Feb 26 02:56:58 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:10 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Human wall against the fence Message-ID: <403D607A.8037.A98423B@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ International release Febr. 25, 2004 While the world looks at The Hague, and suicide bombers are the only Palestinians to make headlines, Palestinian farmers - and with them Israeli and international peace activists - are engaged persistently in nonviolent ways of fighting the Wall. Beit Surik and Budrus - names of villages until recently not heard of. The following are reports and articles of the past days as well as an earlier background article. 1- Blocking road to Defence Ministry - and spending the night at the police 2- Tuesday report Beit Surik: demonstrators under fire - 50 trees uprooted. 3- The sight of the army and Border Police was too much 4- Huwaida Arraf & Jessica Hanson arrested while protesting against Wall 5- An article from Huwaida Arraf published two days ago 6- 'The peaceful way works best' - the example of Budrus By Gideon Levy, Haaretz Feb. 11 (())(())(())(()) 1- Blocking road to Defence Ministry - and spending the night at the police It all began at 8:00 AM on Monday, February 23, in the parking lot outside Tel Aviv's Habima Theater). At the Hague, the International Court of Justice was starting. The Palestinians had organized mass protests throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with Israelis explicitly invited to take part in the more prominent actions. "Anarchists against Fences" were headed for Dir-el-Rasun - a village of 8,500 people north of Tul Karm, more than half of its lands were left on the other side of the Israeli fence erected last year; and only some 10% of the villages were granted permits to cross the fence and cultivate their lands. In preliminary meetings the villagers had shown themselves enthusiastic for Israeli participation. However, while the bus driver stood waiting for the activists to arrive, a man in civilian clothes approached and started interrogating him about his plans and where the bus was headed for. Though pressed, the driver gave no answer beyond "I am hired to go somewhere in the north, my passengers will give me more details en route." Losing patience, the interrogator pulled out a police ID, informing the driver that the police would follow the bus wherever it went, and "advising" him to "give up your plans and go home." Indeed, from the moment the Anarchists boarded the bus and set out, they had a police tail - first the original plainclothes detective on his motorcycle, later joined by an increasing number of police partol cars. The bus reached the Green Line (pre-'67 border) and set out on Route 5 - a major east-west highway bisecting the West Bank and mainly used by settlers. In general, police and army patrols on that road are instructed to stop any car with Palestinian plates and let Israeli ones proceed. But not this particular Israeli bus. It was stopped about 20 kilometers into the West Bank and ordered to pull to the side, while settler cars continued to whiz by. The police took the driver?s license and also demanded the keys to the bus. When the driver refused to surrender these, the police changed tack "Turn back immediately, you are in a closed military zone". - "What about these settler cars ? Why aren't you stopping them?" - That's none of your business". Following this, the group decided to try to reach their destination by a different road, but with no greater success. Near Qalqilya the bus was again stopped. This time the driver was informed that were he to be caught one more single time in the Territories, his license would be taken away for 30 days. While wating at the road block and arguing with police, a phone call from Dir-el-Rasun informed the activists that the villagers had already held their rally - to be immediately dispersed by a heavy barrage of tear gas from the army. Refusing to end the day in frustration, the Anarchists improvised a new plan: destination - the Defence Ministry in Tel-Aviv. The police were waiting there, too, a phalanx blocking the approaches to the military complex's main gate. But the Anarachists went a bit further along the Defence Ministry outer wall, leaving the police behind, and then sat down in the middle of the road, blocking it to traffic and displaying T-shirts with the words "The Wall - Ghetto 2004" on a backgrond of barbed wire. They had sat no more than five minutes when the police came up and waded in with little ado. No less than fourteen activists were kicked and beaten while being dragged to the waiting patrol cars, all the while chanting "The Wall will fall! The Wall will fall!" The scene was caught by hastily-called press photographers, to appear the following day on the pages of "Yediot Aharonot" and "Ha'aretz". Unlike most such cases, the police refused to release the detainees that evening, and insisted on letting them spend the night in the Abu Kabir Detention Center. Moreover, on being unloaded at the Harakevet Street Police Station, several of the detainees were treated to an additional, gratuitous round of beating, one of them getting his nose broken. The following morning before Judge Muki Lansman of the Tel-Aviv Magistrate's Court, the police wanted to make their release conditional upon their staying five days in house arrest and undertaking "Not to come for the next thirty days within a one-kilometre radius of the Defence Ministry". A protest by Adv. Gabi Lasky got the house arrest dropped and the restriction reduced to "10 days of not coming within 200 metres of the ministry". At the time of writing, an offcial complaint about the beatings is being prepared. Contact: cat@squat.net [The above is based on the account written by Dorothy Naor, supplemented by infornmation given verbally by several of the Anarchists themselves.] 2- Tuesday report Beit Surik: demonstrators under fire - 50 trees uprooted. Press release Tue, 24 Feb 2004: 50 olive trees uprooted at Beit Souriq, demonstrators under fire, ongoing resistance 50 TREES UPROOTED BY IDF ON 2ND DAY OF ICJ HEARING Today, Israeli authorities started to destroy olive groves in Beit Surik to expand the Wall in the N.W. region of Jerusalem: bulldozers uprooted trees under protection of IDF and Border Police. Villagers, ISM Internationals and Israelis demonstrated on the planned Wall path. Troops fired tear gas, sound grenades and rubber bullets -- at least 10 Palestinians were wounded, including a child seriously injured in the chest by rubber- coated steel bullet. Police detained two Palestinians and an Israeli. Tens of Palestinians and 7 ISM members sat in front of bulldozers to stop them uprooting more trees, surrounded by troops who fired tear gas at them. A group of village youth then tried to ward off the two bulldozers by throwing stones at them. Later, bulldozers and soldiers retreated out of sight but tear gas was still fired at demonstrators. Palestinians farmers expect the bulldozers to return tomorrowand do not intend to leave their lands, but insist the demonstration must be non- violent with no stone-throwing. ISM volunteers are in the village overnight to support the farmers' struggle. Palestinians from neighboring villages and Israeli activists will join inhabitants early tomorrow. Last Friday, 60 Israelis marched to Beit Surik?s anti-Wall demonstration from nearby Mevasseret Zion. Beit Surik (4,000 residents) is a small village N.W. of Jerusalem, on the Green Line. In the ?80s Israel seized 1,500 dunums of its land, for settlements. In 2003, another 500 dunums near Har Adar settlement was seized plus another 700 dunums north of Beit Surik; all such lands belong to villagers. These villages have been informed Israel is seizing 350 dunums for Wall construction, spelling disaster: up to 6,000 dunums more will be lost on the wrong side of the Wall, including eight vital wellssupplying all local villages in summer. Even the local garbage dump will be expropriated. Roads have already been blocked off, limiting freedom of movement or trade, leading to rising unemployment. The Wall?s route means all local villages: Biddu, Beit Idesh, Beit Iqsa, Nabi Samuel, Kubeiba, Beit Anan, Qataana, Beit Dukku and Khirbet Um El Lahem will be cut off from each other -- the whole area an enclave, hemmed in at the north by ?settler- only? Road 443. Villagers say: ?We are helpless villagers, eager only to earn our living and live in dignity on the lands our forefathers carefully nurtured. Dare anyone call this wall a ?Security Wall?!! It is nothing else but the final stage in the complete annexation of our land.? For more information, please call: Mohamed Qundiel: 050 494 083 // Tarek Al Sheikh : 067 544 919 ISM Media Office: 02-277 4602 / Neal : 066 346 165 / Max : 053 471 226 3- The sight of the army and Border Police was too much --------------forwarded message follows From: "Rabbis for Human Rights" Date sent: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 17:42:29 +0200 [From Rabbi Arik Asherman] I spent a good part of today, along with other Israeli activists, in Biddu and Beit Surik where bulldozers continued their work on the barrier which will encircle seven villages north-west of Jerusalem and separate them from over 51,000 dunums of their land. Unfortunately, in spite of efforts by the leadership of the villages to organize a non-violent resistance (including organizational meetings and announcements over loudspeakers), the sight of the army and Border Police was too much of a provocation and we saw a great deal of stone throwing and tear gas.  Nevertheless there were some inspiring moments such as when a line of about 8 non violent women confronted soldiers who eventually retreated. At one location in Beit Surik some 4,000 villagers quietly sat on their land singing songs. There the bulldozers did not show up today. 4- Huwaida Arraf & Jessica Hanson arrested while protesting against Wall ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "International Solidarity Movement" Date sent: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 18:50:03 -0000 TWO ISM AMERICAN ACTIVISTS ARRESTED WHILE PROTESTING AGAINST THE WALL Eye witnesses report use of excessive violence from the soldiers [Beit Surik, Occupied Jerusalem] Two female activists Huwaida Arraf and Jessica Hanson were arrested while trying to negotiate with the soldiers during the demonstration against the building of the Wall of Apartheid in Beit Surik this afternoon. Eye witnesses reported that the two American citizens were beaten by male soldiers during the arrest. Huwaida Arraf was reportedly punched in the face by a soldier. The demonstration began yesterday, as bulldozers started to destroy olive groves surrounding the village. The demonstrators attempted to stop the bulldozers from uprooting more olive trees today. The Israeli army fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowd and arrested around 15 Palestinians, 2 Israeli activists and a journalist. The two American activists have been first taken into a nearby settlement called Har Adar before being transferred to the police station of Givat Ze'ev settlements later in the afternoon and are still detained there. Later in the evening, Jessica Hanson was released but Huwaida Arraf is still detained and officially arrested. No court hearing has been scheduled so far. For more information, please contact: Neal (ISM Activist): +972 66 346 165 ISM Media Office: +972 2277 4602 5- An article from Huwaida Arraf published two days ago ISRAEL'S BARRIER: Tear it down: It's an oppressive grab of Palestinian land February 23, 2004 BY HUWAIDA ARRAF - Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/voices/editorials/earraf23_20040223.htm The International Court of Justice at the Hague today convenes hearings on the legality of the controversial barrier Israel is building on the West Bank. The UN General Assembly asked the court for an "advisory opinion." Here is one perspective on the debate. Today, as they debate the wall at the Hague, here in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, we're wondering: Is the world going to watch this happen again? Will we let walls and fences be erected around communities and allow people to be stripped of their livelihoods and freedom of movement because of their religion and ethnicity? In Beit Surik, a Palestinian village northwest of Jerusalem, the destruction of olive groves, greenhouses and homes hasn't started yet, but the 4,000 residents need our help. Almost 90 percent of Beit Surik's land and its eight wells will be isolated on the other side of the wall. The villagers will be imprisoned by this structure and denied free access to work, school and medical care. They will have to apply for permits to enter and exit their village. Will we support their efforts to resist the inevitable, if only so history will record that Beit Surik stood defiant in the face of this land grab? Will we support their efforts to stay on their ancestors' land despite efforts to force them to leave? Less than 20 miles from Beit Surik, volunteers from the International Solidarity Movement have been supporting nonviolent resistance to the wall for the past two months in the village of Budrus. Last November, Budrus' residents were notified that their land would be razed and isolated by the wall. Since then, they have been mobilizing nonviolent protests and calling for international support. Israeli bulldozers uprooted about 100 of Budrus' olive trees before stopping, possibly in response to the increased visibility brought by peace activists' participation in the village's protests. The Israeli occupation forces have responded with violence. More than 60 villagers have been injured by rubber-coated metal bullets. Troops invade Budrus and open fire with live ammunition. Nine nonviolent activists are imprisoned, including young children. Women and children alike are beaten and tear-gassed at each demonstration, and the leaders of Budrus' nonviolent resistance were abducted from their homes by soldiers in the middle of the night. Yet the villagers have not been deterred and refuse to sit still while their land is destroyed and their village becomes a large open-air prison. A year and a half ago, the ISM was part of a similar effort with the villagers of Jayyous. However, despite the petitions, protests, sit-ins, and beatings and arrests of demonstrators, thousands of Jayyous' olive and fruit trees were destroyed. Seventy-five percent of Jayyous' farmland was taken from its owners. More than 200 greenhouses are now abandoned because Israeli soldiers forbid Jayyous farmers from crossing to their land. All of the village's wells fall on the other side of this "security" fence. Today, Jayyous is nearly surrounded by a 9-foot high razor-wire fence, equipped with motion sensors and security cameras. Jayyous' residents have to request special permission to enter and exit their village. Do the people of Budrus and Beit Surik have reason to believe that their nonviolent resistance can save them from a similar ghetto-like future? Veterans of the Palestinian freedom struggle have little hope. The world community has thus far failed to act to stop Israeli violations of international law and Palestinian human rights. Instead, the overwhelming focus of the international community has been on the Palestinian armed resistance, with little recognition of the prominent nonviolent struggle. Over the years, Palestinian nonviolent tactics have included the boycott of Israeli goods and services, civil disobedience and rejection of Israeli military administration, the establishment of neighborhood schools (when the Israeli army shut down Palestinian schools), marches, strikes and refusal to pay taxes. The ISM was created to support unarmed resistance to Israeli occupation by providing the Palestinian people with a resource -- an international presence and a voice -- with which to continue nonviolently resisting an overwhelming military force. As Palestinians, Israelis and foreigners take the lead on the ground to oppose and defeat an oppressive occupation, will the policymakers and international judges follow? Or will they be left behind? ------------------------ HUWAIDA ARRAF is a cofounder of the International Solidarity Movement. 7- 'The peaceful way works best' - the example of Budrus By Gideon Levy, Haaretz Feb. 11 Ha'aretz Wed., February 11, 2004 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/393347.html There's a remote little village in the West Bank that decided to behave differently. A village whose residents decided not to lament and not to blow themselves up. They chose another way between violence and surrender. The residents of the village of Budrus, west of Ramallah and close to the Green Line, chose to wage a nonviolent struggle against the separation fence that is being built on its land. The whole village has pitched in - the Hamas and Fatah members, the old and the young, men and women, and for three months they have been going down by the hundreds to their olive groves every week, to demonstrate against the uprooting of their trees and the encircling of the residents. The IDF and the Border Police have been faced with an unfamiliar phenomenon: What are they supposed to do about hundreds of unarmed, nonviolent residents slowly descending toward the bulldozers, with women and children leading the pack, and a handful of Israeli and international volunteers sprinkled among them, approaching to within touching distance of the armed soldiers? Should they shoot to kill? Shoot to injure? So far, the IDF has fired, but less - no one has been killed, and about 100 people have been injured, most of them lightly, in the course of about 25 demonstrations over a two-month period. Most of the injuries were from batons and rubber bullets, like in the old days. Twelve villagers have been arrested, and nine of them are still in jail, for participating in clearly nonviolent demonstrations. This, too, is a violation of the IDF's rule s, as one military judge noted when he refused to send one of the leaders of this pacifist revolt to administrative detention. The arrested man's brother, however, was sent straight to administrative detention by another military judge. But the most important point is that the construction work on the fence near the village has been stopped, for now. Budrus against the occupation. Budrus against the separation fence, which will encircle the village on all sides and cut it off, like eight other villages slated to be enclosed in fenced-in enclaves opposite Ben-Gurion Ai rport. The fence could have been built along the Green Line, several hundred meters from the present route, but Israel had other ideas - about the vineyards, about the olives, about life. Today, or tomorrow, the quarrying and paving work will resume, and so will the protest demonstrations. Will this remote village become a milestone in the struggle over the fence? Will the residents of Budrus herald a change to nonviolence in the Palestinian struggle against the occupation? Or, in a week or two, will the se paration fence cut off life in this village, too, and show that nonviolence doesn't pay, with the scene in Budrus soon becoming a forgotten episode? Cacti wherever you look. Old stone houses standing alongside half-built ones that will never be completed. Things look promising as you enter the village, but the further inside you go, the more the reality hits you. Afte r the last house, from within the olive groves, is the sight that is frightening the residents: the rising orange of the bulldozers, blotches of color in the wadi cutting into the rock, digging up and scarring, and after them the steamrollers and the heavy trucks. Olive trees whose tops have been cut off stand in mute testimony to the work of the bulldozers so far. This is where the fence will pass. Through these olive groves. One fence to the west of them and another to the east of them, leaving them stuck, imprisoned in the middle. Why? Because. "If the fence were on the mountain, it would give more security," ventures Iyad Ahmed Murar, a leader of the protest in Budrus, whose two brothers are in administrative detention. "But they want a fence in the wadi. Commo n sense says that if you want a security fence, put it on the mountain and not in the wadi. But they want to destroy the land and the olives. What difference would it make if they moved 200 meters toward the Green Line?" Before 1948, Budrus had approximately 25,000 dunams. Of that, 20,000 went to Israel and the village was left with about 5,000. Now, according to Murar's calculations, about another 1,000 dunams will be stolen. The constru ction work near the groves has stopped for now, but is continuing not far away, toward the neighboring village of Qibiya. But it's not just the fate of the land that is worrying the village, which hasn't had a resident ki lled since 1993. What's more worrisome is how the fence will effectively choke off the village. Murar: "The fence will be around nine villages. Ramallah is our mother and only one gate will lead to it. And what if the soldier is on a coffee break? Or off smoking a cigarette? Maybe he'll lock the gate so he can go to the bathroom. Maybe there will be a problem in Tel Aviv and they'll close the gate. And then you won't be able to get to the university, to the hospital or to work, and in the end, people will start to live where they work. If someone gives me a job, and I come one day and not the next, in the end he'll tell me to stay there where the job is or be fired. People will start thinking about having to stay where their job is. And the student and the sick person will start thinking the same way." This is what the village is the most afraid of - a "willing" transfer; of life being made so difficult that they'll be compelled to move east. A 1,000-year-old village. That's why the fence is here. In Budrus, they're con vinced that Prime Minister Sharon is continuing what Captain Sharon began: In Qibiya, he tried it with dynamite, now he's trying it with a fence. The objective is the same: to move them away from the Green Line, especiall y in the vicinity of Ben-Gurion airport. What can they do? "Demonstrate in a peaceful manner," says Murar the rebel. It all began on November 9, when construction work first started here. Since then, they've been demonstrating and demonstrating, always in a peaceful manner. Sometimes once a week, sometimes every day; sometimes the entir e village; sometimes only the women and children. They walk down through the groves toward the route of the fence and get as close as possible to the soldiers and Border Police officers. Murar likes to describe the little rebellion, stage after stage, almost hour after hour. How they once stood there for a whole day, how they brought lunch and ate in front of the soldiers, how they were beaten with batons and rifle butts. He records every detail: During one demonstration in December, he counted 15 humvees, six Border Police jjeeps, two blue police jeeps and another two military jeeps inside the village, 25 jeeps altogether. At another demonstration, the officer declared the area a closed military zone. Murar: "They had a letter in Hebrew - maybe about this area, maybe about the whole village, maybe about the whole world, declaring a closed military zone. They said they'd impose a curfew if we did anything." He also talk s about how they managed to go out to the land despite the curfew and to demonstrate in front of the bulldozers. We decide to go down now toward the route that has already been paved. Murar remains behind. "If there are too many of us, they'll think it's a demonstration." The last demonstration was last Friday; tear gas canisters ar e still scattered about. The residents know the work is going to resume soon. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow. Here are the red markings on the ground. They have scouts on the balconies of the outer houses of the village, who will report if they see something. The treadmarks left by the bulldozers are still visible in the mud. From here, the route is supposed to ascend toward the olive groves, another four kilometers. The first trees have already been uprooted. Yesterday was Tu Bishvat (Jewish arbor day). A group of volunteers from the International Solidarity Movement, along with two young Israelis, accompany us through the olive groves, but they do not go down toward the fence route. They are staying in the village now, preparing for what is to come. Today they're here, tomorrow they'll be in the next village that the fence is approaching. Young dreamers and fighters who pay 20 shekels a night to stay in a rented apartment in the village . Yonatan Pollak of Anarchists Against the Fence, a 21-year-old with blue eyes, dimples, acne scars, a worldview and a past: Europe is already closed to him because of anti-globalization demonstrations he participated in there. He pulls a black sleeve over the tattoos on his arm. He won't buy an Israeli soda in the village grocery store. While his contemporaries are standing at checkpoints and deciding which woman in labor to let pass and which not, he is here, with the Budrus residents, in their struggle. We return to the village. The Amhassein family's two-story house: the family on the first floor, the chickens on the second. The mother, Suriya, just returned from Mecca and the house has been decorated in her honor. The children play loudly at recess at the school at the edge of the village. The fence will pass right behind the border of the school and the border of the nearby cemetery. Mighty Israel is spread out all around: Modi'in, Ra mle, Shoham, Rosh Ha'ayin - and on a clear day, you can even make out the Shalom Tower in Tel Aviv. And on the other side, to the east, Kiryat Sefer, Nili, Na'aleh. "Tell me, could the fence go into the cemetery?," Murar asks. A meeting at his home: About 20 women sit in the yard of the attractive house on the edge of the green valley and plan the exhibition they want to stage here on the 23rd of the month, the first day of hearings on the fenc e in the International Court in The Hague. Half the women came from Salfit and half are from the village. They sit in the shade of the banana tree in Murar's yard and talk about the exhibit of olivewood products they will present in a tent in the center of the village. Maybe people from all over the world will come to see. A Swedish member of parliament was already arrested here by the IDF. Murar says that the exhibition will include a dove carved out of olivewood. They're also planning a demonstration of children soon. Murar: "We've learned lessons - where we did good and where we did bad. They [the Israelis] have also learned lessons. Maybe they'll strengthen the curfew more when they're working. But our plan is to defend our land and our trees in a peaceful manner. Sometimes among our people there are a lot of ideas about what to do against the occupation. We here have chosen a different strategy. Our strategy in this small village is that we're turni ng things over. In the north, from Jenin until Budrus, there were Israeli and international demonstrators, supported by Palestinians. But here, we think that it's our problem and that we have to defend our land and do som ething, and the Israelis and international protesters are only supporting us. First the Palestinians, and then the internationals. We are very grateful for Israeli and international support, but the Palestinians have to m ake a stand. We're adopting a special strategy, a peaceful strategy. The Hamas here, too. In the beginning, they walked with their green flags in the demonstrations. After the first three demonstrations, we only carry the flag of Palestine. Everyone together. In a totally peaceful way. We also all agreed on one thing: We are not against the Israelis and not against the Jews and not against the soldiers. We are only against the occupation. We are against the bulldozers. And we in Budrus believe that killing is easier than crying. But just crying over the land isn't enough. A peaceful demonstration is stronger than killing. If you stand before the Israeli soldier, right beside him, you'll be stronger. If someone asks: Why peaceful? I tell him: I've tried all the ways and the peaceful way works best. The worst thing is to kill the innocent. That's the worst thing in the world. They kill day and night and say that we are terrorists. But we need all the world to be on our side. I'm against killing people. All people, Jews and Arabs. I'm not afraid or ashamed to say that. That's why I'm demonstrating peacefully against the fence." -- In order to receive the latest TOI-Billboard (with collected material about Vanunu), write to otherisr@actcom.co.il -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Feb 26 18:10:01 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:10 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] [stopthewall] faxes to stop shooting Message-ID: <403E3679.8700.DDC4D3B@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [Last update: three Palestinians dead at Beit Surik !!!] To all activists - in the region and worldwide: Are the non-violent demonstrators of Beit Surik paying for the shooting match at Erez (Gaza checkpoint), killing a soldier? http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/398691.html http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/398721.html Please, send faxes - immediately to Ruth Bar, assistant to the minister of defence, fax no. 03-6962757 ------- Forwarded message follows ------- To: , "stopthewall" Organization: ICAHD From: "Naama Nagar-ICAHD" Date sent: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 15:36:39 -0800 Subject: [stopthewall] faxes to stop shooting Send reply to: "Naama Nagar-ICAHD" [ Double-click this line for list subscription options ] pls send faxes to Ruth Bar, assistant to the minister of defence, concerning live bullets shooting in Bidu and Beit Suriq, fax no. 03-6962757   Naama Nagar Israeli Outreach Coordinator Israeli Committee against House Demolitions 7 Ben-Yehuda St., PO Box 2030, Jerusalem 91020, Israel  Tel: 972-(0)2-624-5560 Fax: 972-(0)2-622-1530 Mobile 972-(0)52-245788 Email: naama@icahd.org Web: http://www.icahd.org The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions is a non-violentprotest and resistance organization work to end the Occupation andpromote peace and justice in our region.  Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: all/"http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopthewall/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ribe"stopthewall-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. ------- End of forwarded message ------ From info at gush-shalom.org Sat Feb 28 20:36:53 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:10 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] About the struggle in Bidou, Budrus - and inside Israel Message-ID: <4040FBE5.31695.118C32A@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ International release Feb. 28, Tel-Aviv # Racism & the Knesset # Eyewitness report of killings in Bidou # Israelis joining anti-wall protest in Budrus - in spite of army blockades # Against the Wall - in downtown Tel-Aviv The past week - the week of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which our government was clever enough of avoiding - hoping to have it easier outside the court with the shameful propagandistic use of terror victims and the pain of their family members. It was a week with much bloodshed - on both sides. It was also the week of the race theory being applied by an Israeli parliament member - a deputy minister of the Sharon government. But, it was also a week of intensive non-violent struggle against the Wall, about which we have been reporting to you, with some new events to follow. # Racism & the Knesset Gush Shalom's advertised statement, Feb. 27: The Race Theory Deputy-Minister Boim and Knesset-Member Hazan declared that all Muslims are murderers by birth. It is in their genes. If this had been said by anybody about the Jews on a TV program in Europe or America, the station chief would have been fired immediately. If this had been said about the Jews by a parliament member in Europe or America, the member would have been forced to resign within hours. Even if he had "apologized". But in Israel such racist talk passes without much of a reaction. In the State of "the Survivors of Racism", racism has become a matter of routine. Gush Shalom, Help us with donations to P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 *** # Eyewitness report of killings in Bidou 26/02/04 "It was hell. Soldiers shot without a stop. I saw a Palestinian demonstrator get killed In front of my eyes." Said Israeli Peace activists Who took part in the demonstrations in Bidou. "It was horror. Hell. The soldiers were shooting incessantly. I saw a Palestinian demonstrator get hit in the forehead and fall down, bleeding. He died several minutes later" told Jonathan Polak, an activist in the Anarchists Against Walls movement, who was amongst the activists who arrived today at the village of Bidou, in order To take part in the protest against the fence that was organized by the people of Bidou. The fence in Bidou, as in many other places, will cut off a large part of the village?s land. Other activists said: "We have never seen such brutality. In the morning, thousands of the people of the village went and sat in the path of the bulldozers, where their olive groves are about to be uprooted. Then these huge bulldozers came. Each one was accompanied by 50 soldiers. They attacked the villagers and beat them brutally, driving them into the streets of the village. Inside the village a real battle started. The youngsters of the village threw stones, and the army responded with gas bombs, but very soon moved to using live munitions. They occupied a building in the center of the village and snipers shot at people from it?s roof. We ran to the clinic to try and help,. Wounded people kept coming, at least Seventy or Eighty people. In addition to the two who were killed by live ammunition, another elderly man died from a heart attack caused by a gas bomb that entered his home, and a young boy who is severely wounded in the head. The only sin of these people is that they tried to protect the land which is theirs for generations and their olive trees which are their only source of income. The army brutality, the brute oppression and the shooting ? all these confirm all claims brought against the fence in Hague. It is absolutely clear now that the fence, built deep in Palestinian territory, is another means of oppression and occupation, and has nothing to do with security." At the time of this release some activists are in the police station in the settlement of Givat Ze'ev, trying to release the many activists arrested during the demonstration. *** # Israelis joining anti-wall protest in Budrus - in spite of army blockades Friday, 27/02 "The army's rampage in Bidou was not an accident. They feel threatened. For the first time, there is a widespread popular opposition of Palestinian villagers to the building of the wall. That is far more diffucult for the army to confront. They know how to use tanks and Apache helicopters, how to drop one-ton bombs. In a purely armed struggle they have an enormous advantage. Face them with a crowd of unarmed civilians who are detemined to resist, and they have a big problem" said Dr. Gadi Elgazi, historian and peace activist, at the rendezvous point in Kufr Qasem. We were on the way to Budrus. The people there decided two months ago to resist the creation of the Wall on their land. which was to cut them off from much of their land and also from the rest of the West Bank. The army used very much violence there: demonstrations were broken up, curfews were imposed, the main organizers picked up at night and placed under administrative detention. But some military judges refused to confirm these detention orders, and the detainess went home! Now, the people of Budrus hold every Friday a protest march, and they asked Israelis to join this week. Some two hundred activists traveled in four buses. The Ta'ayush movement chose to organize this action in its own name rather than through the anti-Wall Coalition, but as usual members of other groups joined in. As the buses moved towards the nearby border with the occupied West Bank, organizers gave last-minute briefings: "Today we don't expect extreme violence. But the army will almost certainly try to stop us. As soon as we are stopped at a roadblock, get out of the buses and start walking. We will get there, by hook or by crook!". The Rantis Checkpoint, the first point where the convoy might have been stopped, was passed with no incident. A bored sentry peered sleepily at the buses from behind a massive concrete barrier bearing the regimental slogan: "Empire of Fire". It seems the army prefered not to stop the activists on a road which serves several settlements. The special barrier appeared several kilomters further ahead - when the buses turned to the right, off the well-maintained settler road. Several jeeps blocked the road completely. The buses moved off to the side, and demonstrators piled out and swarmed up the hillside - the most direct route to Budrus. From behind, a police loudspeaker blared forlornly: "Stop! Come back! You are entering a closed miltary zone! Anyone proceeding is liable to arrest and prosecution! Stop!". Shortly afterwards, a welcome surprise: at the bottom of the hill, a convoy of large yellow Palestinian taxis arrived, to offer the Israelis a lift. Activists scrambled back down the hill and crowded in, ten to a taxi. A few kilimetres ahead, at the outskirts of Shukba Village, a new army roadblock. The soldiers demanded the taxi ignition keys and the drivers' ID's. Tight-lipped, the drivers handed them over, and then urged the Israelis "Go on, go on, don't worry about us! They are waiting for you in Budrus!". Several of the Ta'ayush organisers stayed behind, to help the drivers haggle with the soldiers (keys and IDs being returned after an hour). The demonstrators passed through the main streets of Shukba, returning the waves of grinning Palestinian children. After several kilometres' walking, a new convoy of Palestinian taxis. This time, the taxis managed to stop just short of the third checkpoint. By now, we were at Kibiya Village, where in 1953 a young major named Ariel Sharon led a commando raid in which 62 civilians were killed. Present-day Kibya seems dominated by the Palestinian left-wing. Most of the graffiti on the walls was in red, as were the flags of the local anti-Wall demonstrators - from such Palestinian factions as the People's Party and the Democratic Front. A short walk ahead, and we were in Budrus. A sizeable crowd was already waiting in the main sqaure. A fence at the side was made into a podium, from which short stirring speeches were delivered by Ronen of Ta'ayush ("We have come here to struggle for our future and your future, in this bleeding land") and Eyad of the Budrus branch of Fatah ("You are most welcome in Budrus, together we will pull down the Wall"). Both speakers alternated between Hebrew and Arabic and ended with the exhortation: "Mix up, mix up! Let the army meet a single block of Israelis and Palestinians, marching together!" The long column stretched through the narrow village streets and out to the open fields. There was a medley of signs in Hebrew, Arabic and English, with a smattering of other languagues brought along by contingents of internationals - notably the IWPS women, based at Khares Village to the north. "Fence - Annexation"; "Build trust - not walls!"; "Enough of the bloodshed!"; "Destroy the Wall, not olive trees"; "U.S. Farmers against the Wall"; "The wall - starvation"; "Free Palestine - Now"; "No to enclaves, no to ghettos, no to the occupation"; "Detruire le mur raciste" "Destruir el moro racista"; "Sharon - we have not forgotten the Kibiya Massacre", "Arab-Jewish Partnership", "Dismantle the Wall, dismantle the settlements!". At the front, there were Palestinian national flags on which was superimposed the Islamic credo "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet". The bearers smiled broadly at the Israelis and Americans marching at their side, as did the group of young women with Islamic headscarves further back. "Sharon, Sharon, the Hague is waiting for you!" a veteran slogan gained additional this week. From it the Hebrew and Arabic chanting shifted to "Peace - Yes! Occupation - No! Peace -Yes! Fences - No!" and then "From Budrus to Beit Surik - the people are steadfast!", "Sharon, Sharon - we defend our olive trees!" "Budrus is strong, Budrus is free!", "Neither Sharon nor Bush - down with the occupation!"; "Sharon Sharon, we are not afraid of your tanks!" Half an hour's march - and we were at the spot. The ugly long gash cutting through the countryside, where fields and olive groves had been, has become all too familiar. Here is stopped just before a terrace, bearing the signs of long and painstaking care of an arid soil; any further extension of the work on the Wall would necessitate its utter demolition. "This is how far they got during the last big confrontation, a month ago. Since then they did not try to go on. We don't know how long the respite will last - some say until the court in the Hague is over. But we keep ready" a villager told the Israelis. Opposite us, a clump of some twenty soldiers and grey-clad riot police. Behind them, a single silent bulldozer. With the very clear mountain air it was possible to see on a ridge, a few kilometres away, the demonstrators from another village confronting another clump of army and police. An hour of stand-off, chanting of slogans, waving of placards, some talking between Israelis and Palestinians. Then, the distant cramp of teargas grenades. Some of the distant figures on the ridge were stooping down, apparently picking and throwing stones. Then the distant soldiers were scambling up the ridge. Many of the Israelis were for rushing over and interevening in that struggle. "It's too far, you won't get there in time" a Palestinian organiser cautioned. "Anyway, don't worry about them. The soldiers will never catch them among the crags". Our sector remained quiet until the very end of the hours-long vigil. Only when the column turned back to the village center did the soldiers suddenly launch a parting salvo of tear gas grenades. The Palestinians were unperturbed, quickly handing to the Israelis slices of onion - the traditional antidote to tear gas. On the way back, again in the yellow Palestinian taxis - but, again, the army had its roadblocks, and the weary Israelis had to walk some four kilometres back through the hilly countryside. Then, upon arriving at the buses at last, the police suddenly pounced and arrested two randomly chosen activists "on susupicion of entering a closed military zone". One bus followed them to the Giv'at Ze'ev Polic Station, activists keeping vigil outside until they were released at 9pm. What remained of this long day: the memory of the final scene at Budrus - hundreds upon hundreds of smiling villagers lining the street, waving at the departing Israelis, calling out in Hebrew "Goodby, and see you!" [AK]. *** # Against the Wall - in downtown Tel-Aviv Also Friday, at noon some forty colorful young people stood at the entrance of the Carmel Market in Tel-Aviv holding improvised signs and chanting: "Mom, your son is cannon fodder!" / "Let's have peace - and the generals be unemployed!" / Occupation is terrorism - no wall is to change that!" Having been beaten-up by police a week earlier at the end of a similar vigil had not prevented the Anarchists Against the Wall from returning to the same spot, only brought them the support of others. This time, after half an hour the group started marching, chanting, whistling - leaving the three policemen posted nearby puzzled- faced. The unusual sidewalk parade passed all along the down-town street of King George, halting a minute at every crossroads - receiving comments of the people busily shopping for the weekend: "Go home! Haven't you got something else to do?" but also "Good for you, and don't give up!" At 1pm, they reached the corner of BenTzion Boulevard, where the Women in Black's weekly anti-occupation vigil was just starting, with among them still some grey-haired who made it their habit for the past 18 years. For some ten minutes the two groups stood together, and then the young anarchists continued their walk, leaving behind some, among them your reporter. [BZ] *** -- In order to receive the latest TOI-Billboard (with collected material about Vanunu), write to otherisr@actcom.co.il -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Feb 29 19:30:48 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:10 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] "The Ghetto Inside" & selectied articles Message-ID: <40423DE8.20507.602BF90@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ # The Ghetto Inside Avnery on a dangerous tendency of Jewish isolationism # FYI: Three Israeli daily papers have an English-language internetsite A few recommended articles \\//\\//\\//\\// # The Ghetto Inside Avnery on a dangerous tendency of Jewish isolationism Hebrew at request & soon at the site עברית על פי בקשה או בקרוב באתר http://www.gush-shalom.org Uri Avnery 28.2.04 The Ghetto Inside "It is easier to get the Jews out of the ghetto than to get the ghetto out of the Jews!" - this dictum of the early Zionists is now assuming a new meaning. Israel is cutting itself off from the world and enclosing itself in a ghetto, and not only physically. In The Hague, the proceedings of the International Court of Justice on the Separation Wall have started. Sharon's people understand that they have no chance of winning and have decided, therefore, to boycott the session. Instead of arguing their case before the court, they decided to organize a street event, in the spirit of the classic Israeli maxim: "If your case is weak, raise your voice!" Inside the courtroom, the legal arguments were made. The representatives of Palestine argued that the Wall is unlawful, since it is being erected in the middle of the West Bank. According to them, if Israel fears suicide bombings, it is entitled to put up such a wall on its border, but not in the heart of the occupied territory, where it puts the Palestinian population into prison-like enclaves. Nobody contradicted this argument inside the court. Outside, Sharon's people organized a colorful spectacle. As a gimmick for the media, they brought a bombed-out bus over from Israel, complete with experts on the gathering of body parts. Also, dozens of family- members of victims of attacks were brought over. The Israeli embassy distributed the photos of the 900 victims, and Jewish students carried them in procession. The message: the Jews are suffering; in Israel, too, they are the victims of pogroms. Later in the day, the Palestinians organized a counter-spectacle. There, the 3000 Palestinian victims of the intifada were lamented, as well as the sufferings of the Palestinian population under occupation. The residents of The Hague were treated to a kind of World Championship for victims. The world media devoted some minutes to the spectacles, evenly divided between the two parties. But, for them, the main event was the proceedings inside the courtroom. In Israel, an entirely different picture was presented. In a style reminiscent of the Soviet Union, the media enlisted as one man in the service of the brain-washing. All TV networks, all radio stations, all newspapers, without exception, took part in this national effort. From early morning to late at night, all TV and radio stations broadcast continuous coverage from The Hague and created the impression that the whole world was glued to the Israeli street spectacle. The court proceedings themselves were presented as unimportant, a miserable little show of Arabs and other anti-Semites. The Israeli demonstration was turned into a world-shaking event. The bombed-out bus appeared on the screen of all Israeli channels many dozens of times, as did the victims' families. Again and again and again. The corresponding Palestinian event was shown for a few seconds, as were the courtroom proceedings. Just to show how liberal we are, the Palestinian representative was also allowed to say three sentences. But the message for the Israeli viewer and listener was unequivocal: this was a huge Israeli victory. The whole world now understands that in this story we are the victims, that the Palestinians are terrorists, that the Wall is needed to save our lives, that "the lives of Jews are more important than the quality of life of the Palestinians" - a sentence repeated dozens of times during the day. A phalanx of army officers, Security Service personnel, reporters, commentators and professors talked their heads off on all stations, and all of them said exactly the same thing: we are being attacked, we are the persecuted, the Arabs are killers, we are defending ourselves. The occupation was not mentioned at all. Why should it be? What has it got to do with this? While the broadcast was going on, the Israeli peace movements demonstrated against the Wall at the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem. The state-owned TV Channel 1 showed it for all of four seconds. Throughout the whole day, not one single Israeli TV channel or radio station allowed anyone to say a word against the Wall or in favor of the International Court. This is quite frightening, because it is happening in a democracy. No KGB or Gestapo is threatening the lives of the journalists, no Gulag or concentration camp is awaiting those who deviate from the official line. It is all done voluntarily, from inner conviction. True, the free media in the democratic USA behaved in much the same way during the early days of the Iraq war. But they, at least, were not afflicted with the syndrome of "All the World is Against Us". The day after the first court session, the Israeli Deputy Minister of Defense, Ze'ev Boim, declared in the Knesset that all Muslims are murderers from birth, that it is in their genes. And a personal friend of Ariel Sharon disclosed on TV: "Arik has told me that he is deeply worried about the rise of Christian anti-Semitism. For example in Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ". And now, a large part of the Muslim world is also infected by anti-Semitism." This is the mentality of the ghetto. We created the State of Israel in order to become a normal nation, "a people among peoples". The events of this week show that we have not succeeded in this. The ghetto is deep inside us. This is also throwing another light on the Separation Wall. It encloses the Palestinians in enclaves, but it also returns us to the reality of the ghetto, and not only physically. The struggle against the Wall has many aspects. It is not only a struggle to liberate the inhabitants of the West Bank from the monstrous obstacle that turns their life into hell and puts them under pressure to leave "voluntarily". It is not only a struggle to liberate the two peoples of this country from a situation that imposes on them an ever-widening cycle of bloodshed. It is also a struggle to liberate the Israeli nation from the ghetto that is inside our hearts. # FYI: Three Israeli daily papers have an English-language internetsite A few recommended articles The three sites: http://www.haaretzdaily.com/ [translated from Haaretz Hebrew] http://www.jpost.com/ [English only - right-wing] http://www.maarivintl.com/ [translated from Ma'ariv's mass-distribution daily] A few recommended articles [incidentally collected - not pretending to be complete] --Court orders fence work suspended near W. Bank village By Yuval Yoaz, Aluf Benn, Nathan Guttman and Sharon Sadeh, Haaretz Correspondents - Sunday, February 29, 2004 Hebrew / עברית http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/399449.html English http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/399442.html --Injured in the fault line By Amira Hass - Fri., February 27, 2004 Hebrew http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo= 398962 English http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/398835.html --The Bottom Line / It's the lack of peace, stupid By Nehemia Strasler - 27/02/2004 http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemN o=399108 [we didn't locate the Hebrew online version] -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you are interested in receiving the latest TOI-Billboard (with collected material about Vanunu), write to otherisr@actcom.co.il If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Wed Mar 3 00:19:00 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:10 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] "A Fence or a Wall?" - invitation to the opening tomorrow Message-ID: <40452474.13141.784190@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ The "Fence or Wall" exhibition of photographer Eyal Ofer is sponsored by Gush Shalom. In order to get an impression: www.pbase.com/yalop/wall_in_yard www.pbase.com/yalop/essay, www.pbase.com/yalop/fence Here follows the invitation to the opening tomorrow - sent by the artist. ------ Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Yaldor photography" The Exhibition "A Fence or a Wall?" is opening in the Tel-Aviv Cinemateque, March 3rd at 19:00. The focus of the work is to show the story of the people who have to cope with the barrier in their daily life. Please see this e-mail as a personal invitation and feel free to pass this to others who are interested in seeing the reality along the fence/wall as it was documented since the construction stage until now. I hope to see you, Eyal -- In order to receive the latest TOI-Billboard (with collected material about Vanunu), write to otherisr@actcom.co.il -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: FenceWall.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 232814 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040303/00868c10/FenceWall.jpg From info at gush-shalom.org Sat Mar 6 19:38:56 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:10 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Land grab action alert + must reads Message-ID: <404A28D0.10137.C776FB@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [1] A special case of land grab arrogance - your action requested [2] Another Sharon scandal obliviating the real one - Avnery. [3] Refusnik news # List of jailed refusniks # Clampdown on female refusniks # Ben Artzi interview [4] Towards Vanunu's release [5] Words have failed us - Amira Hass [6] Fighting the fence - Gideon Levy ************* N.B. With all the presently circulating viruses we will for the time being NOT be sending messages with attachment. So it is simple: IF you happen to get a message WITH attachment seemingly coming from Gush Shalom - DON'Topen it - delete it. N.B: this is not the case for the special list of Hebrew press releases, which will continue to have the same text both in the message body & attached. ************* [1] A special case of land grab arrogance - your action requested Hebrew at request עברית על פי בקשה ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yet another case: settlers taking over Palestinian land south of Hebron ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We received information of the latest in a long series of land grabs by settlers, and we checked it with Abdel Hadi Hantash of the Palestinian Land Defence Committee (+972-59-838180, hantasha@hotmail.com). On February 29, settlers of Karmel, Hebron District in the south of the West Bank, invaded the land of the Palestinian Hadalin Family, inhabitants of Yatta town, and started constructing a concrete base on which to place mobile homes - all the while threatening the land-owner and his family with weapons supplied by the Israeli army - supposedly for their "self defense." The land which provides livelihood for an extended family of some fifty people is under the registered ownership of Mr.Salah Hadalin; in this case not even a confiscation order was presented. We would like you to take part in writing protest letters using the following sample letter or composing your own text. NB: per email AND fax (if possible): To: Prime Minster Ariel Sharon - email ; fax +972 2 6705475 Defence Minster Saul Mofaz - email ; fax +972-3-6916940 Foreign Minster Silvan Shalom - email ; fax +972-3- 6916940 Military Government's Civil Adaministration - fax: +972-2-9977326, ph: +972-2-9977341 copies to: Spokesperson of the Prime Minister Spokesperson Defense Ministry Spokesperson Foreign Ministry UN Special Coordinator State Departement European Union Palestinian Land Defence Committee Gush Shalom [for your concenience, here follow the combined email addresses: pm_eng@pmo.gov.il, sar@mod.gov.il, sar@mofa.gov.il, dover@pmo.gov.il, info@mail.idf.il, dover@mfa.gov.il, unsco@palnet.com, secretary@state.gov, mailto@delwbg.cec.eu.int, hantasha@hotmail.com, info@gush-shalom.org ] [sample letter] To the Israeli government Nearly a year ago, the government of Israel has declared its adeherence to "The Roadmap for Peace", of which a central item is the obligation upon Israel to dismantle all settlement extensions created after March 2001, and certainly to prevent the creation of new ones. In practice, however, the expansion of settlements and encroachment upon Palestinian land is continuing unabated. The latest example are the settlers of Karmel, in the Hebron District on the south of the West Bank, who on February 29 invaded the land of the Palestinian Hadalin Family, inhabitants of Yatta town, and started constructing a concrete base on which to place mobile homes - all the while threatening the land-owner and his family with weapons which were supplied to them by the Israeli army. It should be noted that the land is under the registered ownership of Mr.Salah Hadalin, that no confiscation order of any kind was presented, and that the land in question provides a significant part of the (meagre) livelihood of an extended family numbering some fifty adults and children. This illegal settler incursion and intensive construction activity has been going on for nearly a week now, without the Israeli military government taking any step to stop it and restore the land to its legal owners. The prevalence of such land grabbing cases by settlers in invarious parts of the Occupied Territories, not only unhindered by the government of Israel but often getting financial and logistical support from government sources as well as military protection for the settlers involved, make me strongly doubt the same government's declarations on its willingness to make peace. [your name and address] *** [2] Another Sharon scandal obliviating the real one (Avnery). Uri Avnery 5.3.04 עברית בקרוב באתר // Hebrew on the site soon www.gush-shalom.org "O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum…" "O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, How faithful are your leaves! You're green not only in summertime, But also in winter when it snows, O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum…" (Old German Christmas song. "Tannenbaum" is the fir tree.) This is a well-established Israeli ritual: One takes a trivial matter, declares it to be the center of national life, decorates it and dances around it, all in order to escape from the real national problems that are so exasperating and frightening. This time it really is a fir tree. A gentleman called Elhanan Tannenbaum. He was a prisoner of Hizbullah. In order to bring him back home, together with the bodies of three soldiers, Ariel Sharon released several hundred "terrorists". Since then, the whole country has been in uproar, day after day, week after week. Why did Sharon make the deal? This week the terrible secret has come out: this fir tree is the former son-in-law of somebody who had some business with Sharon 30 years ago, when an American Jewish billionaire helped a poor army officer by the name of Ariel Sharon to acquire the biggest private farm in the country. Did Sharon release hundreds of "terrorists" to help a former son-in-law of a former business associate? Is this a giant scandal? A most terrible case of corruption? Even if it were so, I can answer only with two Hebrew words, which translate literally as "the delight of my grandmother". Or, in American: "big deal!" As usual, the media do not pose the right questions, because the right questions might annoy some important people. For example: the security chiefs. This Tannenbaum is a colonel in the reserves. In this capacity he was party to one of the most secret military projects in Israel. According to leaked hints, this project is no less secret than our nuclear activities (see Mordecai Vanunu, below.) Now it transpires that Tannenbaum was, in civilian life, a professional crook, compulsive gambler, with an irregular family life, steeped in debt and closely connected with Lebanese drug dealers. How did such a person become a party to the most top secret project? Well… Nobody knew what he was doing. Nobody inquired. He did not mention it to the chief of internal security of the defense establishment, a certain Yehiel Horev. And if nobody tells Horev, how is he to know? When Tannenbaum went to Dubai, and then found himself in Hizbullah- land in Lebanon, the security establishment was shaken to its very foundations. A person who carries with him such awesome secrets is in the hands of our enemies? What has he told them, and what is he going to tell? Because of this, the security establishment was ready to pay any price to get him back as quickly as possible: 50 "terrorists"? 500 "terrorists"? 5000 "terrorists"? Doesn't matter. The main thing is that he be returned at once. That is understandable. If Tannenbaum had told what he knows, he would have caused "irreparable damage" (as official sources emphasized) to national security. In such cases, it is essential to find out if he did spill the beans or not. Therefore he was bought back for a high price, and since then he is being investigated, investigated and investigated. The former son-in-law of the former friend does not come into it. The connection is intriguing, but not important. A more significant question is: How did a person like Tannenbaum become a colonel? How inefficient must a security apparatus be for such a fiasco to become possible? And how come that Horev, one of the best- paid civil servants in Israel, was not kicked out? Furthermore: if hundreds of "terrorists" can be released for one living crook and three dead bodies, perhaps their imprisonment was not really necessary for the security of the state? Perhaps the continued stay in prison of 7000 more of them is pointless? And if so, why were they not released in the cause of peace, to strengthen the position of Arafat in 1993 or Abu-Mazen not so long ago? Horev and Co. are angry with Tannenbaum because he has revealed their incompetence. They are also angry with Mordecai Vanunu, for the same reason. Vanunu was a minor technician at the Dimona nuclear reactor, a site so secret that for a long time it was forbidden to mention its very existence. When it became impossible to deny its existence any longer, the government pretended that it was a "textile factory". At this site, the most highly guarded in Israel, Vanunu freely took pictures. Then he went abroad, became a Buddhist, converted to Christianity (or the other way round) and passed his information and photos to a British paper. On the basis of this information, scientists decided that Israel has 200 nuclear bombs. The disclosure was credible but unofficial. Thus it strengthened Israel's deterrence, without the government being obliged to confirm it. This was so convenient for the government that, at the beginning, many people believed that Vanunu was really a Mossad agent. But he was not. On the contrary, he represented a catastrophic failure of the security structure that was - and still is - headed by the above mentioned Horev. The reaction was drastic: Vanunu was kidnapped in Rome and brought to Israel in a box - just as Tannenbaum was kidnapped in Dubai and brought (apparently) in a box to Beirut. Vanunu succeeded in conveying this to the media by writing it on the palm of his hand and waving on the way to court. This infuriated Horev and Co. even more. For many years they kept Vanunu in prison in total isolation. Now that he has completed his whole sentence, they do not want to release him. And if the court does no allow them to keep him in prison, they want to prevent him from going abroad or speaking to journalists. Why? The argument is that even now, 20 years later, he may be in possession of information that could endanger the state. By the way, a similar argument is used by the American security agencies for refusing to release Jonathan Pollard, who spied for Israel and received a life sentence. They believe that Pollard knows the identity of an Israeli mole in the highest circles of the American administration, who told Pollard which documents to steal and transfer to Israel. Tannenbaum, Vanunu, Pollard - all these are intriguing stories, useful for increasing the circulation and ratings of the media. And, more importantly, they distract attention from the real dangers that threaten us: the building of the monstrous wall in the occupied territories, Sharon's plan to annex more than half of the West Bank, the ongoing effort to destroy the Palestinian Authority, the daily bloody cycle of targeted killings - suicide bombings - assassinations, murder and revenge, and the destruction of all chances for peace. Who wants to think about that? Who wants to deal with it? It is much more pleasant to sing and dance around the fir tree: "O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum…" *** [3] Refusnik news # List of jailed refusniks # Clampdown on female refusniks # Ben Artzi interview # List of jailed refusniks On the Yesh Gvul site is a constantly-updated list containing the presently jailed Refusniks - Occupation Refusers, Pacifists and reservists refusing to serve in the Occupied Territories English http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ Latest news about the court-martialed five - now for a year transfered to civilian prison: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html # Clampdown on female refusniks Female refuseniks to receive same treatment as males By Lily Galili 05.03.04 English: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/401389.html Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=401581 *** # Ben Artzi interview A different drummer - By Vered Levy-Barzilai 05.03.04 (Ha'aretz Friday Magazine) A four-year struggle, including 19 months in prison and detention, has reached its bitter end: Yonatan Ben Artzi was exempted from army service. Not for pacifism, as he wanted, but for `lack of motivation.' http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/401213.html Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=400369 *** [4] Towards Vanunu's release -----------forwarded message-------------- From: Wiener-Moss ----- Original Message ----- From: U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2004 10:00 AM Subject: GLOBAL VIGILS ON APRIL 21 WILL CELEBRATE VANUNU'S FREEDOM Please share this announcement with other groups and individuals! GLOBAL VIGILS WILL CELEBRATE VANUNU'S FREEDOM People around the world are planning vigils on April 21, the scheduled day of Mordechai Vanunu's release, to celebrate his freedom. Are you interested in having a vigil in your city? Please call the U.S. Campaign at 520-323-8697 or email or the U.K. Campaign at 44-207-378-9324 or email to let us know, and to provide us with a contact phone number or email address. People who do not have Israeli embassies and consulates in their town plan to be present in other public locations. Several Women in Black vigils have already contacted us to say they are planning a special vigil to celebrate Mordechai's release. If Israel does not do the right thing and release him without condition or restriction, as befits a democratic nation, these vigils will also raise the call for his unconditional freedom. If you are planning to have a vigil please contact us so we can list your vigils in international campaign media outreach and press releases. As the date gets closer, we will post a list of all the international vigils we know about on our websites at http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ and http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ *** [5] Words have failed us - Amira Hass (If you did not read it yet) Wed., March 03, 2004 English: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/400454.html Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=400525 [6] Fighting the fence - Gideon Levy 05.03.04 Another group of villagers joins the struggle against their confinement within the separation fence English http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/401215.html Hebrew http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=400732 -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Mon Mar 8 19:27:39 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:10 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Carnival & killings Message-ID: <404CC92B.1052.2D9B17E@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ The campaign which we starteded re the new case of settler landgrab in Yatta is gaining momentum; we are now in the process of approaching Knesset Members and Israeli journalists. ACRI (Civil Rights Association) is likely to take up a judicial action on the case. Not yet to late to send your email of fax. Here are additional addresses (one or two of the earlier ones may bounce): UN Secretary General Kofi Annan ; Secretary of State Colin Powell, Fax: +1-202-261-8577; Office of the Special Middle East Coordinator - fax: +1 202 647 4808 The macabre combination of carnival & killings is commented and reported in the following choice of messages received from partners in the wider struggle. [] Purim: carnival for Jews - harassment for Arabs report from Nina Mayorek and Victoria Buch of MachsomWatch [] Report on two days of struggle against the wall - Arik Asherman [] Beit Duqqu protest - photos on the internet [] “We are winning" says the general. Dr. Gershon Baskin's disagrees - contemplations at the asymmetrical battle. [] The good soldier schweigt Tamar Rotem in Ha'aretz on conference of testimonies \\// //\\ \\// //\\ \\// [] Purim: carnival for Jews - harassment for Arabs report from Nina Mayorek and Victoria Buch of MachsomWatch ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Sun, 7 Mar 2004 12:44:02 -0800 (PST) From: Victoria Buch To: info@gush-shalom.org, Purim: carnival for Jews - harassment for Arabs Nina Mayorek and Victoria Buch of MachsomWatch Saturday, 6.3.04 We should like to describe how the Purim holiday is "celebrated" at the checkpoints. The assassination of three Hamas activists this week - another provocation to elicit terror attacks which feed Sharon's propaganda machine -was followed by the expected sequel of the "terror alert". It was clear from the first announcement on the Israeli Radio - "West Bank is under full closure in order to ensure Happy Purim" - that Palestinian life will be especially difficult during these days of masquerade, parties and happy family moments with children. On Saturday morning we drove under the rain towards the Nablus checkpoints on Road 60, through the West Bank. Between the villages Luban-A-Sharkiye and Sawiye we suddenly encountered an endless queue of Palestinian vehicles - buses, minibuses and private cars, with hundreds of people who had been stranded there for hours. They were stopped by a temporary ("flying") military checkpoint. The queue did not move, since the soldiers decided that the queue is insufficiently orderly. No particular disorder was in evidence, just miserable people waiting in cars under the rain. We made endless phone calls to army officials, human rights organizations, journalists, even to members of the Knesset. Zahava Galon did her best to help. Finally, very slow movement began - one vehiclepassed every 10-15 minutes.Only a few soldiers of a sizeable group dealt with the Palestinians. One of the soldiers was giggling periodically.They chatted with each other, drank coffee to warm up, and looked like young people trapped in the cold, in an unreal situation. Palestinian men were requested to leave buses and minibuses, stand in a row under the pouring rain, and hand in their IDs. The IDs were checked for a match with terror suspects. The great military plan seemed to be as follows: A bomber will approach the checkpoint, wait for several hours for his turn, and finally hand in his ID to the soldier. Mind you, the place is in the middle of nowhere, and there was no difficulty to leave the queue. Many discouraged people were in fact leaving. Everybody was cold, wet and shivering - Palestinians, soldiers, and ourselves. Before us, an impossible and hysterical Israeli security effort was made to protect its citizens in the country without borders. Suddenly the sky became clear and an answer appeared as to who generated this absurd situation. We got a clear view of the red roofs of the settler homes on a neighboring mountain-top. Their inhabitants consider it legitimate to deprive Palestinians of their basic human rights, and to deprive us, peace- seeking Israelis, of a normal life in a truly secure country. We waited for 3 hours till the last Palestinian bus passed. During the wait, one of us entered each bus, explained who we are, and described our efforts to improve the situation. We met many nice people who, like us, were longing for normal human relationships between the two peoples. We were thanked for help. [MachsomWatch is a women's organization, monitoring military checkpoints in the Occupied Territories.] *** [] Report on two days of struggle against the wall - Arik Asherman ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Rabbis for Human Rights" Date sent: Sun, 7 Mar 2004 23:50:27 +0200 [ Hebrew available from ] Dear Members and Supporters, There were a number of professional television crews and still photographers on site in Beit Duqqu today. 1. Beit Duqqu residents hold off bulldozers for two hours/Volunteers needed Monday 2. High Court ruling/tree planting on Tuesday. 3. Report on Friday's tree planting/demo. VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED IN BEIT DUQQU TOMORROW MORNING CALL YOSSI, 065-210184 * *This refers to Monday, and was received too late, but maybe it's relevant for new plans [note of Gush emailteam.] It was meant to be only a planning meeting.... However, as we sat in the Bido Municipality discussing Tuesday,. we heard that bulldozers were continuing to make their way from Tira towards Beit Duqqu. >From a rooftop we saw the angry scar running down through the land and the bulldozers approaching an olive grove. The word went out via the mosque and soon around 100 men and women from the village, a group of internationals and myself were on our way in transits. We scrambled up the rocks and the Palestinians explained to the border police that this was their land, but there would be no violence. A wise commander, I believe that his name was Itzik, ordered his troops not to overreact. We sat down in front of the now silent pneumatic drill and the commander even ordered a second drill to stop work. For two hours, between 13:00-15:00 there was a standoff. The villagers' lawyer arrived and spoke both with the officers and the Civl Administration lawyer with whom he had corresponded. The lawyer indicated that they were making an effort to change the route in Beit Tzurik and Bido, but that they didn't have much leeway in Beit Duqqo. I indicated that, while I was not an expert, from where I was standing at that moment there seemed to be plenty of room for movement. (Bringing up the Green Line would have been a non-starter. Even the villagers were saying, "Let the Barrier include the settlements, just don't take our agricultural land.) I begged the civil administration to act wisely and, given the fact that the sides were already negotiating a new route at the request of the High Court, to stop the work until the court discussion on Tuesday. This area was technically included in the High Court Order, but the spirit of the order was clear. The Civil Administration made it clear that the welcomed discussion, but the work would continue. Around 15:00 we were told that we must move or be removed by force. Some of sat down as others further away began chanting in Hebrew, "No to violence, yes to Peace," "No to the Barrier, yes to our father's olive trees," etc. Most of the people were pushed down the hill, the Mukhtar, elderly Abu and Um Walid and myself remained. I heard the security guards talking among themselves. One said that we needed to protect ourselves from terror, while another said, "But this is their land." I explained again and again that I am raising young children in Jerusalem and am as concerned as anybody else about terror, but that it is Israel that is unnecessarily building along a route that creates a conflict between our right to security and the Palestinian's right to their land. Um Walid sat herself down directly in front of the bulldozer and the work stopped again. When the Muktar Said Hashm Rahan, and Um and Abu Wahlid agreed to move down, officers helped them. One of the officers complained bitterly that the press which was in abundance at this point would only show scenes of people being pushed down the hill, but not of soldiers being gentle. I replied that it was unfortunate that the powers that be were not wise enough to honor the spirit of the High Court order, especially since, like many points in the North where the Barrier is already being torn down and rebuilt along a new route, this would likely happen here as well. Working as RHR does on issues of economic justice, we know just what this waste of money means for the poorest Israelis. Nevertheless, I promised that my report would note the fact that the security forces were acting with restraint. For the next hour work continued to be slowed down. By 16:00 the usual power games began. We were pushed back ten yards at a time, each time the police getting rougher and rougher with their batons, although throughout not a stone was thrown and not a shot fired. At least one person had his arm seriously injured, maybe broken (the same man who related to me earlier how he helped a Jewish couple a few years ago who had strayed into his village and had been stoned.) Some of the officers seemed genuinely interested in dialogue. Others, hissed the usual hateful, "Take off your kippa, you should be ashamed." There was little we could do but watch the drills continue to tear into the land. Was this a victory or a defeat? We had stopped the bulldozers for a few hours, but the work had resumed. We don't know what will be tomorrow, but we managed to keep discipline and stand up with dignity. For more info: Said Hashem Rayahn (Mukhtar and Mayor) 02-247248(7)0, 2472151(Home) 052-8642(3)9 Rafat (English) 02-2742724, 059-776358, 065-570419 Muhammed Abu-Jabber 067-395422, Muhammed 055-420464 Rabbi Arik Ascherman 02-5637731, 050-607034 2. The continuation of the High Court's discussion regarding Bidu and Beit Tzurik, etc., will take place on Tuesday - March 9, at 08:00. The villagers want us there as much as they want us with them on the ground. Afterwards we will join the villagers in planting trees. You are welcome to join us! WE CURRENTLY HAVE PETITIONS FOR CHANGING THE ROUTE OF THE BARRIER CIRCULATING IN MEVASSERET, NATAF, MAALEH HAKHAMISHA, NEVE ILAN AND HAR ADAR. THE VILLAGERS ARE ALSO INTERESTED IN FINDING PEOPLE IN GIVON HAKHADASHA AND GIVAT ZE'EV WHO ARE WILLING TO SIGN. For registration call our office: (02) 5637731. 3. Last Friday already seems like an eternity ago. Somewhere between 50- 75 Israelis joined hundreds of Palestinians and internationals on land belonging to the villagers of Kataneh to be isolated between the Barrier and the Green Line. While not to far away the homes of Kattaneh and Har Adar practically touch each other, here a wide expanse of land stretches between Har Adar and the proposed route of the Barrier. First came the inevitable speeches. I read from the Interfaith Declaration, noted how Megilat Esther teaches us not to be afraid of the powers arrayed against us and that perhaps we exist to reach the moment where the sane majority on both sides overcome those among both our peoples who choose the way of violence. Standing just behind Muslim worshipers reciting their prayers on their land, RHR chairperson Rabbi Tzvi Weinberg acted as shaliakh tzibur for parallel Mincha prayers, as some of the other Jewish participants joined Tzvi, Yael Nakhushtan and myself When asked by an interviewer (As usual, despite the massive press presence and interest by many Israeli media outlets, the events of Friday and today will not even have happened as far as most Israelis are concerned because only the radio picked up on the story.) why prayer, I indicated that it was a reflection of our shared truth that all human beings are created in God's image. While religion has so often been a force for hate and separation, it can serve as a bridge instead of a barrier. We quickly planted together the trees RHR had bought and, after a brief stop at the Kattaneh Municipality we hurried back to be home before Shabbat. The Palestinians particularly expressed their appreciation for those who had joined from Mevasseret, Maaleh HaKhamisha, Neve Ilan etc., symbolizing for them the possibility of solidarity with their Jewish neighbors. Khag Purim Sameakh Rabbi Arik Ascherman Executive Director Rabbis For Human Rights [] Beit Duqqu protest - photos on the internet ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: welschen Date sent: Sun, 7 Mar 2004 22:46:53 +0100 http://italy.indymedia.org/news/2004/03/495013.php [] “We are winning" says the general. Dr. Gershon Baskin's disagrees - contemplations at the asymmetrical battle. ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Gershon Baskin" Date sent: Mon, 8 Mar 2004 09:39:09 +0200 Subject: The Hollow Echo of Silence March 8, 2004 Today, Palestinian news sources report that 27 Palestinians, including four children, have been killed in Gaza in less than one week. Brigadier General Gadi Shamni, the outgoing commander of the IDF in the Gaza Strip said to Haaretz newspaper “We are winning in this conflict. In the military arena we are winning every day, several times." Palestinian political leaders from various camps such as the Al Aqsa Brigades state that they “vowed to retaliate violently to the Zionist entity’s massacre in the Gaza refugee camps of Breij and Nusseirat”. Hamas statements also promised: “that Zionist terrorist premier Ariel Sharon would pay dearly for his crimes in the Gaza Strip. Hamas officials asked all Palestinian military wings to escalate resistance raids against occupation targets in all areas of occupied Palestine.” Are we winning, as Gadi Shamni assures the Israeli public? In my view the answer is firmly: NO! The war against terror, I say to my Israeli friends, colleagues and leaders - will not be won on the military front. This past week’s actions in Gaza will not decrease the will of Palestinians of all ages to hate Israel and to fight Israel with every last drop of blood in their bodies. Palestinian and Arab television stations throughout the Arab world broadcasted in very vivid red colors the blood dripping from the head of the young Palestinian child who was killed yesterday in the gun battle between Israeli forces and Palestinian forces. Even moderate voices in Palestine could not hold back the burning desire for revenge while viewing the shocking pictures. Since the beginning of this intifada in September 2000, I have stated over and over again that you cannot win a war against a people who are fighting for liberation and freedom against an occupying power. We should know that from our own history and experience better than most other nations and peoples. It is clear that the Palestinians will in the end be free and the Israeli occupation will end. It is mainly a question of time and at what price. The day-to-day battle of killing is nothing more than futile. There are those who would say: What do you want us to do, lay down our arms and let the enemy kill us? To those I would say: we need to change disks in order to act differently. In the current paradigm of Israeli- Palestinian relations the only logic is the one of mutual destruction. That logic is voiced clearly in the kinds of statements that are made everyday by people on both sides: We cannot lay down our arms because they will not lay down theirs. We must fight against terrorism because you cannot compromise with terrorism. We must continue to fight the occupation because the only language they understand is the language of force. We must fight against terrorism because force is the only language they understand. If we declare ceasefire they will understand that we are weak. There can be no victories for terrorism because that will increase terrorism. Withdrawal is a victory for terror. They are all terrorists from birth; they drink the hatred with their mother’s milk. Anyway, there is no one to talk to on the other side. They don’t want peace, they only want to destroy us. Etc. Etc. Etc. It doesn’t matter who says it. In a conflict where there is so much asymmetry it is amazing how much symmetry there is in the rhetoric. The very same things that we think about them, they think about us. And the circle continues over and over, round and round. And with each day more death, more blood, more destruction. And the entire resources of two peoples, human capital, financial capital and the land that we both love is being thrown into the garbage bin of the logic of military, security, weapons, and defense futility. In the past I have been attacked by Israelis who would stay that I and those like me are quislings and self hating Jews for even stating that there is an occupation. But now even Prime Minster Sharon himself has spoken about occupation “I think the idea that it is possible to continue keeping 3.5 million Palestinians under occupation - yes it is occupation, you might not like the word, but what is happening is occupation - is bad for Israel, and bad for the Palestinians, and bad for the Israeli economy. Controlling 3.5 million Palestinians cannot go on forever. You want to remain in Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah and Bethlehem?” (May 26, 2003) Sharon is planning for unilateral disengagement. I am fully behind the idea of Israel ending the occupation in Gaza and I support any move that will prepare the people of Israel for the eventuality that we must withdraw from every centimeter of Gaza including all of the settlements, and the sooner the better. But this will not bring peace. It should be clear to everyone, especially to Sharon himself, this will not put an end to the killing. In a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, Israel will not be leaving Gaza for the last time. Israel will return, IDF troops will re-enter, Apache helicopters will continue to launch missiles against Palestinians in the streets of Gaza. Law and order will not reign in Gaza. The one constant variable that we can all be sure about under this scenario of unilateralism is that hatred against Israel will continue to grow. And Israelis will respond with equal levels of hatred against Palestinians. Palestinians are not born terrorists and there is nothing about their genetic makeup that turns them towards terrorism. Israelis too are not born hating Palestinians and they too are not terrorists from birth. These are learned behaviors. The main stay of learning these behaviors is fear. The spread of fear is the fuel of generals and military minds and politicians who were in their pasts from the same mind set – Israelis and Palestinians alike. There is firm reliance on the spread of fear for constant demands for increased military budgets or for continued smuggling of weapons and paying the salaries of “freedom fighters” with badly needed scarce resources that should be used to build, not to destroy. And fear has taken hold. Only we are all too proud to say that we are afraid. Only cowards are afraid. But I am not a coward and I am afraid. I am afraid that the killing and destruction will go on and on, and the well known wish that maybe my children won’t have to fight will be heard over and over again, generation after generation, and all of our children will have to fight. And the publics are taken hostage and their voices are silent. Where are the voices who say enough killing? Where are those who know in their hearts and in their minds that there is no way to break the will of the other side? I am burning with anger. I am angry at my compatriots and I am angry at Palestinians – why do we remain silent? I have no hopes that our leaders, or their leaders, or the leaders of the world will save us from our own demise. I am not angrier at the leaders than I am at ourselves. I no longer have expectations from our leaders. They will continue to do what they know to do best – and we all will continue to pay the price with more and more casualties – Israeli and Palestinian. How many dead bodies will it take before common Israelis and Palestinians take to the streets and say: ENOUGH!? 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 100,000? Each new casualty is lost for nothing. They are not heroes, they are suckers as we all are, and if we will be honest with ourselves, we will recognize, Israelis and Palestinians, that they were killed in vain. Don’t believe the myths. We are fighting for nothing – all of us – Israelis and Palestinians. This war will bring about no achievements. There are no victories and there are no victors. There are only losses and losers. We are all losing and we are all losers. Israelis and Palestinians alike will continue this futile foolishness and recklessness until we, the people, Israelis and Palestinians, stand up with courage and go against the tide. As it continues and as more and more people lose their lives, on both sides, we are all responsible and we must all take the blame. I speak with Israelis and Palestinians everyday – from all walks of life. I know that there are people to talk with on the other side. I know that it is possible to reach agreements and to arrive at solutions that would guarantee life with dignity and freedom. I have been doing this work for too long to give into fear and despair. We must demonstrate our compassion for their suffering and for our own. There is hope and there must be hope. There are enough reasonable Israelis and Palestinians who, like me, are fed up. It is now up to us, we must make the difference. Dr. Gershon Baskin is the Israeli-Co-Director of IPCRI – the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information http://www.ipcri.org “I think the idea that it is possible to continue keeping 3.5 million Palestinians under occupation - yes it is occupation, you might not like the word, but what is happening is occupation - is bad for Israel, and bad for the Palestinians, and bad for the Israeli economy. Controlling 3.5 million Palestinians cannot go on forever. You want to remain in Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah and Bethlehem?" [Ariel Sharon, May 26, 2003] The love of one's country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border? [Pablo Casals] I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends. [Abraham Lincoln] If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner. [Nelson Mandela] [] The good soldier schweigt Tamar Rotem in Ha'aretz on conference of testimonies (From Friday 05.03.04) http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/401366.html Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=401270 -- Refuser news: Latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ -- List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release: http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Fri Mar 12 22:14:54 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:10 2004 Subject: (GushShalom] Palestinian-Israeli joint Journey censored by French Ministry Message-ID: <4052365E.21631.5ABDEED@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ International release, March 12 2004 [] Palestinian-Israeli film censored by French Ministry - you can add your protest - [] About withdrawal babbles & the ethics of large-scale killing [] Update ongoing struggle Send refusniks a postcard etc. ***************************** With all the presently circulating viruses we will for the time being NOT be sending messages with attachment. So it is simple: IF you happen to get a message WITH attachment seemingly coming from Gush Shalom - DON'Topen it - delete it. N.B: This is not the case for the special list of Hebrew press releases. Since Hebrew does not always arrive in a readable format when sent as part of the mail body we will continue to have there the same text both in the message body & attached. ***************************** [] Palestinian-Israeli film censored by French Ministry - you can add your protest - [In the very end (after the French) you find the letter we just posted and which may inspire you.] ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "oz shelach" Date sent: Wed, 10 Mar 2004 16:11:07 +0100 Subject: Palestinian-Israeli film censored by French Ministry of Culture [French follows] Below is a press release from Momento Productions, and a letter to the French minister of culture, already signed by over three hundred supporters. Those wishing to join this call, can send the letter directly to: Jean-Jacques Aillagonk, French minister of culture, through the ministry's web site: Pompidou Center the President M. Bruno Racine, through the center's web site: Press release: Palestinian-Israeli film censored by French Ministry of Culture In an unprecedented move, the organisers of Franceֲ¹s biggest documentary film festival, Le Festival du Cinֳ©ma du Rֳ©el (4 to 14 March 2004), held annually at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, have cancelled one of the screenings of the film Route 181 ֲ­ Fragments of a Journey to Palestine-Israel, which is co-directed by the Palestinian Michel Khleifi and the Israeli Eyal Sivan. In a statement signed by the Ministry of Culture, the Pompidou Centre and the Bibliothֳ¨que publique d'information (Bpi), the organisers justify their decision in the following manner: "The film's broadcast on ARTE last November had already provoked intense emotion, particularly among those who are alarmed by the rise of anti-Semitic and anti-Jewish statements and acts in France, and who consider that the film's underlying hostility to the existence of Israel may be of a nature to encourage these acts. Since announcing the presence of the film in this year's festival programme, many letters from diverse sources have been received by the management of the Centre Pompidou and the Bpi, expressing their unhappiness that the film was going to be shown once more in a publicly-owned space. In view of this unease, and in view also of the risks to public order, the Ministry of Culture and Communication, the Centre Pompidou and the Bpi have together decided to reduce the number of screenings of the film to one, instead of the two originally planned, and to warn the audience before the screening of the dangers of any unilateral point-of-view. In consideration of the state of French society today, this intervention is of the utmost importance to our understanding of the rights of citizenship (un enjeu citoyen tout ֳ  fait essentiel). Nonetheless, we wish to express our attachment to the organisers' freedom of choice in putting together cultural events but also to [the need] to act as an institution conscious of its responsibilities." The film's two directors immediately responded to these suggestions with the following words: ֲ³We are utterly stupefied to hear of the proposed cancellation of the screening of our film on March 14thֵ  which we find scandalous. Your statement suggests that our film is of a nature to encourage ֲ³the rise of anti-Semitic and anti-Jewish statements and acts in Franceֲ². This defamatory accusation is the result of a campaign of pressure and intimidation on the Centre Pompidou and on the Bpi. We are as concerned about anti-Jewish and racist acts in France as our anonymous detractors. But in the face of these phenomena, no one has a monopoly or right of exclusivity over concern or the love of justice and peace, as our films have shown over the past two decades. This shameful decision, is based on such vague notions as the ֲ³intense emotionֲ² or the ֲ³uneaseֲ² of some, as well as ֲ³the risks to public orderֲ², is extremely serious. It indicates that the State's cultural apparatus is incapable of assuring the screening of a film or the running of a film festival. Quite apart from the fact that your act will only reinforce the odious fantasies of some, it also takes us a step nearer to the re- establishment of censorship and is a clear encouragement to extremists. To yield to pressure and to sectarian demands as you have done will hardly pacify emotions and lead to a real debate of the issues posed by the film. This is why we urge you to retract your decision and to authorise the festival's organisers to re-programme the screening on March 14th. Michel KHLEIFI and Eyal SIVAN. For further information, please telephone + 33 1 43 66 25 24 or email momento.production@wanadoo.fr www.momento-production.com AN OPEN LETTER (french version follows english) A MINISTER OF CULTURE MUST PROTECT THE ARTWORK For its 26th edition, the Festival du Cinֳ©ma du Rֳ©el, one of the most prestigious get-togethers of documentary film was to screen, outside the competition, the film Route 181, Fragments from a Journey in Palestine- Israel, by Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers Michel Khleifi and Eyal Sivan. However, at the request of the Ministry of Culture, in charge of the Festival and the Centre Pompidou, the Festival has cancelled one of the two screenings. In a press release justifying its decision, the Ministry of Culture says it took into account the "strong feeling, notably among all those who are alarmed by the rise of antisemitic or Judeophobic talk and acts in France," and in order to prevent "risks of a threat to public order" that may be aroused by the two screenings initially planned. We would like to share our deep concern at such a decision, which has the appearance of censorship without being called by its name. Without necessarily sharing the choices and points of view expressed in Route 181, Fragments from a Journey in Palestine-Israel, we deem it unacceptable to categorize this work as one which may arouse "antisemitic or Judeophobic talk and acts." As a work of art, Route 181 takes part in an intellectual debate, that anyone is free to criticize. We are shocked that the Ministry of Culture assumes the right to define the terms of this debate by prohibiting the distribution of this film. We are concerned by the precedent set by such a decision. By yielding today to a hypothetical "threat to public order," the Ministry of Culture takes the risk of abdicating tomorrow before any organized criticism against an intellectual and artistic endeavor. A Minister of Culture must protect the artwork, not ally himself with those who attack it. We ask therefore, of Jean-Jacque Aillagon, to reconsider his decision. Jean-Luc Godard, filmmaker ; Russel Banks, writer ; Randa Chahal Sabbag, filmmaker ; Tzvetan Todorov, research director at CNRS; Frank Eskenazi, producer; Esther Benbassa, study director at the EPHE; Julie Bertucelli, filmmaker ; Franֳ§ois Maspero, writer ; Claire Simon, filmmaker ; Hubert Nyssen, writer and publisher, and more than 300 other signers, full list available at www.momento-production.com LETTRE OUVERT UN MINISTRE DE LA CULTURE DOIT PROTEGER LES ג€˜UVRES Pour sa 26ֳ¨me ֳ©dition, le Festival du Cinֳ©ma du Rֳ©el, l'un des plus prestigieux rendez-vous du cinֳ©ma documentaire devait projeter, hors compֳ©tition, le film Route 181, fragments d'un voyage en Palestine- Israֳ«l des cinֳ©astes palestinien et israֳ©lien Michel Khleifi et Eyal Sivan. Or, ֳ  la demande du Ministֳ¨re de la Culture, tutelle du Festival, et du Centre Pompidou, le Festival vient de supprimer l'une des deux projections. Dans un communiquֳ© justifiant sa dֳ©cision, le Ministֳ¨re de la Culture estime prendre en compte la " vive ֳ©motion, notamment chez tous ceux qui s'alarment de la montֳ©e des propos et actes antisֳ©mites ou judֳ©ophobes en France " et se prֳ©server ainsi " des risques de trouble ֳ  l'ordre public " que pourraient engendrer les deux projections initialement prֳ©vues. Nous tenons ֳ  faire part de notre trֳ¨s vive inquiֳ©tude face ֳ  une telle dֳ©cision qui s'apparente ֳ  une censure qui ne dit pas son nom. Sans forcֳ©ment partager les choix et les points de vue exprimֳ©s dans Route 181, fragments d'un voyage en Palestine-Israֳ«l, il nous paraֳ®t inacceptable de catֳ©goriser cette ֲ¦uvre comme pouvant susciter " des propos et actes antisֳ©mites ou judֳ©ophobes ". En tant qu'ֲ¦uvre de l'esprit, Route 181 participe ֳ  un dֳ©bat intellectuel, que chacun est libre de critiquer. Nous sommes choquֳ©s que le Ministֳ¨re de la Culture s'arroge le droit de dֳ©finir lui-mֳ×me les termes de ce dֳ©bat en interdisant de fait la diffusion de ce film. Nous sommes inquiets du prֳ©cֳ©dent que crֳ©e une telle dֳ©cision. En cֳ©dant aujourd'hui devant un hypothֳ©tique " trouble ֳ  l'ordre public " le Ministֳ¨re de la Culture prend le risque d'abdiquer demain devant toute critique organisֳ©e contre un travail intellectuel et artistique. Un Ministre de la Culture se doit de protֳ©ger les ֲ¦uvres et non de se ranger du cֳ´tֳ© de leurs dֳ©tracteurs. Nous demandons donc ֳ  Jean-Jacques Aillagon de revenir sur sa dֳ©cision. Jean-Luc Godard, cinֳ©aste ; Russel Banks, ֳ©crivain ; Randa Chahal Sabbag, cinֳ©aste ; Tzvetan Todorov, directeur de recherches au CNRS; Frank Eskenazi, producteur; Esther Benbassa, directrice d'ֳ©tudes ֳ l'EPHE; Julie Bertucelli, cinֳ©aste ; Franֳ§ois Maspero, ֳ©crivain ; Claire Simon, cinֳ©aste; Hubert Nyssen, ֳ©crivain et ֳ©diteur. Plus de 300 personnes du monde de la culture se sont associֳ©es ֳ  cette lettre ouverte, la liste est consultable sur www.momento-production.com [Gush Shalom's letter] As Israelis devoting their lives to the decades-long struggle for peace and justice, we decided to write to you. We were informed of your decision to forbid a second screening, on March 14th, of the film "Fragments of a Journey to Palestine-Israel" - the film made by our friend the film maker Eyal Sivan together with Palestinian film maker Michel Khleifi. We are afraid that your decision is not a wise one. By the very fact of this film being the co-production of an Israeli-Palestinian duo it clarifies that Israelis (Jews) and Palestinians (Arabs) are not "by nature" each other's enemies. As such the film makers' Journey is par excellence a journey against stereotypes. Was it really your intention to discourage those in this tormented region who work for a future of peace? Was it really your intention to prevent French people from being confronted with a vision which blurs the divide? I hope you will reconsider [] About withdrawal babbles & the ethics of large-scale killing [Translation of ad in today's Ha'aretz; Hebrew version soon at the site //עברית בקרוב באתר www.gush-shalom.org] TALKING AND KILLING Sharon talks about leaving the Gaza Strip - perhaps all of it, and perhaps not. Not before next year, and perhaps not at all. They talk about it endlessly: politicians, generals, pundits, reporters, right- wingers, left-wingers. This has struck everything else from the agenda: the Road Map, the monstrous wall that is being built in the Palestinian territories, the Geneva Understandings, the Greek island corruption affair, the Kern corruption affair, the Tannenbaum affair. And in the meantime, inhabitants of the Gaza Strip are being killed daily and wholesale: armed fighters as well as children, women and old people. By the "most moral army in the world", acting according to an "ethical code" invented by professors. Gush Shalom [If you agree, help us publish it, checks to: P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033] [] Update ongoing struggle Send refusniks a postcard etc. -- Refuser news: Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel -- Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Iby 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net -- List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release: http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Mar 14 03:01:24 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:10 2004 Subject: (Fwd) [cpthebron] Please protest: Greg Rollins (CPT-Hebron) denied entry Message-ID: <4053CB04.15583.14AAD49@localhost> Please protest: Greg Rollins (CPT-Hebron) denied entry See forwarded message below - but in addition to the fax numbers given, please send ALSO email protests to: Minister Mr. Avraham Poraz Director Mr. Mordechay Mordechay Spokesman Ms. Tova Ellinson Public Relations Ms. Nechama Pluga-Zecharia (These are all Interior Ministry addresses; that is at the moment the relatively sensitive/sensible link in the chain.) Most important: to write in the subjectline something strong (that they can't avoid reading. For example: AFRAID OF PEACE MAKERS? If you can do it in Hebrew: ?מפחדים מעושי שלום -------- Original Message -------- From: CPTHebron  Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2004 18:22:24 +0200 Subject: [cpthebron] HEBRON URGENT ACTION: Greg Rollins denied entry  March 12, 2004  HEBRON URGENT ACTION: Greg Rollins denied entry.   In the early morning hours of March 11, the Israeli Ministry of  Interior denied Christian Peacemaker Team member Greg Rollins(Surrey, BC) entry to Israel at Ben Gurion airport and  returned him as far as Amsterdam.  "I'm surprised, we have a very strong court order, it seems the  Israeli security people at the airport made a mistake," said Sani Khoury, with the law firm of Kuttab and Khoury. "Our settlement  is in writing and it has the force of a court order. It says that there are no restrictions on Greg's entering Israel, any past  restrictions in Interior Ministry computers must be removed, previous (attempted deportation) proceedings will not be held against him -- no restrictions."   Kuttab and Khoury have asked for a reversal from the Israeli  Interior Ministry, and expected a reply this morning. The case was in Jerusalem, but no conclusion was reached because the Ministry of Interior wants the input of the security services. It is expected that they will be able to have this input and make a decision  Sunday morning. If Rollins is not re-admitted, they plan a "contempt of court" procedure against the Interior Ministry.  Rollins was the center of a case before the Israeli High Court  last year challenging an Israel military order barring all Israelis and internationals from Palestinian-controlled areas. The order  is rarely enforced but has a chilling effect on the work of Israeli and international peace groups. Rollins was arrested while  observing the detention of a large number of Palestinian men in  Hebron, and the ruling on his case held that the military order was too broad and should not be enforced absent any specific illegal activity.  This case will have an important effect on the continuing ability  of human rights monitors to operate in the West Bank and Gaza. CPT asks for telephone and fax inquiries to be directed to the  Israeli Interior Ministry. We encourage fax inquiries because during Shabbat many Israelis agencies do not answer telephone calls. We  would especially like media inquiries.  In your fax or call, begin by explaining that you are aware of a  court order allowing for Canadian Greg Rollins to enter Israel without restrictions. Also emphasize the peacefulness of Greg's  work in violence reduction. ASK IF SOME MISTAKE WAS MADE BY AIRPORT PERSONNEL when Greg arrived at Tel Aviv March 11. (This would be the likely explanation for a reversal allowing Greg to return.) If they confirm this, thank them for correcting the error. In any case, tell them you will be following the case, because it is an important case for the protection of human rights.  Faxing the Interior Ministry is an effective way of letting the  Interior Ministry know that the international community is monitoring its behavior toward peace and human rights activists.  Between now and Sunday morning, send faxes expressing the concerns suggested above to 011-972-2-670-1628.  You may also call the Ministry of the Interior to express your  concerns. Note that the office in Jerusalem will be closed Friday afternoon until Sunday morning so phone calls would need to be  made around 9am local time as the office is opening Sunday (this would be 2am Eastern time in North America). From North America, dial 011-972-2-629-0231 or 011-972-2-629-0222  You will find below a sample fax that Rich Meyer, our team  support person in North America sent.  Thank you,  Christian Peacemaker Teams  Hebron   Avraham Poraz Minister of Interior 2 Kaplan Street Kiryat Ben-Gurion Jerusalem 91061  Fax 972-2-670-1628  RE: ENTRY OF CANADIAN ADVOCATE OF NONVIOLENCE GREG ROLLINS  Dear Minister Poraz;  I am concerned by the actions of security personnel at Ben Gurion Airport who blocked the entry of Gregory Rollins on March 11. As  you know, Mr. Rollins was the subject of a case in the High Court  last year, where the final court order settling the case determined that he presented no security risk and should be free to come and go without restriction.  Mr. Rollins has been a strong advocate of nonviolence in Hebron,  who by his example and influence must be seen as a constructive presence in the West Bank.  It seems that the security personnel at the airport did not  understand the significance of the court decision regarding Mr. Rollins. Blocking the entry of Mr. Rollins is against the best interests of Israel and makes it appear as if Israel does not want a reduction of violence in Hebron!  I sincerely hope that you will correct this error and permit Mr.  Rollins to enter Israel immediately.  Sincerely,  Rich Meyer   -------------------------------- Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical initiative to support  violence reduction efforts around the world. To learn more about CPT's peacemaking work, please visit our website at:  http://www.cpt.org. Photos of our projects may be viewed at: http://www.cpt.org/gallery ------- End of forwarded message ------- From info at gush-shalom.org Mon Mar 15 04:40:37 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:10 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] The dialogue of bombs & the underreported nonviolent resistance Message-ID: <405533C5.3586.6CC060B@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ ~~~~~~~~ The dialogue of bombs & the underreported nonviolent resistance ~~~~~~~~ International release Tel-Aviv, March 15, 2004 Just two days after Madrid the sickening images are once again coming from closer to home, with the news of a suicide bombing at the Israeli port of Ashdod. Once again the cycle of bloodshed is rolling on. (And, once again a day of mass, unarmed Palestinian resistance was overshadowed by the acts of two young desperados.) For the players on both sides of the lethal ping-pong, casualties are instrumentalized into ammunition, into a licence to kill the other side's men, women, old and young. Nearly two months have passed since Ariel Sharon made the startling announcement of his intention to evacuate the Gaza Strip - and commentators, as well as the general public, are still puzzled about his true intentions. One thing, however, is already crystal clear: the announced plans for withdrawal from Gaza do not entail an end to the daily violence and bloodshed in and around the Strip. On the contrary: in the past month, the armed forces of Israel actually intensified the rate of their aerial assassinations and large-scale armed incursions into Gaza City as well as Rafah and other towns. Some commentators regard this as a prestige game - "The generals are determined not to let withdrawal from Gaza seem a military defeat"; others see PM Sharon using every means to distract attention from the burgeoning corruption scandals touching upon himself and his sons - the subject of an ongoing, intensive police investigation. Whatever the underlying motives, the price in human life and suffering is extremely high. In just a single Israeli raid into the Gazan refugee camps, precisely a week ago, fifteen Palestinians (including several children) were killed within a few hours; the following days saw a continuing death toll of "just a few" every day, which got hardly any mention in the media. Today came the Palestinian retaliation. For the first time since the outbreak of hostilities three and half years ago, two young Gazan refugees managed to break out of the fence surrounding the Strip and make their way to the port of Ashdod, a short distance to the north, where they blew themselves up and took ten Israelis with them - and the death toll might have been much higher, had the blast come closer to the highly combustible chemicals stored in large quantities at the port. The form which the Israeli counter-retaliation is to take has reportedly been already agreed upon between Prime Minister Sharon and Defence Minister Mofaz. Already, as we write, Israeli helicopter gunships are bombing Gaza and more seems to be in store for the coming days. It will only add more to the toll of innocent lives cut short, and further fuel the cycle of retaliation and counter-retaliation. And the long-delayed meeting of Sharon with his Palestinian counterpart Ahmed Qurei has now been put off yet again, and with it the faint hopes of a new cease-fire. Meanwhile, all this served to distract attention from a highly significant development: the dramatic increase in mass, unarmed Palestinian acts of resistance, specifically in the West Bank villages which strand to lose their land to Sharon's "Separation Wall". In village after village, hundreds of people stand together to block the bulldozers. Israeli peace activists are a welcome part of such protests, as are internationals. "We stood four hours, and were treated to repeated barrages of tear gas. The soldiers were extremely trigger-happy, though they had no pretext. Nobody threw stones, there was nothing but men and women, young and old, trying to defend their olive groves with their bare hands. Twelve were wounded and needed medical treatment, and the others just stood their ground" was what we heard this morning from Shai Pollak, Tel-Avivian activist of "Anachists Against The Wall". Of course, a single suicide bomber gets enormously more air time on the international media than a dozen mass unarmed actions... In the midst of all this, March 16 is coming around this Tuesday - the sad anniversary of Rachel Corrie, American ISM activist crushed to death at Rafah while trying to stop an Israeli military bulldozer destroying a Palestinian house. On Tuesday, March 16, there will be several events of commemoration and protest at the ongoing bloodshed and oppression: At 12:00 noon,there will be a gathering of ISM activists together with Israeli peace activists at the Erez Checkpoint between the Gaza Strip and Israel (further information from ISM: Gabe +972.55.725.958 or Flo +972.64.309.753 - transportation available from Jerusalem); At 10 am, the community of Rafah - where rachel Corrie was killed - will commemorate her with a march starting at the main square of Rafah (info: Adwan +972.59.304.628); Finally, at 6:00 pm the Grassroots International Protection for the Palestinian People (GIPPP) will hold a candlelight vigil in honor of Rachel Corrie at Manara Square in Ramallah, attended by internationals of the ISM and GIPPP, Palestinians and Israelis (info: Bahia of GIPPP +972.67.907.492). [] Palestinian Romeo - Uri Avnery "Will relations formed in the darkest times provide a basis for reconciliation? - was the question Avnery asked himself after seeing "Arna's Children" - film by Juliano Mer about his mother Arna Mer's work with children in the Jenin Refugee Camp, several of whom grew up to become suicide bombers English http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/article294.html עברית / Hebrew http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/article294_heb.html -- נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net -- Refuser news: Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel -- List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release: http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sat Mar 20 01:40:03 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:10 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] The truth in the face of an overloyal opposition & articles Message-ID: <405BA0F3.1773.2DA7248@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ # The truth in the face of an overloyal opposition Gush ad in Haaretz - Friday, March 19 # No excuses By Gideon Samet - Wed. # Sniping at morality - By Reuven Pedatzur - Fri. # Fence and defense By Lily Galili - Fri. NB: In the end to be found links and contact information re ongoing struggle Anti-Wall / Refusniks / Vanunu & How you can support us [This week's Gush ad addresses the reported "waiting" of the Labor Party leadership "for the phonecall of Sharon." Especially now, with Yossi Beilin elected as leader of Yachad (=formerly Meretz) one would hope that the opposition is strengthened, not weakened. After the statement - links to our choice from Ha'aretz.] # The truth in the face of an overloyal opposition Gush ad in Haaretz - Friday, March 19 www.gush-shalom.org עברית באתר ACCOMPLICES If the Labor Party joins the Sharon government, it will be an accomplice - To the destruction of the Palestinian Authority, the creation of anarchy in Gaza, the wholesale assassinations, the setting up of the monstrous fence in the middle of the West Bank, the demolition of homes, the uprooting of plantations, the enlargements of the settlements, the setting up of "outposts", the expropriation of land. To the breeding of hatred, the widening of the cycle of violence, the wrecking of any chance for peace. ALL THIS without Sharon's withdrawing from a single inch of territory or evacuating even one settlement. Gush Shalom contact us via pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (with the above text in Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) info@gush-shalom.org # No excuses By Gideon Samet - Wed., March 17, 2004 Once again, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has grasped at terror to obscure and water down his disengagement plan. The suicide bombing in Ashdod, together with the bombings in Madrid, led him two days ago, just before barely surviving a Knesset confidence vote, to submit a "diet" version of the plan. Full text: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/405497.html Hebrew http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=405563 # Sniping at morality - By Reuven Pedatzur Fri., March 19 Again the IDF is out to deliver a "crushing blow" to the terrorists. Again large-scale and casualty-heavy armored incursions are planned throughout the Gaza Strip, and again missiles will be launched from the air to liquidate the "senior perpetrators of terrorism." Senior sources in the Israel Defense Forces explain, with unconcealed satisfaction, that at long last "we are returning to the period before the hudna [cease-fire]." That was the happy period in which the gloves were taken off and the IDF was permitted to assassinate the leaders of Hamas. Now, following the latest wave of terrorism, which peaked with this week's attack at the port of Ashdod, the moment has come for another massive liquidation campaign, which this time won't make do with only Hamas but will aim at killing the maximum number of leaders of all the Palestinian organizations in the Gaza Strip. Full text http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/406446.html Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=406315 # Fence and defense By Lily Galili Fri., March 19 Full text: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/406411.html Hebrew http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=406300 NB: Links and contact information re ongoing struggle Anti-Wall / Refusniks / Vanunu & How you can support us -- נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net -- Refuser news: Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel -- List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Instead of sending flowers - an online option (paypal) for your welcome gesture: Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Mar 21 04:50:41 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:11 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] March 20, Israelis busy with own war // Avnery on Spain Message-ID: <405D1F21.26706.37AA9AD@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ International Release # On March 20, Israeli activists busy with own war # Avnery applies the Spanish example at home NB: links and contact information re ongoing struggle Against the Wall / Refusniks / Vanunu //\\//\\//\\//\\ # On March 20, Israeli activists busy with own war March 20 - first anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, a day of worldwide demonstrations, finds us very much immersed in our own local problems. While the headlines are devoted to PM Sharon's announcements of his intention to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, the smaller print carries the routine news of a seven-year old girl shot to death during the latest military incursion into the refugee camp of Khan Yunes, in the same Gaza Strip. [Hebrew at request / עברית על פי בקשה ] --This morning, we came to honour a group of young people who are not willing to share in the occupation and in its concomitant endless cycles of oppression and violence, retribution, re-retruibution and re-re-retribution. Haggai Matar, Matan Kaminer and Noam Bahat are now at Ma'asiyahu Prison (Lod), a civilian institution, having been "expelled" from military prison-6 where "their presence disrupted discipline and good order." (The other two, Adam Maor and Shimri Tzameret, also serving a year's term for refusing to join an occupation army were transfered to Hermon Prison in the north of the country.) Several dozen people answered the call of the veteran refuser support group Yesh Gvul. One bus and many private cars stopped in front of the prison walls and soon the banners were waiving: Neither military prison, nor civilian! Free them Now!" "They are not complaining; are filling their time by teaching fellow prisoners English and mathematics. That is the kind of alternative community service which they asked for all along. Why has it to be behind bars?" - Noam Kaminer, father of Matan. Daniel Milo, father to Laura, who had been denied the status of conscientious objector and sent to imprison, announced the family decision to go to the Supreme Court. "What the army did to Laura is simply illegal. With regard to women the law is quite plain: a woman who shows that for reasons of conscience she cannot join the army is entitled to exemption." Suddenly, the quiet and orderly vigil was disturbed by the arrival of two police patrol cars. "Move away immediately! This is private land!" "We are quite far from the prison walls; we don't disturb anybody." "Walls or no walls, this belongs to the prison authority." The police fastened their attention upon singer Yasmin Wagner, who throughout the confrontation continued the song which she wrote after her own psychiatric discharge from the army, all the while sitting on the ground and strumming her guitar: "Hey boy, join the army / Make your mother proud / Shoot the young, shoot the old / Guard well your country // Hey girl, join the army / Join the pilot training, too / Bomb the schools just like the men do / Show them what a girl can do." But the police were not amused. They grabbed the guitar, and started dragging her to the waiting police car. Demonstrators were quick to hold on to her: "What are you doing! Are you crazy? What did she do wrong?" After some minutes of haggling the police gave up. --At the same time, a confrontation was taking place elsewhere. Three buses full of women from all over Israel had set out to participate in a joint Israeli-Palestinian demonstration at the village of Mes'ha, protesting the Wall which has so severely disrupted daily life in the village. But they never got there: not only was the army ready with "closed military zone" orders which referred to these buses and to no other vehicles on the road, but soldiers were also stationed near the Palestinian taxi stands - preventing the women from making use of that alternative, too. --"There Is No Military Solution! There Is No Military Solution! There Is No Military Solution!" rang the call at the gate of the Defence Ministry in Tel-Aviv. Some 200 Peace Now supporters have come to register this evening their vocal protest, with banners and placards: "No to suicide bombings! No to assassinations! Yes to peace negotiations!" "Get out of the Territories! End the bloodshed!" "No sons for unnecessary wars!" "Say Goodbuy to Gaza, Today!" KM Ran Cohen of the newly-founded Yachad Party took up the megaphone: "I read in the papers that withdrawal from Gaza is expected to last a year and half. What the hell is that needed for? How many people are going to be killed in this year and half - to be killed for what?" --On the same evening, an emergency meeting was taking place at the municipality of A-Ram, a large Palestinian suburb of Jerusalem. A few days ago, work started on the 8-meter high concrete Wall in this area along a route which would hopelessly break up economic and social life in this town of 50,000. Representatives of Gush Shalom, Ta'ayush and others discussed with Mayor Sirhan Salaymeh a large-scale campaign. Over the past two weeks, the struggle against the Wall has intensified. In village after village the inhabitants turned out en masse - to block the bulldozers' way with their bare bodies, undeterred by barrages of tear gas, the shooting of rubber-coated metal bullets, and occasionally live ammunition as well. Israeli activists, especially Anarchists Against the Wall have been constant partners in this struggle, and their presence is increasingly noted by the Israeli media, but seems no longer a guarantee against killings. There have been some successes: the Supreme Court has been more inclined than hitherto to grant injunctions halting work along considerable parts of the route, and in some places the army at its own initiative started negotiating changes in the route. A not unimportant role was played by inhabitants of nearby Israeli communities coming out in support of their Palestinian neighbors. Also significant was the high profile involvement of the Council for Peace and Security, a body uniting hundreds of dovishly- inclined former senior officers. Originally supporting the creation of a separation fence, they now strongly oppose its route. --As we write this report, we got a phonecall from Rome, where Anat Matar - mother of imprisoned CO Haggai - had been invited to address a mass anti-war rally. "I was moved, when it turned out that the release of the five Israelis was among the official demands of the rally. And when I spoke and said the words "my son is in prison for refusing to serve the occupation" there was a heartwarming wave of applause from the immense crowd present. ~~~~~~~ # Avnery applies the Spanish example at home Uri Avnery 20.3.04 Hebrew at request & soon at the site עברית על פי בקשה או בקרוב באתר Bravo, Amigos! A Prime Minister is waging war. The great majority of the people oppose the war. The majority vote for the Prime Minister. Absurd? Well, that was the situation in Spain. It also applies, more or less, in Israel. But here the similarity ends. The Spanish people have thrown their Prime Minister out. The Israeli people go on supporting their Prime Minister. The Spaniards, in their innocence, believe that if a Prime Minister does the opposite of what the great majority of the people want, he has to go. They think that this is what democracy is all about. In Israel, such a thing is unthinkable. And that is not the only difference. Of course, the Spanish people arrived at this conclusion under the influence of the big terrorist attack in Madrid. The Spanish reaction was very different from the usual Israeli one. After the terrorist onslaught, the Spanish asked themselves: why did they do it? What caused this murderous attack on us? The logical answer was: the Prime Minister's policy has brought this on us. The conclusion: Let's find another one. In Israel, such a question cannot arise. What brought the terrorist attacks on us? What sort of a question is that? The reason for terrorism is the inborn murderous character of the Arabs. It has, of course, nothing at all to do with the policy of our Prime Minister. When a terrorist outrage happens here, logic flies out of the window. Instead of thinking and asking questions, people shout "Death to the Arabs", demand bloody revenge and gather around the Prime Minister. Another difference: the Spaniards got angry. The Prime Minister lied to them. He exploited the outrage for his election campaign. When he already knew that all the signs pointed to Islamic fanatics, he pretended in public that the attack was perpetrated by the Basque ETA organization. He hoped to garner the votes of those Spaniards who oppose an independent Basque homeland. But the voters understood that this was a lie and did not like it. The Prime Minister is lying to us? To hell with him. In Israel, when the Prime Minister lies, the public remains apathetic. The Prime Minister has lied to us again? So what? Isn't he always lying? Nothing to get upset about. One can only envy the Spanish. After a horrible civil war, after decades of an oppressive dictatorship, in spite of domestic splits and many terrorist attacks, what a healthy reaction! What strong democratic instincts! (By the way: some 500 years ago, half a million Jews were expelled from Spain. In the last decades, almost all the "Sephardim" - Sepharad is the Hebrew name for Spain - came to Israel. The great majority of them support Ariel Sharon. Why do the "Spanish" Jews in Israel react differently from the Spanish people back home?) There is another difference between Spain and Israel, and it may be the decisive one. Last year I visited Spain. Some days before I arrived, the Prime Minister's party had won an impressive victory in the local elections. The opposition Socialist Party was lying flat out. Everybody spoke of it with contempt, some with pain. The party was in ruins, perhaps beyond redemption. And then it happened: the party replaced its old leaders with an energetic, fresh one, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. With a lot of luck, this man has now led his party to power. When the Spanish people were fed up with their Prime Minister, they knew that there was a reasonable alternative. They could throw the ruling party out because there was another party ready to move in. In Israel, these conditions do not apply. Our leading opposition party, Labor, is also a shambles, but there is no sign of recovery. Quite the contrary. It is headed by a pathetic person who would make a deal with the devil for a place in Sharon's government. Its other old leaders, all of them certified failures, are already quarrelling about the chairs that Sharon may allot them, should he be so kind as to invite them into his cabinet. The Israeli situation is surreal: according to all opinion polls, a large part of the public is fed up with the war, the bloody cycle of suicide bombings and targeted assassinations, the settlements and the settlers. They want a solution and are ready to pay the necessary price - the end of the occupation, a Palestinian state, the dismantling of the settlements, a reasonable compromise about Jerusalem, withdrawal to the vicinity of the Green Line. They want to shift our national resources from occupation and war to economic growth, education and social welfare. So how does this translate into political realities? It doesn't. There is no serious political force able to offer an alternative leadership. In Spain that was a temporary situation, which corrected itself in a natural way. In Israel, this situation seems to be permanent. Therefore, one can not only envy the Spanish, but also learn from them. The political ball is round. It can turn suddenly. What seems to be impossible can become possible - if there are good people around, who can convert good intentions into political reality. I hope that this will happen here, too. True, some people are already standing in line - Tony Blair and George W. Bush. What has happened to Jose Maria Aznar in Spain must happen to them, and I hope that it will. Then, with a lot of courage and a lot of luck, the turn of the fourth in the queue will come, and Ariel Sharon, another man of blood and lies, will be turned out. In the meantime we salute our friends at the other end of the Mediterranean Sea - Bravo, amigos! ~~~~~~~ NB: links and contact information re ongoing struggle Against the Wall / Refusniks / Vanunu -- נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net -- Refuser news: Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel -- List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Instead of sending flowers - an online option (paypal) for your welcome gesture: Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Mon Mar 22 00:45:21 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:11 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Army and police violence - while the politicians skirmish Message-ID: <405E3721.6507.296BEB9@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ Tel-Aviv - March 21 The Israeli media were absorbed today by the struggle inside the Likud about Sharon's Gaza Disengagement Plan. The fact that another 6 Palestinians got killed in that same Gaza seemed less important. And that meanwhile on the West Bank the army used excessive force against farmers - who cares? The villagers were accompanied by Israeli and international activists when they resisted nonviolently the uprooting of their olive trees, their livelihood - removed to make way for the Wall. It is a fact that we ourselves start getting used to a daily toll of at least wounded Palestinians. But when we heard that Itay was shot in the eye there started frentic phonecalls. Itay Levinsky (20) is one of the Israeli anarchists, our partners in the anti-Wall coalition. These young anarchists are paradoxically utterly disciplined and effective in organizing a daily presence where on that moment the struggle against the creeping wall is taking place. So, this evening all of us whom the call reached in time were once more at the Defence Ministry. Among the 150-strong anti-wall scene were also youngsters of the newly-founded left-Zionist Yachad Party. Anarchists and Zionists, all shouted it out until they didn't have a voice anymore: "Get out of Gaza and the West Bank" "Killing doesn't bring anything but killing" "No bullets against demonstrators!" "Democracy is not built on the dead body of demonstrators!" "Sharon murderer!" "No to Bulletocracy" - but for the anarchists it seemed it wasn't enough. They started marching, still chanting slogans, in the direction of the busy Ibn Gvirol Street. And when they sat down on the road, blocking all the traffic, the police cars which had been circling around the group all the time ("Load you guns; we are demonstrators!"), immediately pounced and the Tel-Avivian passers-by were feated to a scene of police brutality against non-violent protesters, just like on TV. Seven were arested. Photos soon on our website As background the messages circulating today. [] Immediate protest at Defence Ministry + Haaretz report (Gush Shalom) [] Maariv shows the pictures (Dorothy Naor) [] Several injured and arrested at Kharbatha Bani Harith (ISM report) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [] Emergency alert sent in the afternoon to the activists list -----------Forwarded message follows------- From: Gush Shalom Emergency protest today, Sunday March 21, at 7pm Defence Ministry Kaplan Tel-Aviv - Israeli demonstrator Itay Levinsky among 25 wounded at Ghirbata Village; meanwhile in Gaza 6 more Palestinians killed STOP TRIGGER HAPPY ARMY DOWN WITH OCCUPATION Sponsored by Gush Shalom, Ta'ayush, Anarchists Against The Wall, and anybody else who cares to join. For more, read the Haaretz download - or phone to: Adam Keller: +972-(0)3-5565804 / +972-(0)56-709603 David Nir: +972-(0)52-991379 Liad Kantorowitz: +972-(0)67-724519 Eyewitnesses: Raz Avni: +972-(0)51-946044 / Francesca Katz: +972-(0)64-494030 Haaretz Internet - Last Update: 21/03/2004 12:37 http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/407022.html More than 25 hurt during anti-fence protest near Dir Kadis By Arnon Regular and Tsahar Rotem, Haaretz Correspondents, and Haaretz Service More than 25 people were wounded, one of them an Israeli protester hit in the eye, when IDF troops fired rubber bullets at Israelis and Palestinians demonstrating against the West Bank separation fence near the village of Dir Kadis close to Modi'in, Israel Radio reported. Many of the injured were wounded in the upper body and face, it said. Regulations require security forces firing rubber bullets to aim only at the legs of demonstrators. Raz Avni, an Israeli demonstrator who witnessed the incident, said "The soldiers were firing rubber bullets at people who were lying on the ground, who had come unarmed, who weren't doing anything, who had come to protect their land." Military commanders in the area said that the troops had "exercised all possible restraint," making extensive use of tear gas and percussion grenades, and only when protesters began throwing stones in great numbers after about an hour did the soldiers resort to rubber bullets. Anvi told Israel Radio that the soldiers fired indiscriminately at the upper bodies of demonstrators. "They aimed at us. They pointed us out, even thought we shouted at them with a megaphone in Hebrew. About a half hour after we arrived, as we were lying on the ground because they were shooting rubber bullets, the fellow was wounded in the eye." Anti-fence protests in the area began two weeks ago. On Thursday a 10- year-old boy was injured in clashes between protesters and security forces guarding the fence construction site. Last week, in response to a petition filed on the villagers' behalf by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the army told the High Court of Justice that it would halt work in the Dir Kadis area temporarily and reconsider the fence's route in that area. Nevertheless, the bulldozers began work Thursday morning as usual - and the matter is expected to go back to the High Court. [] Maariv shows the pictures ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: Dorothy Naor Date sent: Sun, 21 Mar 2004 21:52:09 +0200 Send reply to: dor_naor@netvision.net.il Guess what Folks! The news reports have tended to term Palestinian attempts to defend their property "violent demonstrations" or "riots." Yet the pictures tell a different story: people lying on the ground, defenseless being beaten by soldiers, soldiers standing with rifles and battons raised over the heads of supine people, and the rest. The largest number of pictures that I've seen are in today's Hebrew Ma'ariv on line (keep scrolling down for the whole story and all the pictures), but Ma'ariv is the sole source to state that the number of injured was 120. Other sources that I've heard list the number in the 30s, bad enough. The story is not pretty, nor is what is happening. And just what kind of human beings will these soldiers turn out to be after beating innocents defending their property? Dorothy Hebrew: http://www.maariv.co.il/channels/1/ART/672/177.html English: [] Several injured and arrested at Kharbatha Bani Harith protest -----------Forwarded message follows------- From: International Solidarity Movement INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT Sun March 21, 2004 For Immediate Release VIOLENT REPRESSION OF AN ANTI-WALL DEMONSTRATION Several people injured and arrested during the protest in Kharbatha Bani Harith [Kharbatha Bani Harith, RAMALLAH] Today, Sunday, March 21, 2004, during a demonstration against the Wall in Kharbatha Bani Harith, 37 people are reportedly injured due to use of excessive violence by Israeli army to disperse the crowd. Around 30 of them were reportedly shot with rubber-coated steel bullets in the upper part of the body, 5 of whom injured in the head including a 14 year old Palestinian boy and an elderly Palestinian women. Another one of them, Etai Lewinsky, an 20 year old Israeli citizen, was shot between the eyes by a rubber-coated metal bullet and was taken to hospital. This morning, the residents of Kharbatha Bani Harith attempted to stop the bulldozers from destroying more farmlands in their village. They were joined by international and Israeli activists in their protest. The Israeli army allowed the crowd 15 minutes to leave before charging them violently, using tear gas, batons, sound grenades and rubber-coated metal bullets shot directly at the nonviolent protestors. This is the second violent repression of an anti-wall protest in this village. The villagers in the area of Budrus stand to lose thousands of dunums of land, including olive groves. The planned route of the wall will eventually turn the cluster of villages around Budrus into a prison for its residents, cutting them off from Ramallah, where most education and health facilities are located. For more information, please contact: Anwar Nazne (local contact): +972.52.877.230 Abu Ahmed (local contact): +972.67.924.952 Erik (ISM volunteer): +972. 66.556.749 ISM Media Office: +972.22.77.46.02 NB: links and contact information re ongoing struggle Against the Wall / Refusniks / Vanunu -- נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net -- Refuser news: Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel -- List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Instead of sending flowers - an online option (paypal) for your welcome gesture: Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Mon Mar 22 15:50:35 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:11 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Worse than a crime Message-ID: <405F0B4B.11958.E76CEC@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ Worse than a crime March 22, 2004 Tel-Aviv [] Uri Avnery on the assassination of Sheikh Yassin [] Translation of Gush Shalom press release - sent out early morning [] Our call to join today's Peace Now protest [] Uri Avnery on the assassination of Sheikh Yassin Hebrew at request & soon at the site עברית על פי בקשה או בקרוב באתר Avnery: "It is Worse than a Crime, it is Stupid!" "This is worse than a crime, it is an act of stupidity!" commented Gush Shalom activist Uri Avnery on the assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. "This is the beginning of a new chapter of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It moves the conflict from the level of a solvable national conflict to the level of religious conflict, which by its very nature is insoluble. "The fate of the State of Israel is now in the hands of group of persons whose outlook is primitive and whose perceptions are retarded. They are incapable of understanding the mental, emotional and political dimensions of the conflict. This is a group of bankrupt political and military leaders who have failed in all their actions. They try to cover up their failures by a catastrophic escalation. "This act will not only endanger the personal security of every Israeli, both in the country and around the world, but also the existential security of the State of Israel. It has grievously hurt the chances of putting and end to the Israeli-Palestinian, Israeli-Arab and Israeli-Muslim conflicts." Avnery mentioned that in the early 1980s the occupation authorities encouraged the founders of Hamas, hoping that they would create a counter-weight to Yasser Arafat and the PLO. Even after the start of the first intifada, the army and the security services gave preferential treatment of Hamas. Sheikh Yassin was arrested only a year after the outbreak. "There seems to be no limit to the stupidity of our political and military leaders. They endanger the future of the State of Israel." ~~~~~~~~~~~ [] Translation of Gush Shalom press release - sent out early morning Hebrew sent separately נוסח בעברית נשלח נפרד The assassination of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, with its concomitant careless killing of passers-by, is a mad provocative act by a governnment which lost all restraint. It is the act of a pyromaniac fireman whose method of putting out the fire of terrorism is to pour barrels of gasoline upon it, an act which might cost the life of dozens or hundreds of Israeli citizens in the near future. Prime Minster Sharon's talk of "withdrawal from Gaza", which had caught the headlines in the past months, is now revealed to be no more than meaningless chatter. Far from seriously meaning to evacuate even a bit of occupied territory, this bankrupt prime minister - faced with police investigations into a myriad of corruption concerning himself and his sons - seems determined to bequeath to his country a legacy of eternal war with the Palestinians and the entire Arab and Muslim World. Every day that this man remains in power poses a grave danger to the future of Israelis and Palestinians alike. Gush Shalom, the Israeli Peace Bloc, calls upon all sane and responsible forces left in the international community to intervene, urgently and forcefully, to save our region at the edge of the abyss and halt the monstrous cycle of bloodshed which now threatens to engulf us. For further information call Adam Keller, Gush Shalom Spokesperson, at +972-3-5565804 or +972-56-709603 ~~~~~~~~~~~ [] Our call to join today's Peace Now protest Bankrupt Sharon sets everything on fire - let's join today Peace Now protest ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "LEE" Date sent: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 11:45:15 +0200 Subject: Peace Now Demonstration Today [translation by Gush Infoteam] Hebrew sent separately נוסח בעברית נשלח נפרד Yasin Assassination - Gift to Hamas Demonstration !!! Today !!! 22.03.04 Defence Ministry, HaKirya Tel-Aviv 19.00 Reality proves: the policy of assassinations in the territories is bankrupt and brings the citizens of Israel no security The assassination of Sheikh Yassin has turned all of us into targets of the next suicide bombing. It gives not the slightest hope for an end to terrorism. The only way to destroy Hamas is through a political agreement and evacuation of the territories. In Order To Get Out Of The Mire We Must Get Out Of The House - Onto The Street! Contact: Yariv Oppenheimer 054-200060 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NB: links and contact information re ongoing struggle Against the Wall / Refusniks / Vanunu -- נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net -- Refuser news: Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel -- List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Instead of sending flowers - an online option (paypal) for your welcome gesture: Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Wed Mar 24 22:39:50 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:11 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Action requested + court reports & more Message-ID: <40620E36.20696.374107D@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ International release 1] Action alert - Call the DCO 2] Military Prosecution vs. CO Yoni Ben Artzi - struggle resumed 3] In Asherman trial, court rejects defense argument re unjust nature of home demolition policy 4] The Living, about the Dead - B. Michael, Yedioth Achronot 23.3 5] Sharon Leads a Raid / Reuven Kaminer 22.3 6] U.S. doesn't condemn BUT... warns Americans against visiting Israel ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ 1] Action alert - Call the DCO [In addition tofollowing ISM message, we heard from fellow activist Elana Wesley that Dan Goldblat, aide to KM Roman Bronfman is doing what he can, and that Israeli human rights organizations are being approached. The more reason that you also act - to help create a critical mass.] ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "International Solidarity Movement" Date sent: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 16:18:17 -0000 INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT Wed, March 24, 2004 ACTION ALERT - CALL THE DCO (District Coordinating Office) [Jayyous, QALQILIA] At 2:00AM Wednesday morning as many as 50-60 soldiers entered the West Bank village of Jayyous, where they raided homes, hit villagers with their weapons and arrested six men. They ransacked the homes of six families and stole all of the family members' cell phones, and in one case, papers and photographs. A family member of one of the arrested men said, "They came in and treated us like animals." The soldiers claimed they were "looking for weapons." NONE WERE FOUND. At least 40 soldiers entered the Salim home. The family members were blindfolded and handcuffed. The home was searched three times by different groups of soldiers. When one of the family members asked the soldiers why they entered his house, a soldier hit him with the end of an M16 rifle and he was forced and held to the ground. After three and a half hours, they then arrested the eldest brother, Haitham Saleem and confiscated all of the family's cell phones. Haitham is a 34 year old shopkeeper who is not involved in any political activity. He has a heart condition and it is vital that he take medication. The soldiers then ransacked the house directly next to the Salim family home and forced all the women and children out into the streets at 2:30AM. More than a dozen soldiers then went to the home of Wajdi Musleh. After breaking in and tearing through the house, the soldiers forced all of the women and children into one room, and pulled aside an elder in his 70's blindfolding and handcuffing him. They then forced him to kneel on the floor and hit him. The parents' bed was destroyed in this process. The soldiers then forced 21 year old Wajdi into the courtyard and arrested him. The soldiers used a bomb to open the front door of the home of Adam and Ziad Harami. After ransacking the home, breaking open one of the doors and leaving it inoperable, they told the whole family, "If you do not give us all of your phones we will damage your whole house." They arrested Adam Harami, a 20 year old student at Al Najah University in Nablus and Ziad Harami, a 25 year old barber from the village of Jayyous. The soldiers then tore through the homes of Shadi Towfiq Mahmoud Saleem and Abdel Rahim, damaging many items in the homes. They arrested Shadi, a 21 year old computer student at the Arab American University in Jenin. The soldiers damaged the front door when entering the home of Ahmed Mohammed Towfiq Yousef Khaled. They 'searched' the home and stole pictures of the family. They arrested Ahmed, a 21 year old Economics student at Al Najah University in Nablus. Please call the District Coordination Office and demand the IMMEDIATE release of these men. Israeli DCO: +972.9.775.9217 Palestinian DCO: +972.9.294.2755 (Within 48 hours we will know where these men have been taken....and will follow with additional phone numbers) A list of the names and ID numbers of the arrested are below: Haitham Gehad Nimir Saleem – 996620548 Wajdi Hussein Homid Musleh – 907482533 Adam Ghassan Ahmed Harami – 907482574 Ziad Ghassan Ahmed Harami – 904190758 Shadi Towfiq Mahmoud Saleem – 949564991 Ahmed Mohammed Towfiq Yousef Khaled – 907482491 When you call, tell them WHERE you are calling from. We need to show them that THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING and they can not get away with this! For any questions, please contact: Tracie: +972.66.416.132 or +972.65.203.543 ~~~~ 2] Military Prosecution vs. CO Yoni Ben Artzi - struggle resumed Nearly two months have passed since CO Yoni Ben Artzi - refusing military service on pacifist grounds - got a complete discharge from the army. To any reasonable person, that should have been the end of Ben Artzi's prolonged campaign, with the unfinished court martial against him a mere technical detail. The military sees it differently - as became clear during the prolonged speech by military prosecutor Captain Yaron Kostelitz. "Ben Artzi has been discharged from military service, but not because his alleged pacifist beliefs were recognized. He was discharged as one of the unruly soldiers, who take no discipline and whose behaviour is such that they are not worth the trouble of further trying to instil in them a proper soldierly discipline. He should however be severely punished for not taking up his proper share in the defence of his country. The military legal code makes it possible to continue court-martial proceedings also after the accused has been discharged from the army - and this trial must end with a severe and painful term of imprisonment." And Captain Kostelitz ended his fulmination exclaiming furiously: "Ben Artzi is no pacifist! He is a liar! He is just an egoist who seeks personal advancement, and he should be severely punished to discourage others from following his example." "My colleague of the prosecution ignores one central document - the verdict issued by this court last November, which did find Ben Artzi guilty of the charge of disobeying an order - and he did disobey an order - but also stated clearly and unequivocally the court's opinion that Ben Artzi's pacifist opinions and beliefs are sincere and deeply held. I consider this a moral - even if not a judicial - acquittal. Since he was seventeen, the military authorities placed Yoni Ben Artzi in an impossible dilemma. He had to choose between breaking the law or violating his own most deeply held values and beliefs. He made his choice and paid for it, in eight consecutive months of imprisonment followed by ten of "open detention". Now he got his discharge, he is already a civilian. But the prosecution here is trying to revive it. The prosecution talked of the need for "deterrance". Deterrance? What deterrance? Anyone who wants to follow in Ben Artzi's footsteps, on the path of conscientious refusal, already knows that it is a hard and stony path, in no way is it a highway out of the army. In short, I ask the court to content itself with a nominal punishment. Ben Artzi has suffered enough. He should get not a single additional day behind bars!" Colonel Avi Levy, the presiding judge, tried to offer a compromise: Ben Artzi would get a short term and serve it in the form of community work, without actual imprisonment. But the prosecutor was quick to pour cold water: community work imposed by a military court would necessarily be military community work, carried out in in a military framework. Ben Artzi was undaunted: "I did not struggle for two years just in order to compromise on my principles now; I am not willing to be part of a military framework." "The verdict will be delivered on another date" decided the judge. "This is a narrow-minded, vindictive act, an effort to drag a person who is already out of the army back in" was the reaction of the refuser parent's forum. "It is the same destructive mindset which leads the political and military leaders of this country to engage in inflammatory invasions and assassinations in the Gaza Strip, even after admitting already that its occupation is untenable". Contact: Yoni Ben Artzi +972-2-6528037/972-55-933001 Adv. Michael Sfard +972-3-5608833/972-54-713930 ~~~~ 3] In Asherman trial, court rejects defense argument re unjust nature of home demolition policy ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Rabbis for Human Rights" To: Subject: Court Refuses to Take Stand on Home Demolitions Date sent: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 17:56:46 +0200 עברית לפי בקשה // hebrew at request This morning, Wednesday, March 24, 2004, Judge Rivka Feldman of the Magistrates Court in Jerusalem rejected the claim of “defense of justice” (that the case should be thrown out because of the patently unjust nature of the home demolition policy) at the trial of the three defendants: Rabbi Arik Ascherman – Executive Director of “Rabbis for Human Rights”, Shai Eliezer and Omer Ori, accused of opposing home demolitions. Rabbi Arik Ascherman responded to the Judge’s decision saying: “We are very disappointed with the decision handed down at this, the beginning of the month of Nissan in which we celebrate the Exodus from Egyptian injustice. It saddens us to find out that we have a court of law, but not a court of justice at a time we should especially be sensitive to the situation of the stranger who lives among us: “because strangers you were in the land of Egypt” (Leviticus 19: 33-34). Rabbi Ascherman said that more than 30 “administrative” home demolitions have taken place in Jerusalem since the beginning of the calendar year. The Or committee has already criticized the policy of home demolitions and has stated that the Israeli government limits the possibility of Arab citizens (and even more so of Palestinians) to build legally. There needs to be legal implementation to this concept, in order to stop this injustice immediately, which affects so many lives. It appears that the judge did not take into account the full meaning of the concept of civil disobedience. We intend to continue our struggle to persuade the court to acknowledge the real injustice of the policy of home demolitions. There are many in Israel and around the world is watching this trial and we do not intend to lose”. Present at the court this morning, was Sufian Maswadeh whose home the defendants were trying to protect when arrested, Jacob Picheny, a representative of Rabbis for Human Rights supporters in North America, rabbis and other activists. Again many supporters were forced to wait outside the courtroom because of lack of space. The trial will resume on September 24th when the prosecution will bring its witnesses. For more details: Rabbi Arik Ascherman 050-607034, 02-563-7731 Shai Eliezer 02-671-7570 Omer Ori 03 629 1421 Adv. Leah Tzemel 052-601602, 02-627-3373 Available Documents include: 1) Court Decision/Minutes 2) Expert testimony of planning expert Nati Maron on behalf of “Bimkom” and “ACRI” 3) Excerpts from the Or Commission Findings (English) 4) Expert testimony of planning expert Ayala Ronnel 5) Reports by B’Tselem (English), Ir Shalem, Urban Planner Sara Kaminiker(English) 6) Reports of Jerusalem Comptroller 7) Insider testimony of former Jerusalem Arab affairs advisor Amir Cheshin (English and Hebrew) 8) Testimonies of owners of the two demolished homes 9) Testimony of anonymous owner of demolished homes regarding offers to save his home in return for bribe or agreement to be an informer. 10) Testimony of Isawiyah Local Council Head Darwish Darwish 11) Rabbinic Opinion signed by RHR members 12) Rabbinic Support Letter signed by over 400 Diaspora Rabbis. (English) 13) Amicus Curiae Brief of the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) and JCHR (Jerusalem Centre for Human Rights (English) and additional documents co written with the International Council of Jurists (English) 14) Affadavit of former Jerusalem City Council member Meir Margalit 15) Affadavit of the coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions Professor Jeff Halper Rabbis For Human Rights Tel: 972-2-563-7731 Mobile: 972-50607034 Website: www.rhr.israel.net 4] The Living, about the Dead - B. Michael, Yedioth Achronot ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: Victoria Buch "The Living, about the Dead", B. Michael, Yedioth Achronot, Tuesday, 23 March 2004 The whole nation is huddled up in the corner, like a little dog that urinated on the carpet, waiting meekly for the cruel strike that will come. Nobody has any doubt that it will come. Only W-H-E-R-E will it come - that is not yet known. And who are the walking dead that meanwhile pace among us, that is not yet known either. They were not notified in advance, or asked for permission, prior to being volunteered as a sacrifice on the altar of the Sharon-Mofaz military games. Let us hope that their last days will be sweet, before the good earth will take them. Beyond that - a success: The coalition is united again, the PM will have it easier to fend off the no-confidence-vote, smiles of satisfaction are blooming again in the Likud Center, settlers smirk like cats after a large helping of cream, the "disengagement plan" is dying in embryo inside its father's belly, and there is also hope that the police and the state prosecutors will think twice before digging into the files of the Hero that single-handedly exterminated the Man in the Wheelchair. There is just one little snag - terror. This one was not really weakened. In fact it is quite clear that terror will gain in strength. This "terror prevention measure", more than any previous ones, is like spilling oil on fire. But this snag should not constitute a killjoy, or a reason for worry. To the contrary - a regular hefty portion of terror is necessary for regular functioning of Sharon's government. Terror gives it an opportunity to practice the only activity in which it is competent: spreading death and destruction. And terror deflects the public attention from the sad and pathetic reality of today's Israel. Hot air to inflate the balloon of its withering virility. It is pointless to argue with the people who are ruling us. They are beyond reason. Their basic nature propels them, stronger than any logical analysis. Ministerial ties and politesse will not hide it. Sharon is Sharon and Mofaz is Mofaz. An attempt to change their nature would be equivalent to trying to convince an alligator of the benefits of a vegetarian diet. But one may wonder what thoughts passed in the head of the sky gun- slinger when he sent a rocket towards the wheelchair. Did he have a thought to spare for all the good people whom he thus sentenced to death? Did he have any doubts before pulling the trigger and setting the area in flames? Or did he close his mind like a robot? Or perhaps he adopted, whole-heartedly, the official sophistry, justifying this idiotic act by empty promises to end terror? "In the short range, the terror will increase, but in the long run ... there will be peace in the land. Once upon a time I was young, then I grew old, and never ever did I experience that "long run", together with the "peace in the land". I only encountered the "short ranges". One after another. But the pinnacle of cynicism was that laconic message, accompanying the report on the assassination of Yassin: "Security was beefed up around the government ministers and public figures." We, all of us, shall proceed to walk the streets, sit in the cafes, ride the buses, shop in the markets and the supermarkets, but that bunch of people that put us in the bull's eye, will be fortified inside armored cars and in masking corridors, protected by the reinforced crowd of faithful gorillas, overflowing with dedication. Were Sharon a real leader, were Mofaz a real man (I am trying to talk his language) they would declare loudly, for all to hear, that during the forthcoming weeks they will only ride buses. They will eat only in restaurants, go for walks without protective vests, and drink daily coffee on sidewalks of large cities. Their blood is not redder than blood of any other citizen, their death will not be more tragic than the death of anybody else, and their body parts are not more precious than body parts of any other human. And there is no reason in the world why they should not share with the rest of Israelis the portion of danger and blood that they served us. There is a limit to arrogance, and to cowardice. [Translation: Victoria Buch] ~~~~ 4] Sharon Leads a Raid / Reuven Kaminer -----------Forwarded message follows------- From: "Reuven Kaminer" Date sent: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 16:12:56 +0200 Murder Plain and Simple The real intent of the assassination of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin is identical with Sharon's disengagement ploy: to block any significant opportunity for the resumption of efforts towards genuine negotiations. The fixed goal is the targeted assassination of any chance for peace. The policy of targeted assassinations was immoral and illegal in the first place. It really had little to do with the prevention of terror. The real intent of targeted assassination was to legitimize the employment of political murder as an instrument in the execution of crimes against the Palestinian people, from collective punishment up to politicide the denial of their national rights. In the present context, these are also crimes against peace and the people of Israel. Sharon has opted to include political assassination as a weapon to defend his crumbling authority. His coalition is falling apart, his ministers openly defy him, his party is in disarray. Even more important: his prestige with the broad public is in a state of disintegration. Just weeks ago he had massive support from the public who believed that he was trying to get us out of the current mess. But he has also squandered this last vestige of prestige by bumbling inconsistency and refusing to tell anyone what he is exactly trying to do. Adventurism always came naturally to Sharon, he still feels more comfortable in battle dress. So we learn that the aging general, frustrated and more isolated by the hour, personally directs the 'heroic' helicopter raid on a civilian convoy of a religious leader on his way to worship. There is method in this madness. If ever an act was designed to deepen the hostility of the Arab and Moslem world against Israel, its people and its friend, this was it. Sharon is betting the future of Israel on the clash between civilizations. His hope for Israel's survival is pinned to the banners of George Bush's kind of Christendom and its battle against the Arab and Moslem world. The Bush-Sharon alliance will whether the present storm. The two need each other in their hour of adversity. Even so, Sharon's present infatuation with political murder, may cause problems in Washington, where things like this are farmed out to proper departments of dirty tricks. In the capitals of this world, leaders do not usually brag about killing other leaders. Reuven Kaminer Jerusalem March 22, 2004 ~~~~ 5] U.S. doesn't condemn BUT... warns Americans against visiting Israel The United States on Wednesday warned its citizens in Gaza to leave and advised against travel to Israel, the West Bank or Gaza, following Monday's assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. full text: http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=408244 Hebrew /עברית http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/407939.html NB: links and contact information re ongoing struggle Against the Wall / Refusniks / Vanunu -- נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net -- Refuser news: Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel -- List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Instead of sending flowers - an online option (paypal) for your welcome gesture: Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Fri Mar 26 02:16:22 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:11 2004 Subject: (Fwd) NB: CNN poll until now flooded with pro assassination votes Message-ID: <40639276.28063.498FAC@localhost> A certain side has been campaigning intensively; her are the results so far: Was Israel justified in targeting Sheikh Ahmed Yassin? Yes 75% 36111 votes No 25% 11896 votes Total: 48007 votes We just follow the link and voted no. Not very important, but still... ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "nataliok" To: Subject: URGENT!!! VOTE YES: 30 second action: CNN poll: was Israel justify in taking out Yassin? Date sent: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 00:48:53 -0800 Subject: 30 second action: CNN poll was Israel justify in taking out Yassin  PLEASE go quickly to ion/"http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/03/22/hamas.reaction> and vote "YES" to the CNN poll there about the assassination of that monster, Yassin. Have all your friends and Lovers of Zion do the before the poll goes down. Let's send CNN a message that crime do NOT pay.  ------- End of forwarded message ------- From info at gush-shalom.org Sat Mar 27 23:18:42 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:11 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Regards from the madhouse Message-ID: <40660BD2.27552.9F3D208@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ March 27, 2004 # The guarded and the unguarded - Gush Shalom in Ha'aretz # Doron Rosenblum about "cost-damage" (as opposed to "cost-benefit") ~~~~~~~~ # The guarded and the unguarded - Gush Shalom in Ha'aretz [ad in Ha'aretz, March 26] עברית באתר / Hebrew on the website www.gush-shalom.org SHARON, MOFAZ AND YA'ALON THE THREE MOST GUARDED PERSONS IN THE WORLD GAVE A CATASTROPHIC ORDER CONDEMNING HUNDREDS OF UNGUARDED ISRAELIS TO DEATH. Gush Shalom, P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 Help us cry out with your donation ~~~ # Doron Rosenblum about "cost-damage" (as opposed to "cost-benefit") Conspiracy (A theory) By Doron Rosenblum Fri., March 26, 2004 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/408750.html Hebrew // עברית: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=408299 How did the State of Israel, once one of the most promising, riveting and admired countries in the world, plunge from the heights of promise and hope into the depths of despair, bereavement and failure? What caused a country where, everyone agrees, there are intelligent people - and in any event, human material of equal caliber to that of any other country - to deteriorate, willingly and with full awareness, down the slope of the sewage of history? What made it become, gradually but systematically, one of the most hated, most isolated and most miserable places to be on the planet? Why did a country that was established as a "refuge" and a "haven" turn into a trap in which the routine of life has become a routine of death and which is defined, according to the findings of a comprehensive public opinion survey, as "the country most dangerous to peace in the world"? These questions have been contemplated for the past three years from every possible angle in an effort to understand and explain why, in this period especially, hardly any step taken by the government of Israel improves the country's lot or turns out to be useful. Why is the country striding along on a march of folly which has seen few precedents in human history? Why is it being swept from one idiotic decision to another? Why does it repeatedly act in explicit contradiction to the interests of its inhabitants? In these past three years in particular, there is no mine that Israel has failed to step on, no opportunity it hasn't missed, no path it hasn't embarked on in the certain knowledge that it will be harmful. Following the liquidation of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin this week, for example, one commentator informed us that "the security bodies are deploying for what is known as damage assessment" (!) in the wake of the act they decided on. The defense minister explained that the "wave of hits" was intended to meet the "wave of escalation in terrorist attacks that will follow in its wake." He thus made it clear what underlies this series of decisions, which can be called "cost-damage" (as opposed to "cost- benefit"). They seem not to be driven by clear and rational considerations of benefit but by vague and uncontrollable "planning" impulses, accompanied by a silent prayer that it will be possible to contain their damage. It's like someone who is mentally ill and takes into account his own attacks of madness, and deploys to absorb them. The attempt to explain rationally and conventionally the dynamics at work here has long since failed. So much so, in fact, that the only explanation the political and military analysts on television could come up with this week was: "They're doing XXX and hoping something good will come of it." Is there any other way to explain the deliberate escalations that have only intensified the waves of terrorism, the crushing of the Palestinian Authority (followed by the crocodile tears over the "anarchy that has been created" without the PA), the foolish "deals" that only strengthened Hezbollah, the hasty, hot-headed military operations, executed with the total abandonment of the security of the country's citizens? Or the fact that "at the end of the day" (as they like to say in the army), every day is worse than the one before, every year is harder than the last? What's going on here? What's behind it? Some will say that there is method to the madness: It's all a brilliant Machiavellian ploy by Messrs. Sharon & Mofaz to preserve the true apple of their eye - the settlements - even if the world turns topsy-turvy. Others will say that it's all inertia, the work of lowbrow generals who don't know any other way. There's nothing of genius here, just stupidity. Still others will put it down to shehur, witchcraft, the evil eye. It's just that our luck has turned around, you see, because from a certain stage the slice of bread always falls with the buttered side down. Some will say: we have found ourselves dastardly enemies - irrational, murderous, lacking the ability to compromise, without creativity or flexibility, and that their madness has somehow clung to us. There is no explanation that hasn't been heard in the past three years, apart from one: conspiracy. Maybe there's a mole. Yes, a mole. A kind of planted spy - a destructive worm virus, a Trojan horse. Let's put it this way: We have here a march of folly that is so systematic, so consecutive and so determined that there's no way it's happening by itself. Because if it were accidental, wouldn't there have to be the occasional random success as well? So maybe it's really not accidental. Maybe there's someone who's running the show - craftily, brilliantly. Who is it? That's not clear. But that's the whole point. We don't know and we don't suspect. But maybe he's sitting there, way up at the top of the decision-making process, deeply dug in: an impeccable fellow, supposedly, above all suspicion; known even as a fervid patriot, ostensibly - preferably of the type who has gone through all the stages of Israeli involvement since his youth, including an impressive military career. "Decent," seemingly, and even "simple-minded" outwardly, driven purportedly by passion and wrath, he succeeds in tapping brilliantly into all the psychoses and paranoias of the Israelis and in making them follow blindly his proposals, recommendations and decisions - however loony and harmful they may be. The motive is one: to cause, within the shortest possible time, the greatest and longest-lasting damage. Let's say violence springs up on the Palestinian side - stone-throwing, roadblocks, firebombs. Our friend coils himself for action: here's a great chance to drag Israel into a "policy of escalation." Why shouldn't it cut off its nose to spite its face? The tanks are already rolling, shells are flying, casualties are falling, the blood stirs up the passions. And when buses start to explode there is no longer anyone to stop the targeted liquidations. In fact, they're so targeted that they will cause Israel its most severe image damage: there's always a kid who gets killed, or a pregnant woman, and always, somehow, just as the cameras are rolling. If it's proved beyond any doubt that these "targeted" assassinations also summon up horrific revenge attacks, worse than anything we have known, our friend will see to it that the idea is adopted and turned into permanent policy; and not only that, he will also see to its implementation - like pouring oil on the flames - whenever some sort of calm looms, some kind of respite, even if only because of mutual exhaustion. When it appears, for a moment, that the sides have already fought themselves silly, like two punch-drunk boxers, our malicious friend starts to get worried. Why should the stock market be bullish? Why should shoppers go back to the malls? Why should nature lovers take up hiking again? Why give some political process a chance? Right off he will douse them with a pail of water and get them back into action, for another round. Good morning, targeted assassination! Good morning, Israel! Good morning, Zaka! Good morning, red alerts! Endlessly creative, our molish buddy will propose trapping Israel so that it will not emerge well from any situation. It will always fall over some tripwire that it has prepared itself in advance: "no" to the building of a fence until the number of dead soars into the hundreds; "yes" to a fence only along a route that generates international protest; "no" to Abu Mazen and to negotiations with the most moderate elements; "yes" to Nasrallah and to gestures and deals with the most extreme element. In the wake of appalling terrorist attacks against women and children, he will suggest a "moderate response," of all things, and that we build ourselves up from the feeling of victimization; following semi-legitimate guerrilla attacks on the army and on strategic targets he will propose that we "go ape"; give the option of negotiations in return for concessions and withdrawals in return for eternal war, he will opt for the latter. And so on and so forth. The sky's the limit. At every stage, our friend will ask himself: How else can I be harmful? What haven't I done yet? What extra dimension can I inject into the conflict? What new layer can be added to it? We succeeded in elevating the conflict from a territorial dispute into a war of chaos involving decentralized communities and organizations. Well done, yes, but now it's time to elevate it to the religious plane, the apocalyptic level, so that the damage will extend not only into the next generation, but for untold generations down the line. Our friend looks around and asks himself: What single action can I take in order to place Israel at the cutting edge in the war of civilizations against the whole of Islam? How can I upgrade the existential threats: from mere bombs and shooting by local ragamuffin groups to the gunsights of Al-Qaida? And how can I, by the same twist of the blade, cause the most effective publicity damage? His eye catches sight of the most adored religious leader, who is also old, sick and crippled. And the rest is the un-end of history: today the war of Gog and Magog; tomorrow the Apocalypse. The holidays are approaching. Pleasant azure skies above, a dry desert wind, flowers blooming across the land. A moment of quiet. The economy is showing a bit of improvement. The fingers of our friend are beginning to itch. Then a brain wave: he goes over to the beehive and kicks it as hard as he can. A vast swarm of bees hides the light of the sun. And, as a morale boosting bonus, he also makes sure to inform the public that in his view, the war will go on for 20 years at least (without deducting the past three years). And again he looks around: what else, what else ... A mischievous glint in his eye: the Temple Mount? Hey, that's an idea, too ... Who's the mole? And furthermore: why is he doing it? In whose service is he operating? A messianic organization? Spectra? Smersh? The cult of the devil? The angels of hell? One might think he's working in the service of the Palestinians, were it not for the suspicion that an equally malicious mole is operating at their highest levels, too, and is constantly undermining their best interests. So, who is he? And, above all, what's his motive? What's he after? It's not clear. It might all really be just an unfounded theory, a ridiculous thesis with no foundation of any kind. But tell me, in the light of what's going on, does anyone have a better explanation? --- Olive Oil straight from the farmers of Jayyous, also overseas Sending you a tin can of olive oil from Jayyous to your door step anywhere in the United States or Europe takes less than 4 weeks. By buying from the farmers of Jayyous, the first to suffer from the wall, you help them at a crucial moment. Hundreds of Palestinian families will benefit from your choice of using their quality oil. To buy just click on the link below http://pcwf.org/artifacts/oliveoil/oliveoil.htm and please tell in the message that you want the oil to come from Jayyous. To learn more about Jayyous please click and read and learn and support the struggle of the people of Jayyous. http://www.jayyousonline.org/english.HTM (among other things full text of Avnery speech "The Wall Will Fall") --- NB: links and contact information re ongoing struggle Against the Wall / Refusniks / Vanunu -- נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050- 607034 info@rhr.israel.net -- Refuser news: Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel -- List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Instead of sending flowers - an online option (paypal) for your welcome gesture: Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Tue Mar 30 03:00:49 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:11 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] On martyrdom and the limited horizon of generals Message-ID: <4068E2E1.32634.12BABFB@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [In the following you read how Uri Avnery places the assassination of Sheikh Yassin in context, and in the four forwarded articles of the Israeli-Palestinian email magazine Bitter Lemons (Assassinations and the conflict - Ed.12) you find the subject approached from several significant angles.] # Avnery on martyrdom and the limited horizon of generals # Back to an existential fight - Ghassan Khatib # Bankruptcy - Yossi Alpher # Yassin and the camp of death - Eyad el Sarraj # Targeted killings: a retro fashion - Yossi Melman \\// //\\ \\// //\\ \\// # Avnery on martyrdom and the limited horizon of generals Uri Avnery 27.3.04 עברית באתר / Hebrew on the website http://www.avnery-news.co.il/hebrew/index.html Three Generals, One Martyr Five hundred black- and white-bearded Hamas members were sitting opposite me. Venerable sheikhs and young people. On the side, some rows were occupied by women. I was standing on the stage, talking in Hebrew, with the crossed flags of Israel and Palestine on my lapel. As I have recounted already several times, it happened like this: at the end of 1992, the new Prime Minister, Yitzhaq Rabin, expelled 415 Islamic activists - mostly Hamas members - to the Lebanese border area. In protest, we put up tents opposite the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem. There we spent 45 days and nights - Israeli peace activists (who were later to found Gush Shalom) and Arab citizens of Israel, mostly members of the Islamic movement. Most of the time it was very cold, and some days our tents were covered with snow. There was a lot of debate in the tents, the Jews learning something about Islam and the Muslims something about Judaism. The expelled militants themselves vegetated for a year in the hilly landscape, between the Israeli and Lebanese armies. The whole world followed their suffering. After a year they were allowed back, and the Hamas leaders in Gaza organized a homecoming reception for them in the biggest hall in town. They invited those Israelis who had protested against the expulsion. I was asked to make a speech. I spoke about peace, and in the intermission we were invited to have lunch with the hosts. I was impressed by the friendly attitude of the hundreds of people who were there. Undoubtedly, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and the spokesman of the expellees, Dr. Abd-al-Aziz al-Rantissi (who became Sheikh Yassin's successor last week) would have been present, too, if they had not been kept in prison. I recount this experience in order to point out that the picture of Hamas as an inveterate enemy of all peace and compromise is not accurate. Of course, 10 years of bloodshed, suicide bombings and targeted assassinations have passed since then. But even now, the picture is much more complex than meets the eye. There are different tendencies in Hamas. The ideological hard core does indeed refuse any peace or compromise with Israel. They consider it a foreign implantation in Palestine, which in Islamic doctrine is a Muslim "wakf" (religious grant). But many Hamas sympathizers do not treat the organization as an ideological center but rather as an instrument for fighting Israel in pursuit of realistic objectives. Sheikh Yassin himself announced some months ago in a German paper that the fight would be discontinued after the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. Recently, he offered a "hudna" (truce) for 30 years. (Which strongly reminds one of Ariel Sharon's suggestion that Israel would give up the Gaza Strip and retain large parts of the West Bank for an interim phase to last for 20 years.) Therefore, the murder of the Sheikh did not serve any positive aim. It was an act of folly. The three generals who actually direct the affairs of Israel - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Minister of Defense Sha'ul Mofaz and Chief- of-Staff Mosh Ya'alon - maintain that "in the short run" the assassination would indeed increase the attacks on Israeli citizens, but "in the long run" it would help to "rout terrorism". They are very careful not to spell out when the "short run" ends and the "long run" begins. Our generals do not believe in timetables. I take the liberty to tell these three illustrious strategists: Nonsense in tomato juice! (as you say in Hebrew slang). Or rather, nonsense in blood. In the short run, this action endangers our personal security; in the long run it represents an even greater danger to our national security. In the short run, it has increased the motivation for Hamas to carry out deadly attacks. Every Israeli understands this and is taking extra precautions these days. But the less obvious results are much more threatening. In the hearts of hundreds of thousands of children in the Palestinian territories and the Arab countries, this murder has raised a storm of rage and thirst for revenge, together with feelings of frustration and humiliation in view of the impotence of the Arab world. This will produce not only thousands of new potential suicide bombers inside the country, but also tens of thousands of volunteers for the radical Islamic organizations throughout the Arab world. (I know, because at the age of 15 I joined the armed underground in similar circumstances.) There is no stronger weapon for a fighting organization than a martyr. Suffice it to mention Avraham Stern, alias Ya'ir, who was killed by the British police in Tel-Aviv in 1942. His blood gave an impulse to the emergence of the Lehi underground (nicknamed "the Stern gang") which only four years later was playing a major role in the expulsion of the British from Palestine. But Ya'ir's standing was nothing compared to the standing of Sheikh Yassin. The man was practically born to fulfil the role of a sainted martyr: a religious personality, a paraplegic in a wheelchair, broken in body but not in spirit, a militant who spent years in prison, a leader who continued his fight after miraculously surviving an earlier assassination attempt, a hero cowardly murdered from the air while leaving the mosque after prayer. Even a writer of genius could not have invented a figure more suited to the adoration of a billion Muslims, in this and coming generations. The murder of Yassin will encourage cooperation among the Palestinian fighting organizations. Here, too, a parallel with the Hebrew underground presents itself. In a certain phase of the fight against the British, there was much unrest among the members of the Hagana, the semi- official underground army of the Zionist leadership (comparable to Fatah today). The Hagana (which included the elite Palmakh formation) was seen to be inactive, while the Irgun and Lehi appeared as heroes who carried out incredibly audacious actions. The ferment inside the Hagana caused the emergence of a group called "Fighting Nation" which advocated close cooperation between the various organizations. A number of Hagana members simply went over to Lehi. Now it is happening among the Palestinians. The lines between the various groups are becoming more and more blurred. Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade members cooperate with Hamas and Jihad, contrary to the orders of their political leadership, saying that "since we are killed together, let us fight together". This phenomenon is bound to grow and make the attacks more effective. Hamas' popularity among the population is rising sky-high, together with its capability to carry out attacks. This does not mean that the Palestinian public accepts the aim of an Islamic state or that it has given up the idea of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Even among Hamas members, many embrace this idea. But the admiration of the masses for the attackers and their actions reflects the conviction that the Israelis understand only the language of force, and that experience proves that without extreme violence the Palestinians will not achieve anything at all. Unfortunately, there is no real evidence for the opposite. The truth is that the Palestinians have never achieved anything without resorting to violence. Therefore the petitions being signed these days by well- meaning Palestinian personalities, calling for an end to the armed struggle, will have no effect. They cannot point to any other method that will sound convincing to their public. And our government always, without exception, presents such moves as a sign of weakness. In the even longer run, the assassination of Yassin poses an existential danger. For five generations, the Israel-Palestinian conflict was essentially a national conflict - a clash between two great national movements, each of which claimed the country for itself. A national conflict is basically rational, it can be solved by compromise. This may be difficult, but it is possible. Our nightmare has always been that the national struggle would turn into a religious one. Since every religion claims to represent absolute truth, religious struggles do not allow for compromise. The martyrdom of Sheikh Yassin pushes even further away the chance of Israel ever attaining peace and tranquility, normal relations with its neighbors, with a flourishing economy. It increases the danger that future generations of Arabs and Muslims will view it as a foreign implantation, installed in this region by force, with every decent Muslim, from Morocco to Indonesia, duty-bound to strive for its uprooting. Such insights are far from the capability of our three generals to absorb. Sharon, Mofaz, Ya'alon and their ilk understand only brute force in the service of a narrow nationalism. Peace does not inspire them, for them compromise is a dirty word. It is quite clear that they will feel much more comfortable if the Palestinian people is led by fanatical religious fighters than by a man prepared to compromise like Yasser Arafat. ~~~ # Back to an existential fight - Ghassan Khatib A PALESTINIAN VIEW Israel's policy of assassinating Palestinian activists and leaders has now escalated to touch the very highest tiers of Palestinian leadership, supposedly in response to the provocation of Palestinian suicide bombings. This change marks a new wider shift in the tenor and very nature of the longstanding Palestinian-Israeli conflict and confrontations. While it is easy to view the killing of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin as part of the ongoing escalation of violence between the two sides, that view is also simplistic. One must explore the strategic roots of this ever- growing phenomenon, and that question must turn the focus on the Israeli government as the only variable that has changed since the breakdown in talks. We now have a government in Israel that is responsible for transforming the nature of our struggle. Previously, Palestinians and Israelis were more or less in agreement over the guidelines to the solution--basically the two state solution as stipulated in the terms of reference of the peace process and international legality. The differences between the two sides were not minor, but they all were located in determining the details of this solution. For example, at the 2000 Camp David talks, agreement broke down over various details of how to implement two states: the percentage of Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza, the borders that would be drawn between the two states, which settlements would be dismantled, how to solve the refugee issue, how to divide Jerusalem, and so on. Since then, a revolution has taken place. The peace camp in Israel is entirely marginalized and those groups that opposed the peace process are now in power. That opposition has capitalized on this new reality and succeeded in transferring the conflict and confrontations from a discussion over the details of creating two neighboring states to an existential conflict. This Israeli government has spent most of its energies trying to negate the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state by reoccupying the territories of the Palestini an Authority and gradually emasculating the Palestinian Authority itself. This new character of the conflict naturally brings new levels of confrontation. It is useful to re member that Israel tried the assassination policy on the Palestinian leadership in previous phases of the struggle, namely before the initiation of the peace process and at a time when the two sides had not yet decided to compromise, but were still trying to wipe each other out. The 1960s and 70s witnessed a great numb er of Israeli assassina tions of leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization. But Israel did not learn its lesson. Those assassinations only succeeded in intensifying the confrontations and increasing determination among Palestinians to continue the fight. The same can be said for the current round of political eliminations. Assassinations strengthen Palestinian hostility, and consequently provide a backbone for the ongoing violence. But let us make no mistakes. Those Israelis who understand Palestinian political structures and aspirations also knew in advance the likely outcome of this assassination for the Palestinian balance of power. Therefore, if they were trying to systematically tilt this balance further against the Palestinian Authority, the peace camp, and the secular camp, then they have made no mistakes. -Published 29/3/2004©bitterlemons.org Ghassan Khatib is coeditor of bitterlemons.org and bitterlemons- international.org. He is minister of labor in the Palestinian government and for many years prior was featured in the press as a political analyst. ~~~~ # Bankruptcy - Yossi Alpher AN ISRAELI VIEW A week after the assassination by Israel of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, it is easy to draw up a list of justifications for the act. It is equally easy to demonstrate that on balance the killing was a serious mistake, reflecting a dangerous absence of strategic wisdom on the part of its perpetrators. But this entire discussion of the assassination of a terrorist must not be allowed to obfuscate the more important basic fact that the assassinations reflect: none of the relevant leaders has a realistic strategy for peace, or even for ending the violence. This targeted killing was justified because Sheikh Yassin was a major terrorist leader, and in the post 9/11 era there are no longer inhibitions about eliminating terrorist leaders. It was popular with the Israeli public because the public, legitimately, wants its terrorist tormentors to be punished. With Israel having announced its plan to leave the Gaza Strip, it was legitimate to expect that terrorism from and within Gaza would cease; when it did not, and when Hamas leaders, with Hezbollah's backing, escalated the terrorism (the Ashdod port attack), it made sense to launch a campaign to send a message of strength, and to diminish Hamas in favor of more moderate Palestinians, as part and parcel of the withdrawal plan. And while the murder of a quadri plegic political-religious figure in a wheelchair as he was leaving a mosque undoubtedly seems grot esque and cynical, it d oes send a deterrent message to Yassin's fellow religious terrorist leaders: witness the effect of the hu! miliating capture of Saddam Hussein on the likes of Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi. A previo us round of assassinati ons led Hamas to agree to a hudna or ceasefire. There is also an obvious political angle--cynical, but real--to the Yassin killing. By this act, Pr ime Minister Ariel Sharon silenced the militant critics of his disengagement plan within the Likud, and seemingly enhanced his "irreplaceable" status in anticipation of a possible criminal indictment. Some would add that there is an international angle, too--one that refers to the global war on terrorism: the election of the Zapatero governm ent in Spain, with its platform of withdrawing from Iraq on the heels of the Qaeda attacks in Madri d, ostensibly sealed Yassin's fate, in the sense that a strong and aggressive anti-terrorist messag e was called for to cou nter the impression of appeasement emanating from Spain. All these arguments and more can be mustered to justify the Yassin assassination. Yet it remains an act of futility, if not stupidity. While it may reduce Hamas' capabilities by striking at one lead er and forcing others t o go deep underground, it does not deter; on the contrary, it only increases the motivation of both the lower ranks and the leadership to kill Israelis, now including Israeli political leaders. Whil e some moderate Arab le aders who fear militant Islam may secretly rejoice over Yassin's killing, they remain angry at Isra el and embarrassed by its actions. Jordan's King Abdullah, in particular, was compromised and weake ned in Arab eyes becaus e he had met with Sharon scarcely two days before the assassination. Plans for the end-March Tunis Arab summit to reinforce the commendable Saudi peace initiative of two years ago were scrapped (alo ng with the entire summ it) by compromised Arab moderates. Perhaps of most concern, Yassin's martyrdom is liable to incite the Ar! ab street to greater religious extremism and anti-Americanism, far from the borders of Isra el. After balancing out the pros and cons of this assassination, and in general of the policy of assass inating the political leadership of anti-Israeli terrorist organizations, the bottom line points to the strategic bankrupt cy not just of Israel, but of all the relevant parties. Israel and the Palestinians appear to be ca pable of responding only to violence. It is difficult in logical terms to support the convoluted cl aim that we are softeni ng up Gaza in March 2004 in anticipation of a justified withdrawal that is sponsored by a lame duck prime minister for all the wrong reasons (e.g., holding onto the West Bank) and which, if it happe ns, is scheduled for th e summer of 2005. The seemingly endless succession of empty slogans emanating from the Israel Defen se Forces (IDF) leadership since this intifada began--"let the IDF win," "burn defeat into their co nsciousness," "Hamas is a strategic enemy" (what was it before, a tactical enemy?)--all reflect the lack of a strategy for endin! g the violence and winning the peace. Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian leadership, including that of Hamas, have even less of a claim to a realistic strategy: they started the current conflict, have suffered far more, and appear to have learned nothing, whereas Sharon is at least planning to disengage. And US President George W. Bush seems oblivious to the damage caused by our conflict to his program of "freedom and democracy" in the Middle East. If only Sharon at least had a realistic strategy for peace, assassinations might not be necessary. Certainly they would be far more justified. -Published 29/3/2004©bitterlemons.org Yossi Alpher is coeditor of bitterlemons.org and bitterlemons- international.org. He is former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, and a former senior adviser to PM Ehud Barak. ~~~ # Yassin and the camp of death - Eyad el Sarraj A PALESTINIAN VIEW I was apprehensive all night as the TV satellite reception was dysfunctional, a usual sign of Israeli spy drones invading our skies when they are on their way to prepare a kill. At 5:20 am, I was awakened by the thundering noise of the low flying F16, another sign of the Israelis closing in on a target. Five minutes later I heard a distant explosion and the local Palestinian TV station, the only available source of news, announced the assassination of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, the spiritual leader of Hamas. Immediately, Gaza was sealed off by the Israel Defense Forces, as was the West Bank--a prison locked. The skies filled with dark clouds of smoke as burning tires suddenly appeared in every corner. Tens of thousands gathered in the streets demanding revenge as the funeral procession of Yassin made its way to the cemetery. Gaza had never been this way before. Every man and woman was shaken with apprehension of what will come next. The killing of Yassin was not surprising. Israeli officials recently declared that everyone, including the leaders of militant groups, is a legitimate target. It was obvious that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was incensed by the suicide bombing in Ashdod, not only because a number of Israelis were killed, but because it proved that infiltration inside Israel remains possible in defiance of the notorious wall Israel has constructed and all of its other security measures. Indeed, this whole story can be viewed as another form of the tribal revenge and retaliation that h as continued for more than three years. Politicians and commentators are declaring that Sharon is m ad and that by killing Yassin, he is throwing the whole area, if not the world, into chaos. But I don't think Sharon is ma d or acting in retaliation. He has a plan, and it is working. Sharon has succeeded in turning the clock back, destroying the Oslo agreement and the Palestinian A uthority as a partner. Sharon has decided that peace is a mortal danger to Israel because it entail s giving up the land in the West Bank. More seriously, Sharon is determined to kill the dream of the "loony left" of a bin ational state. He is ready to sacrifice even more Jews to stop it. Violation of international law i s unimportant and the n umber of Palestinians murdered is of no consequence. Yassin is just another number on Sharon's list ; there will be many to follow. The killing of Yassin may well be one of the final nails in the coffin of the Palestinian Authority , after Sharon has meticulously carved it piece by piece into nothing. Not only intent on destroyin g the Authority, Sharon is all the more determined to kill any future partner--including Hamas. Interestingly, Yassin once accepted an end to the conflict, one that included a Palestinian state n ext to Israel, and thus abandoned the dream of an Islamic state in historic Palestine. His main tar get was to end the Isra eli occupation. It is important to remember that Hamas and all forms of resistance were born out of the Israeli occupation. Last summer Yassin was instrumental in bringing to bear a unilateral ceasefire that held for nearly two months. Yassin was much-respected. His killing has elevated him to the level of sainthood, to a powerful model of mar tyrdom. In the aftermath of Yassin's murder, Hamas could credibly strengthen its hold and assume the leader ship in Palestine as President Yasser Arafat's Authority has degenerated into a symbol of humiliati on and impotence. This was ingeniously executed by Sharon, helped--no doubt--by the Palestinian lack of leadership and vis ion, and at times assisted by blessings from the White House. The killing of Sheikh Yassin in his wheelchair outside a mosque following the dawn prayer will not make Israel a safer place. It may temporarily offer Sharon safety in his position as he embarks on a new level of violence that will in turn make Hamas more popular and more militant and Israelis more frightened. Tragical ly, the logic of terror has played out very well for Sharon, while helping the Bush Corporation. Sh aron desperately needs a Palestinian retaliation that will strengthen his hand against his domestic foes. But it may all go wrong for Sharon and Bush alike as the truth shockingly becomes more apparent, and were the new leadership of Hamas to consider a dramatic change of course. It is not an impossibility to imagine new Gaza Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi on the screen telling Israelis that he opposes more corpses and wants a just peace--telling them that, indeed, revenge is not his game. In the killing of Yassin, only the death camp can rejoice. But this will be short-lived, as life always wins in the end. This is the lesson of history. -Published 29/3/2004©bitterlemons.org Dr. Eyad el Sarraj is the founder and director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP). ~~~ # Targeted killings: a retro fashion - Yossi Melman AN ISRAELI VIEW Assassinations, or as they are termed in Israel, "targeted killings," are nothing new to the Israeli intelligence community. But over the years, at least until the 1970s, they were considered a last resort, a means to be employed rarely and wisely. There were a few reasons for this caution. First, many in the intelligence community thought over the years that espionage was not mafia-style Murder, Inc. More important, the policy of targeted killings is a double-edged sword. What you do to your opponents, they can do to you. The first time Israeli intelligence carried out an assassination was on July 11, 1956. Colonel Mustafa Hafez, Egyptian commander of military intelligence in the Gaza Strip and the man responsible for sending the fedayeen infiltrators to Israel, was killed when a book he received exploded. The use of mail bombs became a central tool in the 1960s, especially in harrassing and assassinating German (former Nazi) scientists who were involved in developing advanced weapons for Egypt. After the Six-Day War, the fight against Palestinian terror, both in the territories and beyond the borders of Israel, moved assassinations up the ladder of Israeli intelligence priorities. But the watershed was the murder of 11 Israeli athletes in Munich in 1972 by "Black September," a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) front. Then Prime Minister Golda Meir ordered Mossad head Zvi Zamir to embark upon a campaign of targeted killings of anyone directly or indirectly connected with the athletes' murder. It was the first time in the history of Israeli intelligence that it had been directed to initiate a "project"--not a one-time killing but a systematic elimination of dozens of people. A pattern was set in motion at that time that became the basis for similar operations to this day. Intelligence compiled a list of targets; today it is known as a "bank". A special, limited forum known as the "X Committee" had the authority to approve Mossad requests to eliminate a person on the list. The X Committee would consult the attorney general, who served as a one-man court, sentencing the suspect to death. This was also the first time that the motive for the assassination was revenge. Although it was couched in lofty terms like "deterrence" and "future prevention" of terror, it was clear that the urge to avenge the deaths of the Israeli athletes was the main reason for the decision. The systematic assassination campaign suffered a near fatal blow in July 1973 in Lillehammer, Norway, when Mossad gunmen, out to eliminate Ali Hassan Salameh, who was believed to be the brains of Black September, mistakenly shot and killed a Moroccan waiter, Ahmed Boushiki. The failure in Norway brought several questions into sharp relief: Are targeted killings worthwhile? If so, who should the targets be? Although clear answers have never been formulated, a kind of tacit understanding was reached whereby targeted killings are permissible, in certain circumstances, but the use of this weapon must be cautious, wise and rare. It was advisable that only senior operational commanders should be targeted, those whose deaths would result in a serious impairment of the organizations' operational capabilities. Responsibility should not be taken publicly so that Israel would not appear to be using terror itself, and so that its relations with other countries were not damaged, as they were with Norway and with Jordan after the attempt to assassinate Hammas leader Khaled Mashaal in 1997. The intelligence community also assumes that it is possible, even desirable, to hit leaders of small organizations, those that are no more than a "one-man show." Fathi Shikaki, leader of the Islamic Jihad, was killed in October 1995 on the assumption that killing him would put an end to the capabilities of his small organization. His presumed successor, Abdullah Ramadan Shalah, was considered ineffectual and lacking in leadership capabilities. Those assumptions were proved wrong. Shalah proved to be a capable leader, and Islamic Jihad in Gaza has produced some of the worst suicide bombings of recent years. The most important element that is always taken into consideration in discussions between the intelligence chiefs and the political echelon is the cost-benefit ratio. If the assassination leads to a severe response on the part of the terror organizations, then it was a losing proposition. This consideration was apparently either forgotten when it came to the targeted killing of the director-general of Hezbollah, Abbas Moussawi, in southern Lebanon in 1992, or those who made the decision operated on the basis of mistaken assumptions. Hezbollah's response was stinging: two car bombs in Buenos Aires, against the buildings housing the Israel Embassy and the Jewish community organization, in which more than 100 people were killed and many were injured. With hindsight, there is no doubt that many in the intelligence community believe that the 1988 decision to hit Khalil al-Wazir, Yasser Arafat's deputy, also known as Abu Jihad, was a mistake. Looking back, it is clear to many that his death left Arafat alone at the leadership level of the PLO, without the counsel of a talented and pragmatic strategist. Always, even at the height of assassination wars, there was a kind of silent agreement on both sides not to hit "national" leaders. Here and there, exceptions cropped up, like the failed attempt of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine to kill then former Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion during a visit to Scandinavia in the 1960s, or plans devised already in the late 1960s and again in Lebanon in 1982 to kill Arafat. Already in 1998, after the failed attempt against Meshal, the subcommittee for intelligence and security services of the Knesset which investigated the case published an unprecedented critical statement in which it said,"for many years the governments of Israel have not formulated policies in the war against terror organizations that are based on fundamental thought processes and continuity...". But over the last three years, and especially with the unwise decision to kill Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, all the basic assumptions and past lessons have been forgotten or abandoned. From a weapon of last resort, assassination has become the most available of weapons; from wise and cautious use, it is now widespread and wholesale. This change has damaged another, mainly psychological, assumption: the mystery that surrounded previous assassinations cast fear into the hearts of the enemy by their very rarity and sophistication. That mystery dissipates the moment the act becomes routine. This, more than anything else, shows the long road the Israel Defense Forces and the intelligence and security forces have traveled, from daring and creativity to paralyzed thinking. -Published 29/3/2004©bitterlemons.org Yossi Melman is a senior correspondent with the Israeli daily Haaretz and author of several books on intelligence, clandestine diplomacy and foreign policy. For more about Bitter Lemons - http://www.bitterlemons-international.org/ --- Sending you a tin can of olive oil from Jayyous to your door step anywhere in the United States or Europe takes less than 4 weeks. By buying from the farmers of Jayyous, the first to suffer from the wall, you help them at a crucial moment. Hundreds of Palestinian families will benefit from your choice of using their quality oil. To buy just click on the link below http://pcwf.org/artifacts/oliveoil/oliveoil.htm and please tell in the message that you want the oil to come from Jayyous. To learn more about Jayyous please click and read and learn and support the struggle of the people of Jayyous. http://www.jayyousonline.org/english.HTM (among other things full text of Avnery speech "The Wall Will Fall") --- NB: links and contact information re ongoing struggle Against the Wall / Refusniks / Vanunu -- נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050- 607034 info@rhr.israel.net -- Refuser news: Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel -- List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Instead of sending flowers - an online option (paypal) for your welcome gesture: Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Wed Mar 31 21:32:54 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:11 2004 Subject: (Fwd) As in Tiennamen square // 25 wounded at anti-fence protest Message-ID: <406B3906.13520.120FE98@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [After we sent you five articles reflecting on the assassination of Sheikh Yassin we owe you this short and sharp piece by Professor Tanya Reinhart which appeared in Yediot Aharonot, yesterday. She makes the connection between the methods of the suicide bombers and the heavy toll which is paid by Palestinians & peace activists for the daily non-violent resistance against the wall. We add a report on today's struggle.] # As in Tiennamen square - Tanya Reinhart-Yediot Aharonot # 25 wounded at anti-fence protest south of Ramallah \\// //\\ \\// //\\ \\// # As in Tiennamen square - Tanya Reinhart-Yediot Aharonot ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Wed, 31 Mar 2004 03:09:44 +0200 From: Tanya Reinhart עברית לפי בקשה / hebrew at request As in Tiennamen square  Tanya Reinhart  Yediot Aharonot, March 30, 2004. Translated from Hebrew by Netta Van Vliet  An extensive discussion has already taken place in Israel regarding the cost-benefit ratio of Yassin's assassination. But the question of justice has hardly been raised.   According to international law, the execution of any person in an occupied territory is not allowed. The Geneva convention, born out of the horrifying experience of the second World War, sets limitations on the use of force even in times of war. The convention distinguishes between war and a state of occupation. Its fundamentals are, first, that occupied people are "protected", and that the occupier is responsible for their safety. Second, it determines that the occupied people have the right to fight for their liberation. International conventions are one of the means people have developed for self-preservation. Without them, there is a danger that the human race would annihilate itself - first the strong would wipe out the weak, and then each other.  During its 37 years of occupation, Israel has already violated every article of the Geneva convention. But what it did now is unprecedented. As Robert Fisk stated it in the British Independent, "for years, there has been an unwritten rule in the cruel war of government-versus- guerrilla. You can kill the men on the street, the bomb makers and gunmen. But the leadership on both sides - government ministers, spiritual leaders were allowed to survive." Even when the leader advocates violence and terror, the norm has been that he may be imprisoned, but not killed.  Ahmed Yassin viewed himself as struggling against the occupation. As reported in Yediot Aharonot, his demand was a full withdrawal of the Israeli army from the occupied territories, back to the borders of 1967. In 1993, Hamas agreed to the principles of the Oslo accords, but did not believe that Rabin would translate these principles into action, and urged the Palestinian people to remember that the occupation was not yet over. During the iron-fist period of Barak and Sharon, Yassin proposed a long term 'hudna' (cease fire), but he also believed that Israel would never end the occupation of its own will. "The enemy understands only the language of war, bombs and explosives" - he preached to his followers, and declared that "every Israeli is a target for us".  The Geneva convention recognizes the right of the occupied people to carry out armed struggle against the occupying army, but not to use terror against civilians. Terror has no moral justifica tion, and is not defended by international law. But it is necessary that we Israelis examine ourselves i n this regard as well. What other way do we leave open for the Palestinian people to struggle for their liberation? Along the route of the wall in the West Bank, a new form of popular resistance h as been formed in the last few months. Palestinian farmers whose land is being robbed sit on the ground in front of the bulldozers, accompanied by the Israeli opponents of the wall - the veterans of the Mas'ha camp. What could be more non-violent than this? But the Israeli army shoots at sitting demonstrators, like in Tiennamen square.  The Israeli army blocks all options of non-violent resistance from the Palestinians. With the arrogant elimination of a leader and a symbol, as he was leaving a mosque, the army knowingly created a new wave of violence and terror. It is hard not to get the impression that terror is convenient for Sharon and the army. It enables them to convince the world that the Geneva protections do not apply to the Palestiians, because they have terrorists in their midst, and that, therefore, it is permitted to do anything to them.   Since September 11th, as part of its “war against terror,” the U.S. has  Been pushing to destroy all defences provided by International law. But even the U.S. has not yet dared to publicly execute a spiritual-religious leader (of, for example, the Taliban in Afghanistan ). Now Israel has determined, with the U.S. blessing, that even this is permitted. Under the military rule, Israel has become a leading force in the destruction of the very protections that humankind h as established, out of World War Two, for its own preservation, protections that we too may need one day, as history has already shown us.   http://www.tau.ac.il/~reinhart # 25 wounded at anti-fence protest south of Ramallah By Arnon Regular, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service Wed., March 31, 2004 http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/410980.html Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/410975.html Twenty-five demonstrators protesting the construction of the separation fence were wounded on Wednesday in clashes with Israeli security forces near the West Bank village of Kata'ana. Hundreds of Palestinian residents and Israeli and foreign left-wing activists were protesting next to the construction site in the village located south of Ramallah. The demonstrators attempted to reach construction bulldozers, which had caused damage to Palestinian property when they inadvertently caused boulders and slabs of bedrock to slide down a slope. The demonstrators began throwing stones at Israel Defense Force soldiers who fired tear gas and rubber bullets in response. More than 30 Palestinian and Israeli demonstrators were wounded March 21 in clashes with IDF soldiers and Border Policemen during a protest against the separation fence near Harbata village, north of Modi'in. Israeli security forces fired rubber-coated bullets at demonstrators and also used tear gas in attempts to disperse the crowd. Etai Levinsky, 20, a left-wing activist was injured when a rubber bullet struck him near the eye. He was taken for treatment to Sheeba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, and medics said his sight could be endangered. The demonstrators were several hundred Palestinians and left-wing Israeli and overseas activists. IDF sources claimed that the soldiers were under orders not to allow the demonstration to disturb fence construction work. The rubber bullets, the sources added, were aimed at the demonstrators' legs, not their heads. --- Sending you a tin can of olive oil from Jayyous to your door step anywhere in the United States or Europe takes less than 4 weeks. By buying from the farmers of Jayyous, the first to suffer from the wall, you help them at a crucia l moment. Hundreds of Palestinian families will benefit from your choice of using their quality oil . To buy just click on the link below http://pcwf.org/artifacts/oliveoil/oliveoil.htm and please tell in the message that you want the oil to come from Jayyous. To learn more about Jayyous please click and read and learn and support the struggle of the people of Jayyous. http://www.jayyousonline.org/english.HTM (among other things full text of Avnery speech "The Wall Will Fall") --- NB: links and contact information re ongoing struggle Against the Wall / Refusniks / Vanunu -- נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can com e at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net -- Refuser news: Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel -- List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Instead of sending flowers - an online option (paypal) for your welcome gesture: Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From otherisr at actcom.co.il Fri Apr 2 00:10:40 2004 From: otherisr at actcom.co.il (otherisr@actcom.co.il) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:11 2004 Subject: (fwd) Abna al-Balad activists on hungerstrike after 54 days in Shabak wing Message-ID: <406CAF80.23341.33C1E7@localhost> [To the worldwide list] For Hebrew /לנוסח עברי Abna al-Balad activists - on hungerstrike after 54 days in Shabak wing - need support from the outside to improve their imprisonment conditions. [detained without charge; prevented from meeting with their attorneys for 21 days; subjected to "intensive interrogation" including sleep deprivation, painful handcuffing to a chair, and other forms of "moderate physical pressure" etc. etc.] fax numbers of authorities to whom you can send a protest in the end. ---------forwarded message follows-------- Date sent: Thu, 01 Apr 2004 21:39:10 +0200 From: nur Call for Urgent Action 1 April 2004  Abna al-Balad Political Activists, Mohammed Kannaneh and Majed Kannaneh, Detained for 54 Days under Inhuman Conditions in Shabak Wing of Israeli Police Detention Center - District Court Refused to Grant an Immediate Remedy - Detainees on Hunger Strike  Mr. Mohammed Kannaneh, aged 38, the General Secretary of Abna al-Balad (an extra-parliamentary political movement) and Mr. Majed Kannaneh, aged 33, both Arab citizens of Israel from Arrabeh in the Galilee - have been detained under cruel, inhuman, and degrading conditions in GSS cell blocks for 54 days. They were arrested on 7 February 2004. They were detained without charge; prevented from meeting with their attorneys for 21 days; and subjected to intensive interrogation by the GSS, which included sleep deprivation, painful handcuffing to a chair, and other illegal methods of investigation. They were indicted on 4 March 2004 for alleged security offenses. Since they were indicted, they have been held at the GSS cell block of the Kishon Detention Center in crowded holding cells (3m x 3m for 6 people), without windows, for 24 hours a day. They are denied their rights as protected by law to: leave the cell for any daily exercise; receive any visits from family members; send or receive letters; contact their family or their attorneys by telephone; receive or to hold any books and newspapers; possess a radio, pens and paper; receive basic hygienic supplies such as toothbrushes and toothpaste; have a daily shower; and sleep on a bed. They are forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor of their holding cell using dirty blankets supplied by the Detention Center. Toilet facilities are inside of the cell without any separation, providing no privacy to users or to the others held in the cell. After the Detention Center ignored previous court judgments ordering it to implement the minimum rights and conditions as provided by law, Mr. Mohammed Kannaneh and Mr. Majed Kannaneh, in protest, began a hunger strike four days ago on 28 March 2004. Yesterday, on 31 March 2004, the Haifa District Court denied motions filed on behalf of the two political detainees against the warden of the Kishon Detention Center (also known as "Jalameh"), the Israeli police, and the General Security Service (Shabak) requesting an immediate transfer to another Prison Service facility as well as the improvement of detention conditions in the Shabak cell block to meet domestic law as well as international standards for the treatment of prisoners. The District Court ruled that: "The respondent[s] announced that they intend to transfer the petitioners to a Prison Service wing or to other prison facility. The case was scheduled for an internal review immediately after the Court vacation for Passover. Under these circumstances, there are no grounds to hold an urgent hearing in the matter ... As provided in the decision given yesterday [sic], if and until 13 April 2004 the petitioners will not be transferred, then the petition will be scheduled for a hearing." These motions were filed as part of a petition submitted by Adalah Attorney Orna Kohn on 28 March 2004. In the petition, Adalah argued that since their arrest, the detainees have been denied the minimum conditions and rights granted to them by Israeli domestic law, pursuant to Article 9 of the Criminal Procedure (Enforcement Powers - Arrest) Law - 1996 (Conditions of Detention) and as specified in numerous provisions of the accompanying 1997 regulations to this law regarding the minimum conditions of holding in detention and the rights of detainees. Adalah further argued that the detention conditions in the GSS cell block are cruel, inhumane, and degrading and breach the detainees' constitutional rights to dignity, freedom, privacy, and family life, as protected by the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty - 1992. These detention conditions further violate international standards, namely Article 16 of the Convention against Torture, which prohibits acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as well as the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. In response to the motions, on 29 March 2004, the State Attorney for the Haifa District, representing the position of the Detention Center, the Israeli police and the GSS, claimed that: "The respondents agree that at this stage, after the submission of the indictment... they should be held in a wing under the authority of the Prison Service (and accordingly to receive the rights that they are entitled to by law). According to the response of the Prison Service, it was because of a mistake that their names were not transferred to the Prison Service in order to arrange for them to be absorbed in the usual manner. Once this mistake was known, the relevant bodies are acting in order to transfer the petitioners as soon as possible, as requested in the petition. Because of all of the above, the petition is not relevant anymore, and the Honorable Court is asked to reject it." Attached to the State Attorney's response were several letters and documents including:  (1) A letter of the Legal Advisor of the Prison Service to the State Attorney, which stated that: "The Prison Service is allocating places for the absorption of graduates of the GSS interrogation, according to the number of free prison places available... The names of the two petitioners were not given to the Prisoners Department until now. After we will receive a request from the security bodies (and we were told that this will be done tomorrow), then, the Prison Service will act to absorb the two petitioners as soon as possible."  (2) A letter from the Deputy Warden of the Kishon Detention Center to the State Attorney, which stated that: "From the check that I conducted, it was found that the detainees are held in the security wing, which is present in the Detention Center and run by the GSS as an autonomous framework. The status of the detainees... entitles the detainees to a transfer to a Prison Service facility and makes it a duty of the Prison Service to "snatch" them to its holding and keep them under its custody. As of today, the rights entitled to prisoners are not fulfilled towards the detainees... The detainees are of great danger to themselves and to others, and are considered violent, and that is why it is impossible to allow the use of razors or toothbrushes. As well, it is impossible in this place to supply exercise in the open air, family visits, etc. For the above circumstances, my only option is to ask the Honorable Court to force the Prison Service to "snatch" and absorb the detainees to its custody...The security wing is placed in a separate building from the building of the police Detention Center, and is not subordinate to the Detention Center, but only receives different services from it."  (3) A memo written by the State Attorney describing a conversation with the Legal Advisor of the GSS, which stated that: "Respondent 3 [GSS] has no objection to the transfer of the petitioners, as requested in their petition, to a "regular" wing in the Detention Center... It shall be noted that in accordance with the common regulations, items such as toothbrushes are not supplied to the detainees in their cells but only soon before bathing and this because of security reasons, so they will not transfer the item, such as a toothbrush, into a dangerous weapon. It should be noted though that as a result of the request of petitioner 1 to the interrogator "Yanay", he was supplied with cigarettes and a toothbrush. It is true that the toothbrush was broken from its base, without the handle, for the security reasons mentioned above."  It must be emphasized that the Haifa District Court refused to issue a temporary transfer order or to schedule an urgent hearing, although (1) the State Attorney admitted to some of the facts as presented in the petition and did not deny the rest; (2) none of the respondents committed to specific date for the transfer of the detainees; and (3) none of the respondents committed to changing any of the detainees' conditions of detention in the GSS cell block. As a result, Mr. Mohammed Kannaneh and Mr. Majed Kannaneh, remain in the GSS cell block under the same cruel, inhuman, and degrading conditions, possibly for the next two weeks, with no immediate legal remedy.  Personal information:  Mr. Mohammed Kannaneh, Israeli ID No. 059403329, Date of birth: 8 May 1965, Hometown: Arrabeh village in the Galilee in the north of Israel, Date of detention: 7 February 2004, Date of indictment, 4 March 2004  Mr. Majed Kannaneh, Israel ID No. 028214393, Date of birth: 5 February 1971, Hometown: Arrabeh village in the Galilee in the north of Israel, Date of detention: 7 February 2004, Date of indictment, 4 March 2004   Appeals to be sent to:  Minister of Justice, Tommy Lapid, Fax: +972-2-675-3764 Minister of Internal Security, Tzachi Hanegbi, Fax: +972-2-581-1832 Attorney General, Menachem Mazuz, Fax: +972-2-627-4481 State Attorney for the Haifa District, Shunit Segal, Advocate, Fax: +972- 4-863-3918 Deputy Warden of the Kishon Detention Center, Oded Sa'ar, Fax: +972-4-903- 9403   Contact information for Adalah:  Adalah Attorney Orna Kohn, Mobile: +972-53-206653 Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel PO Box 510, Shafa'amr 20200, Israel Tel: +972-4-950-1610 / Fax: +972-4-950-1610 Website: www.adalah.org From info at gush-shalom.org Fri Apr 2 03:57:43 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:11 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] UN relief agency suspending food aid in Gaza Message-ID: <406CE4B7.14257.103A58C@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [Behind a whirlwind of words it's the facts which show: Sharon is mocking us all.] # UN relief agency suspending food aid in Gaza - following IDF restrictions # Activists arrested for resisting home demolition # CO Ben Artzi, exempted but still persecuted, appeals to Supreme Court # Gush Friday statement: Is Sharon mocking us all (()) * (()) # UN relief agency suspending food aid in Gaza - following IDF restrictions By DPA Last Update: 01/04/2004 17:15 http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/411471.html Hebrew / עברית http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/411528.html האו"ם: הפסקנו חלוקת מזון לפלשתינאים ברצועה מאת סוכנויות הידיעות סוכנות הסיוע לפליטים הודיעה על הפסקת החלוקה בשל האיסור הישראלי להעביר מכולות ריקות מחוץ לעזה The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced Thursday it stopped distributing emergency food aid to some 600,000 refugees in the Gaza Strip. UNRWA said in a statement that the suspension followed restrictions introduced by Israel on the sole commercial crossing into Gaza through which it is able to bring in humanitarian assistance. The agency said it had now completely run out of stocks of rice, flour, cooking oil and other essential products. "Under normal circumstances, UNRWA delivers some 250 tons of food aid per day in Gaza alone as part of a wider program of emergency assistance to refugees, initiated shortly after the outbreak of strife in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in September 2000," the statement said. Almost two out of three households in Gaza live below the poverty line and more than half its workforce is unemployed. UNRWA said it urged Israel to loosen its restrictions in Gaza in a joint statement with other UN agencies on March, but thus far without success. # Activists arrested for resisting home demolition Six left-wing activists, ten settlers arrested in separate clashes with IDF (...) Israeli activists opposed to the policy of house demolitions arrived in Harbata after teams from the Civil Administration destroyed an illegal structure in Harbata. The activists situated themselves on the roof of [another] building the army had slated for demolition. more at: http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/411353.html Hebrew/ עברית: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/411345.html ~~~ # CO Ben Artzi, exempted but still persecuted, appeals to Supreme Court English http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=411530 Hebrew / עברית http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=411515 ~~~ # Gush Friday statement: Is Sharon mocking us all Hebrew at request & soon at the site עברית על פי בקשה או בקרוב באתר ad Ha'aretz, April 2, 2004 FATEFUL GAME Is Sharon mocking us all? Is the only aim of the "Disengagement Plan" to convince the Attorney General that a Prime Minister - even a corrupt Prime Minister - should not be removed while being engaged in a "historic enterprise"? Are all his explosive initiatives - the assassination of Sheikh Yassin, the Likud referendum etc. - intended to draw public attention away from his scandals and gain time? Is Sharon playing with the fate of the state in order to save his skin? Gush Shalom, P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 Help us cry out with your donation ~~~ --- NB: links and contact information re ongoing struggle Against the Wall / Refusniks / Vanunu -- נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net -- Refuser news: Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel -- List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Instead of sending flowers - an online option (paypal) for your welcome gesture: Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Apr 4 18:28:18 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:11 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Avnery's open letter to Arafat & updates ongoing struggle Message-ID: <407053C2.17760.D2802C@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ 1] A Letter to President Arafat about the film "The Passion of the Christ" 2] Report on ad in the Palestinian press, Zawiya protest and more 3] Updates ongoing struggle - NB: news re Vanunu + don't forget to use the links to constant updates (()) (()) (()) 1] A Letter to President Arafat about the film "The Passion of the Christ" Uri Avnery 3.4.04 Hebrew at request & soon at the site עברית על פי בקשה או בקרוב באתר A Letter to President Arafat President Yasser Arafat, Shalom. I write these lines in order to protest against a statement that I cannot ignore. In the weekly Palestinian paper, The Jerusalem Times, there appeared on March 26 a short item reporting that you have viewed the controversial film of Mel Gibson, "The Passion of the Christ". Afterwards your advisor and close assistant, Nabil Abu-Rudeina, stated that you found the film "moving and historical". Abu-Rudeina added that "the Palestinians are still daily being exposed to the kind of pain Jesus was exposed to during his crucifixion." If the statement had not appeared in a Palestinian paper, I would have believed that it was invented by Ariel Sharon's propaganda machine. It is hard to imagine a sentence more capable of hurting the Palestinian cause. I hold Abu-Rudeina in very high esteem. I appreciate his loyalty to the Palestinian cause and to you personally. He has remained at your side throughout the siege of your compound, and - like you - he is now risking his life there daily. But this statement should not have been made. I have not seen the film, nor do I intend to. I abhor cruelty, also in films, and this film is full of cruel scenes, claiming to depict the New Testament on screen. Obviously, there is a great difference between reading a written text and seeing it all on the screen, with life-like displays of atrocious acts and blood flowing like water. But this is not the main thing. As an Arab and a Muslim, you are not obliged to be aware of the terrible impact that the description of the crucifixion has had on the life of Jews over almost two thousand years of persecutions, pogroms and torture by the Spanish inquisition, large-scale expulsions, mass and individual murders, up to the Holocaust in which six million Jews perished. All these were, directly or indirectly, caused, or at least made possible, by this narrative. The New Testament is sacred to its believers. But like our Bible (the so-called Old Testament), it is not a history text. Religious truth and historical truth are not one and the same. The descriptions of the crucifixion in the four gospels were written down many decades after the event, and the writers wrote what they wrote under the influence of the circumstances of their time. Let's take, for instance, the image of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. The Romans described him as an unscrupulous, corrupt and cruel procurator. In the New Testament, he is pictured as a humane person, almost a philosopher, who did not want to execute Jesus but gave in to the Jews. In Gibson's film, he is an attractive figure, who is compelled by the disgusting Jews - disgusting even physically - to act against his conscience. Why this description? Simple: when the text was written, the Christians were already trying to convert the Roman world to their creed. It was convenient for them, therefore, to blame the Jews and exonerate the Romans, reversing the realities of the times.. The Jews then, like the Palestinians now, were an occupied people, and the Romans were the occupiers. Crucifixion was a usual Roman punishment, a kind of "targeted elimination" of that time (but after a trial). The writers of the gospels were bursting with hatred of the Jews. That is not surprising, either. They were Jews themselves, as were Jesus and all the people around him. But they belonged to a dissident sect, which was considered by the Jewish establishment in Jerusalem as heretical. The Christian Jews were cruelly persecuted. As usual in such fratricidal struggles, this one, too, aroused burning hatred. This hatred found its expression in the description of the crucifixion. The Gospel According to Matthew (Chapter 27) puts it this way: "Pilate said to them (the Jewish crowd assembled in front of his office): 'What then shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?' They all said to him: 'Let him be crucified!' Then the governor said: 'Why, what has he done?' But they cried all the more, saying: 'Let him be crucified!' When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying: 'I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it!' And all the people answered and said: 'His blood be on us and on our children'." Obviously, this is not a historical description. An entire people, or a great multitude, does not talk like one single person. The words "His blood be…on our children" are unreasonable and were put there in order to justify taking revenge on generations to come. And indeed, many generations of rabble-rousers used these words in order to incite against the god-killers. Adolf Hitler, of course, was no Christian fanatic. Quite the contrary, some of his followers tried to bring back pagan Germanic rites. But Hitler and the perpetrators of the Holocaust learned the New Testament in school, and no one can say how much of the text they unconsciously absorbed. And many simple fundamentalists accepted the Holocaust or took part in it because of this. I do not intend to lay the collective blame on the entire Christian world throughout the centuries. Far from it. Many of the greatest humanists throughout history were Christians, some of them very devout. Not only the perpetrators of the Holocaust were Christians, so were the Righteous Ones, those who saved Jews. Christian monasteries in many places took in Jews and saved their lives. Jesus preached love, and the new Testament pictures him as an immensely attractive person, righteous, merciful and tolerant. How terrible that so many atrocities in history were perpetrated by persons and institutions claiming to act in his name. You, Mr. President, as an Arab and a Muslim, are proud of the fact that for more than a thousand years the Muslim world was a model of tolerance, toward both Jews and Christians. The Muslim world has never known mass expulsions and pogroms, that were a regular feature in Christendom, not to mention the terrible Holocaust. The blood-bond between Muslims and Jews runs through history. One of the darkest chapters in the history of this country, which we both love, is the story of the crusades. Even before the reached the Holy Land, the crusaders committed genocide against the Jews of Germany. When they breached the walls of Jerusalem, they killed the entire population of the city, men and women, old people and babes in arms. One of them proudly described how they waded in blood up to their knees. It was the blood of Muslims and Jews, butchered together, their last prayers intertwined on their way to heaven. After the fall of Jerusalem, Haifa still held out against the crusaders. Most of its inhabitants were Jews, who fought side by side with the Egyptian garrison. The Muslims provided them with arms, and according to a Christian chronicler, the Jews fought valiantly. When the town fell, the crusaders butchered the remaining Jews and Muslims together. Four hundred years later, when the Christians finished the re- conquest of Spain from the Muslims, they expelled the Jews and the Muslims together. After the Golden Age, the wonderful cultural symbiosis of Muslims and Jews in medieval Muslim Spain, Muslims and Jews suffered a common fate. Almost all the expelled Jews settled in Muslim or Muslim- ruled countries. Let us not allow the present bitter conflict between our two peoples, with all its cruelty, to overshadow the past, because that is the basis for our common future. The present sufferings of the Palestinian people - which we, as Israelis and Jews, oppose and fight against - have no connection with what happened - or not - some 1973 years ago. If there is any connection at all, it is the other way round. Without modern Christian anti-Semitism, the Zionist movement would not have been born at all. As I have mentioned before, the founder of the Zionist movement, Theodor Herzl, explicitly stated his belief that the founding of a Jewish State was the only way of saving the European Jews. Anti-Semitism was and is the force that drives the Jews to Palestine. Without anti-Semitism, the Zionist vision would have remained an abstract idea. From the pogrom of Kishinev, through the Holocaust to the anti-Semitism in Russia that has recently driven more than a million Jews to Israel - anti-Semitism was and remains the most dangerous enemy of the Palestinian people. There is much truth in the saying that the Palestinians are "the victims of the victims". On top of all the moral reasons, this is an additional argument against a statement about the crucifixion that can be construed by anti- Semites as an encouragement for their cause. When peace comes, we shall all meet in Jerusalem, Jews, Christians and Muslims. I know that you dream of it, as do I. Let us hope that we shall both see it with our own eyes. 2] Report on ad in the Palestinian press, Zawiya protest and more ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Ta'ayush" Date sent: Sat, 3 Apr 2004 23:45:42 +0200 Hebrew at request & soon at http://www.taayush.org http://www.taayush.org :עברית על פי בקשה או בקרוב ב First, we would like to thank everyone who came yesterday to the activity planned in Zawiya. We apologize to all those who found themselves spending Friday in Kufr Qassem and not in a joint Palestinian-Israeli demonstration in a Palestinian village. And now, for the day's report in view of the events in the past two weeks: As you know, the demonstration at Zawiya was planned for last week, March 26. On Monday that week, Israel assassinated Ahmad Yassin. An event of such magnitude naturally rocked the table. Our hosts of Zawiya and Deir Ballut asked to postpone the action for the time being. Since work on the fence there had not yet begun, it seemed wrong to demonstrate as though nothing had happened. We then held an emergency meeting and considered what could be done at present both "inwards", towards the Israeli public, and "outwards", to bear our message to the Palestinian people, especially in view of the assassination. We decided to carry out two immediate actions: one was to hand out flyers in the "Israeli" street, calling for a halt of the vicious-circle of bloodshed, and warning against the plans of Sharon and his cohorts to set an even greater blaze in the region. The translated fliyer is on Ta'ayush website. As our second action, we resolved to publish an advertisement in the Palestinian press, along with the people's committees acting against the fence in various locations throughout the West Bank. The core of the advertisement stated that we consider the Israeli assassination of Sheikh Yassin a provocation meant to crush the popular, civil unarmed struggle against the fence that has gained momentum in the past few months. The aim of this assassination was to drown the Intifada in streams of blood and rekindle the Palestinian struggle in one mode only: that of the armed organizations. This is why the Palestinian people's committees, and we along with them, call to the Palestinian people not to give up its civil struggle. The advertisement appeared last Wednesday in two Palestinian newspapers: "Al-Quds" and "Al-Ayyam", signed by the people's committees from the Salfeet area (Zawiya, Mas'ha etc.), the area west of Ramallah (Budrus, Qibiya etc.), the seven national villages, and three committees in Jerusalem. Notice has been given of this to Israeli media as well, but they have'nt shown any intrest. You can find the ad on our website: http://www.taayush.org/200403-ad.html In the meantime, after canceling last week's demo, the people of Zawiya called again and asked us to carry it out yesterday (April 2). In light of the above, we felt compelled to do so, although probably many of us would rather dedicate the day to spring cleaning... Last Monday, a small delegation met with the villagers and decided to hold the demonstration. Notice was short, and the holiday soon upon us. Still we met Friday morning at Kufr Qassem, about one hundred activists, and headed out in two buses. Once on highway no. 5, at the "Green Line" checkpoint, we saw a heavy police force awaiting us. Two policemen boarded each bus, preventing the drivers from opening the exit doors, so that no one could get off the bus and start walking. This was an outright bus hijacking: they forced the drivers to detour under the bridge, where we were surprised to discover a huge contingent of police and army, including a colonel (area commander in chief) and a General Security Service (Shabak) official - totaling about 50 or 60 people in uniform. Nearly approaching our number. We had no chance against them. We were shown a "Closed Military Area" order, and permitted to get off the buses while trying to negotiate. But we soon realized that a different approach would be preferable. We drove back to Kufr Qassem, and some people began to shuttle small groups to Zawiya in their private cars. We approached the village via a side road through the olive groves. The second shuttle of the same cars met the same security forces who had already understood our plan and resumed their checkpoint and inspection. This was the reason that only 20 activists reached the village. At any rate, we were warmly welcomed with loud whistling and cheers. The demonstration had already ended, held by about one thousand people and apparently peaceful. However we were requested to address the few hundreds who were still there. We considered this significant, and were glad that at least some of us had made it. This is of course arbitrary and not fair towards all the others, but we hope you'll understand. The next struggle will be over these three villages - Zawiya, Deir Ballut and Rafat, and we find it of utmost importance to support their struggle, even prior to the work on the fence itself. In conclusion - (how we love those nags who always look at the positive side of everything...) - let us still emphasize the favorable aspects of this day: The army, police, GSS and co. managed to keep our buses from crossing the Green Line. However, we did smuggle 20 activists in to the demonstration. Our activists' presence there was important for it showed the Palestinians that, in spite of our small number, we are with them in their struggle. Anyone who has ever attended some demonstration against the fence, or received calls from the ground asking to come join them, "even if it's only five people", knows how welcome and encouraging our presence can be. We also made our point to the various Occupation forces: we shall not give up our right and our duty to struggle against the injustice, the evil and stupidity of the fence and all other Occupation actions. Last but not least, everyone who was there saw the magnitude of the force anticipating our arrival. Obviously the highest echelons of the Occupation forces are concerned in view of the popular Palestinian demonstrations against the fence, and even stressed at the sight of our presence in those demonstrations. These actions apparently keep them awake at night... One of the senior officers on the spot told us explicitly that the order to stop us came from a very high political source. The Occupation forces are quite ready to face armed struggle, but recent months have shown that a civil, popular uprising is a bit much for them. Bombed-out buses look good on camera, but soldiers who beat civilians and shoot into a crowd - are not really such a hit. Festive greetings of liberty for all peoples of this country, For those enslaved and exploited, For those suffering under the yoke of Occupation, For all the oppressed, men and women alike, And for the oppressors too - let them be free of the need or the will to oppress anyone, And for all the fortunate others - may we expand the spaces of choice and freedom in our lives. Ronen, Yasmine Zawiya tea 3] Updates ongoing struggle - NB: news re Vanunu + don't forget to use the links to constant updates Against the Wall (contact addresses) Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to latest updates) Vanunu to be released April 21 [ links to the latest re the Donate Now "Instead of Flowers" campaign / worldwide vigils etc. especially important for those who don't have the Paypal option ] -- Against the Wall נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050- 607034 info@rhr.israel.net --Refusniks Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel -- Vanunu to be released April 21 Instead of sending flowers Wordlwide campaign WELCOME VANUNU by donating a few dollars (N.B.: online but ALSO otherwise) as a welcome gesture: List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Wed Apr 7 20:38:07 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:11 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Gathering of activism / 1 CO - 6 AWOL / Biddu / Vanunu etc. Message-ID: <4074589F.26537.99AF33@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [] The yearly gathering of activism starting tomorrow April 8, 9,10 - NB: LOCATION CHANGED to Givat Haviva [] The Killing Zone 8/4 20:00 - Tel-Aviv [] New CO Daniel Tsal, refusing to enlist to occupation army; come and join him to the Bakum gates, Tuesday [] 6 go AWOL after forced to guard 40 hours non-stop at Gaza settlement [] The latest from Biddu: army attacks nonviolent protesters [] Ongoing struggle - with new data re Vanunu (()) (()) (()) [] The yearly gathering of activism starting tomorrow April 8, 9,10 - NB: LOCATION CHANGED to Givat Haviva Due to unreasonable demands set by the Kakal on the subject of security and the managment of the camp. the festival is changing location. The Third Activism Festival will be held as planned in April 8,9,10 in Givat Haviva. For more information www.greenaction.org.il/festival See you there, Green Action Staff. פסטיבל האקטיביזם פעולה ירוקה Activism Festival Green Action [] The Killing Zone 8/4 20:00 - Tel-Aviv ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: uri ayalon "The Killing Zone" (50 minutes, UK) Thursday, 8.4, 20:00 Ahad Haam 70, Tel-aviv While the world's attention has been fixed on the war in Iraq, dispatches reporter Sandra Jordan and producer Rodrigo Vasquez risk their lives to reveal the shocking level of daily violence and murderous hate in the Gaza strip. for more, see: http://www.channel4.com/news/2003/special_reports/dispatches_killing_zone. html [] New CO Daniel Tsal, refusing to enlist to occupation army; come and join him to the Bakum gates, Tuesday ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Anat Matar" To: , Date sent: Wed, 7 Apr 2004 14:31:21 +0300 Daniel Tsal refuses to enlist to an army of occupation We'll join him in the Induction Center on 13/4  Next Tuesday, April 14th, at 7:30, Daniel Tsal will arrive at the IDF Induction Center and will declare his refusal to join an occupying and oppressing army. Daniel informed the Minister of Defense about his planned refusal three months ago, and his request to be brought to the IDF conscience committee was rejected. Last January, the five COs who refused to enlist to an army of occupation were sentenced to one year imprisonment. Daniel is the first refuser who follows in their footsteps, apart from Laura Milo, whose case will be heard in the HCJ on the very same day.  We'll join Daneil at the gates of the Induction Center and will shout out loud - Down with the occupation and the oppression! Free the consciencious objectors!  (Car owners are requested to stop at the Arlozorov terminal at 7:00 to pick up potential riders)  Excerpts from Daniel Tsal's letter to the defense minister: "The principles of the "only democracy in the Middle East" have become void of meaning as a result of the trampling of the rights of about three million people, and more indirectly, of the ongoing destruction of the foundations on which the State of Israel is supposed to be based... In such historical times, a sane individual must rise up against the system that makes the ongoing oppression possible. I have a moral obligation – not a choice but an obligation - to refuse to participate in the occupation and to struggle against the institutions that cancel such basic human rights. Any sane person, who has not yet been wholly overcome by fear and racism, must by dint of his basic humanity refuse to be part of an occupying and oppressive system such as the IDF has become." [] 6 go AWOL after forced to guard 40 hours non-stop at Gaza settlement On he morning of April 5, reporter Carmela Menashe of the Kol Yisrael Radio Station disclosed that six soldiers of the Shimshon Batallion had gone together "Absent WithOut leave" in protest against intolerable conditions at the settlement enclave of Netzarim in the Gaza Strip where day and night soldiers guard a handful of fanatic settlers. The complaint: they were forced to guard without stop for consecutive 40 hours; moreover, a soldier was ordered to guard alone at the most dangerous position where Palestinians have in the past penetrated and where the army's own regulations say that two should guard together; nor were soldiers provided with food drink and warm clothes. The radio brought an interview with Albert Shoshan, father to one of them who, himself a veteran of several wars, gave full support to his son. "I phoned his commander: Don't worry, he has not been kidnapped. You can get him back when you start treating him decently." [] The latest from Biddu: army attacks nonviolent protesters ------- Forwarded message follows ------- TFrom: "International Solidarity Movement" Date sent: Wed, 07 Apr 2004 08:19:01 -0000 INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT Wed April 7, 2004 For Immediate Release ISRAELI ARMY ATTACKS NONVIOLENT PROTESTERS IN BIDDU Two Palestinian community leaders arrested and dozens villagers injured [Biddu, NW Jerusalem] Before 6am this morning, Israeli army bulldozers started the construction of the wall in the outskirts of Biddu village again. They were confronted by villagers, Internationals and Israeli activists who tried to reach the worksite and stop the work. Israeli soldiers opened fire directly at the line of nonviolent protesters, shooting tear gas and concussion grenades and then rubber-coated metal bullets. Dozens of Palestinians are reportedly injured by eyewitnesses. At 7:30am, the Israeli army arrested two Biddu community leaders, Mohamed Mansour and Ibrahim Saleh Bedwan, as they were protesting nonviolently the construction of the Wall through the village farmlands. They have been taken away to an unknown location. The protesters are now completely surrounded by over 80 soldiers who are firing tear gas canisters, concussion grenades and rubber-coated metal bullets, targeting upper parts of the body. The Popular Committee against the Wall and the activists are now trying to protect a house located at the outskirts of the village which is about to be demolished by the Israeli army. Some villagers are staying in the house to prevent its destruction while other are staying outside and are currently targeted with tear gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets. For more information, please contact: Biddu Village Council: +972.22.47.12.20 Mohammed Ayyash: +972.67.395.422 Mansour Mansour: +972.55.804.830 Neal: +972.66.346.165 ISM Media Office: +972.22.77.46.02 [] Ongoing struggle - with new data re Vanunu #Against the Wall (contact addresses) #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) #Vanunu to be released April 21 [ links to the latest re the Donate Now "Instead of Flowers" campaign / worldwide vigils etc. especially important for those who don't have the Paypal option ] New: Contact re activities in Israel #Against the Wall Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050- 607034 info@rhr.israel.net #Refusniks Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel #Vanunu to be released April 21 Instead of sending flowers Wordlwide campaign WELCOME VANUNU by donating a few dollars (N.B.: online but ALSO otherwise) as a welcome gesture: List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ For details about Free Vanunu vigils and activities in Israel, Call: 02-6254530 or 051-368236 or email: legalese@netvision.net.il -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Apr 8 00:22:03 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:11 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Petition: Open Gates to Allow Food into Gaza! Message-ID: <40748D1B.9962.166BBC0@localhost> This came just after we had sent you already a mail. Still it shouldn't wait. We already sent you the information about how UNRWA no longer is able to get the needed food-aide into the Gaza Strip. Now there is something you can do: signing the petition at  http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Aid2Gaza/  ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Wed, 07 Apr 2004 21:52:42 +0200 From: Gila Svirsky Subject: Petition: Open Gates to Allow Food into Gaza! To: Coalition of Women for Peace Copies to: Alef list , Discussion CWJP Dear Friends,  Two of us, both peace and human rights activists in Israel, have just prepared an online petition called:   "Open Gates to Allow Food into Gaza"  (For your convenience, we have pasted a copy below.)  This petition refers to the recent suspension of aid into Gaza by the UNRWA as a result of Israeli actions that prevent the UN food trucks from entering.  Please read the petition below. If you'd like to sign, clickon:   http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Aid2Gaza/  Yours, Oren Medicks & Gila Svirsky ______________________ The Petition: To: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon We are appalled to hear that UNRWA has been forced to suspend its food aid in Gaza as a result of n ew Israeli regulations. The severe economic hardship of the children and adults in Gaza is well documented by US AID and other sources. Preventing the access of humanitarian aid will exacerbate already existing condi tions of starvation and malnourishment.  Therefore, we individuals and organizations concerned with peace, justice, and human rights -- Isra eli and international -- call upon the Israeli government to ensure that UNWRA and other relief agencies ar e able to continue their work or, alternatively, that Israel replace this aid with its own, and thereby ensur e the well-being of the population, as mandated by the Fourth Geneva Convention.  We demand that the Israeli government address this matter with the utmost urgency, as human lives a re at stake. We call upon the governments of other countries to lend weight to this humanitarian appeal, which is intended to secure Israel's compliance with its obligations under law as well as basic humanitarian values.  Sincerely,  If you'd like to sign this petition, clickon:   http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Aid2Gaza/ Background information:UNRWA Press Release 1 April 2004UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East-Headquarters Gaza website: www.unrwa.org Press Release No. HQ/G/06/2004 1 April, 2004  UNRWA suspends emergency food aid in Gaza  Gaza - The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) today stopped distributing emergency food aid to some 600,000 refugees in the Gaza Strip, or approximately half o f the refugees receiving UNRWA food aid in the occupied Palestinian territory, following restrictions int roduced by Israeli authorities at the sole commercial crossing through which the Agency is able to bring in hu manitarian assistance. Stocks of rice, flour, cooking oil and other essential foodstuffs that UNRWA provides to refugees reduced to poverty, or otherwise affected by a humanitarian crisis now in its 42nd month, have been fully depleted.  Efforts to persuade the Israeli authorities to lift the restriction on the transport of UNRWA's emp ty food containers out of Gaza have so far failed, forcing the Agency to suspend the delivery into Gaza of 11,000 tons of food from Ashdod Port to avoid a bottleneck which would result in prohibitive costs. Under norma l circumstances, UNRWA delivers some 250 tons of food aid per day in Gaza alone as part of a wider pr ogramme of emergency assistance to refugees, initiated shortly after the outbreak of strife in the West Ban k and Gaza Strip in September 2000. Since then, the Gaza Strip has been locked into a deep socio-economic cri sis resulting from the prolonged closure of its border with Israel, the destruction of thousands of homes as well as of agricultural and local industrial assets. Almost two out of three households in Gaza live below th e poverty line, and more than half its workforce is unemployed.  UNRWA is not alone in facing chronic obstacles to the flow of humanitarian assistance. These have b een experienced by all UN agencies operating in the West Bank and Gaza, whose Agency heads in a joint statement on 26 March called, without success, on the Government of Israel to loosen the restrictio ns currently in force in Gaza.  UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen said: "The suspension of UNRWA's emergency food aid in the Gaza Strip will further distress communities already struggling to cope with unrelieved economic ha rdship and malnutrition. If the new restrictions in Gaza continue, I fear we could see real hunger emerge for the first time in two generations. Israel's legitimate, and serious, security concerns will not be served by hinder ing the emergency relief work of the United Nations. I appeal to the authorities to lift these restrictions and enable us to resume our food distributions in Gaza." _____________________________________  If you'd like to sign our petition, clickon:   http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Aid2Gaza/  ------- End of forwarded message ------- From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Apr 8 18:59:17 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:11 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Worse than occupation Message-ID: <407592F5.321.FCD716@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [] Worse than occupation Gush statement about Gaza turned into no-food prison [] Meron Benvenisti: Nothing new in "disengagement" from Gaza [] Reuven Kaminer on Sharon and the trap for "weak-willed doves" (()) (()) (()) [] Worse than occupation Gush statement about Gaza turned into no-food prison Gush Shalom ad in tomorrow's Ha'aretz עברית על פי בקשה/בקרוב באתר WORSE THAN OCCUPATION The United Nations Agency (UNWRA) that provides basic foods to the Palestinian refugees has announced that it is compelled to stop the assistance because the Israeli authorities block the passage. This will condemn hundreds of thousands of human beings in the Gaza Strip to starvation, while Ariel Sharon babbles about "unilateral separation" - next year. This week, Sharon disclosed his intentions: the Gaza Strip will not be allowed to have a harbor or airport, neither will it have a border with neighboring Egypt. Whole areas of the Rafah refugee camp will be razed, in order to create a wide Israeli buffer zone between Gaza and Egypt. "Liberated" Gaza will be a huge prison, cut off from the world, completely at the mercy of Sharon's prison guards. That is worse than occupation. It will blow up in our face. GUSH SHALOM April 9, 2004 Help us speak out with donations to Gush Shalom, P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org Open Gates to Allow Food into Gaza petition: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Aid2Gaza/ [] Meron Benvenisti: Nothing new in "disengagement" from Gaza Back to 'no Palestinian people' By Meron Benvenisti Thu., April 08, 2004 Hebrew/עברית: Anyone seeking proof that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is conducted on an endless loop can find it in Ariel Sharon's one-sided unilateral disengagement plan. The noisy ruckus and bitter debate about the supposedly new plan suppresses the fact that similar plans have come up and fallen several times over the past 20 year. There's not even something new in the fact a political hawk came up with the idea - Moshe Arens proposed it to Yitzhak Shamir at the end of the 1980s. Whenever an Israeli government, with no difference between Likud and Labor, faces a political dead-end and is forced to initiate a move meant to prevent other plans regarded as dangerous, the disengagement from Gaza plan comes up as a cheap, magical remedy. Who exactly is interested in that huge mass of poverty, hatred and despair. That's what it was like at the end of the 1980s and the middle of the 1990s, and the fact the disengagement plan has never actually been implemented is unimportant. The mere fact it was raised and discussed is perceived as more important than its implementation and good reasons can always be found not to go through with it. The debate about it was also circular. Evacuating Gaza is perceived as a "leftist conspiracy," so the left supported it, taking pride in "the right conducting left wing ideology" - and the "sober" right regards the plan as "a lethal blow to the Palestinians and the eradication of the danger of a Palestinian state." Sharon is not innovating anything when he sells "an end to the occupation and evacuation of settlements," even though he presents his position as being the result of "changing circumstances," so he, the father of the sett lements, is taking upon himself to evacuate them. Discussion of the disengagement naturally focuses on the dramatic element of settlement evacuation and does not take much notice of the real meaning of "unilateral," perhaps because the government - with the generous help of Ehud Barak - has managed to sell the idea that "there is nobody to talk to." Hence any deed, from separation fence to disengagement, must be done without any negotiations or coordination with the Palestinians. In effect, the unilateralism is an attempt to wipe out the last remnants of the Oslo agreement, and re-adopt the policies of the mid-1980s when it was illegal to talk to the PLO. The Oslo process, the singing of the Decla ration of Principles, and mutual recognition turned the PLO and the Palestinian national movement into a legitimate entity. It was no longer an object of the manipulation and control of others, but an independent subject representing a collective that is allowed to demand control over its future. For many years, Israel managed to deny that status to the Palestinians, until December 1988 when Yasser Arafat, in Geneva, publicly recited a declaration dictated to him by the Americans and thus won recognition by the Re agan Administration, to the dismay of the Israeli government. Five years later, and after failed attempts to postpone it for as long as possible, Israel recognized the PLO as an independent and legitimate body, and that recognition is the basis of the relations between the two nations. Now Sharon is seeking to go back a generation and to dictate to the Palestinians their future, without taking into account their wishes and aspirations. He does not hide his circular thinking: "My plan is difficult for the Palestinians," he says, "a fatal blow. There's no Palestinian state in a unilateral move." Those who are not a legitimate collective don't have the right to demand the right to represent themselves and certainly don't have the right to self-determination. They can be handled unilaterally, in negotiations with a third party - America or Egypt. The problem is that the Americans accept those arguments and thus go back to the position on the Palestinians which they held before 1988. Those who are considering their position on the disengagement plan should set aside the territorial element and consider the concept of "unilateralism" as the real test of the initiative. If they support a more sophisticated variation of Golda Meir's declaration that "there is no Palestinian people," they should support Sharon's plan. [] Reuven Kaminer on Sharon and the " weak-willed doves" From: "Reuven Kaminer" Date sent: Tue, 6 Apr 2004 23:14:29 +0200 Sharon Disengages Reuven Kaminer April 5, 2004 - Jerusalem  The tensions and the conflicts in Israeli politics are approaching the dimensions of a serious crisis. Sharon has announced that Israelis to pull out of the Gaza strip and disband the 20 settlements in that area, populated by 7,500 settlers. He is still working out the details of his plan with the United States government and the finished project is to emerge from Sharon's meeting with Bush on April 14, 2004. The 'new reality' will, it appears, be consecrated in an exchange of letters between the two leaders.  Sharon's intentions are both simple and clear. Israel must shorten its lines and solidify U.S.support for a new status quo which will include tacit, if not explicit U.S.approval for permanent Israeli control of most of the West Bank. . Inaction, according to Sharon, is dangerous in that it invites new diplomatic initiatives that would center on plans similar to the Road Map and the Geneva Accords.  Sharon has a slight problem. He, his own party and large segments of his coalition have been telling the people all along that any pull-back is tantamount to a retreat in the face of terror, or 'a prize for terror'. It is, therefore, not a surprise that more than half of his coalition, as well as the majority of his own Likud Knesset faction, are against the pull-back. His opponents on the right can simply quote a slew of his own recent statements and slogans against leaving the Gaza region.  Sharon was forced to agree to a poll of the Likud membership on the pull-out, as the only way he might show that he was speaking for the majority of his constituency. It is a very tight time table. Sharon meets with Bush on April 14, 2004and 200,000 Likud members go to the polls two-three weeks later to decide the fate of the initiative. Spearheaded by the entire settler movement, the religious fundamentalists and their secular allies are mounting a do or die campaign against the planned evacuation of the Gush Katif settlements in the Gaza region. The intense media coverage of the battles in the right convey a sense that we all have ring side seats for the greatest fight since Gog and Magog.   The media, and many naןve souls are being lured into seeing this as a battle between a legally constituted government and its elected prime-minister, enjoying majority support in public opinion, on one hand, and the forces of the messianic fundamentalist right, on the other hand. In the looming battle, the settlers intend to exploit every conceivable legal and illegal option to thwart the pull- out. Could this be the great fissure in Israeli society? Are we approaching a new stage wherein hegemony passes from the annexationist right to a centrist government ready for a compromise with the Palestinians. Is Arik Sharon the De Gaulle, for whom many have hoped and dreamed?  Naturally enough, the main story in the media for the last two weeks has been Sharon and Co. versus the settler-based coalition. Tension is high between the factions. The settler right has even joined the "rule of law" lobby in Israel, which is calling for Sharon's indictment on graft and bribery charges. The settlers would like very much to see the pull-out initiative dead and buried at Sharon's political funeral since the Prime Minister, it is assumed, would have to resign if Israel' s Attorney General, Mazoz decides to issue an indictment, in line with the current consensus in the Prosecutor's Office. Any way you look at the present situation, crisis is writ large over the face of the Israeli political system. Even without the corruption cloud hanging over his head - he might be forced to resign over the scandals, at any time over the next several months - it is far from certain that Sharon, or anyone else on the right for that matter, would deign to violate the sanctity of the settlement project. Media coverage to the contrary, it is still unclear whether Sharon, himself, is really willing to take on the settlers, or whether he can survive their determination to push the country to the edge of rebellion and even, civil war.  It is assumed that Sharon and his challengers will hold this 'democratic' contest for the hearts of the Likud voters, after Sharon returns from his meeting with Bush. However, it is very far from certain that this 200,000 party member vote will ever take place. The full-scale party referendum, for which there are no procedural guidelines, is a product of a last-minute face saving maneuver to hide Sharon's weakness. Thus, both sides, locked in battle, will have ample opportunities to challenge the legality of the procedures involved. Notwithstanding the possible complications, the battle for the votes of the Likud membership has begun and it is a dirty affair indeed. The settler-based faction is accusing Sharon of succumbing to threats of terror. In 'reply', Sharon's campaign strategy is already being fueled with the blood of Palestinian leaders and activists and with threats for bigger and more atrocious acts against the Palestinians. As we write, his latest threat to assassinate Arafat and Hizballah leader, Nasrallah, is headline news.  Sharon's strategy is guided by his fear and hatred of the Palestinians and his goal of avoiding any meaningful negotiations. As much as he will chafe over his inability to maneuver the country as he sees fit, as much as he takes pride in his own political wisdom as distinct from the political blindness of the settler-based coalition of fundamentalists, it is questionable that he can meet their challenge head on and demonstrate real control of the country. As long as Sharon continues to spew anti-Palestinian hatred into the country's body politic, he strengthens the credibility of his opponents on the right. If there is, according to Sharon, no chance of an agreement with the Palestinians for the peaceful resolution of the conflict, why let Bush and his advisors contemplate any restrictions, looking forward or backward, on the settlement project. The settlers are probably right in arguing that Sharon's scheme will not and cannot alter the basic contours of the conflict and the positions of the major international players.   The Labor Party and Peres hope for a showdown between Sharon and the settlers that would catapult them into the coalition. With this goal in mind, it is not enough for Labor to promise parliamentary support to Sharon for the pull-back. Indeed, given the possibility of a straightforward Knesset vote on a pull-back- without annexationist riders - all the center and even the left (including Yahad, Hadash and the Arab parties), would probably raise their hands to prevent Sharon from losing the vote on the specific issue of the Gaza pull-out.   Unfortunately, there are political forces associated with the Labor Party and some influential people in the Yahad Party (formerly MERETZ) who feel the need to give either open or tacit support to Sharon's overall policy by backing a unilateral retreat as the main solution to the current confrontation with the Palestinians. Backing for some sort (or any sort) of a unilateral pull-back, has become the escape route out of the peace movement ever since Ehud Barak's ignominious impact on the mainstream doves. Barak, it will be recalled, summed up the lesson of the Camp David fiasco by claiming that he had saved Israel by proving that there is 'no partner' for negotiations. For weak-willed and opportunistic doves, it is not really important whether this is true. While Sharon is against negotiations with the Palestinians in principle, the weaker links in the center and the left follow his unilateral withdrawal scheme because they find it difficult to tell the truth to the public that there is a partner for peace and that any attempt to bypass the Palestinians is doomed to fail.  For a while, immediately after the launching of the Geneva Accords, it had become rather difficult for Israel's mainstream doves to tail after Sharon and his schemes. The Geneva success went a long way in overcoming the official mantra about Israel not having anyone with whom to negotiate. However, if there is 'no partner' (or, if it is unpopular to insist that there really is such a partner), then support for unilateral withdrawal seems more acceptable than tolerating the status quo, especially, if one is tempted, despite all historical experience, into accepting Sharon's credibility. Thus, we witness the unsavory spectacle of some 'leaders' in the Zionist center-left who find it convenient to turn their backs on the Geneva initiative.  It is especially unpleasant to see those in control of Peace Now, slip and slide into the unilateral retreat trap. Peace Now, still traumatized by Barak's line of 'making peace without the Palestinians', has been in a long-standing political and organizational identity crisis. It gave lip service to the Geneva Accords at the height of their popularity, but started a quick retreat when it turned out that Peres and the Labor Party are not interested in Geneva. Peres prefers, for the time being, to exploit Sharon's troubles in order to pave Labor's road back into the government. Peace Now announced just this week, on the backdrop of Sharon's disengagement plan, a new campaign aimed 'against settlements' dropping its opposition to 'the settlements', and abandoning its previous more radical demand to leave all the territories. The absence of any mention of Geneva or an agreement with the Palestinians in the new campaign, was correctly interpreted in the media and political circles as thinly disguised support for unilateral withdrawal, and even for Sharon. It was clear to all concerned that the traditional leadership, to the dismay of many of Peace Now's central activists, had lurched to the right and turned its back on their own comrades in the Geneva formation.  Admittedly, it is rather convenient, for the moment, here in Israel, to turn one's back on peace and the Palestinians, and to ignore international realities. It is simpler to line up with the momentary consensus in the broad public for Sharon against the settler-based fanatics. But, since there is really, after all is said and done, a Palestinian partner for meaningful negotiations and peace, Sharon's unilateral withdrawal ploy is a phony alternative, sabotaging the real possibilities for moving forward towards a settlement.   -- Ongoing struggle #Against the Wall (contact addresses) #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) #Vanunu to be released April 21 [ links to the latest re the Donate Now "Instead of Flowers" campaign / worldwide vigils etc. especially important for those who don't have the Paypal option ] New: Contact re activities in Israel #Against the Wall נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050- 607034 info@rhr.israel.net #Refusniks Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel #Vanunu to be released April 21 Instead of sending flowers Wordlwide campaign WELCOME VANUNU by donating a few dollars (N.B.: online but ALSO otherwise) as a welcome gesture: List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ For details about Free Vanunu vigils and activities in Israel, Call: 02-6254530 or 051-368236 or email: legalese@netvision.net.il -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Apr 11 02:15:58 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:11 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] "Cooperation with Hamas conditional upon end to suicide attacks" says Arafat to Gush Shalom delegation Message-ID: <40789C4E.31236.82B8541@localhost> GUSH SHALOM (Israeli Peace Bloc) pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ Press release, April 10 2004 Hebrew at request עברית על פי בקשה ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "Cooperation with Hamas is conditional upon an end to suicide attacks" says Arafat to Gush Shalom delegation in an hours-long meeting in which possibilities for the future were assessed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "Any Hamas participation in the administration of the Gaza Strip after a possible Israeli evacuation or any other partnership with that organization is dependent upon the Hamas leadership agreeing to totally stop suicide attacks" said Palestinian Authority President Arafat to a visiting Israeli peace delegation. "In our dialogue with Hamas, which was initiated via the mediation of the Egyptians, we have made absolutely clear that harming civilians is unacceptable." A Gush Shalom delegation had come to visit the mostly ruined Presidential Compound in Ramallah, West Bank. The group had to evade Israeli army roadblocks to enter Ramallah, defying the Sharon government's prohibition upon entry of Israeli citizens into Palestinian areas. The initiative to meet Arafat was taken upon the explicit threat to the life of Arafat made last week by Prime Minister Sharon. In spite of the critical situation the hours-long meeting in which possibilities for the future were assessed took place in a spirited mood. "We are aware of your historical role in the Palestinian national movement. Moreover, we are aware that you are the only one on the Palestinian side who could sign and implement a peace agreement with Israel" former Knesset Member and dialogue-pioneer Uri Avnery told Arafat. "In previous times when Sharon made such threats and the danger seemed real we have come to Ramallah to deter the prime minister and let him know that there are Israeli citizens here. That's what we also will do now." "Sharon threatens to kill me, but he sent his son to meet me. Omri Sharon sat and talked with me here in this room" said Arafat. "I rather like Omri Sharon. He is good guy and open-minded. Also after Sharon put me under siege in 2002 and his soldiers destroyed most of the compound around here, nevertheless he sent Omri again. And I also remember the Wye- River Conference [1998]. Sharon and Netanyahu sat across the table from me, like you are sitting now, and President Clinton in the middle. We argued and bargained, and in the end we made a deal. We can do that also now, I am willing to meet both of them even tomorrow morning." Saeb Erekat, Palestinian Minister for Negotiation Affairs who also took part in the meeting, added: "Sharon, then Israel's Foreign Minister, was the spirit of the Wye Conference. He came up with all kind of creative ideas to help reach an agreement. Now he is paralyzing negotiations totally and cutting off the channels of communication. A month ago I met with his Bureau Chief Dov Weisglas. Since then, no contact whatsoever. How does he intend to carry out a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip without coordinating it with us? How does he evacuate settlements without the Palestinian Security Forces on hand to prevent attacks on the evacuating settlers? Does he want the Gaza Strip to become the arena of a civil war, a chaos of gangs and militias? Look what is happening now in the West Bank cities. Sharon has destroyed the Palestinian police stations and disbanded our forces. Look what is happening now in Nablus for example, total chaos. Is this to the benefit of Israel?" Historian Teddy Katz, member of the Gush Shalom executive asked the Palestinian leaders about their view on Sharon's 'Disengagement Plan.' "I have grave doubt whether Sharon is serious about it, about the dismantling of all the settlements there. But we as Palestinian leadership should be ready for all eventualities, in order to further the interests of our people." Uri Avnery remarked: "I think Sharon, like a good general, made a plan which could in two ways. In the best way from his point of view, he would not have to carry out anything, just spend a year talking about it, and meanwhile build the wall and the settlements. In the lesser option, he would have to go through with it, but still it would be part of his objective, to give the Gaza Strip in order to keep the bulk of the West Bank." "Of course we are aware of Sharon's plans for the West Bank" said Saeb Erekat. "Withdrawal from Gaza of the overall Road Map is acceptable to us, and we regard it positively. Withdrawal from Gaza asa replacement for the Road Map, which is accompanied by Israel biting off large parts of the West Bank annexing settlement blocs to Israel is totally unacceptable. We told the Americans that they can define the borders of the United States. The Americans said that they are bound by the Road Map and by President Bush' vision of the two-states solution." Arafat revealed that the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin had proposed to Egyptian President Sadat to hand over the Gaza Strip to Palestinian rule. "Sadat phoned, and passed on Begin's proposal, but I said that I would not agree to separate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank." Saeb Erekat: "The Gaza Strip cannot maintain itself even for a short time separately from the West Bank. The Gaza Strip now provides only 18% of the GNP, but 52% of our resources are invested in it because it is the poorest and most neglected part of the Palestinian Territory." Erekat added: "It is our intention to link up Israeli withdrawal from Gaza with elections in all the Palestinian Territory - presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections. That is the only way to stop the chaos and the militia rule and reestablish an effective and legitimate government. Of course elections require the exit of the Israeli army from the Palestinian towns and villages. How can you hold elections when a foreign army can go in at any moment, arrest candidates, break up election rallies, or just prevent voters and election workers from passing from one place to another. We tried to have elections back in January 2003, but the occupation did not let us even get as far as voter registration. We will take it up again now. We already approached former President Jimmy Carter, who headed the international monitors during our elections of 1996, and he is willing to do it again." For more information: Gush Shalom Spokesperson Adam Keller: 03-5565804 / 056-709603 For photos: http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html From info at gush-shalom.org Mon Apr 12 02:24:22 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:12 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Avnery about Iraq - a year after Message-ID: <4079EFC6.26536.4D38C7A@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [Uri Avnery about Iraq - a year after. "Thank you for freeing us from our oppressor but go", Avnery has seen it before.] Bitter Rice (2) Or: The March of Folly Uri Avnery 10.4.04 עברית באתר / Hebrew on the website http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/article298_heb.html The following passage may look familiar: "On the fourth day of the 1982 Israeli attack on Lebanon, I crossed the border at a lonely spot near Metulla and looked for the front, which had already reached the outskirts of Sidon. I was driving my private car, accompanied by a woman photographer. We passed a dozen Shiite villages and were received everywhere with great joy. We extracted ourselves only with difficulty from hundreds of villagers, each one insisting that we have coffee at their home. On the previous days, they had showered the Israeli soldiers with rice. "A few months later I joined an army convoy going in the opposite direction, from Sidon to Metulla. The soldiers were now wearing bulletproof vests and helmets, many were on the verge of panic. "What had happened? The Shiites had received the Israeli soldiers as liberators. When they realized that they had come to stay as occupiers, they started to kill them. "When the Israeli troops entered Lebanon the Shiites were a down- trodden, powerless community, held in contempt by all the others. After a year of fighting the occupiers, they became a political and military power. The Shiite Hizbullah is the only military force in the Arab world that has beaten the mighty Israeli army." End of passage. I wrote it in an article called "Bitter Rice", which appeared on March 22, 2003, on the eve of the invasion of Iraq, and which started with the words: "Beware of the Shiites. The troubles of the occupation will start after the fighting is over…" Barbara Tuchman died too soon. Otherwise she could add a chapter about this war to her book "The March of Folly". It should be remembered that Tuchman was very strict in the choice of her examples. It was not enough that a government acted foolishly. In order to gain a place in her book, two additional conditions had to be met: that the results of the folly could be foreseen, and that there was indeed someone who warned in advance of these results. (For example: the British king George III lost America because of a number of foolish acts. This could have been foreseen, and, indeed, the British politician and author Edmund Burke warned of them at the time.) What is happening now in Iraq was completely predictable. It is an exact repeat of all that happened to us in Lebanon. Otto von Bismarck once remarked: "A fool learns from his experience. A wise person learns from the experience of others." If so, how to define President George W. Bush, who is not even able to learn from his own experience? If I have already quoted myself, I may as well do it again. On February 8, 2003, in an article entitled "The Smell of War", I wrote: "This is not a war about terrorism. This is not a war about weapons of mass destruction. This is not a war about democracy in Iraq. This is a war about something else…There is a strong smell of oil in the air." At the time, this sounded like defamation. Today it is already clear beyond doubt that the American invasion had nothing to do with either the "war on terrorism", nor with weapons of mass destruction, nor with the crimes of Saddam Hussein or with democracy. This has been proven and documented beyond all doubt, most recently by the testimony of Richard Clarke, who has been Bush's man in charge of the "war against terrorism". From the moment Bush entered the White House, he and his handlers pursued one aim in the Middle East: to occupy Iraq. The Bushes are oilmen. Among the big-money people who helped to put the two Bushes, Sr. and Jr., into the White House, oilmen played a leading role. They have decided that the American Empire needs to get its hands on the vast oil reserves of Iraq and to establish a permanent military base in the middle of the oil region, between the oil of the Caspian Sea and the oil of the Persian/Arabian Gulf. The neo-con fanatics, most of whom are right-wing Zionists, added to this another objective: to eliminate the Iraqi threat to Israel, before freeing Israel of the Syrian and Iranian threats. But this was a secondary aim. It would not have succeeded in dominating American policy without the decisive impact of Dick Cheney and the other Bush handlers, who wanted to establish direct American military control over most of the earth's oil. This aim has been achieved. Iraq was conquered. 135 thousand US soldiers uphold the occupation regime, with the addition of a few troops of the satellite countries, such as Poland, the Ukraine, the UK, El- Salvador and Italy. A small (and not very intelligent) official named "L. Paul Bremer 3rd", no less, has become Governor of the new colony, and he intends to "hand over sovereignty" to an Iraqi government he himself has appointed. That is to say, sovereignty over garbage collection and hospitals, but definitely not over the really important functions, which will be firmly in the hands of American "advisors". For this purpose, the biggest US Embassy in the world is being built in Baghdad: over 3000 officials, who will control every aspect of government in the country. That reminds one of the Vichy regime of Marshal Petain in France. The Iraqis themselves will be reminded of the British colonial power structure in their country, which operated through an Arab "king". As far as the Americans are concerned, this could last forever. Not for a year, not for two years, but for decades, like the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian areas. But, unlike the Israelis, they call this "nation building" and "establishing the first democracy in the Arab world". George Orwell would have enjoyed it. A minor factor was overlooked: the Iraqi people. But one really cannot think about everything, can one? When the armed resistance started, the Americans comforted themselves with talk about "remnants of the Saddam regime", or "terrorists", perhaps foreign agents of Osama Bin-Laden. More than any other colonial regime, the Americans find it difficult to accept the most simple fact in the world: that an occupied people will arise against its occupier. And really, what have the Iraqis to complain about, after the idealistic Americans, out of the kindness of their hearts, liberated them from the evil Saddam? Now the Americans are considering whether to bring in more troops. The politicians ask the generals: how many more soldiers do you need in order to control Iraq? And the generals ponder in all earnest: 10 thousand more? 20 thousand more? If there had been one serious person among them, he would have answered: "Even 500 thousand will not be enough. When a whole people rises, foreign soldiers are helpless." The Americans were ready for the Sunnis to be dissatisfied. They had been ruling the Iraqi state since it was founded by the British after the first World War, and were going to lose their supremacy. But the Shiites? After all, in the "democracy" that the Americans were about to establish, the Shiites could expect a major share in power. But the Shiites do not want to receive "power" in a country that stays occupied. Even before the war, we warned (don't worry, I am not going to quote myself a third time!) that it was well-nigh impossible to maintain a state of three mutually hostile peoples: the Sunnis, the Shiites and the Kurds. That is still true today. But perhaps a miracle is happening now: Shiites and Sunnis are fighting together against the occupation. Who knows, the common struggle may just, and for the first time, forge a real Iraqi nation and prevent a bloody civil war along the road. Let us hope so. Now the Americans are caught in a trap of their own making. Even if they wanted to leave Iraq (which they certainly do not!), they would be unable to do so. As the Hebrew saying goes, they can neither swallow it nor spit it out. There is really nothing they can do. They will sink ever deeper into the quagmire, kill and be killed, destroy and be destroyed, with ever growing brutality, in a kind of a new desert Vietnam. In the hourly news on Al Jazeera, it is already difficult to distinguish between our soldiers in Ramallah and the American soldiers in Falluja. What is happening to us will happen to them, only on a larger scale. How will this similarity influence Bush and his people? They might say: One quagmire is enough. Let's get out of one of them. Let us compel Sharon to make, at long last, an agreement with the Palestinians, instead of babbling about "unilateral disengagement", which will probably never happen anyhow. But Bush and the Bushites could also say: If we are so much alike, let us embrace Sharon even more closely. Such a reaction would find its well-earned place in "March of Folly 2". That might be even a good thing, allowing these two gentlemen the pleasure of leaving the stage together. -- Ongoing struggle #Against the Wall (contact addresses) #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) #Vanunu to be released April 21 [ links to the latest re the Donate Now "Instead of Flowers" campaign / worldwide vigils etc. especially important for those who don't have the Paypal option ] New: Contact re activities in Israel #Against the Wall נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050- 607034 info@rhr.israel.net #Refusniks Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel #Vanunu to be released April 21 Instead of sending flowers Wordlwide campaign WELCOME VANUNU by donating a few dollars (N.B.: online but ALSO otherwise) as a welcome gesture: List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ For details about Free Vanunu vigils and activities in Israel, Call: 02-6254530 or 051-368236 or email: legalese@netvision.net.il -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Mon Apr 12 19:19:28 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:12 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] antiWall news:Thu. Bidu / tomorrow CO to Bakum / Vanunu news Message-ID: <407ADDB0.29639.F34FCA@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ FYI: re Thu. Mass demo in Bidu village we will be in contact with Asherman after the end of the Chag about transportation from Tel-Aviv. If you can be there Thursday please inform the following 2 addresses: info@rhr.israel.net, info@gush-shalom.org See also: P.S. Reminder about CO Daniel Tsal P.S. 2: Events for the Release of Mordechai Vanunu *** Thu. Mass demo in Bidu village ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Rabbis for Human Rights" To: Subject: Now or Never Date sent: Sun, 11 Apr 2004 17:40:46 +0200 English Follows Hebrew, חברים, ביום ו' בשעה 10:00 יש דיון בג"ץ נוסף ב 9 העתירות בנוגע לתוואי הגדר הגוזל עשרות אלפי דונם מהכפרים צפון מערב מי-ם ובעזור מודעין. ביום ה' יש הפגנה (ראה למטה) , סיור לתושבי ארמון הנציב והתחלת התארגנות שכנים באזור מודעין (ראה גם למטה) עכשיו, ולא מחר, אנו זקוקים לעזרתך. לפני שבוע תמו צווי הפסקת עבודה במספר נקודות והדחפורים חזור והרסו עצי זית (הרבה מהם בלי לעקור אותם באופן שניתן לנטוע אותם מחדש כפי שנהוג). יחד עם זאת, הבג"ץ עדיין דוחף את הצבא לשנות בכל מקום אפשרי, השכנים היהודים ממשיכים למחות על התוואי ופלשתינאים ומספר ישראלים ממשיכים לעמוד בפני הדחפורים. גם יש בית בבידו שעדיין עומד רק בזכות זה ש 6 פלשתינאים התבצרו בתוכו וגורולו גם ייקבע ביום ו'. מצידם של הצבא, הם עכשיו ענו לטענות אלופי מועצת שלום ובטחון שתוואי אלטרנטיווי גם יותר טוב מבחינה ביטחונית בטענה שעל ישראל להמשיך להחזיק גבעות היכולים לשמש נקודות ירי. זאת אומרת, משנים לגמרי את קונצפצייה הגדר כדי להצדיק את התוואי הנוכחי (יש מקומות שהצבא כן מסכים לשנות). כמו שאני הייתי מכיר אילו באמת היה מקרא שאין דרך להציל חיים חוץ מלתפוש אדמות שערך החיים הוא אליון, כאן עם הברירה בין חומות החושמים את הנוף של הישובים היהודים ובין תפיסת אדמות, שמיררה על זכויותהיהם ואדמותיהם של פלשתינאים קודמים. כאשר בני ישראל עמדו ובכו על שפת הים כאשר צבא פרעוה מתקרב מאחור. ה' אמר/ה למשה, "מה תצעק אלי? דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו!" לפי המדרש, ה' לא קרע את הים עד שבני ישראל נכנוס על חותמם. יש לנו כרגע חלון הזדמנויות בגלל נחרצות הבג"ץ, העניין הציבורי, השתתפות מועצת שלום וביטחון, וכו'. אנו יכולים לבכות על איך הממשלה יוצרת על ידי תוואי הגדר סתירה בין הזכות שלנו להגנה עצמית ובין זכויותיהם של פלשתינאים לטיפול רפואי, לאדמותיהם וכו' - או אנו יכולים לעשות מעשים: 1. ביום ה' תתקיים הפגנה בבידו בהשתתפות מספר ארגונים. נצא מגן הפעמון בשעה 11:30(זמן ישראל) ונודיעה על סידורי הסעה מת"א, הארגונים המשתתפים וכו' בהמשך. אנו יודעים שיש מכם הרוצים להביעה סולידריות אבל אינכם רוצים להישתתף בעמידה בפני הדחפורים. תהיה אפשרות למחות ולהביעה סולדריות בלי להישתתף בפעילות כזאת ואנו חייבים להוכיח שיש ציבור ישראלי גדול הכולל מרכז המפה הפוליטית הכולל גם אלא הרוצים גדר שאינו רוצה את התוואי המתוכנן. 2. ביום ו' אנו מבקשים את נוכחותכם בבית המשפט העליון בשעה 10:00. 3. בשבוע הבא - באופן טנטטיבי יום א' סיור ומפגש לתושבי ארמון הנציב המעוניינים לצרף למאבק עם שכיניהם בשייך סעיד. 4. אנו מתקדמים בהתארגנות שכנים יהודים באזורים אחרים. בנוגע לעזור מודעיין: ברצוננו לידע אתכם בנושא תוואי הגדר שתעבור ליד הכפר בית סירא.ולבקש מכם ליידע בעיקר את תושבי מכבים רעות ומודיעין שיהיו מוכנים לתמוך בעתירה שהוגשה לשינוי התוואי. הכפר נמצא קרוב לקו הירוק וסמוך לישוב "מכבים".בין בית סירא למכבים נמצאים מטעי זיתים של בית סירא. מאז 1948 איבד הכפר את רוב אדמותיו. מתוך 4000 דונם שהיו לו ב-48 נותרו 500 דונם בלבד שלא הופקעו. תוואי הגדר המתוכנן יגרום להפקעה של 500 הדונם הנותרים מהם מתפרנסות משפחות רבות. התוואי גם גורם לכך שכמה בתים יישארו מעבר לגדר בצד הישראלי. בנוסף הגדר המתוכננת באזור זה תסגור את שלושת הכפרים,בית סירא בית ליקיא וחרבתא מכל הכיוונים עם שער אחד ליציאה וכניסה. מי שלא יהיה לו אישור לא יוכל להגיע אפילו לרמאללה. תושבי בית סירא שרובם עבדו בישראל מצאו עצמם מחוסרי עבודה מאז תחילת אינתפדת את אקצה. הפקעת האדמות תחמיר מאד את מצבם הכלכלי . כבר היום מרגישים תושבי הכפר שהכפר הופך להיות דומה למחנה פליטים עקב העוני והצפיפות. אם מישהו מכם מעוניין להצטרף לעתירה בבקשה צרו קשר עם: דורית: 505133-068 איילת: 9922421-02 או נאוה: 8557594-068 או באימייל: nava.sfp@nswas.com dorit@nswas.com ערב חג הפסח אנו מאחלים לנו ולשכנינו לצאת מעבדות לחרות ומשעבוד לגאולה. חג אביב שמח. 5. אנו עדיין מחפשים גם באזור ראש העין. חג שמח, אריק Dear Friends and Supporters, This Friday at 10:00 the Bagatz will reconvene to discuss the 9 appeals regarding the route of the Barrier which will steal tens of thousands of dunam of land from the villages Northwest of Jerusalem and in the Modiin area. On Thursday there will be a demonstration (see below). Also see below for a neigbor's tour for residents of Armon HaNatziv and the beginning of organizing in the Modiin area. The time to act is NOW - not tomorrow. A week ago the court ordered stop work orders were cancelled in a number of points and the bulldozers resumed the uprooting of olive trees (many of them were not uprooted in a way so that they could be replanted, as is the custom.) Nevertheless, the Bagatz continues to press the army to change the route of the Barrier wherever possible, Jewish neighbors continue to request that the route be changed and Palestinians and some Israelis continue to stand in front of bulldozers. There is also a home in Bido which is still standing only because 6 Palestinians barricaded themselves inside. Its fate will also be decided on Friday. The IDF responded to the claim of the retired generals of the Council for Peace and Security that a different route would also be better in terms of defense by saying that Israeli must hold on to points from which there could be shooting at Jewish neighbor hoods. In other words, the concept of the Barrier is being drastically changed.(The army is considering changes in some areas.) IN the same way that were there to be a case where there was truly no way to save lives other than take land I would have to swallow hard and say that human life takes precedence, if the choice is between taking land and putting up walls that destroy the views from the Jewish neigborhoods, the land must take precedence. When the children of Israel were standing at the shores of the sea and wailing as the army of Pharaoh approached, God said to Moses, " Why are you crying to me? Speak to the children of Israel that they should go forward!" The Midrash adds that God did not part the waters of the sea until the Children of Israel had entered the water up to their necks - some say noses. With the seriousness with which the High Court is taking the route of the barrier, the current surge in public concern, the involvement of the Council for Peace and Security, etc., we have a window of opportunity. We can wail about the way in which the government is creating a conflict between our right to self defense and the Palestinian's rights to medical care, their land, etc - or we can act now so as to know that we did whatever we could: 1. There will be a demonstration in Bido on Thursday joined by a number of organizations. We will leave from Liberty Bell Garden's parking lot at 11:30 (Israeli time) and will notify about other organizations, transportation from the Tel Aviv area, etc. Please let us know if you wish to participate. We know that some of you do not want to be involved in standing in front of bulldozers. The demonstration will be arranged so that you can participate and express solidarity without standing in front of bulldozers, et/. Itis terribly important that we prove that there is a sizable Israeli public, including those who support the idea of a barrier and are from the center of the political map, who are opposed to the current route of the Barrier. 2. Please attend the hearing at 10:00 on Friday 3. We have tentatively set for next Sunday a neighbor's tour for residents of Armon HaNatziv who are willing to help their neighbors from Sheikh Said. 4. Organizing of neighbors in the Modiin area has begun, particularly relating to Beit Sira (See #4 in Hebrew above.) For more info, call Nava - 068-855595, nafa.sfp@nswas.com, Ayelet - 02-9922421 or Dorit - 068-505133 dorit@nswas.com 5. We are still looking for people in the area of Rosh HaAyin Khag Sameakh, Arik OLIVE OIL from the RHR office is now available at 20 NIS per liter or 250 NIS per jerrycan. We have 1.5 liter bottles available for 30 NIS. Rabbis For Human Rights 42 Aza St. Jerusalem, 92384, Israel Tel: 972-2-563-7731 Fax: 972-2-566-2815 Mobile: 972-50607034 info@rhr.israel.net Website: www.rhr.israel.net P.S. Reminder about CO Daniel Tsal ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Anat Matar"  English below    דניאל צאל מסרב להתגייס לצבא כיבוש נלווה אותו לבקו"ם ביום ג', 13.4  ביום ג' הבא, 13 לאפריל, בשעה 7:30, יתייצב דניאל צאל בבקו"ם ויצהיר על סירובו להתגייס ולתת יד לצבא כובש ומדכא. דניאל הודיע על סירובו המתוכנן לשר הביטחון לפני שלושה חודשים, ובקשתו להופיע בפני ועדת המצפון בצה"ל נדחתה. בינואר נידונו לשנת מאסר חמשת הסרבנים, אשר סירבו להתגייס לצבא כיבוש. סירובו של דניאל הואהראשון מסוג זה לאחר מתן גזר-הדין החמור,למעט סירובה של לאורה מילוא, שעניינה יידון בבג"צ באותו יום עצמו. 9am  נלווה את דניאל בבואו לשערי הבקו"ם בתל- השומר, ונקרא יחדיו- די לכיבוש ולדיכוי! ישוחררו סרבני המצפון!  (בעלי מכוניות וחסרי מכוניות מתבקשים להשתדך זה לזה בתחנת רכבת צפון, בשעה 7:00)  מתוך מכתבו של דניאל צאל לשר הביטחון:  "עקרונותיה של ה"דמוקרטיה היחידה במזרח התיכון" התרוקנו מכל תוכן, תוך רמיסת זכויותיהם של כשלושה מיליון אנשים, ובעקיפין הריסה מתמדת של היסודות שעליה אמורה להיות מושתתת מדינת ישראל... בזמנים כמו אלו בהיסטוריה, אדם שפוי חייב להתקומם כנגד אותה מערכת שמאפשרת את המשך הדיכוי. יש לי חובה מוסרית, לא בחירה, אלא חובה לסרב להשתתף בכיבוש ולהילחם במוסדות שמבטלים זכויות אנושיות כה בסיסיות. אדם שפוי שהפחד והגזענות עדיין לא השתלטו עליו לגמרי מחויב באופן אנושי בסיסי לסרב להיות שותף במערכת כיבוש ודיכוי כמו שצה"ל הפך להיות."  Daniel Tsal refuses to enlist to an army of occupation We'll join him in the Induction Center on 13/4  Next Tuesday, April 14th, at 7:30, Daniel Tsal will arrive at the IDF Induction Center and will declare his refusal to join an occupying and oppressing army. Daniel informed the Minister of Defense about his planned refusal three months ago, and his request to be brought to the IDF conscience committee was rejected. Last January, the five COs who refused to enlist to an army of occupation were sentenced to one year imprisonment. Daniel is the first refuser who follows in their footsteps, apart from Laura Milo, whose case will be heard in the HCJ on the very same day 9am.  We'll join Daneil at the gates of the Induction Center and will shout out loud - Down with the occupation and the oppression! Free the consciencious objectors!  (Car owners are requested to stop at the Arlozorov terminal at 7:00 to pick up potential riders)  Excerpts from Daniel Tsal's letter to the defense minister: "The principles of the "only democracy in the Middle East" have become void of meaning as a result of the trampling of the rights of about three million people, and more indirectly, of the ongoing destruction of the foundations on which the State of Israel is supposed to be based... In such historical times, a sane individual must rise up against the system that makes the ongoing oppression possible. I have a moral obligation – not a choice but an obligation - to refuse to participate in the occupation and to struggle against the institutions that cancel such basic human rights. Any sane person, who has not yet been wholly overcome by fear and racism, must by dint of his basic humanity refuse to be part of an occupying and oppressive system such as the IDF has become." P.S. 2: Events for the Release of Mordechai Vanunu ------- Forwarded message follows ------- To: ActLeft@yahoogroups.com From: Rayna Moss Date sent: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 11:46:09 -0700 Hebrew follows April 20-21 After 18 years in prison - Mordechai Vanunu will walk free on April 21 Be there to welcome him Tuesday, April 20, 13:00 - 20:00 Vigil at Ashkelon Prison Wednesday, April 21, from 8:00 until Vanunu is released Welcoming vigil at Ashkelon Prison There will be a bus coming from the north (Galillee and Haifa) to the Vanunu release vigil at Ashkelon prison on April 21 - very early in the morning. If you want a place on the bus, please call Ali Zbeidat at 068-715862. Details about the busses from Tel-Aviv - Jaffa and possible bus from Jerusalem will be posted soon. Other events: Wednesday, April 14, 21:30 Tel-Aviv Cinemateque Film: "Who are you, Mordechai Vanunu?" Followed by panel discussion with Gideon Spiro, Meir Vanunu, Ophir Abou Thursday, April 15, 20:00 Hagada Hasmalit, 70 Achad Ha'am St. Tel-Aviv "Why the Dimona reactor must be closed" Knesset Member Issam Makhoul, Prof. Kalman Altman 20-21 באפריל לאחר 18 שנים בכלא, מרדכי ואנונו יוצא לחופשי ב-21 באפריל בואו לקבל את פניו! יום שלישי, 20 באפריל, 13:00-20:00 משמרת מול כלא אשקלון יום רביעי, 21 באפריל, מ-8:00 עד שואנונו משוחרר קבלת פנים מול כלא אשקלון ב-21 באפריל יצא אוטובוס מהצפון (הגליל וחיפה) לקבלת הפנים של מרדכי ואנונו בכלא אשקלון. האוטובוס יצא מוקדם בבוקר. המעונינים במקום באוטובוס יכולים להתקשר לעלי זבידאת: 715862-068. פרטים על האוטובוסים מת"א-יפו ואפשרות של הסעה מירושלים יתפרסמו בקרוב. אירועים נוספים: יום רביעי, 14.4, 21:00 סינמטק תל-אביב - במסגרת "מפגשים מזווית כהה" סרט: "מי אתה מרדכי ואנונו?" פאנל: גדעון ספירו, מאיר ואנונו, אופיר עבו יום חמישי, 15.4, 20:00 הגדה השמאלית, רח' אחד העם 70, ת"א "מדוע יש לסגור את הכור בדימונה?" ח"כ עיסאם מח'ול, פרופ' קלמן אלטמן רינה מוס legalese@netvision.net.il -- Ongoing struggle #Against the Wall (contact addresses) #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) #Vanunu to be released April 21 [ links to the latest re the Donate Now "Instead of Flowers" campaign / worldwide vigils etc. especially important for those who don't have the Paypal option ] New: Contact re activities in Israel #Against the Wall נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050- 607034 info@rhr.israel.net #Refusniks Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel #Vanunu to be released April 21 Instead of sending flowers Wordlwide campaign WELCOME VANUNU by donating a few dollars (N.B.: online but ALSO otherwise) as a welcome gesture: List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ For details about Free Vanunu vigils and activities in Israel, Call: 02-6254530 or 051-368236 or email: legalese@netvision.net.il -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Wed Apr 14 22:02:12 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:12 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] NASA deal with Ariel settlement // Bidu Message-ID: <407DA6D4.9463.ED80E0@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [] While the diplomats talk, NASA dealing with West Bank settlement. N.B.: Call for protest [] Bidu - Dorothy Naor reports & reflects on antiWall struggle \\// //\\ \\// //\\ \\// [] While the diplomats talk, NASA dealing with West Bank settlement. N.B.: Call for protest On the eve of the Bush-Sharon summit in which the future of the West Bank settlements is at stake it turns out that a major agency of the United States Government - the National Space and Aeronautics Agency, NASA - is already on the way to granting both recognition and financial sustenance to the settlement-city of Ariel, which constitutes a major focus of Sharon's land-grabbing and and annexation program. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), at Pasadena, California has expressed its interest in a new robotics program developed by researchers at the "College of Judea and Samaria" in the Ariel settlement, for incorporation into the planned 2009 robotic mission to Mars. In addition to space exploration, these new robotic techniques are expected to have terrestrial applications such as "Autonomous mobile robots performing security and defence tasks, patrolling roads and hostile areas" (sic!). As a matter of fact, in the settlers' own boastful press release on the Ariel/NASA deal there is mention also of an unspecified role for two other respectable institutions: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Tohoku University of Japan. Gush Shalom sees settlements as the main obstacle on the way to peace with the Palestinians. We have many years campaigned for boycotting the products of settlements - with a significant follow-up of tens of thousands of Israeli households. We are very concerned at international institutions lending support and legitimacy to settlements such as Ariel. We call upon you to express your concern to these institutes, using either the sample letter appearing below or your own text. For further info you can look up the Ariel college's own announcement http://www.yosh.ac.il/news/press.asp#43 as well as the Ma'ariv Online article in Hebrew http://images.maariv.co.il/cache/cachearchive/08032004/ART663191.htmls and in English http://www.maarivintl.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=4215 and also in the "Marsnews" website http://www.marsnews.com/newswire/technology/ -------------protests to be sent to:-------------- President George W. Bush Fax: +1-202-456-2461 Secretary of State Colin Powell Fax: +1-202-261-8577 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California greicius@jpl.nasa.gov feedback@photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov Phone:+1-818- 354-9314 Fax: +1-818-393-4641 ------- NASA Headquarters Information Centre  (Washington, D.C).  Phone +1-202- 358-0000 Fax +1-202-358-3251 info-center@hq.nasa.gov comments@hq.nasa.gov "Elaine Bowman" ------- More NASA addresses: http://www.nasa.gov/about/speakers/index.html http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/hqlibrary/ic/offices.html Marsnews copies to: Gush Shalom [for your convenience] here follow the collected emails: To: president@whitehouse.gov, secretaryofstate@USA.gov, greicius@jpl.nasa.gov, feedback@photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov, info-center@hq.nasa.gov, comments@hq.nasa.gov, ebowman@hq.nasa.gov, feedback@marsnews.com CC to: info@gush-shalom.org ------- sample letter: Dear Sir or Madam The "College of Judea & Samaria", located in the Israeli settlement of Ariel on the West Bank, recently announced the The Jet Propulsion Laboratory which is part of NASA is interested in a "robotic self- navigating vehicle" being developed by Prof. Zvi Shiller and Dr. Shraga Shoval of that college. Reportedly, NASA is considering the purchase of that system and its incorporation in future Mars missions launched by NASA. I am deeply concerned at these news. I would like to point out that this "College of Judea & Samaria" is not an innocuous academic institution. Rather, it is a political body, deliberately and specifically established at a settlement which was created on confiscated Palestinian land in flagrant violation of International Law, with the aim of "creating accomplished facts" and preventing the establishment of a viable Palestinian state. The "separation fence" which the government of Israel plans to build around the Ariel settlement is at the centre of a hot controversy, both inside Israel and internationally, and its legality is presently under scrutiny at the International court in the Hague. The creation and maintenance of the "College of Judea & Samaria" at Ariel is aimed at lending legitimacy to this illegal settlement and making it seem as "a university town". Any dealing with this college, and in particular the large scale support of a research project carried out there, is highly detrimental to the chances of peace in the Middle East. Further, this specific robotic system has military applications as well as scientific ones, including ones having directly to do with Israel's rule over and oppression of the occupied Palestinian population ("patrolling of hostile areas"). It is certainly not in in the interest of NASA or of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to be implicated in legitimizing and financing such a questionable project, and to have future missions to Mars linked up with it. Yours, ...... **** [] Bidu - Dorothy Naor reports & reflects on antiWall struggle ---------forwarded message follows-------- From: Dorothy Naor Date sent: Wed, 14 Apr 2004 18:47:11 +0200 “. . . some of the left-wing demonstrators, such as the brothers Yonatan and Shai Polak, behave in a far more militant and provocative fashion than what has been in display recently in the Anarchists Against the Wall protests in Biddu. Yonatan Polak taunts the soldiers, telling them to refuse orders related to the fence. The demonstrators mock and jeer the soldiers, chanting out sexual innuendo and relying on other forms of verbal provocation that has not been witnessed before in political protests in the territories.” Arnon Regular, below --------------------------------------------------- Dear All, After reading the piece below this morning, I hoped to get Yonathan Pollak’s reaction to the report. But when I phoned him at about 11:30 AM, he hurriedly replied, “Dorothy, can’t talk they’re shooting rubber bullets at us,” and hung up. The noon news reported that at Bidu, rubber bullets hit a young Palestinian in the head and a demonstrator (apparently either Israeli or international) in the leg. The newscaster also stated that work on the site was continuing. This means that the protest is also continuing, which in all likelihood means that the rubber bullets are still flying. I just spoke to the Arnon Regular, the reporter. He returned my call, after I left a message on his phone requesting him to do so, since I had some questions I’d like to ask. Having spoken to him, I have to rewrite some of the following. I’d originally written, “Please, when you read the report below, remember that the reporter, Arnon Regular, seldom (if ever) relates events that he has witnessed first hand. He receives his reports primarily from the IOF spokesperson. He might also speak by cell phone with demonstrators while they are at an event, but is not himself at the place, and it is important to know also the source of the videos he mentions. They are likely to show one thing if photoed by an IOF photographer, another thing if photoed by an activist.” But Regular by contrast insists that I was wrong, that he has been to at least 4 (maybe more) of these demonstrations. He also states that he has heard the Anarchists “taunting” the soldiers. The question in my mind is what “taunting” consists of to him. Regular claims (and I believe he means it) that he sides with the demonstrators, but thinks that they should not provoke the soldiers. On the other hand, he understands why they call to the soldiers to put down their weapons, and accepts this. Most of our ½ hour discussion was about the write-up below. But I did make one request about reports in general regarding the protests. I have been following these closely in all the Israeli newspapers for the past month, and have found that almost always these describe the demonstrations as being against the wall/fence. By so doing, the media misleads readers (mainly Israelis), giving them the wrong impression. Had construction of the wall/fence been on the 1948 Armistice line (the so-called green line, or pre June 1967 line) most Palestinians would have accepted it without murmur, whatever they thought of it. The demonstrations are not per se against the fence/wall, but against the stealing of their lands, the uprooting of their trees, the demolishing of their homes, etc etc etc. Regular acknowledged this, but explained that he has also to get published, and that the focus therefore has to be on the fence/wall. But he also promised to try to add a bit more of the human element into his reports. If he does, it’s only a small gain, but still, might be meaningful towards influencing public opinion. We’ll see. Till now, reports (including Regular’s) treat the protests as if they are soccer games or sports contest between innocent soldiers and bands of rebels were. But in reality the stakes are much higher: agricultural lands and olive groves and water sources—the lands and trees, that is, of the people trying to stop the destruction of their sources of income, and of the sources of income of future generations. Palestinians, Israelis, and Internationals, strive together in the name of right against the might of bulldozers, IOF tear gas, tanks, rubber bullets, stun grenades, and other arms. Would you not try to defend your home and property if bulldozers came to destroy either the one or the other or both? Would you not be passionate? If Yonathan and friends call to soldiers to lay down their arms, to stop fighting innocent people and to stop destroying their land, this is not wrong. The contrary is true. It is not wrong to tell soldiers to side with right. They should not allow contractors to destroy Bidu’s, Mas’ha’s, and all the other village’s lands???? On the other hand, some of the protestors to get media attention might intentionally ‘provoke,’ as Regular suggests. But if the media would publish reports about nonviolent protest, that would not be a necessary. Unfortunately, this does not normally ocur. Were there no violence on the part of the military, Palestinian lands and trees would be lost without anyone ever knowing about it. I have been writing this since 11:00, and it is now 3:00. The 1:00 PM radio news reports that the Palestinian hit by a rubber bullet in Bidu this AM was a 12 year old boy, hit in the head by a rubber bullet, which fractured his skull. According to the same report, 3 Israelis were lightly wounded, and, still the same report, Israeli protestors relate that soldiers fired from less than 30 meters away from their targets. The Hebrew Ha’aretz update relates that a total of 12 demonstrators were injured today Ha’aretz update: http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/415361.html Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/415353.html -- Ongoing struggle #Vanunu to be released April 21 [ links to the latest re the Donate Now "Instead of Flowers" campaign / worldwide vigils etc. ] New: Contact re activities in Israel #Against the Wall (contact addresses) #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) #Vanunu to be released April 21 Instead of sending flowers Wordlwide campaign WELCOME VANUNU by donating a few dollars (N.B.: online but ALSO otherwise) as a welcome gesture: List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ For details about Free Vanunu vigils and activities in Israel, Call: 02-6254530 or 051-368236 or email: legalese@netvision.net.il #Against the Wall נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050- 607034 info@rhr.israel.net #Refusniks Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Apr 15 20:18:17 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:12 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Responses to the Bush-Sharon peace + conscience update Message-ID: <407EDFF9.3409.1674C79@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ comments on Bush speech [1] How Sharon and Bush made peace between them - Gush statement to appear in the weekend Ha'aretz (16.4) [2] Too big a victory? - Dan Margalit in Ma'ariv [3] Palestinian comments prisoners of conscience update [4] Vanunu, harsh restrictions after release next Week (Yediot) [5] "It is my moral duty – not my choice, but my duty – to refuse" Daniel Tzal - on the way to the military prison [6] Justice may be blind to selective refusal - Yuval Yoaz Ha'aretz Extensive report on Laura Milo's High Court case \\// //\\ \\// //\\ \\// [1] How Sharon and Bush made peace between them - Gush statement to appear in the weekend Ha'aretz (16.4) עברית באתר / Hebrew on the website www.gush-shalom.org SHARON AND BUSH MADE PEACE BETWEEN THEM. BUT ISRAEL MUST MAKE PEACE WITH THE PALESTINIANS. To help us place such ads please write a check to: Gush Shalom P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033, *** [2] Too big a victory? - translated from Dan Margalit in Ma'ariv [we didn't find it on the internet Hebrew and English editions] (...) As of this moment Sharon is the big victor. He got from the Americans far more than the sceptics thought he would. Were the Likud Party referendum held today he would reap the full benefit. But nothing is definite yet. The Europeans will rise up against the Americans. The Arab World will refuse to accept it. The crescendo of Bush and Sharon is so deafening that Abu Ala will not be able to endorse Sharon's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, as he intended to do. If these developments will cause the renewal of Palestinian terrorism with all its might - because the Bush declaration seems so pro-Israeli that nobody in Ramallah and Gaza will dare to stand in the way of the suicide bombers - Sharon's victory might turn out to be a Phyrric one. Too big a success, at too heavy a price to the other side carries within it the seeds of failure. But not yet, so far the celebrations are going on. To sum up: a great achievement for Sharon - with a lot of question marks already for the near future. *** [3] Palestinian comments [The Bush-Sharon pact is especially a blow for the non-violence Palestinians. With Hamas saying that this is the end of "illusions that there can be a U.S.-sponsored political settlement" what can they answer - now that Bush overstepped all limitations which there are to peace-brokers?] ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "ghassan_andoni" Date sent: Thu, 15 Apr 2004 13:29:21 -0000 Subject: [rapprochement] Digest April 15 Bush: No Return of Refugees, No Return to pre 1967 Borders I MEMC & Agencies, April 15, 2004 The American President George W. Bush denied the Right of Return of Palestinian Refugees to their land expelled from in 1948 and said no Israeli pullout to the 1967 borders. "In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli population centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949," Bush told reporters after the meeting the joined him with the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the White House Wednesday. Bush said the Palestinian refugees would not return to their lands, but to the future Palestinian State. Bush's statements enraged the Palestinians who consider both, Right of Return and the Independent Palestinian State on the West Bank with the Borders of pre 1967 as red lines that can not be crossed. The Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei rejected Bush's statements and told reporters outside his office in Ramallah Wednesday, "He [Bush] is the first president who has legitimized the settlements in the Palestinian territories when he said that there will be no return to the borders of 1967," he said. "We as Palestinians reject that, we cannot accept that, we reject it and we refuse it." Palestinian Minister for negotiations affairs Dr. Saeb Erekat also dismissed Bush's statement. "This is like someone giving a part of Texas' land to China," he said, adding that over the years, U.S. administrations have assured the Palestinians that issues like borders and settlements would be handled in negotiations between the two sides. Yasser Abed Rabbo, a former minister of Information also slammed Bush Statements said "Bush and Sharon are trying to protect each others' political future but are endangering the political future of Israel, the Palestinians and the whole region." Further more, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan criticized Bush for ignoring the Palestinians' wishes in recognizing Israel's claim to major West Bank settlements. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, the secretary-general reiterated his position that unresolved details of a final Middle East peace deal "should be determined in negotiations between the parties, based on relevant Security Council resolutions," "He strongly believes that they (Israelis and Palestinians) should refrain from taking any steps that would prejudice or preempt the outcome of such talks," Dujarric added. Khaled Mashaal the leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, said Bush's policy marked the end of "illusions that there can be a U.S.-sponsored political settlement" between the Israel and the Palestinians. "This stance proves that resistance is the only way," Meshaal told Reuters. *** [4] Vanunu, harsh restrictions after release next Week (Yediot) ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Thu, 15 Apr 2004 14:24:40 -0700 From: Rayna Moss [Translated from Yediot Ahronot, April 15, 2004] Harsh Restrictions to be Imposed on Vanunu After His Release Next Week Vanunu's Relatives Enraged: We Won't be Able to Meet Him The prisoner told his brother yesterday, that he won't be allowed to meet foreign nationals, go near air or sea ports and foreign embassies, possess a cellular phone or surf the internet. His adoptive parents: This is an absurd decision. Vanunu will appeal to the High Court of Justice against the restrictions immediately after his release. By Tsadok Yechezkeli and Anat Tal-Shir "I can't believe what they've decided to do to my life after I've spent 18 years in prison," Mordechai Vanunu told his brother yesterday, during their last meeting in Ashkelon Prison before his release next Wednesday. "Up to the last minute I still thought that they would let me go away from here." Vanunu was referring to the document that he had received shortly earlier from security agents, which contained a full description of the restrictions that will be imposed on him during the first months of his life as a "free" person, mainly, a prohibition on leaving the country and an absolute prohibition on meeting with foreign nationals. Vanunu told his brother yesterday, that he will be prohibited from leaving the country for a period of 12 months (after which the prohibition will be reconsidered), from meeting with foreign nationals and media persons from abroad. In addition, he will be prohibited from going near air and sea ports and foreign embassies, from possessing a cellular phone and from surfing the internet. Vanunu will even have to inform the police 24 hours in advance if he decides to go from one city to another. The sense of shock that Vanunu gave out yesterday also reflected the harsh atmosphere among his relatives and his many supporters, some of whom have already arrived in Israel to welcome him at the moment of his release after 18 years, of which he spent 11 years in solitary confinement. The list of restrictions - and mainly the absolute prohibition on meeting with foreign nationals - was received with amazement and rage, since it effectively erases from Vanunu's life all contact with his many supporters around the world, some of whom are the people closest to him. "This is a destructive decision for Mordechai," Vanunu's adoptive mother, Mary Eoloff, said yesterday with undisguised anger. She and her husband Nicholas arrived from the U.S. yesterday. The couple, who adopted Vanunu several years ago, dreamed of leaving the country together with him and thereby realizing his dream of emigrating to the U.S. and opening a new chapter in his life. Yesterday they found it hard to digest the news, that Vanunu would not be able to leave the country and would even be forced to accept life under harsh restrictions. "The terrible thing is, that the State is denying basic human rights to a person who has already completed his sentence," Mary Eoloff stated angrily in an interview with Yediot Ahronot. "They are assuming in advance, that he will use his freedom of speech to speak out against Israel. He has the right of expression just like any citizen, and that cannot be taken away from him." Eoloff, who lives with her husband in Minnesota, called the prohibition on meeting with foreign nationals that was imposed on Vanunu "absurd". "We are his legal parents and we intend to see him. Tomorrow (Thursday) we are going to meet him in prison. So is it conceivable, that we will be forbidden to be with him when he is freed? It is possible, that we are not included in that prohibition, but we don't know anything any more." The prohibition on meeting with foreign nationals has put pressure on Vanunu's many supporters. A delegation of about 80 of his supporters, including British Members of Parliament, Nobel Peace Price Laureates and cinema stars, will be landing in Israel over the next few days. Many of them have kept in touch with Vanunu by means of letters. Now they fear, that if they meet with him, they will cause him to violate the restrictions, thereby giving the security forces a pretext to re-arrest him. "This is a terrible scandal," said Peter Hounam, the Sunday Times reporter who exposed the Vanunu affair and who arrived in Israel to meet him after 18 years. "We don't want to cause him any problems. If I reach the conclusion that I am putting him at risk - I'll give up on the meeting. But this is an outrage. Imagine, I won't even be able to shake the man's hand." Vanunu has been given the right to appeal against the restrictions by next Sunday, and he intends to do so. He has empowered the Association for Civil Rights in Israel to petition the High Court of Justice against the restrictions on his behalf, and the petition will be made to the Court immediately after his release next week. - END - [Two boxes also appeared on the same page - one about Susannah York and the other about the Anglican Church in Israel offering Mordechai a job as a history teacher at one of the church's schools. Rayna Moss] *** [5] "It is my moral duty – not my choice, but my duty – to refuse" Daniel Tzal - on the way to the military prison ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "snehab3" Date sent: Wed, 14 Apr 2004 20:35:45 -0000 Yesterday morning (Tuesday, April 13), the 18-year old Daniel Tzal of Jaffa arrived at the induction center at Tel-Hashomer and informed the recruitng officers of his refusal to obey his call-up order and enlist in an army of occupation. He was immediately sentenced to a 14 days' imprisonment and sent to Military prison 4 at Tzrifin. From the experience of previous refusers, this is likely to the prelude to a long series of repeated detentions and imprisonments – and if persisting in his refusal to serve the occupation, Tzal may eventually face a court martial which could impose a year's term or more. He had taken his step with the full knowledge that this could well be the outcome. Daniel Tzal was accompanied up to the military gates by some sixty solidarity demonstrors, including several youths whose own call-up dates are due later this year and who also intend to refuse. The army's "Conscience Committee" Three months ago, Tzal had written to the army"s "Conscienc Committee", asking for an exemption on grounds of conscience – but the committee refused was unwilling even to hear his arguments. In a letter sent to the Minster of Defence, Daniel Tzal wrote: "The principles of `the only democracy in the Middle East' have become totally devoid of any content when the country is engaged in the systenmatic trampling upon the basic rights of three million people, which undemines the basic principles upon which the state of Israel was supposed to be founded. In historical times such as the present, a sane person must rebel against the system which perpetuates the opression. It is my moral duty – not my choice, but my duty – to refuse to take part in the occupation and struggle against the institutions which try to abolish basic human rights. A sane person, who was not yet overcome by racism and by fear, bears the basic human duty of refusing to take part in a system of occupation and opression such as the IDF has become. *** [6] Justice may be blind to selective refusal - Yuval Yoaz Ha'aretz Extensive report on Laura Milo's High Court case Justice may be blind to selective refusal By Yuval Yoaz (Ha'aretz, 14.4) "The court is actually encouraging non-involvement of citizens," said Leora Milo, a conscientious objector to IDF service, whose petition to overturn the IDF Conscience Committee's refusal to grant her an exemption was heard yesterday. Full text http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/415040.html [On the day itself we saw it also in Hebrew on the internet as well as printed edition; didn't catch it in time.] -- Ongoing struggle #Against the Wall (contact addresses) #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) #Vanunu to be released April 21 [ links to the latest re the Donate Now "Instead of Flowers" campaign / worldwide vigils etc. especially important for those who don't have the Paypal option ] New: Contact re activities in Israel #Against the Wall נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050- 607034 info@rhr.israel.net #Refusniks Constantly-updated list of all presently jailed refusniks: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel #Vanunu to be released April 21 Instead of sending flowers Wordlwide campaign WELCOME VANUNU by donating a few dollars (N.B.: online but ALSO otherwise) as a welcome gesture: List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ For details about Free Vanunu vigils and activities in Israel, Call: 02-6254530 or 051-368236 or email: legalese@netvision.net.il -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Apr 18 02:00:26 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:12 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Where are we going? Message-ID: <4081D32A.5582.18A1E6F@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [] Another assassination [translation of Hebrew Gush Shalom press release] [] Avnery on Sharon and the most anti-Israeli American president ever \\// \\// \\// [] Another assassination [translation of Hebrew Gush Shalom press release] Hebrew at request/עברית על פי בקשה The assassination of Rantisi in Gaza is another act of lethal provocation. It might impress the 200 000 registered members of the Likud Party whose votes Sharon needs, but it endangers the Israeli people to who Sharon leaves a legacy of hatred and bloodshed which might last many years after his own career comes to an end. With another prime minister, whithdrawal from the Gaza Strip and dismantling the settlements in it could have been an enormous goodwill gesture, opening a new page in the relations between the two peoples and giving momentum to a renewed peace process. As enacted by Ariel Sharon, even if he would really go through with it, which is not at all to be taken for granted, it is just one more manifestation of the arrogance of power. Today's unscrupled assassination is but the latest of the daily killings which accompany the hollow words about withdrawal. And Sharon also uses naked force on the diplomatic level. The Palestinians are not addressed, but with ultimatums and dictates. Sharon seems to be doing everything to convince the Palestinians that they have no options left other than suicidal forms of revenge, deepening the hatred and thus making sure that the giving up of territory will not bring about peace, condemning his people to an existence of suspicion and fear. *** [] Avnery on Sharon and the most anti-Israeli American president ever Uri Avnery 17.4.04 Hebrew at request & soon at the site עברית על פי בקשה או בקרוב באתר Sharon's Skin and Bush's Spots Question: Is the "Unilateral Disengagement" plan, which was so dramatically endorsed this week by President Bush, a bluff? Answer: Yes and No. If Ariel Sharon can avoid implementing it, he certainly will. He will implement it only if he has no alternative. The written plan says that it will be implemented "by the end of 2005" - and by then the situation in this country and in the Middle East as a whole may be changed beyond recognition. Anyhow, up to now no preparations have begun. There is no answer to the dozens of questions that must be addressed before a meaningful plan for implementation can even begin to be formulated. For example: Where will the settlers go? How much compensation will they get? Who will control the Gaza strip after the withdrawal? To whom will the houses and public buildings be turned over? How will the army execute the evacuation? Where will the evacuated army forces be relocated? Question: If this is the case, why has Sharon put the plan on the agenda at this time? Answer: There are several explanations, all of them valid. After several years of being accused of "having no plan" and of being old and tired, Sharon has taken a bold initiative. The country and the whole world is talking about the "Sharon Plan". The Geneva initiative, by comparison, has been pushed firmly to one side. Also, Sharon wants to use the time left, as long as George Bush is in the White House, in order to get an American endorsement for several of the ingredients of his real, long-term plan. Of course, Sharon also wants to put pressure on the new Attorney General, so that he would not dare to indict him, since this would mean sabotaging a historic step which will benefit Israel. As always, all of Sharon's declarations and deeds are designed to meet the requirements of the moment. That was true when he was a general, and it remains so now, when he is a politician. He is a "tactical", rather than a "strategic" leader. Question: Has Sharon really undergone a profound change? Has the "Ethiopian changed his skin", to use the expression of Jeremiah (13, 23)? Has he now turned his back on his lifetime accomplishments? Answer: The Ethiopian has not changed his skin. An analysis of the plan, as endorsed by Bush and shown at long last to the Israeli ministers, reveals that it conforms exactly to the plan that Sharon has been propounding for decades. He just cut out a piece of it and is presenting it as an up-to-date plan. What is his overall plan? The maximum plan is to turn all of the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River into a Jewish State, with no non- Jewish population. Since such an ethnic cleansing is not feasible for the time being, he is implementing his minimum plan: to enlarge the borders of the Jewish State as much as possible, without incorporating a further large Arab population. Therefore he wants to get rid of the Gaza Strip with its 1.2 million Palestinian inhabitants. He is prepared to evacuate the 7,000 Jewish settlers who are living there, in return for the consolidation of the West Bank settlements, where 250,000 Jewish settlers live. Sharon wants to incorporate in Israel 55% of the West Bank - the area where most of the settlers are located and the Arab population is relatively sparse. The plan spells it out: "It is clear that in the Judea and Samaria region there will remain areas that will be part of the State of Israel, including civilian localities, security areas and other places where Israel has additional interests" (Article 1c). [Since the plan has been leaked only in Hebrew, I have made the translation.] This definition could include practically anything. Almost all the Palestinian population in the West Bank, some 2.5 million people, will be crowded into the remaining 45% of the area, which, together with the Gaza Strip, will constitute about 10% of the country called Palestine under the British mandate, before 1948. This area will be a kind of archipelago in the big Israeli sea. Each "island" will be cut off from the others and surrounded by Israeli areas. The islands will be artificially connected by new roads, bridges and tunnels, so as to create the illusion of a "viable, contiguous state", as the Americans demand. According to the written plan: "Israel will improve the transportation infrastructure in the Judea and Samaria region, in order to make possible uninterrupted Palestinian transportation" (4). In practice, these connections can be cut off within minutes at any time. Pretexts can always be found easily. Sharon does not mind if this collection of enclaves is called a "Palestinian state" according to Bush's "vision". Question: What is the connection between this and the "Separation Fence"? Answer: The path of the fence - both the part that has already been built and the parts that will be built in the future - reflects this map well. That is how it was planned from the beginning. "Israel will continue building the Security Fence, according to the relevant government decisions" (5c). In his letter to Sharon, Bush said: "a security rather than a political barrier…temporary rather than permanent." Meaning, temporary until Sharon or his successors decide otherwise. Meaning: forever. Question: Why does the Israeli army support the plan? Answer: The evacuation of the forces from the Gaza Strip and the relocation of those in the West Bank will enable the army to save many resources, manpower as well as money. At present, a whole army division is guarding the Gaza Strip, and many battalions are guarding the dozens of isolated settlements in the heart of the West Bank. The plan allows the army to deploy its forces rationally and to put an end to the present dispersion of forces that is contrary to all military logic. Question: Why does Sharon agree to evacuate four settlements in the north of the West Bank? Answer: The Americans demand a symbolic gesture, in order to show that the plan does not apply to the Gaza Strip alone. Actually, the evacuation of the four small settlements has only symbolic value. This is a negligible area with a few small and unimportant settlements. Sharon's settlement and annexation map in any case provides for the evacuation of dozens of small settlements in the areas that will be left to the Palestinians. Question: What will happen in the Gaza Strip if Sharon indeed evacuates it? Answer: The disengagement will be deceptive. The direct occupation will be changed into an indirect one that will be much cheaper and more efficient. According to the plan, the Gaza strip will become a giant prison camp, cut off on all sides. It will have no seaport or airport and be cut off from its only neighbor, Egypt. There will be no entering the Strip or leaving it except through Israel. Much as now, Israel will be able to cut off the supply of food, raw materials, water, fuel, gas and electricity, as well as the exit of workers and goods. Israel will also be able to invade the Strip at any time in order to "prevent terrorist actions". The plan spells it out: "Israel reserves to itself the basic right of self-defense, including the taking of preventive steps" (3). Not only did the President agree to this, but in his letter he extended this to the West Bank, too: "…control of airspace, territorial waters, and land passages of the West Bank and Gaza will continue." Meaning that according to the "Bush vision", the Palestinian State in the West Bank also will be a prison camp, completely cut off from the world. A hopeful vision, indeed. The written text of the plan also argues that in the new situation to be created, no one will be able to hold Israel responsible for the welfare of the population. After all, the occupation will be terminated. This means that Israel will be able to choke the Strip, but the responsibility will fall on others. Question: If this is so "good for Israel", why does Sharon not implement the evacuation of the Gaza Strip at once? Answer: No politician looks for trouble. The evacuation of the Strip will entail violent clashes with the settlers, not only with the local ones but also with the West Bank settlers. That's why Sharon prefers to talk about the withdrawal rather than implement it. Question: If Sharon thinks that the settlements in the Gaza Strip are a burden and a stumbling block, why did he put them there in the first place? Why did he declare, not so long ago, that Netzarim, a completely isolated settlement in the heart of the Gaza Strip, is as important as Tel-Aviv? Answer: That declaration, like all his utterances, served only to satisfy a momentary need. The Gaza Strip settlements were put up without much thinking, as a result of the settlement inertia and a complete contempt for the Arabs. The people responsible believed that the Strip would never be given back, and, if the worst comes to the worst, they could keep at least the settlements. All in all, the establishment of the Gaza Strip settlements was a crime that has cost much blood and billions of dollars. The Labor Party is responsible for this crime as much as Likud. But Israelis are quick to forget, and nobody will blame Sharon and Peres for the death of the soldiers and settlers who were killed there - and who are still being killed - for nothing. Questions: If the Ethiopian has not changed his skin, has the leopard changed his spots? Has the American position indeed changed dramatically this week? Answer: The change lies mainly in the blatant and unequivocal support of Bush for Sharon, giving up all pretense of being an honest broker and mediator. Like Sharon, Bush is now completely ignoring the Palestinian people and its leadership. This has evoked an outburst of rage among the Palestinians and all over the Arab world. But as far as real content is concerned, the change is minimal. Question: Is the negation of the 'Right of Return" not a big change? Answer: Not really. In his last speech in office, on January 8, 2001, President Bill Clinton declared: "A solution…for the Palestinian refugees (will allow) them to return to a Palestinian state…Others who want to find new homes, whether in their current locations or in third countries, should be able to do so, consistent with those countries' sovereign decisions. And that includes Israel." This means that only Israel alone will decide whether refugees will be allowed to enter its territory - and that is what Bush said, too. Contrary to the official translation of his letter into Hebrew, Bush said that the refugees must be settled in the Palestinian state "rather than in Israel" (the Hebrew translation said "and not in Israel". A subtle but not unimportant difference.) On the eve of Sharon's departure for his meeting with Bush, the "Geneva Initiative" group published a letter to Sharon, demanding that the US "recognize that Israel is sovereign to decide on the entrance of Palestinian refugees into its territory." That, too, means the same. Question: But has not Bush endorsed now for the first time the incorporation of the settlement blocks into Israel? Answer: No. Clinton preceded him in this matter, too. In the same speech he endorsed the "incorporation into Israel of settlement blocks". Bush, on his part, wrote in his letter that "In the light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli population centers, it is not realistic to expect…a full and complete return" to the pre-1967 Green Line. All American plans, going back to the Nixon years, spoke about "insubstantial changes" in the pre-1967 borders. The famous Security Council resolution 242 also did not demand that the former border be reconstituted without any change. Bush's formula continues this line. He did not spell out the extent of the border changes envisioned. It is worthwhile remembering that the whole idea of "settlement blocks" was born years ago in the fertile brain of Yossi Beilin and was included in the "Beilin-Abu-Mazen" agreement. Beilin hoped that by this means he would disarm the opposition of the settlers, who would sacrifice the isolated settlements in order to save the major settlement blocks, where 80% of the settlers live. This hope was proven false, and Beilin's trick served only to legitimize the idea of the annexation of the blocks. The settlers did not buy the trick, because they are afraid of the precedent that would be created by removing even one settlement. They will try to prevent this by all the means available to them. Incidentally, in the same statement published by the "Geneva Initiative" group before Sharon's departure, he was urged to demand from Bush "the annexation of central settlement blocks like Gush Etzion, Ma'aleh Adumim and Giv'at Ze'ev, into sovereign Israel." There is, of course, a difference: Beilin and Clinton proposed "territorial swaps", either on a 1:1 or a less equal ratio. But it is clear that the Palestinians were asked to give up their most fertile lands in return for stretches of the Negev desert. Question: If so, where is the "dramatic change"? Answer: The drama is in the notes rather than in the melody. Clinton knew how to pour honey on his proposals, which were clearly pro-Israeli. Bush repeats these positions in a much more strident, rough and arrogant tone. He speaks about the Palestinians in the style of a military governor, just like Sharon. Question: If so, what will be the outcome? Answer: As far as the Americans are concerned, the Muslim-Arab rage against them will become even stronger, thereby increasing the motivation to hurt the Americans in Iraq and everywhere. So why did he do it? It will be remembered that Henry Kissinger said that Israel has no foreign, but only domestic policy. That is true for the United States, too. In this matter, Bush is acting solely for his re-election. He needs the votes of the Jews and the evangelical Christian, who support the Israeli right-wing. He also needs the Jewish donations. It is said that Bush is the most pro-Israeli American president there ever was. I think that the opposite is true. I believe that he is the most anti-Israeli American president there ever was, because the Sharon-Bush plan is blocking the way to Israeli-Palestinian peace, our only hope for a normal life. -- Ongoing struggle #Against the Wall (contact addresses) #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) #Vanunu to be released April 21 [ links to the latest re the Donate Now "Instead of Flowers" campaign / worldwide vigils etc. especially important for those who don't have the Paypal option ] New: Contact re activities in Israel #Against the Wall נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050- 607034 info@rhr.israel.net #Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel #Vanunu to be released April 21 Instead of sending flowers Wordlwide campaign WELCOME VANUNU by donating a few dollars (N.B.: online but ALSO otherwise) as a welcome gesture: List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ For details about Free Vanunu vigils and activities in Israel, Call: 02-6254530 or 051-368236 or email: legalese@netvision.net.il -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Mon Apr 19 19:16:42 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:12 2004 Subject: [GuShalom] Sat.24/4: Working Day cave dwellers // 28/4: activist meeting Message-ID: <4084178A.13185.15B9E9@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [] Saturday April 24 - Working day in solidarity with the cave dwellers [] Tuesday, April 28: activist meeting in Beit HaKibbut HaArtzi Tel-Aviv +++ [] Saturday April 24 - Working day in solidarity with the cave dwellers [English follows] בואו להזדהות עם התושבים הפלסטינים בדרום הר חברון בחודשים האחרונים התהדקה טבעת החנק של הכיבוש הישראלי סביב תושבי המערות בדרום הר חברון. כבר למעלה משני עשורים נמשך המאמץ המשולב של ממשלות ישראל, הצבא והמתנחלים, להפוך את האיזור לריק מפלסטינים. לכך מתווסף תוואי גדר ההפרדה המאיים לנתק את התושבים מעיירת המחוז יטא, ולאלצם לנטוש את אורח חייהם הייחודי בו הם דבקים מזה מאות שנים. ביום שבת הקרוב, 24 באפריל, נצא ליום עבודה פלסטיני-ישראלי בכפרים הדרומיים באיזור על מנת להביע הזדהות עם התושבים ולחזק אותם במאבקם על בתיהם ומקור פרנסתם. יש להצטייד בבגדי עבודה, מים ואוכל למהלך היום. הפעולה מתאימה גם למשפחות. הסעות: תל-אביב 8:00 מסוף אל-על רכבת צפון (לפרטים: 050-814343) ירושלים 7:45 גן הפעמון; 8:00 בנייני האומה (לפרטים: 058-603499) חיפה 7:30 צומת סולל בונה ( לפרטים ותיאום מקומות איסוף בצפון 052 - 887185) באר-שבע 9:00 שער הכניסה לאוניברסיטה (לפרטים:067-804909) תעאיוש, גוש שלום, הקמפוס לא שותק. Join in a day of solidarity with the Palestinians of the South-Hebron hills. During the past months the Israeli occupation is further tightening the noose around the neck of the cave dwellers in the South-Hebron hills. Already for more than 20 years the government of Israel, the army and the settlers maintain their ongoing joint effort to make this an area "free of Palestinians." Now, the planned route of the "Separation Fence" is threatening to cut off the inhabitants from the town of Yatta, on which they depend for basic necessities, forcing them to give up their centuries-old way of life. On Saturday, April 24, 2004, we will holdan Israeli-Palestinian working day in South Hebron Hills in order to express solidarity with the inhabitants and strengthening them in their struggle for their homes and their livelihood. Please, bring working clothes, water and food sufficient for the day. The action is fitting also for families. Transportation: Tel-Aviv: 8.00am Arlozorov Street Railway Station (info: 050-814343) Jerusalem: 7.45am Liberty Bell Park, 8.00 Binyaney HaUma (info: 058-603199) Haifa: 7.30am Solel Boneh Junction (info: 052-887185 - possible picking from elsewhere in the North) Be'er Sheva: 9.00am University Entrance Gate (info: 067-804909) Gush Shalom, Ta'ayush, HaCampus Lo Shotek +++ [] Tuesday, April 28: activist meeting in Beit HaKibbut HaArtzi Tel-Aviv English follows במצב הנוכחי: עם ראש ממשלה המצהיר על "התנתקות מעזה" ופינוי התנחלויות ובו בזמן מנצח על הסלמה ללא תקדים וברוטאליזציה של החברה הישראלית, עם נשיא ארה"ב הנותן גיבוי לתכניות כיבוש וסיפוח, עם מפלגת העבודה המזדחלת לממשלה ו"שלום עכשיו" המאבדת דרך אל מול תרגילי שרון, עם דור חדש של פעילי שלום ישראלים המצטרפים בגופם לאינתיפאדה הפלסטינית נגד החומה – הגיע הזמן שאנו, פעילי גוש שלום, ניפגש יחד לשמוע ולהשמיע, להתחלק בדעותינו ותחושתנו אל מול המצב המורכב הזה ולהגות (אם אפשר) רעיונות יצירתיים כדי להתמודד איתו. נפגשים ביום רביעי, 28 לאפריל 2004, שעה 8.00 בערב, בבית התנועה הקיבוצית, רחוב ליאנורדו דה וינצ'י 13. להתראות! In the present situation: with Sharon making declarations on "disengagement from Gaza" and the dismantling of settlements, but meanwhile leading us towards unprecedented escalation and brutalization of Israeli society; with Bush giving his backing to plans of occupatiuon and annexation; with the Labor Party crawling into the government and Peace Now losing its way in face of Sharon’s manoeuvres; with a new generation of Israeli peace activists directly joining the Palestinian intifada against the Wall - it is time for us, the activists of Gush Shalom, to meet together, to speak and listen, to share our views and feelings of this complicated situation, and to formulate (if possible) some creative ideas about how to face it. We meet on Wednesday, April 28, 2004, at 8.00 pm, in the Kibbut Movement House, 13 Leonardo Da Vinci St., Tel-Aviv. See you! +++ -- Ongoing struggle #Vanunu to be released April 21 (more details to follow separately) #Against the Wall (contact addresses) #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) #Vanunu to be released April 21 Instead of sending flowers Wordlwide campaign WELCOME VANUNU by donating a few dollars (N.B.: online but ALSO otherwise) as a welcome gesture: List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ For details about Free Vanunu vigils and activities in Israel, Call: 02-6254530 or 051-368236 or email: legalese@netvision.net.il #Against the Wall נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050- 607034 info@rhr.israel.net #Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Tue Apr 20 22:49:03 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:12 2004 Subject: [GuShalom] Barghouti-led doc: end violence from Gaza for full Gaza sovereignty Message-ID: <40859ACF.24606.1515CB1@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ Two Palestinian reactions which you shouldn't miss: [] Barghouti-led doc: end violence from Gaza for full Gaza sovereignty [] Afif Safieh on Sharon's banana republics (yes: plural) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ N.B. last minute action news: Tomorrow 8.30 Yafo Military Court CO Yoni Ben-Artzi's final sentence (will need every solidarity he can get - same time as Vanunu release). Army insists on long further imprisonment even after declaring Ben- Artzi "unfit for military service". Bayit Hayarok, Shivtey Yisrael 91-93 corner Yefet ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [] Barghouti-led doc: end violence from Gaza for full Gaza sovereignty Arnon Regular Tue., April 20, 2004 Hebrew: Barghouti-led document calls for cessation of attacks from Gaza A memorandum of understanding issued by the leadership of Palestinian prisoners in Israel under the patronage of jailed Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti calls for a total end to the armed struggle emanating from Gaza if a series of conditions are met. The conditions detailed in the document, or "proposal," sent to Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, includes "complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, including the `Philadelphi Route' on the Israeli-Egyptian border; full Palestinian sovereignty over the Strip, including the sea and air ports; and the release from Israeli prisons of all Gaza residents. In exchange for fulfilling the conditions, "the armed forces in Gaza will be obligated not to conduct any armed actions from Gaza," according to the document. The document is described as an attempt to complement the dialogue under way among all Palestinian factions in Gaza, and serve "as an appropriate response, which will satisfy factions in Gaza, to the assassination of Abdel Aziz Rantisi." The document proposes defining the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza "as the most important achievement of the Palestinians in the intifada after 10 years of Oslo did not move a single mobile home and during those years, the settlements doubled." The document is the first clear expression of Barghouti's readiness to commit to a cessation of violence from Gaza following an Israeli withdrawal, and reflects the dialogue between Palestinian factions within Israeli prisons and camps. Outside the prisons, the organizations tend to take a harder line, and it is unclear whether they will accept the prisoners' lead. A senior Fatah official in Gaza yesterday said the dialogue among the three main factions - Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad - that began after the assassination of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin last month, but was ceased after Rantisi's killing, will resume in the upcoming days. The official, one of the most powerful in the Strip, said the prisoners' document will serve as the basis for discussions meant to set a date for local elections in the area and to try to reach clear understandings among the organizations over how Gaza will be run once Israel departs. The official did not provide details, but said that "if there is no agreement on general partnership between the organizations, then there will be a narrower agreement on the management of the Strip." He did not rule out enlisting Hamas and Islamic militants into the PA's security services "on condition that they cut ties to those organizations. It would be in a new framework of the security services in Gaza and a new definition of their goals and purposes." Head of Preventive Security in Gaza, Rashid Abu Shbak, also is not ruling out integrating Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the security forces as long as there are clear rules for their participation. Earlier this month, Haaretz published a draft agreement between Fatah and Hamas that was hammered out between Rantisi, senior Fatah officer Ahmed Halas, and Islamic Jihad representatives. In addition to Hamas recognition of Fatah's dominance and its demands for getting involved in decision making in Gaza, the organizations agreed to discuss a cease-fire from Gaza. [] Afif Safieh on Sharon's banana republics (yes: plural) Sharon's banana republics Afif Safieh Monday April 19, 2004 The Guardian Bush and Blair have allowed Israel to dictate their Middle East policy and carry out a Palestinian politicide The study of American-Israeli relations has preoccupied two generations of scholars. Two competing schools of thought addressed the "who wags whom" debate. The first school spoke of "an American Israel", with the United States dictating to the local ally its regional policy in accordance with the American global vision. Noam Chomsky wrote two decades ago that Washington was the contemporary Rome and Israel its regional belligerent, Sparta. The second school projects the image of "an Israeli America", a complex relationship where the global superpower adopts the regional policy of its client state and integrates it in its global strategy. This is seen as a result of a powerful pro-Israel lobby that succeeded in turning "Capitol Hill into another Israeli-occupied territory". I have always believed that both schools of thought were correct but at different moments in history, depending on the strength of the American president, how comfortable he is in the country and in Congress, and how comfortable the US is in the world. After the horror of 9/11, when the predictable retaliation was being discussed, the pro-Israel lobby emerged as the "maximalist school", which wanted to expand the theatre of operations beyond Afghanistan to engulf Iraq, Syria and Libya. That lobby has grown accustomed to using one muscle too many and one pressure too far. The collusion between the US and Israeli agendas has put America on a collision course with the Arab World, which now perceives the US as Israel's belligerent Sparta and the aim of American foreign policy to be docility, not democracy. Tony Blair has always had a more sophisticated approach than George Bush. Blair knew that military challenges and security threats needed political responses. That to win the battle of hearts and minds, the west had to be seen as engaged in resolving the Palestinian problem. The test and the extent of his influence in Washington depended on who Bush needed more: Blair internationally or Ariel Sharon domestically. Last week was a sad moment for international diplomacy. The world's two most powerful leaders, Bush and Blair, caved in to the most unscrupulous politician in the Middle East, who was found to be "unfit for public office" by an Israeli inquiry committee after the massacres of Sabra and Shatila in 1982. Sharon is not hiding his game. In a recent interview with the leading Israeli journalist Nahum Barnea, he said Israelis should see his plan of unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip not as a reward but as a punishment of the Palestinians. He announced that the Palestinians could operate neither a port nor an airport in Gaza, and that Israel intended to keep control of territorial water and airspace. Nor would they have control of the borders. He added that this would delay the discussion of a Palestinian state for many years. He forgot to mention was that Gaza, with its 1.3 million inhabitants, is only about 1% of historic Palestine. Why Bush considered Sharon's intentions "courageous" and "a golden opportunity" can be explained by the electoral considerations of an embattled president. But I remain puzzled by Blair's enthusiasm for Sharon's machinations and his conviction that they are in harmony with the road map. He has more experience in power than Bush, is better advised, and electoral considerations in Britain run in the opposite direction. Opinion polls show a 2-1 ratio in favour of Palestinian aspirations as compared with the Israeli position. Debates in parliament, across the political divide, should encourage him to be more assertive. All indicationsshow that, on Palestine/Israel, Blair does not reflect the depth of feeling in Britain. Sharon has been dealing with the US and Britain as though they were his own banana republics. To his intransigence they constantly respond with abdication of responsibility and self inflicted impotence. The way ahead under the road map would have been to secure a reciprocal cessation of violence that all Palestinian factions accept; pressure Sharon to couple a complete withdrawal from Gaza with a pull-out of the urban centres in the West Bank to allow the creation of a Palestinian state "with temporary frontiers"; and to make Palestinian elections possible - presidential, parliamentary and municipal - and pave the way for final-status negotiations. None of that has been undertaken. Bush and Blair are allowing Israel to dictate what is possible. Sharon will pursue his policy of politicide, vandalising Palestinian society and the economy, and crushing any national representation and government. Despite Hamas's self-restraint since the assassination of Sheikh Yassin and its dialogue with other factions to minimise civilian deaths on both sides, he has pressed ahead with decapitating the Palestinian leadership by killing Abdul-Aziz Rantissi. For years it has been my belief that the ideal US president for Middle East peace would be one who had the ethics of a Carter, the popularity of a Reagan and the strategic audacity of a Nixon. Alas, we have a president who has the ethics of a Nixon, the popularity of a Carter and the intellectual agility of a Reagan. [Afif Safieh is Palestinian General Delegate to the UK and the Holy See] -- Ongoing struggle #Vanunu to be released April 21 (more details to follow separately) #Against the Wall (contact addresses) #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) #Vanunu to be released April 21 Instead of sending flowers Wordlwide campaign WELCOME VANUNU by donating a few dollars (N.B.: online but ALSO otherwise) as a welcome gesture: List of international vigils on day of Vanunu release (April 21): http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/ http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Online petition for the unconditional release of Vanunu http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemordechaivanunu/ For details about Free Vanunu vigils and activities in Israel, Call: 02-6254530 or 051-368236 or email: legalese@netvision.net.il #Against the Wall נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050- 607034 info@rhr.israel.net #Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Apr 22 21:51:00 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:12 2004 Subject: [Gushalom] Let him go, let him speak + action alerts & reports Message-ID: <40883034.10673.874AE4B@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ on the agenda: []Let him go, let him speak, let there be an open debate (Gush ad tomorrow) []Saturday - a working day in solidarity with the cave dwellers []Sunday, an Alternative Day of Remembrance in Tel-Aviv reports []Civilian Yoni Ben Artzi dragged back to the military prison []Roundup of Vanunu news & request for your protest of the restrictions []Yes, Alice, it does do some good (Gila Svirsky) followed by press release: UNWRA back to Gaza []Eldar on opportunities lost once more in blood (based on Gush Shalom report of Arafat visit 10.4 ) \\// //\\ \\// []Let him go, let him speak, let there be an open debate (Gush ad tomorrow) עברית באתר / Hebrew on the website www.gush-shalom.org THE HARASSMENT OF MORDECHAI VANUNU MUST STOP. LET HIM GO. LET HIM SPEAK. BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANT: THE AMBIGUITY ABOUT ISRAEL'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS MUST STOP. LET THERE BE AN OPEN DEBATE. OUR LIVES ARE AT STAKE. [ad to be published in Ha'aretz, 23.04.04] To voice our opinion we need your donation to Gush Shalom, P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 or ask us about charities in your country +++ []Saturday - a working day in solidarity with the cave dwellers [Hebrew was sent earlier / נוסח עברי נשלח כבר + ישלח שוב על פי בקשה] ~~Day of Solidarity with Palestinians of South-Hebron Hills~~ During the past months the Israeli occupation is further tightening the noose around the neck of the cave dwellers in the South-Hebron hills. Already for more than 20 years the government of Israel, the army and the settlers maintain their ongoing joint effort to make this an area "free of Palestinians." Now, the planned route of the "Separation Fence" is threatening to cut off the inhabitants from the town of Yatta, on which they depend for basic necessities, forcing them to give up their centuries-old way of life. On Saturday, April 24, 2004, we will holdan Israeli-Palestinian working day in South Hebron Hills in order to express solidarity with the inhabitants and strengthening them in their struggle for their homes and their livelihood. Please, bring working clothes, water and food sufficient for the day. The action is fitting also for families. Transportation: Tel-Aviv: 8.00am Arlozorov Street Railway Station (info: 050-814343) Jerusalem: 7.45am Liberty Bell Park, 8.00 Binyaney HaUma (info: 058-603199) Haifa: 7.30am Solel Boneh Junction (info: 052-887185 - possible picking from elsewhere in the North) Be'er Sheva: 9.00am University Entrance Gate (info: 067-804909) Gush Shalom, Ta'ayush, HaCampus Lo Shotek, Yesh Gvul +++ []Sunday, an Alternative Day of Remembrance in Tel-Aviv ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "yuval halperin" To: info@gush-shalom.org, yerushali9@walla.co.il, actleft@yahoogroups.com [English follows] יום הזיכרון לחללי המלחמות והכיבוש ביום א', 25.4.04, שעה 19:30 יתקיים בגדה השמאלית, רח' אחד העם 70 ת"א אירוע אלטרנטיבי ליום הזיכרון. :יישאו דברים איברהים בושנאק, שאחיינו נרצח באוקטובר 200 מאש משטרת ישראל. רמי אלחנן, חבר "פורום ההורים השכולים הישראלי-פלסטיני למען השלום". משה יהודאי, חבר הסניף הישראלי של הפדרציה העולמית לסרבני מלחמה. חוה קלר, לוחמת ב- 1948: "הבטיחו לי שעוד מעט מחזירים את הפליטים". אורי יעקב, סרבן גיוס ב-2003. יעקב חן, סרבן גיוס ב-1956. רותי קנטור, פעילה בארגון "פרופיל חדש". שמואל ירושלמי, משורר ופעיל שלום. כמו כן תוצג תערוכה בנושא מיליטריזם בישראל. Day of remembrance to the victims of war and occupation. An alternative ceremony of the day of remembrance will take place at the Gada Smalit ("Left Bank", Ahad Ha'am 70) on Sunday, 25 of April, at 19:30. The participants: Ibrahim Bushnak,whose nephew was murdered in October 2000 by the guns of the Israeli police; Rami Elhanan, member of the joint Israeli-Palestinian forum of bereaved families for peace; Moshe Yehudai, member in the Moshe Yehuda'i, Israeli branch of the world federation of war resisters; Hava Keller, who fought in 1948: "I was promised that the refugees would return to their homes shortly"; Uri Yaakobi, 2003 draft resister; Yaakov Chen, 1956 draft resister; Ruti Kantor, activist in the "New profile" organization; Shmuel Yerushalmi, poet and peace activist. An exhibition on the theme of Israeli militarism will be opened. +++ []Civilian Yoni Ben Artzi dragged back to the military prison [report by Adam Keller - Gush Shalom member and member of the Refuser Parents Forum] It would have required the pen of a Kafka or an Orwell to do justice to the scene at the Jaffa Military Court yesterday morning. CO Yoni Ben Artzi, who had spent nearly two years in repeated detentions, had already in January gotten a complete discharge from military service. Officially and formally a civilian who should never again be required to wear a uniform or be part of military hierarchy - yet here he was, brought back to complete the process of a military trial and hear the verdict passed on him for the most military of all offences - "Refusal to obey a legal order from the commanding officer placed in charge of him". Colonel Avi Levy, the presiding judge, started by reiterating that himself and his two fellow judges have become convinced of Ben-Artzi's sincerity in his pacifist convictions. That, surely, should clinch the matter? It turns out that it does not. "This court is not the competent body to rule on exemptions for reasons of conscience. The body in charge of that - the Conscience Committee - now includes not only military officers but also a civilian philosopher (sic). The committee heard the accused and remains in doubt whether he is motivated by conscience or by by self-seeking and egoism.(...) The accused has chosen to flout the legal decision of the committee and to take the law into his own hands by refusing orders repeatedly. Whatever his motives, for that he must be punished - to deter him from future defiance of the law, and to deter others whose request for exemption may in future be turned down. We regret that the accused rejected the court's offer that he serve his punishment in the form of Military Works, whence he could come home every night and avoid actual incarceration". Ben Artzi: "Had I been willing to do that, I could as well have enlisted in the army to begin with". The judge went on: "The accused having declined our offer, we have no choice but to impose the term of two months' incarceration in the military prison, plus a fine of NIS 2,000 - non-payment of which would entail a further two month imprisonment". Silence in the hall - and then Prof. Matanya Ben Artzi, Yoni's father' rose up and stated in a clear, steady voice: "Colonel Avi Levy, once upon a time you, too, will be called to account for your iniquities". "I meant it" Prof. Ben Artzi afterwards told the group of activists and refusers' parents who had been following this trial from the start. "All this pretence at a fair process and letting justice be served, but it's a crooked game. It's all part of the same predatory and vindictive system - like letting Vanunu out after 18 years and then imposing such severe restrictions on him, like declaring that they are going to withdraw from Gaza and then sending the army back in to destroy and kill. Why, right now they said on the news that the army killed six Palestinians near Gaza, just as we were sitting here in the court and listening to this verdict! Someone had to get out and say it, even if it's against the court rules. What the court said in this verdict was that Yoni should have become a robot, silenced the voice of his conscience in deference to the judgement of a bunch of bureaucrats who never gave him a fair hearing." Meanwhile, Adv. Michael Sfard managed to obtain a stay of execution pending an appeal to the Military Appeals Court. "If necessary, we will go higher, also to the Supreme Court". +++ []Roundup of Vanunu news & request for your protest of the restrictions A taxi ride from the military court - to the Ashkelon Prison, just in time to witness the nuclea r whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu emerge. A pandemonium, with hundreds of journalists, photographers and TV crews jockeying for position. A bit behind, anti-nuclear activists from all over the world were since the early morning chanting "Peace, Shalom, Salam" from behind police fences, holding up Vanunu posters, a smiling Vanunu and "Thank y ou, Mordechai " in Hebrew, Arabic and English. There were also the individual signs of particular group s: "Hiroshima survivors welcome Mordechai Vanunu"; "Vanunu the whistleblower, you are welcome in Irela nd"; "US Campaign to Free Vanunu". Then arrived the extreme-right people - waving Israeli national flags, shouting unprintable obscen ities, throwing eggs, tearing signs... With the connivance of the police they advanced forward, placing themselves between the peace delegations and the prison gate. Would that be Vanunu's first sight after eightee n years behind bars, this his welcome? A group of Israeli activists and some internationals - led by the anarchists, fresh from the daily struggle around the "Separation Wall", rushed forward and placed themselves right near the gate, Upon notici ng them, the nationalists increased their heckling and catcalls, bursting out into "He's a traitor, he's a t raitor, he's a traitor!" in a cadence usually heard at football matches - which was answered with "He's a hero, he 's a hero, he's a hero!" and "Peace Yes - Nukes No!" and "Nukes are terror - Vanunu a hero!" Meanwhile the international contingent released 18 white doves, one for each year of incarceration, to the gay st rains of a trumpeteer. . The moment was drawing close… Already we could hear on a transistor radio snatches of Vanunu speaking to journalists inside the prison gates: "I am proud of what I did... I call for international inspection of the Dimona Nuclear Pile. .. I have no more secrets to reveal... I did not say that I am against the existence of Israel, I said that I have no use for a Jewish state and don't want to live in one...". Would he say anything that would be interpreted as breakin g the stringent restrictions put on him, which would provide a pretext for the authorities to pounce on h im? Then, the heavy gate opened. Our clapping and cheers drowned out the curses of our opponents, we th rew outwards the flowers which were saved for this moment, got a glimpse of a speeding white car - and he was past. The frustrated rightists rampaged a it more, threw a few more eggs - happy throats answered t hem with "Mordie is free, Mordie is free!". Still, the scene at the prison gates made one thing clear: aside from the officially-imposed restri ctions, the nominally-free Mordechai Vanunu could hardly stroll down the streets of Tel-Aviv or Jerusalem, unle ss heavily disguised. The intensive hate campaign of the past months ensured that people who get their information from what passes for the news sections of the mainstream Israeli media would think of h im as a despicable traitor. And yet the government which made such a thorough job of making so many people hate him also insists upon forcing him to go on living in one country with these people. For the time being, Mordechai Vanunu has found a welcoming refuge at the Pilgrim Guest House, run b y the Anglican Church at St. George's Cathedral in East Jerusalem. But that can only be a temporary exped ient. Mordechai Vanunu should not be forces to live among hatred. He must be allowed to try building a n ew life somewhere else. P.S. from Rayna Moss the following: [compiled of two messages] For a review of articles, photos and other news about Vanunu's release, go to www.vanunu.com Even if you don't read Hebrew, see www.haaretz.com and www.ynet.com for photos. Coverage also on www.cnn.com For addresses of where to send a protest against the restrictions on Vanunu who served his full prison term: http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/youcanhelp.html in order to send a copy to the nearest Israeli Embassy: http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/israel1.htm +++ []Yes, Alice, it does do some good (Gila Svirsky) followed by press release: UNWRA back to Gaza ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: Gila Svirsky [mailto:gsvirsky@netvision.net.il] Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2004 9:59 PM To: Gila Svirsky Subject: Yes, Alice, it does do some good. Dear Alice, You were signature number 2,750 on the petition "Open the Gates to Allow Food into Gaza", and you added after your name, "This won't do any good, but here goes." Thankfully, Alice, you were mistaken: The gates to Gaza have now been re-opened to regular UNRWA emergency food shipments, following three harrowing weeks of sporadic delivery. Celebration, or at least great relief, is in order. I asked a senior UNRWA official what he thought made a difference, and he replied, "Everything -- the people who signed the petition, the Israelis and Palestinians who spoke out against it, the internationals who expressed their indignation, the letters to the officials -- everything together made the difference." So thank you, Alice, wherever you are, and thank you to the 6,685 others who signed the petition and sent letters or made phone calls. It's a drop in the ocean of what remains to be done, but for 600,000 men, women, and children in Gaza, it means that tomorrow they won't go hungry. Gila Svirsky Jerusalem www.coalitionofwomen4peace.org _________________________ The UNRWA Press release: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East-Headquarters Gaza website: www.unrwa.org Press Release No. HQ/G/07/2004 21 April, 2004 UNRWA Recommences Emergency Food Distributions in the Gaza Strip Gaza - The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees today recommenced the distribution of emergency food aid to some 600,000 refugees in the Gaza Strip. UNRWA's emergency food programme was suspended on April 1 following restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities at the sole commercial entry point for Gaza. Those restrictions prevented UNRWA from transporting empty freight containers out of Gaza, causing the Agency a bottleneck that prevented 11,000 tons of food from entering from the Israeli port of Ashdod and costing UNRWA around $130,000 in fees. For most of the last two weeks, the Israeli authorities have operated workable arrangements - as is required under international humanitarian law - at the Gaza entry point. These have permitted the Agency to bring sufficient amounts of humanitarian aid into the Strip. The Agency now has enough food in Gaza to provide for the needs of the refugees for the next 30 days. However, the future of the emergency food assistance programme remains in doubt because the Israeli authorities are now insisting that holes must be drilled in the two-inch wall cavities of containers leaving Gaza so that they can be searched by mini-camera. The containers are not the property of UNRWA and such procedures will add to the costs and the delays in providing food to the needy. UNRWA delivers around 250 tons of food aid per day to the refugees in Gaza as part of a wider programme of emergency operations. These operations are designed to alleviate the worst of the economic hardship felt by the refugees since the start of the strife in the West Bank and Gaza in September 2000. Around two-thirds of the population of the Gaza Strip, 80 per cent of whom are refugees, are now living below the poverty line and are increasingly dependent on international humanitarian assistance. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A donation of US$30 can provide one month's food parcel for a family of eight containing 50kg of flour, five kg of rice, five kg of sugar, two liters of cooking oil, one kg of powdered mil and five kg of lentils. You can make a donation by visiting http://www.un.org/unrwa/emergency/donation/index.html and paying by credit card, or by sending crossed cheques to UNRWA liaison offices. Alternatively you can send cheques payable to UNRWA to its bank accounts. Please contact us about a nearest bank account from your location. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Public Information Office UNRWA-HQ (GAZA) website: www.unrwa.org +++ []Eldar on opportunities lost once more in blood (based on Gush Shalom report of Arafat visit 10.4 ) People and Politics: It's still the same old story, a tale of missed opportunity By Akiva Eldar // Ha'aretz 20.04.04 Saturday morning, 10 days ago, a small group of Israelis slipped through the checkpoints to Ramallah. The Gush Shalom activists, headed by Uri Avnery, were on their way to tell Yasser Arafat that if Ariel Sharon aimed to kill him, Arafat will find them once again at his side. full text Hebrew/ עברית -- Ongoing struggle #Against the Wall (contact addresses) #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) #Against the Wall נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il who set's up a list for people who can come at short notice, or: Arik Asherman 050- 607034 info@rhr.israel.net #Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html NB: Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR Israel -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From otherisr at actcom.co.il Fri Apr 23 05:02:20 2004 From: otherisr at actcom.co.il (otherisr@actcom.co.il) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:12 2004 Subject: (Fwd) MA'ARIV ENGLISH INCITING TO KILL VANUNU - please protest Message-ID: <4088954C.13332.9FFA424@localhost> We just got the following alarming email from Rayna Moss, coordinator of the Israeli Committee for Mordechai Vanunu. You can send your protest to , and/or to: cc to for a sample letter scroll down to the very end of this message ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 03:13:19 -0700 From: Rayna Moss Subject: MA'ARIV INCITING TO KILL VANUNU To: Other Israel Ma'ariv Online's English edition is running a poll "What should be done with Vanunu?" - in which one of the options is "be killed". If you cannot open the attachment, go to www.maariv.co.il and click on English Edition. At the bottom of the page there is an option for contacting the editors. Please express your disgust and protest at this dangerous and offensive "opinion poll". Inform the editors that you will boycott the paper. You should know, that an official complaint against Ma'ariv has been served by Gideon Spiro of the Israeli Committee for Mordechai Vanunu for a previous death threat that the paper carried in a column by Dan Margalit. Please respond quickly. Rayna Moss ---- sample letter, to be used as is, or as inspiration for your own text To the editor of Maariv I hereby urge you to immediately remove the disgusting Vanunu opinion poll. A respectable newspaper does not publish a questionnaire in which killing a person after he was released from prison is a legitimate option. You can be accused of incitement to murder. If you don't stop this immediately and I don't receive from you an apology then I will from now on boycott your paper, the printed as well as the electronic versions. [your name and address] ------- End of forwarded message ------- From otherisr at actcom.co.il Fri Apr 23 06:27:42 2004 From: otherisr at actcom.co.il (otherisr@actcom.co.il) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:12 2004 Subject: P.S. Please Protest ALSO to Attorney General re Ma'ariv Vanunu poll Message-ID: <4088A94E.18711.A4DD127@localhost> [This is a continuation of the earlier message. But the letter to Mazuz is also self-explanatory. Please, send a fax, or if you can't, send us your personalized letter to Mazuz, and we will fax it to him. ] [Hebrew attached - ????? ??"? ] To Mr. Menny Mazuz Attorney ?General Jerusalem +972-2-6708727, +972-2-6288065, +972-2-6466731Fax Dear Sir I call upon you to open urgently an investigation on suspicion of incitement to murder against the editor of Ma'ariv newspaper, Mr. Amnon Dankner, as well as against the editor of the paper?s internet edition. I refer to a "readers' poll" published on the Ma'ariv English-languague website today (April 23) on the question "what to do with Vanunu? to which one of the answers the readers can choose is ?kill him? (see site at the address www.maarivintl.com). In my view, when a mass-ciruclation paper publishes such a "poll?, in which the idea of murdering in cold blood a person whom large parts of the public regard with hatred is presented as a legitimate oprtion among the spectrum of activities condoned by the paper (and indeed, a large number of Ma?ariv readers did choose the option of murder, and the paper published this) then there is a clear and ptresent danger that one or more readers will draw from this ?poll? legitimation to take up arms and actually implement what the paper considers a legitimate act. This is precisely the point at which freedom of speech ends and naked incitement to murder begins. It is you duty, as being in charge of enforcing the laws of the state of Israel, to take appropriate steps. Sincerely Yours Name: Address: Copy : Ma'ariv editorial office fax 972-3-5610624 -------------- next part -------------- The following section of this message contains a file attachment prepared for transmission using the Internet MIME message format. If you are using Pegasus Mail, or any another MIME-compliant system, you should be able to save it or view it from within your mailer. If you cannot, please ask your system administrator for assistance. ---- File information ----------- File: Vanunu'incitement'petition.doc Date: 23 Apr 2004, 5:21 Size: 20480 bytes. Type: Unknown -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Vanunu'incitement'petition.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 20480 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040423/4fbc68dd/Vanunuincitementpetition.obj From info at gush-shalom.org Sat Apr 24 19:48:52 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:12 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Vanunu and the American connection + action billboard Message-ID: <408AB694.14310.6875498@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ Reminder + date correction (NB!): [1] Our activists meeting will be Wednesday, April 28 at 8pm in Tel-Aviv also on the agenda [2] Sunday, Israeli women join Palestinian women-only anti-wall march [3] Sunday, an Alternative Day of Remembrance in Tel-Aviv [4] Monday: Yesh-Gvul's Alternative Independence Day Ceremony articles & reports [5] Two articles on Vanunu and the American connection # Uri Avnery: Vanunu: The Terrible Secret # The last taboo By Avner Cohen [6] Education Minister boycots BGU for not firing Prof.Lev Grinberg ongoing struggle [7] Links to continuous updates #Against the Wall (contact addresses + appeal to Irish government) daily struggle / appeal to Ireland / eye-witness reports #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) updated refusniks lists / support to five long-time incarcerated \\// //\\ \\// [1] Our activists meeting will be Wednesday, April 28 at 8pm in Tel-Aviv [Hebrew was sent earlier / נוסח עברי נשלח כבר + ישלח שוב על פי בקשה] In the present situation: with Sharon making declarations on "disengagement from Gaza" and the dismantling of settlements, but meanwhile leading us towards unprecedented escalation and brutalization of Israeli society; with Bush giving his backing to plans of occupatiuon and annexation; with the Labor Party crawling into the government and Peace Now losing its way in face of Sharon’s manoeuvres; with a new generation of Israeli peace activists directly joining the Palestinian intifada against the Wall - it is time for us, the activists of Gush Shalom, to meet together, to speak and listen, to share our views and feelings of this complicated situation, and to formulate (if possible) some creative ideas about how to face it. We meet on Wednesday, April 28, 2004, at 8.00 pm, in the Kibbutz Movement House, 13 Leonardo Da Vinci St., Tel-Aviv. See you! +++ [2] Sunday, Israeli women join Palestinian women-only anti-wall march ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: aya zamir Hebrew at request / עברית על פי בקשה Dearest anti-wallers! Come on sunday, 10am, to Biddu - to the first all and only women's anti-wall demonstration: Palestinian women from the entire region will march against the construction of the wall in Biddu, and they ask for massive Israeli and international women participation. It is vital that we support this new phase in the popular non violent resistance to the wall. for more details: Cheska 052 4494030 or Jenny 052 4415589 LEAVING FROM TEL AVIV: at 8 am, near platform 605 (the bus to Jerusalem), central bus station, 6th floor. [3] Sunday, an Alternative Day of Remembrance in Tel-Aviv ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "yuval halperin" Hebrew at request / עברית על פי בקשה Day of remembrance to the victims of war and occupation. An alternative ceremony of the day of remembrance will take place at the Gada Smalit ("Left Bank", Ahad Ha'am 70) on Sunday, 25 of April, at 19:30. The participants: Ibrahim Bushnak,whose nephew was murdered in October 2000 by the guns of the Israeli police; -Rami Elhanan, member of the joint Israeli-Palestinian forum of bereaved families for peace; -Moshe Yehudai, member in the Israeli branch of the world federation of war resisters; -Hava Keller, who fought in 1948: "I was promised that the refugees would return to their homes shortly"; -Uri Yaakobi, 2003 draft resister; -Yaakov Chen, 1956 draft resister; -Ruti Kantor, activist in the "New profile" organization; -Shmuel Yerushalmi, poet and peace activist. An exhibition on the theme of Israeli militarism will be opened. +++ [4] Monday: Yesh-Gvul's Alternative Independence Day Ceremony ------- Forwarded message follows ------- To: From: "peretz kidron" Date sent: Thu, 22 Apr 2004 18:15:59 +0200 Subject: Hebrew at request / עברית על פי בקשה Yesh Gvul Invites you to an ALTERNATIVE INDEPENDENCE TORCHLIGHTING CEREMONY Dedicated to an Israel more moral, more just, more egalitarian. We will light torches for an immediate end of the unnecessary war and the reconquest of the Palestinian territories; for amends for the injustices inflicted upon the weak. AND IN THE HOPE OF PEACE WITH OUR NEIGHBOURS Torch lighters: Betty Nevenishti, Dalia Golomb, Dov Hinin, Nathan Lavon, Avi Levy, Adi Leibovitz, Laura Milo, Shebi Korzen, Peretz Kidron, Sherry Rivkin, Yonatan Shapira We'll wind up with music by: UNSOUNDABLE & SAGOL 59 7:45 pm, Monday April 26, 2004 , Emil Gruenzweig Square (opposite the Prime Minister’s Office)Givat Ram, Jerusalem. Transportation from Tel Aviv: 6:30 pm, El Al terminal near the Northern Train Station Telephone numbers for support and counseling for soldiers or enquiries: (03) 5224118 or (02) 6250271 info@yesh-gvul.org www.yesh-gvul.org Peretz Kidron *** Ram Rahat +++ [5] Two articles on Vanunu and the American connection # Uri Avnery: Vanunu: The Terrible Secret # The last taboo By Avner Cohen ~~ # Avnery: Vanunu: The Terrible Secret Hebrew at request & soon at the site עברית על פי בקשה או בקרוב באתר Uri Avnery 24.4.04 Vanunu: The Terrible Secret In the darkness of a cinema, a woman’s voice: “Hey! Take your hands off! Not you! YOU!” This old joke illustrates the American policy regarding nuclear armaments in the Middle East. “Hey, you there, Iraq and Iran and Libya, stop it! Not YOU, Israel!” The danger of nuclear arms was the main pretext for the invasion of Iraq. Iran is threatened in order to compel it to stop its nuclear efforts. Libya has surrendered and is dismantling its nuclear installations. So what about Israel? This week it became clear that the Americans are full partners in the creation of Israel’s “nuclear option”. How was this exposed? With the help of Mordecai Vanunu, of course. Throughout the week, a festival was being celebrated around the prisoner, who was released on Wednesday. The Security Establishment has not stopped harassing him even after he has sat in prison for 18 years, 11 of them in complete solitary confinement – a treatment he himself described on leaving the prison as “cruel and barbaric”. After he was “set free”, far-reaching restrictions were imposed on him (e.g. he is forbidden to leave the country, is restricted to one town, cannot go near any embassy or consulate, may not talk with foreign citizens). All this under the colonial British emergency regulations that were condemned at the time by the leaders of the Jewish community in Palestine, as “worse then the Nazi laws”. Not, God forbid, because of any desire for revenge! The security people declared from every podium that this is not revenge for all the shame Vanunu caused the security services, and is by no means just more persecution, but an essential security requirement. He must not be allowed to leave the country or to speak with foreigners and journalists, because he is in possession of secrets vital to the security of the state. Everybody understands that he has no more secrets. What can a technician know after 18 years in jail, during which technology has advanced with giant steps? But gradually it becomes clear what the security establishment is really afraid of. Vanunu is in a position to expose the close partnership with the United States in the development of Israel’s nuclear armaments. This worries Washington so much, that the man responsible in the State Department for “arms control”, Under Secretary John Bolton, has come to Israel in person for the occasion. Vanunu, it appears, can cause severe damage to the mighty super-power. The Americans are afraid of sounding like the lady in the dark cinema. (By the way, this John Bolton is an avid supporter of the group of Zionists neo-cons who play a central role in the Bush theater. He opposes arms control for the United States and its satellites, and was installed in the State Department against the wishes of the Secretary of State himself.) In the short address Vanunu was able to make to the media immediately on his release, he made a strange remark: that the young woman who served as bait for his kidnapping, some 18 years ago, was not a Mossad agent, as generally assumed, but an agent of the FBI or CIA. Why was it so urgent for him to convey this? From the first moment, there was something odd about the Vanunu affair. At the beginning, my first thought was that he was a Mossad agent. Everything pointed in that direction. How else can one explain a simple technician’s success in smuggling a camera into the most secret and best guarded installation in Israel? And in taking photos apparently without hindrance? How else to explain the career of that person who, as a student at Beer-Sheva University, was well-known as belonging to the extreme left and spending his time in the company of Arab fellow-students? How was he allowed to leave the country with hundreds of photos? How was he able to approach a British paper and to turn over to British scientists material that convinced them that Israel had 200 nuclear bombs? Absurd, isn’t it? But it all fits , if one assumes that Vanunu acted from the beginning on a mission for the Mossad. His disclosures in the British newspaper not only caused no damage to the Israeli government, but on the contrary, strengthened the Israeli deterrent without committing the government, which was free to deny everything. What happened next only reinforced this assumption. While in London, in the middle of his campaign of exposures, knowing that half a dozen intelligence services are tracking his every movement, he starts an affair with a strange women, is seduced into following her to Rome, where he is kidnapped and shipped back to Israel. How naive can you get? Is it credible for a reasonable person to fall into such a primitive trap? It is not. Meaning that the whole affair was nothing but a classic cover story. But when the affair went on, and details of the year-long daily mistreatment of the man became public, I had to give up this initial theory. I had to face the fact that our security services are even more stupid than I had assumed (which I wouldn’t have believed possible) and that all these things actually had happened, and that Mordecai Vanunu was an honest and idealistic, if extremely naive, person. I have no doubt that his personality was shaped by his background. He is the son of a family with many children, who were quite well-to-do in Morocco but lived in a primitive “transition camp” in Israel, before moving to Be’er-Sheva, where they lived in poverty. In spite of this, he succeeded in getting into university and got a master’s degree, quite an achievement, but suffered, so it seems, from the overbearing attitude and prejudices of his Ashkenazi peers. Undoubtedly, that pushed him towards the company of the extreme left, where such prejudices were not prevalent. The bunch of “security correspondents” and other commentators who are attached to the udders of the security establishment have already spread stories about Vanunu “imagining things”, his long stay in solitary confinement causing him to “convince himself of all kinds of fantasies” and to “invent all kinds of fabrications”. Meaning: the American connection. Against this background one can suddenly understand all these severe restrictions, which, at first sight, look absolutely idiotic. The Americans, it seems, are very worried. The Israeli security services have to dance to their tune. The world must be prevented by all available means from hearing, from the lips of a credible witness, that the Americans are full partners in Israel’s nuclear arms program, while pretending to be the world’s sheriff for the prevention of nuclear proliferation. “And the lady cried: “Not you! YOU!” ~~ # The last taboo By Avner Cohen Fri., April 23, 2004 Hebrew / עברית +++ [6] Education Minister boycots BGU for not firing Prof.Lev Grinberg ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: Lev Grinberg My article "Symbolic Genocide" provoked an incredible reaction in the Israeli media after its publication in "La Libre Belgique" last month, mainly responses of de-legitimation and defamation, and almost no debate with my argument. The last development is the demand of the minister of Education to fire me, and the boycot she declared on Ben Gurion University due to their rejection of her demand. (see Haaretz English edition http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/418983.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/418137.html I trust my University, colleagues and students that they will stand against the Minister pressure, however the anti-democratic and illegal demand is a real deterioration in the freedom of speech in Israel with a few salient MCarthist figures, one is the present Education Minister and the other the former "liberal" Minister of Education Amnon Rubinstein. Lev +++ ongoing struggle [7] Links to continuous updates #Against the Wall (contact addresses + appeal to Irish government) daily struggle / appeal to Ireland / eye-witness reports #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) updated refusniks lists / support to five long-time incarcerated #Against the Wall * נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net * Support diplomatic opposition to the Wall by signing the appeal to the Irish government http://www.petitiononline.com/WBWall01/petition.html * For daily eye-witness reports from the OT written by internationals: http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php #Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla - Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR - Israel -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Apr 25 16:29:07 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:12 2004 Subject: (Fwd) Nonviolent women's march in Biddu brutally dispersed Message-ID: <408BD943.30171.AF6FDFF@localhost> ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Jessica" To: Subject: Fw: Anarchy in our souls Date sent: Sun, 25 Apr 2004 14:08:32 +0200 Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2004 2:29 PM Subject: Anarchy in our souls Gila Svirsky writes: Friends, I just spoke to Molly Malekar on her way to Sha'arei Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem, and here is what she reported: "We were about 60 women, only women: roughly 1/3 Israeli, 1/3 Palestinian, and 1/3 internationals. We gathered at Bidu to protest the construction of the wall in this village. It was a quiet march, with women carrying signs and walking toward the area where soldiers were guarding the construction of the fence. At a distance of about 10 meters (30 feet) from them, we stopped walking because the soldiers turned to point their rifles directly at us. I called out to them in Hebrew, "Don't shoot, we're not armed, this is a nonviolent demonstration." Suddenly there was an onslaught of teargas and stun grenades, falling all around us, completely out of proportion to the quiet, nonprovocative nature of our action. The grenades fell right there at our feet and we were choking, unable to breathe. Most dispersed and ran back. Soldiers charged toward us and fell upon the women, grabbing some whom they arrested. By then, there was no demonstration at all, nothing to disperse. Most of the women had run back, trying to recover from the tear gas, but I remained as I wanted to talk to the soldiers to prevent the arrest of the four women. Suddenly out of nowhere four horses charged, with border police mounted on them. I started to run away, but one of them ridden by a girl soldier caught up with me and she struck me on my head with a baton. I fell, and then a second horse charged toward me and I felt more blows on my head and back. There was no provocation whatsoever at any point while this was happening." Molly is the director of Bat Shalom, which is the women's peace organization that forms the Israeli side of The Jerusalem Link: A Women's Joint Venture for Peace (the Palestinian side is called the Jerusalem Center for Women). Molly is the most wonderfully serious and thoughtful woman you would ever want to have at the head of your organization. Anyone who has ever met Molly knows that she has never engaged in provocation, but has only been cautious and respectful. I asked her by cell phone, on her way to the hospital, how she feels and she said, "A horrible headache, my ears hurt, and aching from the blows. But let's think about how to wake people up to what is happening out there. We have to wake people up." Wake up, world! Hear O Israel, wake up!! Israeli soldiers have made brutality a way of life against Palestinians, then they turned their weapons and death upon international peace activists, and now they are brutalizing Israelis who express disapproval of their ways. Who will be the first one killed? Writes US woman activist Starhawk, who participated in some of these, "The Israelis who are involved in the day to day resistance ... said to me that they know it is only a matter of time before there is an Israeli 'shaheed '- a martyr of the occupation. Being Israeli is no longer a protection against the violence of the military." What's worse: Nonviolence is no longer protection against the brutality of the military, regardless of whether you are Israeli or Palestinian or international. No one should be assaulted for peacefully demonstrating, and yet that has become the norm. Today, any single demonstration that takes place in the territories -- whether by Palestinians or Israelis, women or men, nonviolent or violent -- is treated to the same brutal behavior of guns, stun grenades, and clubs. And no one investigates the incidents in a serious, unbiased manner, and the soldiers learn that they can be more and more cruel, and no one gives a damn. What has happened? The occupation has happened. The occupation has corrupted the soul of Israel. A situation of "Ein din v'ein dayan", as the Bible says: "No law and no one standing in judgment". There is anarchy in the soul of Israel today, and it won't be gone until we uproot the occupation from our land and from our hearts. Gila Svirsky Jerusalem ******************************* Coalition of Women for Peace: http://www.coalitionofwomen4peace.org ------- End of forwarded message ------- From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Apr 29 20:08:54 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:12 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] The hot air referendum / Sad letter / Runners against the wall Message-ID: <409152C6.29752.5A1CBD2@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [] The hot air referendum (Gush Friday ad] [] Sad letter to friends on Independence Day [] Runners against the wall [] Ongoing struggle ~~~ [] The hot air referendum (Gush Friday ad] English follows בין שיצביעו חברי הליכוד בעד ובין שיצביעו נגד "ההתנתקות" לא יהיה שלום בלי שנשים קץ לכיבוש ונפנה את כל ההתנחלויות ברצועת-עזה ובגדה המערבית גם יחד כל השאר - עורבא פרח 03-5221732 עזרו לנו במימון הפעולות והמודעות בצ'קים לגוש שלום, ת"ד 3322 תל-אביב 61033 . www.gush-shalom.org קבלת מידע שוטף : info@gush-shalom.org מודעת גוש שלום "הארץ", 30 באפריל 2004 Whether the Likud members vote for or against The "Disengagement Plan" in their party's referendum There will be no peace If we don't put an end to the occupation And evacuate all the settlements In the Gaza Strip and the West Bank Everything else is just hot air Gush Shalom, Help us with donations to P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033, Phone 972-3-5221732. www.gush-shalom.org Requests for information about current actions: info@gush-shalom.org [Gush Shalom ad Ha'aretz, April 30, 2004] ~~~ [] Sad letter to friends on Independence Day ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Beny Gefen" April, 29, 04 Dears- I`m sending this sad message to many, in addition to you. Two days ago we celebrated O U R independence, preventing it cruelly from the others; three days ago we mentioned the Memorial Day and all the media was full with descriptions of the pain and sorrow of the relatives. Yesterday two boys, 14 years old, died of the shooting of our soldiers a few days ago; Yesterday our soldiers wounded seriously a child, 10 years old and a girl,15 years old. It has become a daily routine. Hardly it appears in the media. In addition to the evil and brutality of these murders it initiates revenge. The bloodshed continues and enables our zealots continuing the cruel occupation, holding the cursed settlements. ALL THIS IS DONE "THANKS" TO THE AMERICAN SUPPORT AND BACKING!!! Yours Beny [Beny Gefen is seen in every demonstration - his reaction to losing his soldier son to the conflict.] ~~~ [] Runners against the wall ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: Leena Dallasheh [mailto:leena@alt-info.org] Hebrew follows. In cooperation with the Italian Labor Union The Issawiyyeh Club is holding a Marathon under the slogan "No to the Racist Separation Fence" Friday, 30 April, 9:00 a.m. Starting point: Migrash Hashalom [Peace Field], in al-Issawiyyeh Endpoint: At the wall crossing Palestinian land in the region of Azzariya and Zayam Men and women, all ages, invited The goal is to participate and finish the race, even walking. Participation means support for our struggle against racism. For more information: Muhammad (067) 824-850 בשיתוף עם איגוד הפועלים האיטלקי מועדון אלעיסוויה עורך מירץ מרתון תחת הסיסמה לא לגדר ההפרדה הגזענית וזאת ביום שישי 30.4.2004 בשעה 9:00 בבוקר נקודת הזינוק: מגרש השלום באלעיסוויה נקודת הסיום: ליד גדר ההפרדה החוצה את השטחים הפלסטיניים באזור זעיים ועזרייה המירץ הינו לשני המינים ולכל הגילאים. המטרה היא להשתתף ולעבור את המירוץ ולו בהליכה השתתפותכם הינה תמיכה במאבק שלנו נגד הגזענות לפרטים נוספים: מוחמד: 067-824850 ~~~ [] Ongoing struggle how to link up with anti-Wall struggle, refusnik news etc. #Against the Wall contact addresses daily struggle / eye-witness reports / appeal to Ireland #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) updated refusniks lists / support to five long-time incarcerated #Against the Wall * נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net * Daily eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) * Support diplomatic opposition to the Wall by signing the appeal to the Irish government http://www.petitiononline.com/WBWall01/petition.html #Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla - Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR - Israel -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. #Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla - Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR - Israel -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Mon May 3 15:52:19 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:13 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Another settler take-over in Abu Dis etc. Message-ID: <40965CA3.19491.91EF31@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ After the Likud settler-dominated referendum: Whether Sharon was ever serious about any withdrawal - the wish to withdraw from Gaza, and not onl from there, is widespread in the Israeli public. It will now have to manifest itself in a less doomed way. But for the time being nothing changes: erasing of houses by the dozens, shooting to kill at an estranged schoolboy, the army's close cooperation with the settlers, read for yourself. Urgent alert: [] Settlers take over lands in Abu-Dis, come if you can reports and discussions [] Truth against truth - Uri Avnery [] Dorothy Naor compares two tragedy's media coverage [] Rabbi Arik Asherman: Harvest Report/killing in Harres [] A legal revolution or preserving current situation - with Moshe Negbi \\// //\\ \\// //\\ \\// [] URGENT: settlers take over lands in Abu-Dis, come if you can ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Mon, 03 May 2004 12:04:34 +0200 From: Leena Dallasheh To: taayush-jerusalem@yahoogroups.com, info@gush-shalom.org Dear friends, The settlers took over a house and the area beside it in Abu-Dis, and set caravans and tents there. the way things are looking, there is a danger of setting a settlement there, as they brought equipment and all, the news are talking about 100-150 settlers.  we are trying to arrange that activist get to the area. if you could help, please contact Arik from Rabbis for human Rights at: 050-607034 please spread the word to whoever could get there. All the best, Leena Dallasheh Settlements violence project -coordinator Alternative Information Center - Jerusalem www.alternativenews.org Tel: +972 2 6241159 Fax +972 3 7256006 ~~~ [] Truth against truth - Uri Avnery Hebrew on the website / עברית באתר www.gush-shalom.org Living in a Bubble Uri Avnery 1.5.04 A few days ago, the State of Israel celebrated its 56th anniversary according to the Hebrew (lunar) calendar. A chance to escape from reality for a day, at a time when the whole country was braced for suicide-bombings to avenge the assassination of Sheik Ahmed Yassin and Dr. Abd-al-Aziz al-Rantissi. A day of nostalgia for the Israel of the early years, the years of innocence and youth. There were speeches, spectacles, fireworks. The solemn voice of Amikam Gurewitz recited the memorial prayer for the fallen soldiers of all our wars in decades-old tradition. Bereaved parents relive their pain. Groups of soldiers, male and female, exchange flags. Boys and girls dance the old and half-forgotten folk dances. The media full of the heroic deeds of our soldiers facing a cruel enemy, the sacrifices of the pioneers, the selfless idealism of the founders. A lot of speeches about democracy and the hope for peace. Not a word about the Palestinians, God forbid! Not a word about the transformation of the glorious Israeli Defense Army into a blood-stained colonial police force. No mention that the celebrated Air Force which destroyed the air forces of three Arab states in a few hours in 1967, has now become a specialist in extra-judicial executions, often killing not only the targeted Palestinian militants but also their wives and children, as well as random bystanders. Israel looked into its magic mirror and saw a beautiful state that arose from the embers of the Holocaust and transformed a downtrodden and persecuted people into a proud and mighty nation, with brilliant achievements in all spheres of endeavor. How wonderful! In a few days, the Palestinians will commemorate the catastrophe that befell them 56 years ago, according to the general (solar) calendar. It will be a day of mourning, of longing, and anger about all that happened and is still happening. There will be demonstrations, speeches, shooting in the air. Everybody will remember the Naqbah, the catastrophe, when half the Palestinian people were expelled from their homes and fields by a cruel enemy. Many of them are still languishing in miserable refugee camps, where they survive by the grace of international institutions that provide them with food and education. The refugees will remember with longing the 450 villages that were conquered by the enemy and razed to the ground, each of which lives on in their imagination as a little paradise, surrounded by lush fields and plantations. They will yearn for the streets of Haifa and Jaffa, Ramle and Bir-Saba, the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Katamon and Talbieh, all of them the epitome of beauty and perfection. The Palestinians will look into the magic mirror of the past and they will see a people that lived idyllically on their land until the appearance of cruel foreigners who condemned them to a life of humiliation and misery, oppression and exile, with no redemption in sight. These two events may look as if they happened on two different planets, say on Mars and Saturn. But both happened on our small planet, in one small country. The two events are, actually, one and the same event. It is natural that two peoples at war will view the events in different and contradictory ways. But war is generally an exceptional state that lasts only a few years. Before and after the war there is peace, and in a state of peace the normal life and new contacts cause bitter memories to fade and differences between the perceptions to narrow. In World War II the Germans conquered France and imposed a cruel occupation regime. One need only recall the wholesale slaughter of hostages. But less than ten years later, Frenchmen created the vision of a unified Europe, based on a French-German alliance, and since then the borders have all but disappeared, a common currency has been created and friendship is blossoming. There is hardly any difference of opinion about what happened between the two peoples in the past. During the same war, the Germans killed a third of the Jewish people with slave labor, starvation, mass execution and the gas chambers. This is a crime without parallel in modern history, as far as its character and methods are concerned. But less than ten years after the crematoria of Auschwitz had cooled, an agreement was already signed between Germany and Israel, which called itself "the state of the survivors". Now Germany and Israel try to outdo each other in commemorating the Holocaust. Nothing like that is happening with the two peoples in this country. The war between them is not an extraordinary state, but has become normality. All the toxins produced by war - fear, hatred, prejudices - continue to poison the minds of the new generation, the fifth that has been born into this war, a generation whose entire mental world is shaped by the war. Thus each of the two peoples lives sealed in its closed bubble, cut off from the other, and, indeed, from the world at large. Inside its bubble, each people cultivates their grievances, the conviction of being the ultimate victim, the memory of the injustices done to them, the anger at the other, cruel, murderous and detestable people. Each side believes that absolute justice is on its side, and hence in the absolute injustice of the other side. This bubble is a prison, closed and secured by more than walls and barbed wire. Israelis and Palestinians are hostages of their mental worlds. They are unable to see each other, unable to see the world as it is. They see only the mirror, the magic mirror that shows them what they want to see. For both, the bubble is a vital need. It is a means of self-protection which provides them with mental security, the certainty in the rightness of their cause and a sense of orientation. The world outside is cold and hostile, inside the bubble there is warmth and a sense of belonging. Anyone who tries to break the bubble will be exposed to a wave of hatred and anger that may be lethal. This does not apply only to what is happening now. It concerns everything that has happened between the two peoples in the last 120 years, since the beginning of the Zionist enterprise in this country. Every event, large or small, without exception, appears in the collective memory of the two peoples in a different and contrary fashion. As a result, everything that is said now, everything that is proposed by one side sounds different, suspicious and menacing to the other. Every negotiation becomes a battle, every summit meeting only increases the mutual hatred. A vicious circle is operating: without removing the bubbles there can be no peace, without peace it is impossible to remove the bubbles. And a personal note: I became convinced many years ago that this vicious circle not only must, but can be broken. Since then I have been trying to build a joint, common Israeli-Palestinian narrative that incorporates the narratives of both peoples, not by contriving an artificial compromise but by seeking the truth. I have already written books and essays about this. This week a booklet called "Truth Against Truth" has been published by Gush Shalom. In it we have tried to outline a common narrative of the conflict, taking into account the viewpoints of both sides. It is has become clear to me that without a sincere endeavor by each side to become fully aware of the viewpoint of the other, no effort to achieve real peace between the two peoples will bear fruit. ~~~ [] Dorothy Naor compares two tragedy's media coverage ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: Dorothy Naor Date sent: Sun, 02 May 2004 23:37:10 +0200 Dear All, Today’s killing of a 34 year old Israeli woman and her 4 daughters is indeed tragic. Of the English language newspapers that I have checked, it has been reported widely--in the USA by the NY Times, the Washington Post, the SF Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune, the Herald Tribune; in England by the Independent, and the Guardian; in Australia by the Sidney Morning Herald (May 3); and in Toronto by the Globe and Mail. By contrast, of the above newspapers, only today’s New York Times reported yesterday’s killing of an 8 year old Palestinian boy by the IOF. Following this preface are today's Ha’aretz reports of both events. Every such death is tragic. But today’s killing of an Israeli woman and her children has to be seen within the context of the Palestinian child killed yesterday, of the Palestinian mother of 10 killed last week and of the statistics that I cited a few days ago: i.e., April saw 59 Palestinians killed and 345 injured. Of the 59 killed, 45 of these were during 2 consecutive weeks April 16-29, which included the killing of Dr. Rantisi (April 17). This evening Israel added 4 more to the growing total of Palestinians killed for May (which has just begun), by executing them in Nablus in the car in which they were traveling. The IOF was busy this evening also demolishing buildings in the Gaza Strip and shooting a missile into the top floor of a 15 story building. Beyond all this, it has to be remembered that while most Israelis live their daily lives and go about their daily duties and pleasures (including the Final Four basketball Tourney), Palestinians do not. They are under constant harassment from the IOF and settlers; but most of incidents never make the media. The way to end violence is not by escalating it, but by trying to resolve differences via dialogue and negotiations rather than by the use of force. This, however, requires leaders who care more for lives than for land. Unfortunately, most Israeli governments, and the present one in particular, do not meet this criterion. And since violence breeds violence, we can count on Israeli escalation bringing about the like Palestinian response. Sadly, Dorothy New Profile Ha’aretz Sunday, May 02, 2004 Palestinians: IDF kills boy, 8, in Gaza http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/422395.html Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=422586 By Arnon Regular and Haaretz Staff ~~~ [] Rabbi Arik Asherman: Harvest Report/killing in Harres ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Rabbis for Human Rights" To: Subject: Harvest Report/killing in Harres Date sent: Mon, 3 May 2004 00:24:51 +0200  [For Hebrew ask ]   Dear Members and Friends, On Friday RHR andTaayush organized some 30 activists to assist with the wheat/barley harvest in the South Hebron Hills. We harvested with the residents of Gaoweis, who were intimidated in to leaving their homes three months ago when a new outpost, “Khavat Itamar,” was set up next to their dwellings. Up until now they have been chased away when trying to harvest. Last week they had coordinated with the Civil Administration. Nevertheless, a unit of the security forces came by and arrested an elderly man. The Civil Administration officer came and the man was released, but the harvest was not completed. We also helped residents of Palestinian Susya and a family from Yatta whose tractor had been confiscated a few days earlier while attempting to harvest. The reason for the confiscation still remains a mystery. The fields were not near any settlement or outpost. They were also quite far from the military outpost which confiscated the tractor. When we arrived soldiers called in to find out whether it was permitted to harvest. Despite the arrival of a settler security person the soldiers gave us permission, as long as they could see us (for our protection.) The commander also said that the family would get the tractor back. However, when we finished the harvest it turned out that everybody with authority to release the tractor had already gone home for the weekend and that, despite the fact that the harvested grains would have to be left in the field, the tractor would only be returned on Sunday. Today (Sunday) we coordinated with the Civil Administration so that the family could pick up the tractor at 12:00. When the family representative arrived, we were informed that he could only get the tractor “in a month.” Even the C.A. clerk was shocked and the family rep. waited in the sun for hours as she tried to get the proper officer out of meetings to figure out why this was happening. Eventually he promised to personally accompany the family to get the tractor tomorrow. We will wait and see. On the way back to the others we stopped to document the lentil fields of a man who said that flocks from the settlement Susya destroyed them. We were preparing to leave when two settlers approached a Taayush activist who was recording information about Khavat Itamar. They broke his pen, pushed him and tried to take his instrument for entering geographical data. It took the police over half an hour to arrive (They arrive almost immediately when settlers request). In the meantime the second settler stood in the way of a second activist who was walking in the direction of the Khava and, after the activist attempted unsuccessfuly to go around him in order to avoid confrontation, a pushing match ensued. At that point the police arrived and of course the settler ran and made the first complaint. The Taayush activist was detained and the settler who made the complaint also went to the police staton. Although we had originally called the police, the settler who started the incident was left to come in later on his own congnizance because “somebody had to guard the outpost.” How many aspects of the Occupation were taken for granted on Friday? It was simply taken for granted that the army unit could take the tractor for no apparent reason and that the settler security officer could approach the soldiers and have a private conversation while we, not to mention the Palestinians, had to keep our distance. Although Khavat Itamar is illegal even according to the current government (and if it is “legal,” it is a violation of the roadmap and all of the governments declared commitments.), it was clear to the army and police that somebody had to be left to protect it. The fact is that, according to my understanding of the law, the rightful owners of property have the right to enter their land which has been illegally occupied and help themselves to anything that has been grown on their land. However, the Occupation has its own rules and the security forces will always choose the path of least resistance. Until there is a price to be paid for their actions (Were Israeli activists to show up every time a new outpost was being built on Palestinian land and non-violently prevent the set up of the outpost, harvest the produce on behalf of the rightful owners, etc., perhaps the potentially explosive situation would convince the security forces that it was in their interest not to allow the outposts to be set up.) the security forces will continue to ignore the establishment of outposts. Below please find the description of the firing by security forces into the village of Harres, killing the nephew of our friend Noaf Suf. Noaf said to me today, “What can we do? This is our life.” May his memory be for a blessing. This morning theHigh Court heard the final arguments regarding the route of theBarrier NorthWest ofJerusalem. AttorneyMuhammed Dahle,Jewish neighbors and the Council For Peace and Security came with three dimensional topographical models. The judges continued to express frustration at the idea that the various generals couldn't agree and that the court was being forced to adjudicate on defense issues. The decision will be given on an as yetunknown date. I went toBiddu todayafter the court in orderto collect some documents connected to the use of the 12 year old boy and myself as human shields two weeks ago. Both the local clinic and the Municipality are covered with pictures of people being beaten by security forces and the resulting injuries. The contrast between the actions of the security forces in Biddu and, for example, Budrus, is striking. In Budrus the security forces were not willing to beat, shoot and kill. In Biddu, even the recent woman’s march was met with beating, tear gas and violence. Even within this crazy reality of occupation, there are choices to be made. B’Vrakha, Arik  P.S. Somebody left a sweater on the bus. We also have a cane that was left on the bus on the 15th of April (Biddu) and a fleece jacket was left in my car on a trip to Zeita in February (With Arutz 2). Rabbi Arik W. Ascherman Executive Director Rabbis For Human Rights Tel: 972 2 563-7731 Fax: 972 2 566-2815 Mobile: 972 505607034 ~~~ [] A legal revolution or preserving current situation - with Moshe Negbi ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "yuval halperin" To: info@hadash.org.il, info@gush-shalom.org Subject: עו"ד משה נגבי Date sent: Sun, 02 May 2004 12:28:01 +0000 Basic laws - a legal revolution or preserving of the current situation? A discussion on the subject will take place at the Left Bank (Ahad Haam 70) on Thursday, 6.5, at 20:00. Participant: Moshe Negbi, lawyer and commentator on law. Yuval Halperin, the civil forum, 0505-613924. חוקי היסוד - מהפכה חוקתית, או שריון המצב הקיים? דיון בנושא יתקיים בגדה השמאלית, רח' אחד העם 70 ת"א, 6 במאי, שעה 20:00, עם עו"ד משה נגבי לפרטים נוספים יובל הלפרין, הפורום האזרחי 613924 0505 ~~~ # Ongoing struggle # how to link up with anti-Wall struggle, refusnik news etc. #Against the Wall contact addresses daily struggle / eye-witness reports / appeal to Ireland #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) updated refusniks lists / support to five long-time incarcerated #Against the Wall * נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net * Daily eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) * Support diplomatic opposition to the Wall by signing the appeal to the Irish government http://www.petitiononline.com/WBWall01/petition.html #Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla - Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR - Israel -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. #Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla - Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR - Israel -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Tue May 4 18:22:03 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:13 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] WARNING: Sharon - wounded animal Message-ID: <4097D13B.16730.4237EDE@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [] Sharon - wounded animal [] The Golem Turns on his Creator [] Sharon's doomed gamble Adam Keller review's the last months in 'The Other Israel' new issue out this week; free sample option [The settlers took over Sharon's Likud powerbase; the PM remains as a lame duck. With so many still prolonging the "Sharon - Magician" / "Sharon - Israeli de Gaulle" myths we decided already now to spread the following assessment, which will appear as ad in our fixed corner Friday Ha'aretz. p.2. You find here also the comment of Uri Avnery, and the announcement of Adam Keller's analysis of the last months.] [] Sharon - wounded animal Hebrew at request & soon at the site עברית על פי בקשה או בקרוב באתר WARNING! Sharon is now a wounded animal. A wounded animal is a dangerous animal. His Plan is dead. He is incapable of getting another plan adopted. He is powerless to evacuate even one single settlement. His sole way out is to embark on spectacular military operations. There is no limit to the bloody deeds he may now launch in order to survive. ~~~ [] The Golem Turns on his Creator Hebrew at request & soon at the site עברית על פי בקשה או בקרוב באתר Uri Avnery 4.5.04 The Golem Turns on his Creator In Jewish legend, the Golem was a man-made creature endowed with enormous strength. Rabbi Judah Loew of Prague, also know as the Maharal, created him of clay and gave him life by putting a piece of paper with the secret name of God under his tongue. The Golem helped the Jews defend themselves against anti-Semitic rioters, but one day he turned against his creator. He sowed ruin and destruction, until, at the last moment, the rabbi succeeded in extracting the piece of paper from his mouth. The Golem turned back into a heap of clay. Ariel Sharon is not a rabbi and the Kabbalah is a closed book to him. But he has created a Golem: the settlement movement in the occupied territories. He was sure that the Golem would serve him. After all, the settlers owe him everything. It was he who nursed them for decades, diverted funding to them on a massive scale, put at their service all the political positions he occupied one after the other: the ministries of agriculture, defense, foreign affairs, housing, industry and trade, infrastructure, and, finally, the Prime Minister's office. (I remember about 25 years ago, visiting Sharon at home in the preparation of a biographical essay I was writing about him. My wife and I were sitting in the kitchen with Lilly Sharon, who served us her delicacies, when I noticed that the chiefs of the settlers were sitting in the adjoining room. Sharon himself went back and forth between us, sharing his time with us equally. Even at that early stage the settlers clearly treated him as their patron.) During all these years, ever since he served as the Commanding General of the Southern Sector in the early 70s, he preached to everybody he met, Israelis and foreigners alike, the gospel of the settlements, spreading maps in front of them (he always has maps) and demanding that they act. According to him, it was vitally important to set up settlements in order to turn all of Eretz Israel - from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, at least - into a Jewish State, to tear the Palestinian territories into ribbons and prevent the creation of a Palestinian state, which would be an obstacle to the achievements of the full aims of Zionism. Like a bulldozer without brakes, Sharon leveled all opposition. He saw to it that tens of billions of dollars were turned over to the settlements (the exact amount cannot be ascertained, being hidden in various corners of the budget), bent the laws to their benefit and enlisted the officers of the army in their service. In this way, a closely woven network of settlements and special roads came into being, with perhaps 250,000 settlers (who is counting?) When he coined the slogan "unilateral disengagement", it never occurred to him that the settlers might oppose him. Don't they owe him? Are they not his pampered children? Aren't they eternally in his debt? Sharon offered them a deal that seemed to him eminently reasonable (as it had once looked to Yossi Beilin, who invented it, and then to Ehud Barak, who tried to implement it): Give up the isolated settlements, with a few tens of thousands of settlers, in order to secure the future of the big settlement blocks, with 80% of the settlers, which will be incorporated into Israel. Sacrifice some fingers in order to save the whole body. This way not only do we save the settlement enterprise, but we also gain the better part of the West Bank. But the Golem, once the piece of paper is under his tongue, demonstrates a logic of his own. He does not intend to give up the dozens of small settlements, especially as that is were the hard core of Messianic fanatics lives. He also understood that the evacuation of the first settlement would create a precedent that would endanger all the others. The real settlers may have nothing but contempt for the Gush Katif "settlers", who are first and foremost calculating businessmen, but they understand the crucial importance of the battle for Gush Katif. Like the Maharal, Sharon underrated his Golem. He treated him as a servant. How could he respect a creature that he had created with his own hands? Now he is learning that it is much easier to create a Golem than to reverse the process. In the surfeit of interviews that Sharon gave last weekend, he declared that the settlers are only a small minority of the people. And indeed, even according to the settlers themselves, they constitute less than 4% of the citizens of Israel. But the numbers do not reflect their actual power. In a democratic society, a small, fanatical and highly motivated minority can influence matters more than a big but apathetic and flabby majority. Sharon speculated on the unpopularity of the settlers in Israel. They are violent and unruly; they speak, dress and behave differently, even their body-language is different. The ordinary Israeli sees them as a bizarre sect. Also, at long last is has dawned on the Israelis that the settlements are devouring the billions that are needed for Israel's economic and social recovery. But in the course of the decades, the settlers have set up an extensive apparatus of control and propaganda. Patiently, they have infiltrated the army, where they now occupy the key positions once held by Kibbutzniks. Their independent media are expanding, while the Left has in the course of the years given up literally all their independent media. The settlers are in possession of huge funds, not only the money that flows to them through hundreds of channels from the state coffers, and not only the lavish donations from American Jewish multi- millionaires, but also from the plentiful resources of the American Christian evangelists. One may well ask: what foolishness possessed Sharon, when he proposed that the Likud members, of all people, should decide on his plan? Did he not realize that this is the only arena where the settlers can command superior forces? Why? As usual with victory-drunk generals: out of sheer arrogance and contempt for the opponent. At the pinnacle of political power, he disparaged the settlers. He did not dream of the mass home visits. He underrated their emotional appeal and their well-oiled logistic machine, that was created with the money of the state. Most of the settlers constitute a disciplined body. Like any messianic sect, they unquestioningly obey their commanders, the "Yesha rabbis" (Yesha is the Hebrew acronym for Judea, Samaria and Gaza.) This is a totalitarian structure, in the true sense of the term: total faith, total organization, total discipline. "My head supports the Sharon plan, but my heart supports the settlers," a Likud member confessed. That is quite natural: when a settler pair with attached baby (there is always a baby attached!) knocks at the door and asks: "Do you want to evict us from our home?" - how can he resist? After all, from the day he was born he has heard that the national aim is to possess the whole of Eretz Israel, that the settlers are the salt of the earth, that one can ignore the rest of the world - and suddenly this man, Sharon, comes and says the opposite? Yet it must be remembered that less than 2% of the Israeli electorate voted against the Sharon plan in this party referendum. (In the last elections, the Likud received less than 30% of the votes. Less then a quarter of these are Likud members, who were entitled to take part in the referendum. Of these, less than half did actually vote, and of these, less than 60% voted against the plan. These, together with the settlers who are not Likud members, compose the Golem.) One good thing has come from this referendum: suddenly the public has woken up and seen the Golem that has come to life in their midst. >From the first moment, the writing was on the wall: the settler movement is sucking the marrow from the state, it is an obstacle to peace, it is a danger to Israeli democracy and to the future of the state itself. Now the general public, too, sees the danger represented by this rampaging Golem. It is not too late to remove the piece of paper from beneath the Golem's tongue. Not yet! ~~~ [] Sharon's doomed gamble Adam Keller review's the last months in 'The Other Israel' new issue out this week; free sample option The Other Israel (April/May issue, 28 pages) will come out this week, containing a 10-page overview of the past months, detailing the political and socio-economic factors pressuring upon Sharon which forced him to come up with "something", and which predetermined the failure of his insincere proposal. Also, as usual: reports on the struggles of the peace movement by Participant Observers. This issue concentrating especially on the ongoing struggle against the Separation Wall; an in-depth interview with the Anarchists who take part in the anti-Wall intifada; but also: a description of the judicial struggle by concerned citizens, among them senior retired military officers who present affidavist against the Wall; welcoming Vanunu; trials and struggles of male and female refusers, etc. For a one time free sample: send your postal address to otherisr@actcom.co.il. From info at gush-shalom.org Sun May 9 15:17:52 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:13 2004 Subject: [Gushalom] Struggling through the tunnel: Hass / PCATI / Grinberg / Rally Message-ID: <409E3D90.29479.2BE861B@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [] Silence in the court - by Amira Hass [] Letter to General Finkelstein by PCATI [] Grinberg case: do professors have the same rights to freedom of speech [] Back to the Rabin Square [In the following, a very disturbing article of Amira Hass about Palestinian prisoners being beaten up in the courtroom in front of their family members and lawyers. We let it follow by a not directly related letter of protest (the most recent out of a near-daily series) by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel. And the case of Lev Grinberg is there to prove that violation of rights and freedoms doesn't stop at the Green Line - for those who didn't yet realize. To end on a less somber note: it seems that the Likud hardliners have given new energy to the Geneva Initiative: The Peace Now/Geneva Initiative circles announced a mass rally at the Tel-Aviv Rabin Square for coming Saturday evening.] [] Silence in the court - by Amira Hass Ha’aretz Friday, May 7, 2002 Silence in the court Palestinian detainees who tried to greet their families in a military courtroom were set upon and beaten by police guards, their lawyers say. Here is their testimony http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/424687.html Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=424599 By Amira Hass The lawyers who were sitting in the waiting room at the Military Court at the Ofer Israel Defense Forces base, southwest of Ramallah, suddenly heard a scream. This was on Sunday, May 2, at around 1 P.M. They ran out. "I saw a heap of policeman, maybe eight or 10 of them, flailing and flailing, and I could see some heads, legs, arms of the beaten detainees, maybe three of them, or four, who were lying on the floor. The lawyers shouted `Why? Why? Why?' and the police officer in charge shouted, `Guys, guys, get all the lawyers out of here,' related attorney Khaled Kuzmar of Ramallah. Attorney Faiz al-Shami of Be'er Sheva was inside the courtroom (which is located in a prefabricated structure) when it all began, and tells this story: "There were five detainees in the courtroom. The families were also there. One of the detainees - I don't know his name - was talking to his family, to his mother. He was standing there and speaking from a distance. A policeman (prison service official) said to the detainee: `Don't talk. Sit down. I decide what happens here,' and they began to argue. The policeman sat him down forcibly, pushed him down onto the bench. After he pushed him, the detainee stood up again. The other detainees stood up to tell him to let him talk to his family and then about 10 policemen came in. They attacked the people and a whole mess broke out. One of the policemen, an older man, who came from outside, tried to calm things down and spread his hands on one of the detainees to get him to sit down. But the rest of the policemen got the detainees out of there by hitting them, dragged them outside and closed the door. The family members were crying. The judge wasn't in the courtroom. Only the military prosecutor, the interpreter, the stenographer and some lawyers. We couldn't do anything to get them to stop hitting." Attorney Saleh Ayoub of Jerusalem was also in the military courtroom. "Six detainees came in, and they were seated in their places. They were accompanied by a police unit. One of the detainees who was sitting in the middle stood up and waved hello to his mother, from a distance. There was no chance that he could touch her. The detainees sit behind a low fence. The families sit on the benches at the rear. There are soldiers separating them. The detainee waved, the policeman grabbed him by the neck and sat him down by force. The detainee asked: `What are you doing?' and the policeman cried out, `They're rioting, they're rioting.' Reinforcements of policemen came, and they beat them. The families, from a distance, were crying. They couldn't do a thing. They too were immediately ejected." Ahmad Yusuf, 18, of the Aida refugee camp, was among the detainees who were beaten. He has been under arrest at the Russian Compound in Jerusalem since March 25. On Sunday afternoon, lawyers Mohammed Shadsan of Al-Aroub and Khaled al-Araj from Wallaja, transcribed what the beaten men had to say about the sequence of events. Yusuf: "I was standing in the detainees' block and I tried to talk to my mother. The policeman yelled at me, `Sit down!' and pressed my body hard until I sat. He tore my shirt. A group of policemen came and began to beat me, dragging me and throwing me outside the courtroom. One of them shoved me with his foot out of the courtroom. I bumped into the fence that is opposite the gate, I was thrown into a corner and the policeman [Yusuf gave his name, which he had read on his tag - A.H.] said to his colleagues that I had caused the problem. They began to kick me all over my body, on my face and on my chest. Then they handcuffed me and led me to the vehicle, still beating me on the way." Muhammad Karaja of Bethlehem, 19, who has been under arrest at the Russian Compound since March 15, also tried to talk to his mother: "My hands and my feet were tied. Because of the attempt to talk to my mother, who was in the courtroom, I was attacked and hit hard. The policemen took me outside and threw me down the stairs. I rolled on the floor so my face was down and they hit me with their feet and stepped on me and I didn't have the strength to resist so many policemen and their officer also participated in the beating." Adnan Nasser, 26, of the Balata refugee camp, has been under arrest since March 11. He told the lawyers: "I was in the detainees' block. Next to me was another detainee by the name of Ahmad Lutfi, whose mother was in the courtroom, and he tried to talk to her. I also stood up, trying to talk to my mother. And then the story began. When they ordered us to sit down and stop talking several times, a policeman tried to press his body until they made him sit down and they tore his shirt. Then other policemen came and began to beat the detainees in the courtroom. The commander of the unit asked me to sit down and while I was talking to him the policemen began to eject us and hit us and throw us, one after the other, out of the courtroom. I spoke to the commander and I tried to tell him that I have had kidney surgery, and that the scars are clear, but he didn't answer me and also hit me in the face. The soldiers continued to beat me, and I'm lying on the ground. After that they tied my hands and dragged me to the car, hitting me all the time and threatening us with weapons." Munjid Suleiman, 23, from Beit Our al-Tahta, has been held at the Russian Compound since March 18. He related that during the beating, one of the policemen also cocked his weapon near him. "I was beaten on my right knee and on my back and also in the area of my right eye," he said. Ismail al-Farajin of Al-Aroub, 39, has been under arrest since March 18. He told the lawyers that one of Ahmad Yusuf's relatives came into the courtroom, Ahmad waved hello to him, and after him all the families came in and we all waved to our families ... Suddenly the battle began. We found ourselves forcibly ejected from the courtroom. I was pushed against the wall opposite. At first I was hit once, but I didn't fall to the ground. Only after they dragged us to the car did they beat me really hard, especially on my right ear and on my back." Iyad Abu Jouda, 32, of the Deheisheh refugee camp, has been under arrest at the Russian Compound since February 24. He was sitting on a chair outside the fenced detainees' block (where there is room for five, but usually six detainees at a time are brought into the courtroom). "I saw one of the two soldiers who were in the courtroom attacking Ahmad and pushing him hard against the wall. All of a sudden, they all came in. Another force came in and then they pushed me straight until they had shoved me out of the courtroom. I fell on the ground, and before that one of them aimed his weapon at me and cocked it and I was very scared. They pulled me by my hair out the door of the courtroom into the cell [a small room where the detainees are held - A.H.] and then they shackled my hands with handcuffs. Until they put us into the vehicle they didn't beat me, but I saw them beating the others. The commander of the unit who was with me asked the soldiers (policemen) to stop hitting, but they didn't listen to him." Ofer Leffler, Prison Service spokesman: "The fighters of the Nahshon Unit of the Prison Service, who are in charge of the terrorists, the security detainees in the military prisons, overcame six terrorists who started to riot in the Military Court at Camp Ofer. The six terrorists who were present in the courtroom tried to make (physical) contact with members of their families and this is contrary to the Prison Service standing orders and regulations. As a result of the terrorists' activities, a disturbance started in the courtroom. It was lead by the families and the terrorists. After a brief struggle the terrorists were taken out of the courtroom and transferred to the holding cells. The families were ejected from the courtroom by the army. In light of the request by the president of the court and after things calmed down, the terrorists were brought back into the courtroom." Immediately after the policemen stopped beating the detainees, the lawyers at the military court declared a strike, in protest against detainees being beaten on military court premises. Therefore, the lawyers do not know whether the beaten detainees were indeed brought back into the courtroom. According to the lawyers, the vice president of the Military Court of Appeals, Yoram Hanniel, recommended that they complain to the department for investigating police actions. Attorney Ahmad Safiyya of Jerusalem fears that the complaint will not be dealt with. According to him, about a month ago, the lawyers wrote a letter of complaint to the president of the Military Court after a policeman beat a detainee, and have received no response. "It is the Military Court that is responsible for the fact that on its premises and in front of their parents and their lawyers, policemen beat detainees, unhindered and unrestrained," says Safiyya. To the question of the responsibility of the Military Court for the well being of the detainees, the IDF Spokesperson's Office replied: "Sometimes verbal clashes take place between the detainees and the forces accompanying them, which in rare cases result in the use of force. Whenever such incidents do not take place before a judge, justification for the use of force should be clarified through the usual channels.... by submitting a complaint to the police, to the department for investigating policemen or to the Military Police. Up to now, the court has received no complaint concerning the beating of detainees by policemen. In the incident of May 2, no soldiers were involved." [] Letter to General Finkelstein by PCATI ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Sun, 09 May 2004 12:14:45 +0200 From: Public Committe Against Torture in Israel Hebrew at request from עברית על פי בקשה מאת Our referenceS/41 (Please refer to this number in your reply) March 14, 2004 To: Major General Menachem Finkelstein Chief Military Prosecutor Military Prosecutor’s Office IDF Hakirya, Tel Aviv 61909 Dear Sir, Re: Mr. Abdallah Jamal Se’ara, ID 950326421, aged 21, Hebron resident The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel has received a complaint from Mr. Se’ara. From the complaint the following transpires: Mr. Se’ara was arrested at approximately 02:30 AM on June 18, 2003, at his home in Hebron. IDF soldiers put on handcuffs, blindfolded his eyes, and took him to the Etzion Detention Center. Mr. Se’ara alleges that the IDF soldiers purposely broke his glasses at the time of his arrest in spite of his urgent pleading not to do so. Without glasses Mr. Se’ara can barely see anything from afar. At Etzion, Mr. Se’ara alleges, he was badly beaten by the soldiers mainly on his head. Afterwards he was left on the camp’s premises, exposed to the elements, for almost a full day, from 06:00 AM to 03:00 AM the next morning. Mr. Se’ara alleges that he asked the soldier for food and water but they refused to give him any. He was allowed to go to the toilet only once during all those hours and that, he said, only after prolonged pleading. Mr. Se’ara is currently being held at the Ofer Detention Facility. The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel: Determines that the alleged beating of Mr. Se’ara by IDF soldiers in the Etzion Detention Center is contrary to the standing prohibitions embedded in Israeli and international law, among them the Fourth Geneva Convention. Demands the investigation ofMr. Se’ara’s complaints and the arraignment of the soldiers who participated in the beating and their commanders, if found responsible. Demands the investigation of Mr. Se’ara’s allegations concerning the soldier who purposely broke his eyeglasses and the arraignment of the soldier in question. Determines that the conditions in which Mr. Se’ara was allegedly incarcerated at the Etzion Detention Center, exposed to the elements, without water or food and without being allowed to use the toilet for about 24 hours, are in breach of the regulations embedded in the Penal Code (Coercive Authority – Arrests) (Incarceration conditions) 1997 and of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. Stresses that the complaint lodged by Mr. Se’ara joins a long line of similar complaints in which detainees that were kept at the Etzion facility were incarcerated outside under the open sky, limited in their use of toilets, without food or water and being treated very poorly and even violently by the soldiers. Demands the investigation of the conditions in which detainees are kept at the Detention Center and the immediate improvement thereof so as to bring them up to par with the regulations embedded in law. We should be grateful for a rapid and efficient response and look forward to receiving the results of your investigation as soon as possible. Respectfully yours, Hannah Friedman Executive Director Cc: MK Yossi Sarid Attorney Louie Ouka [] Grinberg case: do professors have the same rights to freedom of speech ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Sat, 08 May 2004 08:07:54 +0200 From: Lev Grinberg Subject: Haaretz and Maariv on Freedom of Speech This week-end have been published two big articles on the academic freedom debate provoked by the Minister of Education pressure on BGU administration to "punish me" for my article "symbolic genocide". The combination of both articles present a fair picture of the debate, Haaretz giving me a voice, Maariv attacking me but also criticizing Livnat. It seems to me that the next step of this struggle is very clear: the attempt to limit in a bureaucratic style the academic freedom by making a distinction between it and freedom of speech. This is the initiative of my University, and also of Prof. Assa Kasher that suggested to write an "ethic code" to the academic freedom (maariv). Very interestingly he is the same professor that wrote the "ethic code" for the military behaviour in the occupied territories.The same person that legitimized the targeted killings now offers his philosophic services to legitimize limitations to the freedom of speech. It seems to me very positive that Kasher volunteered, because it facilitates to make the direct linkage between the physical repression and killing of Palestinians and the anti-democratic need to silence critics within Israel. I am not pessimistic. Let's try to keep our Universities free of State intervention, as an autonomous basis of the civil society, and let us open the debate on the evil policies of the Government against the Palestinians. This is are two levels of one repressive regime. I assume it is the same case in the US to silence critics (as it is mentioned in both articles): there is a close linkage between the physical repression of the Iraqis and the symbolic repression of academicians, intellectuals and social movements criticizing the US Government. Here are the URLs first in English, after in Hebrew: http://www.maarivintl.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=7049 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/424123.html http://images.maariv.co.il/cache/ART705759.html http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=424031&contrass ID=2&subContrassID=13&sbSubContrassID=0 Yours, Lev Grinberg [] Back to the Rabin Square http://www.peacenow.org.il/English.asp?Redirect=5&ActivityID=556 Hebrew: http://www.peacenow.org.il/Default.asp?Redirect=5&ActivityID=555 # Ongoing struggle how to link up with anti-Wall struggle, refusnik news etc. #Against the Wall contact addresses daily struggle / eye-witness reports #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) updated refusniks lists / support to five long-time incarcerated #Against the Wall * נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net * Daily eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) #Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla - Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR - Israel -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Fri May 14 04:02:04 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:13 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] THERE IS a partner - THERE IS an address Message-ID: <40A436AC.24607.7CAA946@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [] THERE IS a partner (Gush ad Ha'aretz, Friday May 14) [] Attached - flyer of the demo Saturday of all the peace forces [] Sharansky and the New Antisemitism, by Adam Keller ????? ???? / Hebrew on the website www.gush-shalom.org THERE IS a partner: The Palestinian people. THERE IS an address: Yasser Arafat. IT IS NOT ENOUGH to leave Gaza: We must leave all the occupied territories. EVERY DAY that passes has a price: Human lives. Together with all the peace forces, we shall participate in tomorrow's demonstration, Rabin Square, Tel-Aviv, 7.30am Gush Shalom, Help us with donations to P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033, Phone 972-3-5221732. www.gush-shalom.org Requests for information about current actions: info@gush-shalom.org [] Attached - flyer of the demo Saturday of all the peace forces see attachment, (Hebrew only) English & Hebrew details: http://www.peacenow.org.il/English.asp?Redirect=5&ActivityID=556 http://www.peacenow.org.il/Default.asp?Redirect=5&ActivityID=555 [] Sharansky and the New Antisemitism, by Adam Keller - http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/sharansky.html (more articles of The Other Israel May issue accessible via http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/contents.html) If you never saw this newsletter, order a free sample by sending your postal address to: otherisr@actcom.co.il # Ongoing struggle # how to link up with anti-Wall struggle, refusnik news etc. #Against the Wall contact addresses daily struggle / eye-witness reports #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) updated refusniks lists / support to five long-time incarcerated #Against the Wall * ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ?"? ????? ???? ?? ????? 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il ???? 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net * Daily eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) #Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / ????? - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / ????? - http://www.newprofile.org/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma?asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla - Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M?RAR - Israel -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: peanow Type: image/gif Size: 90116 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040514/5daf1402/peanow.gif From info at gush-shalom.org Fri May 14 16:55:43 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:13 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] HELP STOP IT: MASS HOUSE DEMOLITION UNDERWAY Message-ID: <40A4EBFF.15984.A8F10B3@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ =========================================== Y O U R P R O T E S T M A Y S T O P B U L L D O Z E R S HUNDREDS OF HOUSES BEING DEMOLISHED AT RAFAH Gush Shalom calls for worldwide campaign =========================================== YOUR IMMEDIATE PROTEST MAY HELP LIMIT THE DAMAGE --SMS, PHONE, FAX AND EMAIL TO YOUR RELEVANT CONTACTS-- International release Prime Minister Sharon and Defence Minister Mofaz last night authorized the army to demolish hundreds of Palestinian houses at Rafah, on the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt, so as to create a "sterile" zone hundreds of metres wide. This was reported on Kol Yirael radio by correspondent Shmuel Tal. The recent killing of five Israeli soldiers nearby is the pretetxt, but in fact it is the implement ation of plans which the army formulated already in 2001, under then Southern Command General Yom Tov Samiya, and which were carr ied out piecemeal over the past three years. (American peace activist Rachel Corrie was killed when trying to block bulldozers carrying out such demolitions). While a mass protest rally is being prepared for tomorrow evening in Tel-Aviv, Gush Shalom calls up on supporters of peace and justice worldwide to mobilize their governments and civic organizations to act immediate ly and come out against this war crime while it is not yet fully perpetuated - the premeditated massive destruction of homes, making hundreds of families homeless - most of them refugee families already uprooted once. Now is the last minute to act against the Sharon government's Grand Design (to create an Israeli-co ntrolled buffer zone - "Philadelphi Route" so as to permanently cut off the Gaza Strip from all access to the outside worl d - in effect turning Gaza into a huge prison camp). To remain updated look from time to time into: http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/427462.html PLEASE BE CREATIVE ABOUT WHOM TO ALARM To begin with: send an urgent protest to the government of Israel, with copies to the relevant inte rnational bodies and media - using the following sample letter. Dear Sir I call upon you to immediately stop the demolition of dozens of Palestinian homes going on at this moment at Rafah in the Gaza Strip. The authorization for the IDF to destroy hundreds of houses is an authorization by the government o f Israel to commit a war crime. For this premeditated crime nobody in the hierarchy will be able to shrug off responsib ility. The killing of Israeli soldiers in this vicinity offers no justification for such an act, nor can i t stop further bloodshed. Peace and quiet can only beachieved by withdrwal of the occupation forces, when the the Gaza Strip like t he other parts of the occupied territories become part of an independednt Palestinian state, which like all sovereign sta tes must have free access to the outsdie world. Yours ...... NB: Start with sending it to the nearest Israeli Embassy: http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/israel1.htm (It will be good when the foreign ministry will be alarmed by many of its embassies) But send your letter ALSO by fax (the best) and/or email to: Prime Minster Ariel Sharon - email ; fax +972 2 6705475 Defence Minster Saul Mofaz - email ; fax +972-3-6916940 Foreign Minster Silvan Shalom - email ; fax +972-3- 6916940 with copies to: President George W. Bush Fax: +1-202-456-2461 Secretary of State Colin Powell Fax: +1-202-261-8577 Spokesperson of the Prime Minister Spokesperson Defense Ministry Spokesperson Foreign Ministry UN Special Coordinator State Departement European Union (MAYBE ADD HERE THE EMAIL OF YOUR LOCAL MEDIA) and with a blind copy to: Gush Shalom [for your conVenience, here follow the combined email addresses: to: pm_eng@pmo.gov.il, sar@mod.gov.il, sar@mofa.gov.il cc to: president@whitehouse.gov, secretaryofstate@USA.gov, dover@pmo.gov.il, info@mail.idf.il, dover@mfa.gov.il, unsco@palnet.com, secretary@state.gov, mailto@delwbg.cec.eu.int, + bcc to: info@gush-shalom.org ] BUT DON'T FORGET TO SEND MESSAGES BY SMS, PHONE, FAX AND EMAIL TO YOUR RELEVANT CONTACTS IDF to raze hundreds of Rafah homes; Sarid: Move would be war crime By Haaretz Service and Agencies Last Update: 14/05/2004 13:15 http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/427462.html Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/427582.html IDF armored bulldozers Friday began demolishing buildings in the Rafah refugee camp, adjacent to the Philadelphi Route where five soldiers were killed in a Palestinian attack on Wednesday. Witnesses said bulldozers had demolished 10 houses and were threatening many more in the camp. Panic-stricken residents grabbed whatever belongings they could carry and fled, some waving white flags at approaching Israeli forces, the witnesses said. The army had no immediate comment. The IDF has plans to widen the flashpoint corridor it controls in southern Gaza along the Egyptian border and demolish dozens or even hundreds of Palestinian homes in the area, political sources said on Friday. Local Palestinian officials said the military tore down "dozens" of houses and shops in the Rafah camp, where 12 Palestinians were killed in Israeli missile strikes and exchanges of fire on Thursday. Four armed Palestinian militants were meanwhile reported killed overnight, three of them as they approached soldiers on guard along the Egyptian border and at least one other when a bomb he was carrying exploded in his ow n hands just outside the Rafah Yam settlement. The plan to expand the route was approved on Thursday at a high-level meeting attended by Prime Min ister Ariel Sharon, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and other top officials. "It's a measure that we are taking to provide better protection for armored personnel carriers and the soldiers, and to reshape that theatre of war so we will enjoy an advantage and not the Palestin ians," one Israeli offi cial said about the Philadelphi corridor where five troops were killed on Wednesday. An Israeli political source said the army intends to destroy "dozens or perhaps hundreds" of homes and widen the 9-km long buffer zone once soldiers complete a search in the area for the remains of their comrades blown up two days ago. Left-wing lawmaker Yossi Sarid (Meretz) told Israel Radio that the mass demolition of Palestinian b uildings along the route would be a war crime and warned against "razing half of the town of Rafah. " Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat condemned the plan as a "total contradiction" to what Shar on has presented as a disengagement initiative to reduce points of conflict with Palestinians after three and a half years of fighting. "This is a catastrophe. At a time when the Israelis are speaking of disengaging from Gaza this is r eally re-engaging," he said. "I hope that President Bush, who says he is encouraged by disengagemen t, will interfere to st op the demolitions." Palestinians carry out daily attacks against Israeli positions and soldiers in the area adjoining R afah refugee camp, where the army has already demolished hundreds of homes in searches for arms smu ggling tunnels. "It's a major source of infiltration and smuggling of weapons. We've got to stop it," said the offi cial, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Israel Defense Forces troops were resuming searches Friday morning for the remains of soldiers kill ed Wednesday during an attack on their armored personnel carrier on the Philadelphi route in the so uthern Gaza Strip. Remains identified Three of the five soldiers killed in the attack will be buried Friday afternoon, after forensic tes ting confirmed their identities late Thursday night. A total of 11 IDF soldiers were killed in Gaza this week, with Wednesday's attack coming on the hee ls of the deaths of six soldiers, who were killed the previous day when Palestinians bombed their A PC in the Gaza City nei ghborhood of Zeitoun. At about 3 A.M. Thursday, representatives of the Palestinian Red Crescent Soc iety gave the IDF the remains of the soldiers killed Tuesday, after Palestinian militants had threa tened to use the body p arts as ransom. Corporal Elad Cohen, 20, of Jerusalem, will be buried 1 P.M. Friday at the Mount Herzl military cem etery in the capital; Sergeant Lior Vishinski, 20, from Ramat Gan, will be buried 2 P.M. Friday in the Kiryat Shaul milita ry cemetery; and Sergeant-Major Aiman Gadir, 24, of Bir Makhsur, will be buried 2 P.M. Friday at th e cemetery in his hometown. Chief military chaplain Rabbi Yisrael Weiss was involved in the tests to confirm their identities, which were carried out in the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir, in Tel Aviv. After the i dentities were confirme d, Weiss went to the homes of the soldiers killed to inform the families of a formal declaration of death, allowing for the soldiers to buried. The identities of the bodies of the other two soldiers killed Wednesday - Lieutenant Aviv Hakani, 2 3, of Ashdod, and Sergeant Za'ur (Zohar) Smelev, 19, of Ofakim - have not yet been confirmed. All f ive were killed during a mission on the Philadelphi route to seek and destroy arms-smuggling tunnels in Rafah, along the E gyptian border. Meanwhile, at least 12 Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israel Defense Forces troops in the Gaza Strip during fierce fighting Thursday. Mofaz: IDF operations in Gaza essential Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Thursday that the 11 soldiers killed in separate APC bombings in the Gaza Strip over the past two days died in an essential and unavoidable battle. Mofaz, speaking at a press conference in Tel Aviv, said Israel Defense Forces efforts to bring the troops to proper burial continue amid constant fighting. Mofaz, who met earlier Thursday with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and high-ranking security official s, said the war on terror will continue, utilizing all necessary means in order to safeguard the se curity of Israeli citiz ens. He added that no one intends to flee from the Gaza Strip. Troops took control of several houses in the Rafah area in order to protect the soldiers searching for any remains of the soldiers, Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon said, adding that the operation was b eing carried out in a r estrained manner to avoid civilian casualties. Also Thursday, Sharon thanked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for the assistance his country has given Israel in helping recover the remains of the soldiers killed this week. Sharon also extended his thanks to the head of the Egyptian intelligence services, Omar Suleiman, for making a special effort to recover the remains. Mubarak told Sharon of his wish to tighten cooperation between the two countries and advance Sharon's plan to disengage from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank. Ya'alon said Thursday the Egyptians were conducting searches and allowing IDF troops to search for the remains inside Egyptian territory. Sources in the Palestinian Authority said that to the best of their knowledge, Palestinian organizations were not in possession of any remains from Wednesday's attack. From info at gush-shalom.org Sun May 16 07:42:35 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:13 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Enormous crowd "Get out of Gaza and start talking" Message-ID: <40A70D5B.19491.6334BFE@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ International release [] The rally - enormous crowd, contradictions on the podium [] 'If I may be permitted a prophecy' - the new optimism of Uri Avnery [] Supreme Court injunction puts temporary halt to mass demolition of houses in Rafah ### [] The rally - enormous crowd, contradictions on the podium Saturday night, May 15, Rabin Square Tel-Aviv. For the first time in years, peaceminded Israelis were out on the street in force - not in an event masquerading as a memorial and apologizing for making political statements. Still, we were in an event with whose program (rather, an uneasy compromise between two different programs) we had fundamental disagreement. The huge square started filling long before the scheduled time, and by 8pm the crowd was spilling off into the adjacent streets. These people were motivated by two major events of the past two weeks: the so-called referendum, held by Sharon among the registered members of the Likud Party, which had the intolerable result that some fifty thousand people - less than one percent of the Israeli citizen body - decided a major national issue, and that the settlers and extreme right acquired an effective veto even over a partial and half-hearted withdrawal such as the one proposed by Sharon. Hard upon this came the shock of the unexpected blows suffered by Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip. The army learned the hard way that invading Palestinian towns and refugee camps inside armoured vehicles does not always render the Israeli forces completely immune. The general public came up with the word "Lebanon", which for Israelis carries the same connotations as "Vietnam" for Americans. All in all, the planned rally was being treated as a major event even before it took place. The rightwingers who demanded that it be canceled out of "respect for the fallen soldiers", merely helped to publicize the event. While striving very hard to present a common front, and declare itself "the voice of the majority" the coalition of political parties and mainstream extraparliamentary groups which initiated the rally had a fundamental difference to cover up. Some accepted the basic framework of Sharon's "unilateral withdrawal from Gaza"; others advocated renewal of negotiations with the Palestinians touching upon the West Bank as well as Gaza, and aimed at achieving not only withdrawal but also peace. The compromise slogan eventually chosen: "Leave Gaza and Start Talking". Still, on the podium covered with this slogan, the difference immediately became evident whith speakers contradicting each other. - Ami Ayalon, former Shabak head turned peacemaker: "I believe in the sincerety of Sharon. We must not treat the settlers as enemies. Settlements can only be evacuated by one who feels great pain and empathy." (This did not go well on the audience, and there were some angry mutterings.) - Tsali Reshef of Peace Now: "We have not the slightest trust in Sharon. We know that he wants to withdraw from Gaza in order to keep the West Bank. But just as he was forced to give up Gaza, we will force him to give up the West Bank. Ofra and Beth-El [near Ramallah] and Kedumim [near Nablus] will be evacuated just like the Gaza settlements! Yes, they will!" (applause). - Reserve General turned businessman Yom-Tov Samiya: "Our armed forces; bought a lot of time for the political echelon to make a plan, but they can't do it forever. I support Sharon's concept of limited withdrawal from Gaza and a small part of the West Bank; the alternative is headlong flight like from Lebanon, which will encourage terrorism." (He got a very scattered applause, quite a few people felt that such a person - who initiated the concept of destroying Rafah houses to widen the "security belt" - should not have been on the podium.) - Yosi Beilin, initiator of "Geneva" and head of the Meretz/Yachad Party: "Those who refuse peace have tried everything, targeted killings which are not always very targeted; re-invading the West Bank and Gaza; destroying fields and groves and houses - 1800 houses destroyed; burning the fact of defeat into the other side's consciousness and doing it again and again and again. The one thing which they did not try is to make peace. Those who say that there is no partner are those who don't want to talk!" (The biggest applause of the evening.) - Amir Peretz, trade-union leader and head of the One People Party: "In 1977, the electorate toppled the Labor Party rule, and brought the Likud to power; but they did not do it in order to help the Greater Israel ideology; they did it because they felt second-class citizens. But the money did not go to the slums; it went all to the settlements. We should end the cruel occupation, we should disengage from Gaza, but that is not all; we should re-engage with Israeli society, with the values of humanity and social justice." - And of course, the inevitable Labor Party leader, Shimon Peres: "There had been very much talk of a Unity Government [no mention of his own eagerness to become once more Foreign Minister!]. But what is needed is a Unity Policy. We are not here a demonstration of the left. We are a demonstration of the majority. The government represents only a minority." - And then, a surprise speaker: "My name is Eliezer Bidu, I live in the settlement of Omarim, south of Hebron. I went there fourteen years ago because I was promised 'quality of life' for my family. What a quality of life! A few months ago our car was shot at. A bullet passed near the head of my baby son. I can't sleep at night, I want to get out of there. Not to live guarded by soldiers day and night, on disputed land among neighbors who hate me. I want to live in the real Israel, and I am not the only one." All this time, the radical groups who have been excluded from the podium, were busy among the enormous crowd, adding the points which none of the speakers made. On the day before the rally, organizers announced that signs advocating refusal will be banned - but in practice nobody stopped Courage to Refuse and Yesh Gvul from holding up "It will not end if you don't refuse!", while the Refuser Parents Forum collected a considerable number of signatures in support of the six imprisoned refusers. We ourselves were busy distributing Gush Shalom leaflets: "It should be said in clear words: Arafat is the partner; an agreement without his signature has no value; he is the only one who can convince his people to a compromise." And people were flocking around the Gush Shalom stall, taking up the "Truth Against Truth" brochure (now alo available in English!) as well as last-minute stickers "Destruction of Rafah - War Crime" and "Philadelphi Route - a Death Trap." The whole spectrum of moderate and radical groups were there with stalls and stickers: Women's Peace Coalition, the Geneva Initiative, the Communist Youth, the Ayalon-Nusseibeh plan, the Labor Youth, Ta'ayush, Yachad Youth, Socialist Workers League, MachsomWatch, the Working and Studying Youth, Chadash, the Anarchists ("two states for two people is two states too many"). The newly-founded "Shuvi" women were collecting signatures on their petition for withdrawal from Gaza (reportedly they already flooded the email of the PM's office). The "Daber" initiative told about collecting testimonies of soldiers who had served in the territories, while "All for Peace" are initiating a peace radio, to begin with through the internet. And there was a forest of signs, official and unofficial; printed and hand-made: Evacuating settlements is choosing for life / Get out of ALL the territories / The Likud is disengaged from the people - Elections Now! / Stop the Apartheid Wall / The Likud is Against Peace and Against the Poor / There is a partner / Life is cheap - settlements are expensive / Right or Left? History will prove that we were RIGHT to have LEFT [this one originally English] / We buried our sons - save those still alive / The life of our sons is more important than the settlements / Dear settlers, come back home. A man in a wheelchair was wheeling himself energetically through the crowd, on his chest a sign: "More money for the handicapped - less for the territories. How long will we get 1201 shekels (appr. $250) per month? A young Yachad supporter collected signatures against the plan of the Tel-Aviv municipality to turn the Rabin Square into a parking lot. "If you don't sign, where will you demonstrate next year?" For photos and what the press wrote: Hebrew Hebrew [] 'If I may be permitted a prophecy' - the new optimism of Uri Avnery Uri Avnery 15.5.04 Hebrew at request & soon at the site: http://www.gush-shalom.org :עברית על פי בקשה או בקרוב באתר Busharon: The Countdown The strange creature named the Busharon is in serious trouble. The front half of this animal - George W. Bush - is having trouble with nude photos. Not only those of the hapless Iraqi prisoners, with the exuberant female soldier pointing at their genitals, but also of Bush himself, whose nakedness was exposed for all to see. The savior of the Iraqi people from a cruel tyrant, the gallant leader bestowing democracy on Mesopotamia, the representative of Western civilization fighting against barbarism - has himself been exposed as a cruel barbarian. Let no one kid himself: this is not a case of a few sadists, male and female, who happened to find themselves in one place. It is already clear that there was systematic abuse of prisoners - keeping them naked, humiliating them sexually, sending in vicious dogs which probably bit them, preventing them from sleeping, keeping them shackled in painful positions for a long time, covering their heads with filthy hoods, threatening them with electrocution - all these were photographed. But there can be little doubt that with such an attitude towards the prisoners, much worse torture was applied but not photographed. It is now quite clear that this is applied as standard procedure for "softening" up prisoners. Not only in this prison, not only in all the other prisons in Iraq, but also in Afghanistan, in the devil's island of Guatanamo and all the other places where such defenseless victims, most of them quite innocent people who were picked up by accident, are imprisoned. Meaning: this was a matter of policy, coming from the highest level. The soldiers, male and female, who happily let themselves be photographed in these pornographic scenes are certainly detestable, but anyone familiar with military life knows that this was not a private initiative. Such acts cannot go on for a long time, with many hundreds of pictures shot, without the whole chain of command being involved. Every simple soldier is influenced by the spirit of his commanders, at least up to the level of the brigade. Its commander in turn is influenced by the spirit of his superiors, up to and including the Chief- of-Staff. In this case, it has been proven that the Pentagon chiefs and the Secretary of Defense knew the facts long ago. The investigating general did not find any written order, but such orders are always conveyed orally, and sometimes by a mere gesture or a wink. These soldiers, most of them from decent homes, behaved as people do in lynch mobs, and for the same reason: the denial of the humanity of other races, which are considered sub-human. Racism turns the members of the master-race themselves into sub-human beings. George Bush lost his world with the publication of these photos. He could have fired the whole chain of command, from the Secretary of Defense down to the prison commander. He didn't, of course. All the moral arguments attempting to justify his war against Iraq have come crashing down. No democracy, no liberation, no civilization. Nothing is left except the naked aggression of cynical and cruel robber barons, just like the henchmen of Saddam Hussein. If I may be permitted a prophecy: this week starts the countdown to the end of the career of George W. The animal's rear end - Ariel Sharon - is also in great trouble. This started with the rejection of the "Unilateral Disengagement" plan by the Likud members, a tiny part of the population, manipulated by the settlers. Since then Sharon has been prowling around like a caged predator. He has no majority among his ministers and members of parliament (they are bound by the party referendum), he is unable to form another government (the MPs of his party will not allow it), he is unable to fulfil his promise to President Bush (and has made Bush look ridiculous). He has begun to blabber about "other plans" that he is forming - reminding one of Groucho Marx's joke: "Those are my principles. If you don't like them, I have others." If Sharon had really intended to leave Gaza, he would have done it at once and without the hullabaloo, fixing a strict timetable and without changing the details every few days. He would have including in his plan the evacuation of the "Philadelphi Axis", the narrow strip a few hundred yards wide between Gaza and Egypt, which demands a human sacrifice almost every day. A week after the Likud referendum, two terrible blows were delivered. An armored vehicle carrying a large quantity of explosives entered Gaza city in order to blow up buildings, and was hit by a roadside bomb planted by Palestinian guerillas. It exploded, tearing the six soldiers to pieces. The day after, the very same thing happened on the "Philadelphi Axis": an armored personnel carrier full of explosives, which was sent there to blow up tunnels under the border, was hit by a Palestinian rocket and blew up with its five crew members. The power of each of the two explosions was such that body parts were scattered over hundreds of meters. The whole country saw on TV how Israeli soldiers crawled on all fours, filtering the sand with their bare hands in order to gather the body parts of their comrades. The media competed in the orchestration of a necrophile hysteria, with endless talk about "body parts" interlaced with scenes of funerals. It was impossible to ignore the direct connection between the Likud referendum's rejection of the withdrawal and the death of the soldiers. This was expressed in the most simple way by the actor Shlomo Vishinsky, whose son Lior was killed in the second vehicle, when he blamed the members of Likud for the death of his son. For the first time, the Israeli public saw the real picture of Gaza: not "terror", not "terrorists", but a classic guerilla war, with the whole population taking part in the struggle against the occupation forces. Today's Gaza, tomorrow's West Bank. In such a struggle, we cannot win. One can kill Palestinians wholesale, destroy whole neighborhoods, as is happening now. But one cannot win. The public is beginning to understand that. The "Zionist Left", so it seems, is also waking up from its 4-year coma. Israel will leave the Gaza Strip, as it left the "Security Strip" in South Lebanon. The similarity between the two strips is so obvious, that banal headlines proclaim it in all the media. If I may be permitted a second prophecy: this week starts the countdown to the end of the career of Ariel Sharon. [] Supreme Court injunction puts temporary halt to mass demolition of houses in Rafah # Sharansky and the New Antisemitism, by Adam Keller - http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/sharansky.html (more articles of The Other Israel May issue accessible via http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/contents.html) *** Ongoing struggle *** how to link up with anti-Wall struggle, refusnik news etc. #Against the Wall contact addresses daily struggle / eye-witness reports #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) updated refusniks lists / support to five long-time incarcerated #Against the Wall * נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net * Daily eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) #Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla - Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR - Israel -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Mon May 17 15:16:03 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:13 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] IDF converges on Rafah & Boycott list updated Message-ID: <40A8C923.1949.590A2D@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [] Rafah people are packing - Amira Hass [] B'tselem press release : Rafah Demolitions- data until May 15 [] Boycotting Settlement Products - the least you can do newly updated list - at www.gush-shalom.org [Mid May - Palestinians commemorate the Nakba, the catastrophe of 1948 which turned two-thirds of the Palestinian population of that time into refugees. 56 years later the commemoration gets a macabre illustration...] [] Rafah people are packing - Amira Hass Gazans pile up their belongings and flee By Amira Hass Mon., May 17, 2004 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/428156.html Hebrew http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/428368.html Rafah residents expect IDF to close in for unrestrained demolition of homes RAFAH - The streets of Rafah were filled yesterday evening with horse- drawn carts, trucks and pick-ups, all laden to the brim with any and every item that the town's residents could remove from their homes - mattresses, water tanks taken down from roofs, clothes, blankets, doors and windows removed from their hinges, dismantled beds and closets, school books, tin and asbestos sheeting, baby carriages, refrigerators, gas canisters and more. Everyone living up to 300 meters from the border with Egypt and the Israel Defense Forces positions and machine guns; everyone who saw IDF bulldozers raze the homes of his neighbors; everyone who could and had not yet cleared his home of its contents; everyone living close to the site where an IDF armored personnel carrier was blown up last Wednesday - all hastily packed up their belongings. And when the loading was completed, the women sat at the entrances to the homes, on concrete blocks or plastic chairs, and watched the vehicles roll north, to neighborhoods far from the bulldozers. The families who petitioned the High Court of Justice this weekend against the house demolitions also emptied their homes yesterday. On Saturday, after the High Court issued a "qualified temporary injunction" that stopped the IDF "from carrying out planned demolitions of any of the homes of the petitioners," there were those who felt a sense of reprieve. One of the petitioners, a big man, burst into tears unashamedly in public on hearing the High Court order. But yesterday morning, after the High Court hastily rejected the petitions, the petitioners understood that they had better try to at least save the contents of their homes. Such was the understanding, for example, of Massad and Ahlam Kishta, and Fauzi a-Sha'ar - two of the petitioners. They live on Abu Jamal Street, between Salah a-Din Street and Harakevet Street, under the eyes of the IDF's Termit outpost. Yesterday at 6 P.M., their homes were practically empty. The Kishta and a-Sha'ar families are two of the original clans of the area, not refugee families. Their homes were built on their privately owned land, where some 40-50 years ago they cultivated vegetables and watermelons. The Kishta family father moved to the area in 1956; and in the 1980s, the Kishtas began gradually building a concrete home for the expanding family. The Kishta family has stopped counting the number of times IDF bulldozers, supported by tanks, APCs and helicopters, have demolished homes in the area - maybe five, or six. On one occasion, a bulldozer destroyed their bedroom, from where they now look out onto the steel wall the army is erecting along the border, the Termit outpost, bare concrete houses, and piles of rubble between the sand dunes. Last Thursday, bullets and shells left holes in the walls of their son Abed's home. On Thursday and Friday, more homes belonging to members of the Kishta clan were demolished, when APCs, tanks and helicopters raided the area. A missile was fired at a group of women; seven people were killed. Rafah residents vehemently deny IDF claims that the army was targeting armed Palestinians. Human rights organizations in the town said all those killed were civilians. "Two years ago, they tore down my first house on top of me," says one of the daughters of the a-Sha'ar family. "Now, the moment I heard them approaching, I fled." Another a-Sha'ar family member notes, "The IDF says it only demolishes empty homes. First they chase us out the home with heavy fire, and then they can demolish it because it's empty. Do they want us to remain in the house while they are shelling it so that they won't destroy it?" According to a rumor that began to spread last night, the IDF is planning to close off the road between Gaza City and Rafah over the next three days. A number of people see this a sign that the demolition work will be renewed - under the cover of a blackout from the entire world. [] B'tselem press release : Rafah Demolitions- data until May 15 ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Sat, 15 May 2004 17:19:22 +0200 From: "Noam Hoffstater" May 15, 2004 PRESS RELEASE B’Tselem’s Investigation of the IDF Action in Rafah Complete Data on Scope of the Demolitions: 198 Families Homeless B’Tselem’s detailed investigation into the IDF action in Rafah this weekend reveals the following: * 116 houses were destroyed * 198 families have lost their homes * 1,160 people were made homeless Altogether since the beginning of 2004, the IDF has demolished 284 homes in Rafah, leaving 2,185 Palestinians homeless. Over the past three and a half years, the IDF has demolished some 1,800 homes in the Rafah Refugee Camp. Such massive destructions of civilian property are illegal under international humanitarian law. The death of IDF soldiers cannot justify the severe harm to civilians, who were not involved in the hostilities. B’Tselem calls on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to order an immediate halt to plans for further demolitions. The organization also calls on the Israeli government to compensate families who lost their homes and to provide them with alternative housing. For background, legal analysis and additional data on Israel’s demolitions in the Gaza Strip, see: www.btselem.org B’Tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories - rapports available on http://www.btselem.org/ [] Boycotting Settlement Products - the least you can do newly updated list - at www.gush-shalom.org Hebrew http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Sharansky and the New Antisemitism, by Adam Keller - http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/sharansky.html (more articles of The Other Israel May issue accessible via http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/contents.html) *** Ongoing struggle *** how to link up with anti-Wall struggle, refusnik news etc. #Against the Wall contact addresses daily struggle / eye-witness reports #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) updated refusniks lists / support to five long-time incarcerated #Against the Wall * נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net * Daily eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) #Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html Letters of support to Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer AGAF BET Ma’asiyaho Prison P.O.B 13 Ramla - Israel Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret: Hermon Prison P.O.B 4011 KFAR M’RAR - Israel -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Mon Feb 23 15:44:45 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:13 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Soldiers Stop! The black flag of war crime is flying Message-ID: <403A1FED.1644.2C42B32@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ Soldiers Stop! The black flag of war crime is flying [] Daily protest and joint mobilization for Friday [] Why are we again so few? [] Please, continue flooding politicians and embassies with protests [] B'Tselem on High Court Decision on Rafah Demolitions: The Rule of Law Ends at the Border [] Israel and the Occupied Territories: Under the rubble, House demolition and destruction of land and property ### [] Daily protest and joint mobilization for Friday Many hundreds of letters against the Rafah house demolitions were sent by protesters worldwide as fax or as email, in answer to the Gush Shalom call a few days ago. But now, with Rafah cut off from the rest of the Gaza Strip, we face a situation of more than thousand people having lost their homes and belongings, and 20 Palestinians who got killed during the last day alone . On Monday we stood at the call of Courage to Refuse outside the Defense Ministry, holding black flags and crying out: Soldiers Stop! - and on Tuesday morning the Bat Shalom women took the lead and held a protest vigil at the Sufa Checkpoint, the nearest to Rafah which Israeli peace seekers can get. There were dozens of people, from all over the country, joined by members of nearby kibbutzim who provided logistical support. It was decided to establish a continuous presence, day and night. Gush Shalom and Ta'ayush are preparing a big mobilization for a demonstration there on Friday. Bat Shalom asks women AND men to come and join them for a while at any time until then. Bus no. 362 (6th floor, platform 633) from central bus station in Tel-Aviv leaves at 9:00 a.m. and goes to Machsom Rafah (Sufa). You can also catch it at the central station in Ashkelon at 10:00. There is a bus from Jerusalem to Ashkelon that leaves the central station at 8:00 (bus no. 437 at platform 10). To arrive by car you should drive to Ofakim, f rom there take road 241 and then road 232 till the Cholit junction, and there take a right to the Sufa checkpoint. If you have room in your car, or need a ride, please contact Bat-Shalom at 02-5631477 or 02-563622 or at info@batshalom.org (please indicate phone no.) and after office hours contact Jessica at 065-679478. There is a poss ibility for organized transport on Thursday, from Jerusalem and/or Tel-Aviv depending on demand. In Haifa a vigil will be held on Wednesday, at 6pm in the corner of elJabal st (shderot hazionut) and Shabtai Levi st. (For more details: Abir: 054-743723 / Iris: 054-420806) For organized transportation on Friday: If you want to travel by bus from Tel-Aviv please phone the Gush Salom office (03-5221732 ) and leave on the answering machine your phone number and the number of seats. Ta'ayush info at: 03-6914437 . The exact details w ill come later. >From Jerusalem a minibus will leave at 10.30; it will leave to return to Jerusalem at approximately 18.00. Limited places! Reserve in advance with Pnina at (02) 563-7798. For direct contact with the women at the checkpoint call: Hot Line Against the Occupation (Hannah) 066-300144 or Lili 053-966281. [] Why are we again so few? Why are we again so few - after the enormous rally on the Rabin Square just days ago? That demonstratiobn addressed onlythe internal Israeli and utilitarian aspects of the army's presence in Gaza. Among the speakers w as even the former general Yom Tov Samiya, who during his term in charge of the Gaza Strip actually intitiated the monstrous plan to extend the “Phildelphi Route” (Israeli-controlled wedge along the Egyotian border) and thus destroy hundreds of Palestinian hoimes at Rafah... no moral condemnation from him. Though we may not be able to match the 150,000 turnout of the Tel-Aviv event, it is the time to sound our clear and different message:to demand thatthegovernment andarmyimmediately stop the destruction and the killin g,stop the cruelty towards the inhabitants of the refugee camps,stop the expulsion and the war crimes. [] Please, continue flooding politicians and embassies with protests Please, continue flooding the government offices and Israeli embassies throughout the world with protest messages. We hear on the Israeli news how the embassies have it hard to "explain." Today the call is renewed by Gila Svirsky (to which we add the embassies url). ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Tue, 18 May 2004 17:50:12 +0200 From: Gila Svirsky Subject: Emergency right now in Gaza Friends, We need your help. There is an emergency situation right now in the Gaza Strip and the town of Rafah, in particular, with scenes that bring to mind Israel's invasion of Jenin and Nablus in the spring of 2002. So far today, 18 Palestinians were killed, but the action continues. Last weekend, 116 homes were destroyed, making over a thousand people homeless (www.btselem.org). Hundreds more are slated for destruction. Amira Hass, filing dramatic daily repor ts from inside Rafah, describes the scenes of people grabbing their children and whatever comes to hand and fleeing their homes, anticipating the entry of the bulldozer-tanks (www.haaretzdaily.com). Even Yossi Sarid from the Yahad Party (formerly called Meretz), normally a staunch defender of the IDF, described actions in Rafah as "war crimes". My friend In'am called me from Gaza trembling with fear, and reported that the Palestinian ne ws broadcaster broke down in tears as he spoke. Many -- Israelis, internationals and Palestinians -- are desperately trying to halt the bloodshed. The Israeli women's peace movement just placed an ad in Ha'aretz calling for an immediate halt to the violence and renewa l of negotiations for a peace agreement that will extract us from all the occupied territories ("True and enduring solutions," we wrote, "are attained by negotiation, not destruction, revenge or humiliation"). This morni ng, forty women drove to Gaza to see if they could intervene physically, but they are being prevented from entering Gaza by the army. The women have set up an encampment at the Sufa checkpoint and say they will not leave until the army stops its actions there. Other peace and human rights organizations have placed newspaper ads, and many are organizing a larger delegation to join the women on Friday. International figures have begun to speak out, but we need more, and quickly. Can you please take a moment to write a letter (email or fax) or make a phone call to any or all of the list below? A sample letter is append ed. Please take a minute to try to save someone's life or home. Imagine that you had to walk out the door of your home at this very moment, with nothing but what your arms can carry, and you would never see your home or its contents ever again. Please make a couple of calls. Gila Svirsky ********************************** Coalition of Women for Peace: http://www.coalitionofwomen4peace.org ********************************** Sample letter text: There is an emergency situation in the Gaza Strip right now. Please demand that Prime Minister Sharon halt the death and destruction wrought there by the Israeli army. The cycle of bloodshed must end. Contact people (First try the US, European and UN officials. All the fax numbers work): (1) President George W. Bush -- Tel (202)-456-1111; Fax (202) 456-2461. (2) Secretary of State Colin Powell -- Tel (202) 261-8577; Fax (202) 261-8577. (3) US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer -- Tel in Israel: (+972-3) 519-7575 webmaster@usembassy-israel.org.il (4) Your member of Congress: Call the Capital switchboard toll-free: 1-800-839-5276 and ask to be connected to your member of Congress. For your information, you can send a free fax by internet (to certain places only, but definitely area code 202 in the US) at http://www.tpc.int/sendfax.html. Note that this is a service provided for free, but is not to be used for bulk fax mailings because they can only handle a relatively limited number of faxes at once. [Thanks, Mike Wolfson, for this info.] (5) UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, coi@un.org (6) Council of the European Union, public.info@consilium.eu.int (7) European Union, civis@europarl.eu.int (8) Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Fax (+972 2) 670-5361 pm_eng@pmo.gov.il (9) Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz, Fax (+972 3) 691-6940 sar@mod.gov.il (10) Minister of Justice Yosef Lapid, Fax: (+972 2) 628-5438 sar@justice.gov.il (11) Look for the nearest Israeli Embassy at: http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/israel1.htm Thanks for doing this -- but please don't send me a copy of your letters, or I'll be flooded (I hope...). Gila [] B'Tselem on High Court Decision on Rafah Demolitions: The Rule of Law Ends at the Border ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Sun, 16 May 2004 17:01:11 +0200 From: "Noam Hoffstater" May 16, 2004 Press Release High Court Decision on Rafah Demolitions: The Rule of Law Ends at the Border This morning’s ruling of Israel’s High Court of Justice allows the IDF to continue its mass house demolitions in Rafah, and gives the IDF full discretion as to when to allow a court hearing prior to demolition. In issuing this ruling, the Court has shirked its obligation to balance security considerations with the rights of Palestinian civilians who are not involved in the hostilities. When addressing events in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the Court consistently disregards its obligations regarding human rights and international law, and uncritically adopts the position of the security establishment. Since the beginning of the Intifada, the IDF has demolished some 1,800 homes in the Rafah Refugee Camp. Since the beginning of 2004 alone, 284 homes have been demolished in Rafah, leaving 2,185 Palestinians homeless. House demolition on such a massive scale cannot be justified as “urgent military need.” B’Tselem calls on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to immediately cancel the plans for further demolitions, discussed by Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon in this morning’s cabinet meeting. In addition, the organization calls on the Israeli government to compensate families who lost their homes and to provide them with alternative housing. For the results of B’Tselem’s investigation on the IDF action in Rafah this weekend, see www.btselem.org For additional information, contact Noam Hofstatter, B’Tselem’s Spokesperson, at 050-387230, 02-6735599, or at noamh@btselem.org [] Israel and the Occupied Territories: Under the rubble, House demolition and destruction of land and property ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Subject: Amnesty International NEW REPORT From: eastmed@amnesty.org Date sent: Tue, 18 May 2004 10:19:42 +0100 Amnesty International is launching a report today entitled Israel and the Occupied Territories: Under the rubble: House demolition and destruction of land and property. In this report, the organization analyses the main p atterns and trends of forced eviction, house demolition and destruction of property by the Israeli army and security forces in Israel and in the Occupied Territories in the light of international human rights and humanita rian law. You can find the report as well as a web action on AI's website: The report: http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde150332004 Press release: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE150502004 Stop destruction of homes and land by Israeli army - take action! http://web.amnesty.org/pages/isr-180504-action-eng Slideshow: http://www.amnesty.org/resources/slideshow/slideshow-detect.htm?id=isr-180504-eng # Boycott List of Settlement Products newly updated - at www.gush-shalom.org Hebrew http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Sharansky and the New Antisemitism, by Adam Keller - http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/sharansky.html (more articles of The Other Israel May issue accessible via http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/contents.html) #Against the Wall contact addresses daily struggle / eye-witness reports #Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites) updated refusniks lists / support to five long-time incarcerated #Against the Wall * נוכחות יומיומית בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall. Contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net * Daily eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) #Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ For the latest news about the five: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Tue Feb 24 13:16:07 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:13 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] 8 arrested, 3 to hospital after police disperses T-A Rafah protest Message-ID: <403B4E97.16856.6BEA8D@localhost> 8 arrested, 3 to hospital after police disperses T-A Rafah protest Be at the court(s) Thursday morning, May 20 from 9am on. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We heard what happened in Rafah while preparing in the Gush office for the already announced Friday protest at the Gaza entrance. We couldn''t think of a more fitting reaction than sending out a call to come - once more - to the Defense Ministry for an immediate protest. On the way there, with our banners and shields, we felt rather futile compared with those on whose behalf we were going to protest: the Rafah demonstrators in the middle of whom a helicopter gunship had sent a missile wounding dozens and among the ones killed several kids... Still, the protest of some 250 - with besides Gush Shalom a very visible (and loud) presence of the dissident reservists (Courage to Refuse) and the Anarchists - had more spirit than the mass rally some days earlier. People easily found each other in furious chanting and the blag flags were there again. Nobody was surprised when some of the young took the initiative of blocking the street. More and more left the sidewalk. Police who started coming, closed off the Kaplan road for traffic, but before they could isolate us we had started marching. Chanting while walking from the Defence ministry gate through the whole Kaplan street into Ibn Gvirol, and from there towards the Rabin Square. Reactions of passers-by were not unfriendly, and we nearly thought that the police for once decided not to show the usual behavior on this day of shame, but then suddenly they come from nowhere diving into the crowd and s ingling some out for arrest. Gush Shalom spokesperson Adam Keller was the first - seven polices dragged him, forcing him face-down on the street, and from seeing how they handled his arms and legs it seemed a miracle tha t he afterwards was not among the three (out of eight arrested) who had to go to hospital. The others were treated no better: Matan Cohen (wounded) , Yonathan Pollack (the "recidivist" anarchist), Elad Orian, refusnik D avid Zonscheine, Lezer Peled (wounded), Roni Avidov, Gal Chajad (wounded). Some thirty demonstrators came to the police station, with two of them being able to function as lawyers (adv. Micheal Sfarad, himself a refuser, and activist advocate Yael Varda). After we had seen the wounded three hand cuffed but on their feet coming out of the sstation to enter an ambulance, at 11pm the message came that the other arrestees would spend the night at Abu-Kabir (the Arabic name of this prison dating back to the pre-'48 pe riod) after which the judge would decide what to do further. Israelis who can, please come to the court(s) Thursday morning, May 20. Six of the eight will appear before the Duty Judge in the Magistrate Court (Mishpat Hashalom) Weitzman Street where they can be expected to be heard from 9am on. Matan and Roni will appear before a judge in the Juvenile Court (Shocken building), at about the same time. We hope that all will have the support of some friends and family. NB: later tomorrow - again opposite the Defense Ministry, Tel Aviv - at 6pm Peace Now intends to demonstrate for Get Out Of Gaza Now GUSH SHALOM pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Phone: Office: 03-5221732 Spokesperson Adam Keller 03-5565804 / 050-6709603 www.gush-shalom.org - info@gush-shalom.org -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sat May 22 13:30:42 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:13 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Barghouti // Israelis protest against Rafah outrage Message-ID: <40AF47F2.7070.76F556C@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - ob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ International release [] The long road of Marwan Barghouti [] 700 Demonstrators Confront Soldiers At Checkpoint To Rafah [] How to send donations to newly-homeless families at Rafah [] The long road of Marwan Barghouti In this week of Rafah - another act in the judicial process against senior Fatah leader and member of the Palestinian Parliament Marwan Barghouti. At the end of a very predetermined trial, in which Barghouti refused to take part and be represented by a lawyer, he was found guilty of "responsibility for terrorist activity", with the foregone conclusion that on the final session at the 6th of June he will be condemned to numerous "consecutive life imprisonments". By not recognizing Barghouti as a legitimate leader of a people fighting for its independence the present Israeli establishment closes one more door through which it might have been ppssible to get to peace. Barghouti - now, more than ever, a highly influential Palestinian leader - was on several occasions involved from his prison cell in promoting and facilitating a cease-fire with Israel. Taking all this into consideration, the Barghouti trial made clear how far we are away from the situation which in the end prevailed in South Africa - with war criminals brought before Truth Commissions, and with a long-time defamed prisoner being freed and respected as leader of his oppressed people. [] 700 Demonstrators Confront Soldiers At Checkpoint To Rafah + ongoing vigils Before going into this report, we should note that from now (Sat. May 22) until Israeli forces are definitely and completely withdrawn from Rafah, there will every day be a protest vigil at 6.30 am in the three main cities; Tel-Aviv (Defence Ministry, Kaplan St.), Jerusalem (Tzion Square) and Haifa (corner of Hatzionut and Hagefen streets). ~~~ AT THIS MOMENT THE ISRAELI ARMY IS COMMITTING WAR CRIMES IN RAFAH. YOU CAN’T JUST STAY AT HOME AND COMPLAIN!!! This was the essence of the call for today's protest at the entrance to Gaza Strip. 12 busloads of demonstrators - came to the united call of Gush Shalom - Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions - HaKampus Lo Shotek - Yesh Gvul - The Refusnik pilots - The Refusnik's parents forum - Women Coalition for Just Peace - Ta'ayush Arab Jewish Partnership (the logistics were taken care of excellently by Ta'ayush). In the following Ha'aretz description you find more about today's protest - placed against the background of this terrible week, in which many of us have been running around between protests, police stations, and solidarity visits to the Bat Shalom women, who had set up a permanent presence at the "Gate to Rafah" (Sufa Checkpoint). http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/430445.html Peace activists march on Kissufim crossing By Nir Hasson. Lili Galili, Yuval Yoaz and Tsahar Rotem, Haaretz Correspondents, and Itim Hundreds of people marched on the Kissufim crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel on Friday to protest the Israel Defense Forces operation in Rafah, in which 40 Palestinians have been killed as the army works to flush out militants and drug smugglers in the south Gaza refugee camp. The demonstration was supposed to take place at the Sufa crossing, which is closer to Rafah, but the protesters decided on Kissufim instead after being threatened by police at the Sufa crossing, protest organizers said. The peace bloc issued a statement Friday saying, "None of us can sit at home at a time like this. None of us can say, 'We didn't know!'" Six people were held for questioning during the march, three of whom were released a short time later. Protesters blocked the road, and vowed to remain there until the three remaining detainees were also released. On Thursday, about 500 people demonstrated for the second consecutive day in front of the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. The demonstration was organized by Peace Now and attended by members of refusnik organizations, the Yahad Knesset faction, the Yahad youth movement, and leftist student groups. Yahad chairman Yossi Beilin called for an immediate evacuation of the Gaza Strip, saying Prime Minister Sharon's plan to evacuate the Strip in stages would mean getting stuck there. An unusually large police contingent was present but unlike the previous day's demonstration, it passed without disruption. At a hearing on a police request to release with limitations two minors arrested during Wednesday's demonstration, Youth Court judge Ruth Ben- Hanoch said: "The court must warn against using court procedures to silence protesters or limit their rights to express their opinions." Judge Ben-Hanoch had harsh words for the behavior of the police in holding the minors overnight at Abu Kabir lockup. Attorney Gabi Laski will submit a complaint to the police investigations unit in the Justice Ministry with regard to one minor who needed medical care after an injury by police during the demonstration. In an unusual move, all attorneys for the eight people arrested during Wednesday's demonstration were denied access to their clients at the Yarkon region police station, although ambulances had to be summoned for three who were injured. Among the six adults arrested in Wednesday's demonstration were David Zonshein of Courage to Refuse, and Yonatan Pollack of the anarchists' movement, who were released yesterday. The Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court refused a police request to limit their approach to within a one- kilometer radius of the demonstration area, and all six returned to demonstrate yesterday. Yonatan Shapira, among the signatories to the pilots' refusnik letter, and his brother Zohar, who signed the Sayeret Matkal refusniks' letter, said that police officers threatened to kill them if they did not let go of the four-meter-long black flag they held during the demonstration. Zami Ben-Horin, of Kibbutz Ga'ash on the coastal plain, started a protest march Thursday from Rabin Square in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Ben-Horin, who is calling for an Israeli evacuation from the Gaza Strip, is accompanied by his wife Sigal, his son Gal, age 14, and his daughter Orian, age 12. Ben-Horin, who described himself as "not one who demonstrates in the squares" said the deaths of the 12 soldiers in the Gaza Strip last week brought him out of his apathy. [] How to send donations to newly-homeless families at Rafah At the Kisufim Checkpoint rally, Dr. Anat Matar of Tel-Aviv Univesity appealed to those gathered - and to symapthizers elsewhere - to give donations helping the newly homeless familes at Rafah to rebuild their homes and their lives. The project - now more necessary than ever - had been going on since 2001, when the army started the policy of destroying houses at Rafah. Donations are sent to Khalil Shahin, a human rights activist in Rafah, who happens to live at the Tel Sultan Neighborhood which was directly hit by the latest Israeli military incursion. Matar tells that in the last few months she passed over to Shahin three sums: At the end of 2003, 20,000 NIS that were distributed to 30 families, numbering 245 persons; in February 2004 – 40,000 NIS to 54 families (473 people); and on May 9 (right before the IDF invasion) 40,000 NIS whose distribution was greatly disrupted by the invasion and will continue in the coming weeks. Immediately upon hearing the news of massive new house demolitions, a new effort was launched by Ta'ayush, whose activists already collected 4,000 NIS just during the two hours of the giant May 15 rally held on Tel-Aviv's Rabin Square by the mainstream peace groups. The money is distributed by a team of volunteers headed by Khalil, whose members include members of the Demolished Homes' Families Committee and social wokers. Khalil himself works in the Palestinian Human Rights Centre in Gaza and distributes the money voluntarily, not as part of his job. After each distribution he sends a detailed report with the names of the families who got the donation, how many people in each family and how much was donated. Donations can be sent by cheque, made out to Anat Matar, to: Dr. Anat Matar, 33 Bernstein-Cohen Street, Ramat Hasharon 47213, Israel  or the money can be deposited to Ta'ayush' bank account: Bank Hapoalim, account no. 396608, Ramat Aviv Branch (606). Please inform Anat Matar about your donation. For further details:  Anat Matar, ++972-3-5408977 ; e-mail:Matar@post.tau.ac.il # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Sharansky and the New Antisemitism, by Adam Keller - http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/sharansky.html More selected articles of The Other Israel May issue accessible via http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/contents.html Order your one time free sample (hard copy) from NB: Don't forget to include your postal address # Against the Wall * נוכחות בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Presence at villages threatened by the wall, contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net * Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sun May 23 07:00:28 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:13 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] The rape of Rafah (Avnery) + vigils update Message-ID: <40B03DFC.8513.7B6E98@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [] Vigils update [] Avnery unravels the method in the madness *** [] Vigils update ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ שימו לב: המשמרות מחא היומיות בנושא רפיח בתל-אביב, חיפה וירושלים במקומות הרגילים מתחילות ב6.30 בערב ולא כמו נכתב קודם NB: The daily Rafah protest vigils in Tel-Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem (usual locations) start at 6.30pm and not as written earlier. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [] Avnery unravels the method in the madness Hebrew at request & soon at the site עברית על פי בקשה או בקרוב באתר 22.5.04 Uri Avnery The rape of Rafah The immense might of the Israeli army, assembled from all over the country, has attacked a small Palestinian township on the margin of the destitute Gaza Strip. Palestinians, both fighters and civilians, are being killed by the dozen, homes are being destroyed wholesale, the sight of the fleeing population bring back memories of 1948. All this - for what? At first sight, the whole action is absurd. Ariel Sharon has proposed a unilateral withdrawal from all of the Gaza Strip, and his original plan included the evacuation of the "Philadelphi Axis", a narrow buffer zone cutting Gaza off from Egypt. This means that he does not consider this entire territory necessary for the security of Israel. According to him, the Gaza Strip is a military and demographic burden, and the quicker we get out of it, the better. Sha'ul Mofaz, a former Chief of Staff and the present Minister of Defense, went even further. This eminent thinker revealed that Gaza is not a part of "our patrimony", that the settlements there were a mistake from the start. This means that the soldiers who were killed there under his command died for nothing, for a mistake, and every soldier killed there now is dying in vain. But now more soldiers are being placed in mortal danger. Dozens of Palestinians, among them women and children, are being killed for the mistake. Does this sound crazy? What evil spirit possessed the Prime Minister and the Chief of Staff to start a big military operation in a territory that the army is supposed to leave at any moment? There must be some method in this madness. What is the real reason for this onslaught? The official purpose is to "destroy the tunnels" under the "Philadelphi Axis". But tunnels have been there for years. The army boasts of destroying 98 such tunnels in the past, but only one single tunnel has been discovered in this operation. It is clear that no military action will put an end to them. Even if the army destroys more and more Palestinian homes in order to widen the axis - the new tunnels will just be longer. The tunnels are a pretext. So, what were the real reasons for this brutal invasion of a pitiful little town? The first reason is the simplest: thirst for revenge. The army has suffered two painful blows, its commanders want to settle the account. Dozens of Palestinians are killed for 13 of our soldiers, hundreds of homes demolished for two destroyed personnel carriers. Add to this the argument of morale. Some senior officers were open about this: an impressive operation that underlines the superiority of the Israeli army in order to raise the morale of the soldiers who are still smarting after the failures. One can also mention the guilty conscience of the commanders who sent their soldiers into the killings field riding on huge quantities of explosives in inadequately armored personnel carriers. In a decent army the responsible officers - headed by the hapless Chief of Staff - would have resigned within hours. But in the Israeli army that is not the way things are. On the contrary, if you fail, you can expect promotion. From a purely military point of view, the "Philadelphi Axis" (the name randomly generated by computer) is madness. It cannot be defended without committing atrocities constituting or bordering on war crimes. It attracts guerilla fighters as a candle attracts moths. But the army chiefs who devised it will never admit its folly. There is another reason for this operation. The generals want to leave Gaza "with their heads held high". They cannot allow the Palestinian guerillas to claim to have driven them out by force, as Hizbullah did in Lebanon. A childish argument, reflecting a particular military mentality. After Rafah, the very opposite will happen: the action will confirm to the Palestinians that their heroic stand has forced the army out. Who will be able to deny that? But the directive for the onslaught on Rafah came from the political leadership, which was in need of a resounding military show, with much killing and destroying, in order to gratify the primitive emotions of a part of the public. Simply put: they hurt us, so we hurt them tenfold. Ten eyes for an eye, ten teeth for a tooth. That's how votes are won. Ariel Sharon also has a very good personal reason for ordering such a glorious military campaign in the alleys of Rafah: after his defeat in the Likud members' referendum, he was stuck in a dead end. Opponents in his party and his government blocked him in all directions. A few days after the Likud vote, Gush Shalom published a political ad under the headline "Warning!" It read: "Sharon now resembles a wounded bull. "A wounded bull is a dangerous animal. "His plan is dead. He is incapable of dismantling even one single settlement. He is incapable of getting another plan accepted. "His only way out is to order a spectacular military adventure. "There is no limit to the bloody deeds he is capable of now in order to survive." This warning was published in Haaretz on May 7. Less than two weeks later, the operation started. Besides the generals' thirst for revenge, the action is designed to serve the personal interests of Sharon. The dramatic events in Rafah fill all the news bulletins and leave no room for Sharon's political failure. This restores his image as a resolute leader. Again he is a player on the global stage. And if the entire world condemns him, this only serves to raise his stature among his voters. And the opposition? A week ago, 150 thousand peaceniks demonstrated in Tel-Aviv's Rabin Square to express their disgust with the present situation and to demand change. Some politicians appointed themselves as the leaders of these wonderful people and showered them with garbled and contradictory messages. Yet none of these speakers cried out this week against the atrocity in Rafah. The radical peace movements were again left alone in the field. A few hours after the killing of the unarmed demonstrators in Rafah, these peace activists were facing the police in the streets of Tel-Aviv, and yesterday they held a tumultuous demonstration at the roadblock near Rafah. The invasion of Rafah will, of course, fail, as did the invasion of Jenin. A regular army, strong as it may be, cannot put down guerilla fighters who are supported by a desperate population. On the contrary, the mightier an army is, the smaller are its chances of succeeding. It can kill dozens and hundreds, destroy whole neighborhoods, drive masses of people from their homes and cause a small Nakba - nothing will help. A guerilla war can only be ended by compromise and a peaceful solution. A little reminder: the word "guerilla" (little war) was coined in Spain during the struggle against Napoleon. The French reacted with the utmost brutality, witnessed for eternity by Goya's shocking painting. It did not help them. Many historians believe that the Spanish guerilla stuck a mortal blow to Napoleon's world empire, even before his disastrous invasion of Russia. Sharon is no Napoleon, whatever he might believe. He will leave Rafah as he entered it. Nothing will change. Except one thing: Rafah, like Jenin, will take its place in the national epic that will sustain generations of Palestinians to come. *** # Donations for the families in Rafah whose houses were demolished can be sent by cheque - in your own currency! - made out to Anat Matar, 33 Bernstein-Cohen Street, Ramat Hasharon 47213. Bigger sums can be deposited to the Ta'ayush' bank account: Bank Hapoalim, acc. no. 396608, Ramat Aviv branch 606 (Please avoid international bank transfer of two-digit sums because of prohibitive bank fees). NB: in both cases you should inform Anat Matar about the sum you have donated, by sending her the details at # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Sharansky and the New Antisemitism, by Adam Keller - http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/sharansky.html More selected articles of The Other Israel May issue accessible via http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/contents.html Order your one time free sample (hard copy) from NB: Don't forget to include your postal address # Against the Wall * נוכחות בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Presence at villages threatened by the wall, contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net * Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Wed May 26 07:55:37 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:13 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Rafah Invasion - the end? Adam Keller doubts it Message-ID: <40B43F69.3702.D4D920@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ International release =================== Rafah Invasion - the end? Adam Keller - Tel-Aviv, May 25, 2004 ============================ At long last, the Israeli armed forces have ended their invasion and occupation of Rafah. It had cost the lives of 59 Palestinians - 12 of them unarmed civilians according to the army's own account. The invasion aroused worldwide condemnation, including a censuring resolution by the UN Security Council which the United States exeptionally did not veto, and aroused widespread controversy inside Israel. After the fatal "warning shots" fired last Wednesday by a tank at an unarmed demonstration, it was widely expected that the Rafah operation would be terminated. But with the tacit agreement of Washington, the army continued its operation and even extended it into hitherto untouched neighborhoods of Rafah. On Sunday, there came the news of widespread home demolitions at the Barazil Neighborhood - first from Ha'aretz correpsondent Amira Hass, the only Israeli journalist to be present at Rafah from the beginning of the invasion. Then Kol Israel military correspondent Carmela Menashe gained entry to Barazil and broadcast a shocking account on the station's noon news maganize, which she later published also in a two- page article in the mass-circulation Yediot Aharonot. Finally, Israel's two commercial TV stations, Channel 2 and Ch. 10, broadcast extensive footage of Palestinians digging in the ruins of their homes and trying to salvage some possessions (such footage was conspicuously absent on the government- controlled Channel 1). In the cabinet meeting, Justice Minister Yosef ("Tommy") Lapid sharply criticized the house demolitions, stating: "The sight of an old Palestinian woman digging in the ruins for her medicines reminds me of my grandmother". Since Lapid is a Holocaust survivor, this was taken as a comparison between the army's conduct and that of the Nazis. The fact that the Shinuy leader said this means that he thinks it is what his constituency feels. Lapid, a former TV talk-show commentator, is quite a demagogue. This morning Kol Yisrael interviewed Brigadier-General Shmuel Zakai, commander of the Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, and asked him to account for the fifty-six houses the army now admits to destroying at Rafah (after several days when they claimed to have demolished "only five"). His answer: "We had reason to think that the Palestinians had mined the roads, so we wanted to create a cleared space to let the tanks and armoured personnel carriers pass through". General Zakai evidently assumed that the Israeli public would accept this as an acceptable reason for wiping out whole streets... Now, the army is out of Rafah, and the Israeli headlines are caught by Sharon's plan to pass through his cabinet some form of a "Gaza Disengagement Plan" - though, it seems, one even more partial and vague than the earlier one. And meanwhile, the issue of Rafah is far from off the agenda. In today's Yediot Aharonot General Gabi Ashkenazi, deputy Chief-of- Staff, reiterated the army's position: "We must keep hold of the Philadelphi Route" (the Israeli-controlled wedge seperating the Palestinian Gaza Strip from Egypt). The plans to widen "Philadelphi", at the expanse of destroying some 2000 houses (!) at Rafah are not off the agenda, either. They are likely to resurface in the event of a new attack on Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip - or of any other event which would provide a "need for a retaliation." # The Colonel's Mother demonstrated against the military operation (translated from Yediot Aharonot, 25/5/04) Aliza Tibon, mother of Colonel Noam Tibon who commands the Nahal Brigade and whose soldiers are engaged in various tasks in the Territories, joined in yesterday's protest outside the Defence Minstry in Tel-Aviv calling for evacuation of the army from Rafah. Tibon arrived there together with other women active in the left-wing movement "The Fifth Mother", having last week participated in a vigil at the Kisufim Chackpoint at the Gaza Strip entrance to protest what the movement termed "the harm caused to innocents". Tibon, who lives in Kibbutz Tzor'ah, came yesterday morning by train to Tel- Aviv and stood in front of the Defence Ministry, holding a sign reading "Down With the Occupation". She told her fellow activists that she could not remain silent in face of the sights from Rafah which she saw on TV, and felt she must take personel action to help get the army outof there. She told journalists "I am proud to be Noam's mother and I am proud to demonstrate against the occupation". # For photos & report of May 21 demonstration at Kissufim Checkpoint: http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html # Donations for the families in Rafah whose houses were demolished can be sent by cheque - in your own currency! - made out to Anat Matar, 33 Bernstein-Cohen Street, Ramat Hasharon 47213. Bigger sums can be deposited to the Ta'ayush' bank account: Bank Hapoalim, acc. no. 396608, Ramat Aviv branch 606 (Please avoid international bank transfer of two-digit sums because of prohibitive bank fees). NB: in both cases you should inform Anat Matar about the sum you have donated, by sending her the details at # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Sharansky and the New Antisemitism, by Adam Keller - http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/sharansky.html More selected articles of The Other Israel May issue accessible via http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/contents.html Order your one time free sample (hard copy) from NB: Don't forget to include your postal address # Against the Wall * נוכחות בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Presence at villages threatened by the wall, contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net * Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Fri May 28 01:57:17 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:13 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Much ado in courts Friday, Sunday + TA University event today Message-ID: <40B68E6D.3567.8B1844@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org [] Police appeals against bail conditions of 8 demonstrators, District Court Tel-Aviv 10.00am [] Tomorrow Tali Fahima case in Petah Tikva Magistrate Court, 10.00am [] Testimonies, thursday (today) 6.00pm Gilman281 Tel-Aviv University ~~~ [] Police appeals against bail conditions of 8 demonstrators, District Court Tel-Aviv 10.00am The police made an appeal against the decision of the judges May 20 to free on bail without further restrictions Adam Keller and all other 7 activists - arrested when a spontaneous protest was dispersed in Tel- Aviv, May 19, the day that a tank shell killed and wounded unarmed demonstrators in Rafah... 10.00: District Court before the judge Haled Kaboob, 2 Weizman Street The lawyers request witnesses and footage to police violence on the 19/5 demonstration adv. Gabi Laski adv. Yael Berda *** Something is very wrotten in the state of "Denmark"; the incommunicado arrest of the British journalist Peter Hounam is in the headlines, but the information which we received about the case of activist Tali Fahima is perhaps the most shocking; those who can are invited to the Petah Tikva Court tomorrow, Friday. [] Tomorrow Tali Fahima case in Petah Tikva Magistrate Court, 10.00am Tali Fahima has been arrested Tali Fahima was arrested on Monday, after staying for two weeks in Jenin. During this time she was trying to create an educational and acting framework for the children of the Jenin refugee camp, in co-operation with the camp residents and with the help of Yusef Asfur from Jaffa. A modest sum of money was raised in a fundraising evening for that purpose and to provide some pocket money for her stay. Tali was trying to continue in the path she started in order to get to know people who are considered hostile and out of bounds. This is how she got to know Zakariya Zbeda, commander of the Al-Aqsa battalions in Jenin, who is wanted by the Israel, and other people from the camp with whom she created a sincere and human contact. Now the Israel security forces are trying to frame Tali, in order to break this initiative which is an act of solidarity, compassion and a nonviolent direct action. On Friday the 28th of May, 10:00, a hearing will take place in Petah Tikva Magistrate Court about the continuing arrest or the release of Tali. Your presence and support is much wanted and needed! Tali is represented by Smadar Ben-Natan and Gaby Lasky. Contact: Lynn 052-4502694 Ya'akov 050-5733276 Uri - 052-3548545 Adv. Gabi Lasky - 054-4418988 [] Testimonies, thursday (today) 6.00pm Gilman281 Tel-Aviv University ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Anat Biletzki" Subject: Date sent: Thu, 27 May 2004 01:23:22 +0200  REMINDER:  Thursday,May 27th, 18:00, Gilman281, Tel Aviv University, we will hold  TESTIMONIES12 -GAZA: DON'T SAY WE DIDN'T KNOW  Participants:  Amira Hass-journalist Rene Aquarone -UNRWA Dr. Gerardo Leibner -Ta'ayush Adv. Michael Sfard Dr. Jeff Halper - Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions    Chairs:Dr. Anat Matar and Sami Abu-Schada-Hakampus Lo Shotek   PLEASE COME!   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- H A K A M P U S L O S H O T E K * ה ק מ פ ו ס ל א ש ו ת ק --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----  From info at gush-shalom.org Fri May 28 05:14:25 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:13 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] text Gush ad / students and checkpoints / Peter Hounam Message-ID: <40B6BCA1.20833.C2FDA6@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ International release Tel-Aviv, May 28, 2004 [] A Victory of Conscience - translation of the Gush Shalom weekly ad [] Harassment of Palestinian students at the Nablus area checkpoints [] The Peter Hounam affair ~~~ [] A Victory of Conscience - translation of the Gush Shalom weekly ad המקור העברי אחרי האנגלית / Hebrew original after English ad in Ha'aretz, Friday May 28, 2004 A VICTORY OF CONSCIENCE The storm of protest put an end to the attack on Rafah. As Minister Tommy Lapid testified, the aim of the action was to destroy 3000 homes in order to widen the "Philadelphi Axis". For this end, a whole division of the Israeli army was brought in. Public opinion was prepared by mendacious tales of Katyushas and missiles in the tunnels. Sharon, Mofaz and Ya'alon were compelled to give in because of the demonstrations of the Israeli peace forces, the world-wide anger and the American rebuke. Minister Lapid's remark about the similarity between the woman rummaging through the ruins of her home in Rafah and his grandmother in the Holocaust may have provided the final push. This is a victory of conscience over inhuman brutality. But let us not kid ourselves: this is a temporary victory. Sharon and Co. have not really given up. Let us be on guard! Gush Shalom, Help us speak out - with yout donation to: P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033, Phone 972-3-5221732. www.gush-shalom.org ניצחון המצפון סערת המחאה גרמה להפסקת ההתקפה על רפיח . כפי שהעיד השר יוסף לפיד, מטרת המבצע הייתה להרוס 3000 בתים כדי להרחיב את "ציר פילדלפי". לשם כך הובאה למקום אוגדה שלמה, ודעת-הקהל הוכנה על-ידי סיפורי-בדים על קטיושות וטילים במנהרות . שרון, מופז ויעלון נאלצו לוותר על כוונה זו מול ההפגנות של כוחות-השלום הישראליים, הזעם העולמי והנזיפה האמריקאית. דברי השר לפיד על הדמיון בין האשה ברפיח והסבתא שלו בשואה עזרו להטות את הכף . זהו ניצחון של המצפון על הכוחנות הבלתי-אנושית . אך אל נשלה את עצמנו: זהו ניצחון זמני. שרון ומרעיו לא נואשו . נעמוד על המשמר ! עזרו לנו במימון הפעולות והמודעות בצ'קים לגוש שלום, ת"ד 3322 תל-אביב 61033 . www.gush-shalom.org מודעת גוש שלום, "הארץ", 28 מאי 2004 *** [] Harassment of Palestinian students at the Nablus area checkpoints Here follows a piece about special difficulties for Palestinian students , which we received two weeks ago from Victoria Buch MachsomWatch, and which lay waiting until the acute ghastliness in Rafah subsided.. ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Thu, 27 May 2004 07:24:42 -0700 (PDT) From: Victoria Buch PLEASE POST ON ACADEMIC NETWORKS AND WEBSITES Harassment of Palestinian students at the Nablus area checkpoints. By Daphna Banai, a MachsomWatcher ybanai@netvision.net.il [The material for this piece was collected by MachsomWatch women at military checkpoints in the Nablus area. Nablus is a large Palestinian town in the WestBank, with several higher learning institutions.While this piece focuses on the Nablus area, harassment of students in the Occupied Territories is a wide-spread phenomenon. MachsomWatch is an Israeli women's human rights organization, opposing the closure policy in the Occupied Territories. MachsomWatchers monitor regularly the check-points; detailed reports can be found at www.machsomwatch.org .] The checkpoints make life of Palestinian civilians miserable in countless ways. They are a hotbed of frustration, hatred, and terrorism, resulting from humiliation, harassment and oppression of millions of people. There is no justification whatsoever for the checkpoints, especially the ones separating Arab villages from Arab towns, and one Arab town from another (the vast majority of the checkpoints). It is not enough that every village is blocked with dirt mounds and there is no way to leave it in a vehicle. It is not enough that Arabs are discriminated with respect to Jews on the West Bank roads, and that use of settler roads is prohibited for Palestinians. The checkpoints prevent any kind of normal life. Most of Palestinians cannot get to work regularly, and have to subside on handouts from human rights organizations. The checkpoints stand in the way of people who need to visit a dying aunt, to see a doctor, to fix a car, to pass a vehicle test (and the police is continuously hunting for "transgressors" of vehicle laws, in order to fine them). And much more.. Sometimes people die at checkpoints. On this scale, the relentless harassment of Nablus students, described below, may appear trivial. But according to the students, it makes studying very, very difficult. During the last year, while monitoring the Nablus area checkpoints, we have witnessed hardships facing students who attend universities in Nablus, and of Nablus residents who study elsewhere. All these students need to pass repeatedly the strangulation ring of the checkpoints, surrounding the town of Nablus. We tried to raise the issue with the Military Commander of Nablus, Harel Knafo, but his answers were unsatisfactory, and we have not seen any effort by the army to alleviate the following problems: 1. Only students attending certain institutions are allowed to pass the checkpoints. The situation depends on the extent of cooperation of the university heads with the army. For example, the administration of the A-Najah University met with the army representatives (according to Commander Knafo). The resulting understanding included prohibition of ALL POLITICAL ACTIVITY in the university (please note - not terrorist activity). The administration of the Al-Quds University branch in Nablus refused to be part of such an understanding, and therefore their students are denied passage at the checkpoints. We have witnessed hundreds of cases of denied passage, as a results of this decision. 2. The students are granted passage through the checkpoints on specific days only. Entry to Nablus is allowed only on Saturday, and exit - on Wednesday. This is since there are no regular classes on Thursday and Friday. This decision is arbitrary and interferes seriously with academic freedom. Some of the resulting difficulties which we encountered are described below: a) The decision forces Nablus area students who are not Nablus residents, to live during the weekdays in the town. The expenses are substantial, especially during these days, when most of Palestinians are unemployed. Besides, many parents are likely to object to the possibility that their 18 year old daughter will live alone in the town. b) Every Saturday, students heading to Nablus are stopped at a flying checkpoint near the Jitt junction, removed from the buses, detained, and subjected to a "security checkup". That is, the detainees' IDs are taken, and their numbers conveyed to some unbelievably slow General Security (Shabbak) computer, for security clearance. The students are ordered to sit on the ground, with a soldier pointing a gun at them. They have to wait for hours for the return of their IDs. c) We keep meeting students who are prevented from attending exams taking place during weekends. For example, two weeks ago many students were prevented by the soldiers from attending a Thursday exam. Other students, who remained in town for this exam, could not get home for the weekend. A month ago we encountered students who arrived on Thursday morning to attend the pharmacists' certification exam. They were denied entry to Nablus, and turned back with tears in their eyes. d) A student who has to return home on a day other than Wednesday, because of being sick, or because of a family problem or disaster, cannot leave town (the soldiers do not believe him, of course). Conversely, if a student cannot return to school on Saturday (due to sickness, or family needs), he or she has to lose a week of school and to wait till next Saturday. Some weeks ago a Wednesday was declared a holiday, and the school ended on Tuesday. Hundreds of students who arrived to the checkpoints on that Tuesday were turned back to Nablus and requested to return the next day. The only justification of this mistreatment of fellow human beings, could be, possibly, security. But the claim of the Nablus Commander is that the orders were instituted for the convenience of Palestinians! because if students would pass every day, that would cause pressure on the checkpoints, and disturbances may ensue. According to this kind of logic, one might anticipate orders that women will be allowed to pass the checkpoints only on (say) Monday mornings, the elderly - only on Thursdays, and the the sick should wait patiently till next Sunday. Surely that would reduce the the pressure on the checkpoints! We see the students' plight every day. They are detained at checkpoints for hours, sometimes for as many as 12 hours. One night we stayed with detained students till 11PM. On that freezing-cold January night, the detained were forced to sit in the mud, facing the wall. After their release there was no transport, and they had to endanger themselves by sneaking on foot through the mountains, their destinations at a distance of up to 30 kilometers. We should like to express our respect and admiration to the Palestinian students, and their drive to acquire education, despite the difficulties and the painful efforts they have to make. And every day new difficulties are piled in their way. We enclose below an email received by one of the MachsomWatchers from a Nablus student, describing just one early morning of his life. We hope very much that Israeli and international students and academics will find ways to help their colleagues beyond the Green Line, to struggle together for the Palestinian right for education. Sincerely Daphna Banai --A letter from a Nablus student---------- Hello Naomi, .... I am with you on NO MORE CHECK-POINTS [MachsomWatch badges], It is a distressed life with the check-point policies, we hope to find solution.. I should like to tell you what happened yesterday to me and others who live with me in the student hostel. Because of the bad situation, we cannot pass the check-points, and it takes many hours to reach the university, and we lose lectures. For this reason all students from outside Nablus live in a hostel, so they can reach the University without any problems with soldiers. In the early morning (3:30), we were awakened from sleep by a loudspeaker, we saw many jeeps around the building, and many soldiers with machine-guns. Windows were flooded with searchlights, everybody was in bed, we were afraid, there was no one to protect us, just God.. Then the captain knocked on the neighbor's door and ordered him to enter our building and to tell us to go outside. But not all of us in the hostel, he selected people living on floors 9 and 14. He knew what he was doing, and where the students live. Everybody knows what spies can do to us.. I and others who live on other floors stayed inside. But I tried to see what is going on, I was amazed to see so many soldiers with so many jeeps coming for us, students who do not have any guns and did not have any contact with soldiers, we just came here to study, not more. They arrested three from the building, one of them is my friend, I am really depressed and I don't know what do. How can we study under occupation ..? Anyway I hope to finish this year without problems, Regards.. *** [] The Peter Hounam affair ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Thu, 27 May 2004 21:00:10 -0700 From: Rayna Moss Subject: Peter Hounam Released Peter Hounam was released at 8:30 p.m. today (May 27) after spending 24 hours in detention. Dozens of media reporters covered his release from the Russian Compound detention center in Jerusalem, which was shown live on major Israeli television news programs. Hounam told reporters: "I was held in a dungeon with excrement on the walls. I was interrogated for eight hours and given only two hours of sleep. If that is 'decent treatmnent' I have many questions about this country, which claims to be a Western democracy." After telling reporters that he had been accused of aggravated espionage and calling the charge "laughable", Hounam disregarded questions put to him and demanded to make a statement: "I was fortunate to have support from the British Consulate; I have two excellent lawyers, Michael Sfard and Avigdor Feldman; there are people in those dungeons who are stuck there..." At that point, when Hounam attempted to draw world attention to the dozens of Palestinian detainees who are routinely detained at the Russian Compound without access to lawyers and subjected to torture, Israel's Channel 2 cut off the live interview. Hounam's lawyers negotiated with the Shin Bet and managed to prevent the Sunday Times reporter from being deported from Israel, which would have prevented him from returning in the future. Hounam is expected to leave Israel over the weekend, as he originally planned to do before he was arrested. According to Israeli media, Hounam's arrest violated an agreement between the Shin Bet and the State judiciary, which only approved monitoring his movements. The Justice and Foreign Ministries and other security agencies were caught by surprise at the Shin Bet's arrest of Hounam and Justice Minister Yosef Lapid said this evening in an interview with Israel's Channel 10: "Peter Hounam will be released this evening so that this scandal doesn't get any worse." Gideon Spiro, a member of the Israeli Committee for Mordechai Vanunu, said in an interview today, that Yechiel Horev, the security boss who has hounded Vanunu for the past 18 years, was behind Hounam's arrest, in an attempt to keep silencing Vanunu and punishing people close to him. "They can't stand the fact that Vanunu has been released and is a sane and charming person, so they are acting out of vengeance." Two members of the BBC team who had accompanied Peter Hounam in covering Vanunu's release last month had been detained for 24 hours after they were arrested at the airport when they attempted to leave Israel and return to Britain. Their taped interview with Vanunu, conducted by Israeli journalist Yael Lotan, was confiscated by the Shin Bet. Rayna Moss *** # For photos & report of May 21 demonstration at Kissufim Checkpoint: http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html # Donations for the families in Rafah whose houses were demolished can be sent by cheque - in your own currency! - made out to Anat Matar, 33 Bernstein-Cohen Street, Ramat Hasharon 47213. Bigger sums can be deposited to the Ta'ayush' bank account: Bank Hapoalim, acc. no. 396608, Ramat Aviv branch 606 (Please avoid international bank transfer of two-digit sums because of prohibitive bank fees). NB: in both cases you should inform Anat Matar about the sum you have donated, by sending her the details at # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Sharansky and the New Antisemitism, by Adam Keller - http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/sharansky.html More selected articles of The Other Israel May issue accessible via http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/contents.html Order your one time free sample (hard copy) from NB: Don't forget to include your postal address # Against the Wall * נוכחות בכפרים מאימים ע"י החומה לתאם עם אייבי 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il אריק 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net Presence at villages threatened by the wall, contact: Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net * Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il/ -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Tue Jun 1 18:12:19 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:14 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] A'Ram Wall protest / A new Arna Mer / Soldiers speak out Message-ID: <40BCB8F3.12798.3519802@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [] The bulldozers approach A'Ram, volunteers needed! [] Tali Fahima in the footsteps of Arna Mer - needs help [] 'We don't want to die for Netzarim!' 30.5 soldiers' protest letter ~~~ [] While the bulldozers approach A'Ram - volunteers needed! The ant-Wall coalition in which Gush Shalom is a partner has no choice but being one step ahead of the bulldozers' course - next target: A'Ram [English after Hebrew] ???? ????? ??-???! ???????? ????? ?????? ?-???. ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ????? ?????????? ??-???, ????? ?????? ???? ????? 8 ????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ??? ????? ?-??? ?????? ??????. ?- 60,000 ?????? (??????? ?-??? ??????? ??-????), ??? ? - 60% ???? ?????? ???? ?????????, ?????? ???????? - ?????? ?????? ???? ??????, ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ????????? ?????? ???????. ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ????? ???????. ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ???????, ??-??? ?????? ?? 10 ???? ?????? ??????? ???????????. ?????? ????? ?????! ?? ???? ????? ??????? ????????. ?? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ?? ????????, ??? ?????? ????? info@rhr.israel.net ?? ?????? 5637731-02 ????? ?????: 1. ???, 2. ???? ?????, 3. ???? ?????? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? 4. ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ??-???. ??????, ??? ????, ????????? ???? ????? ????, ????? ??????? ??? ????? ????, ????? ????-????? ??????? ???, ????? ????, ?? ????, ????????? ??? ????? *?????????? ??????? ???????.??????? ???? ???? ?-??? - ?? ?????? ?????? - 7981647-054* You can help A'Ram The bulldozers are coming to A'Ram. In the next few days or weeks the bulldozers will reach Jerusalem's northern neighborhood A'Ram, and begin building the 8 meter wall on the main road from A'Ram checkpoint to Qalandiya checkpoint. In this way about 60,000 residents (from A'Ram and D'hiyat al-Barid neighborhoods), of whom 60% hold Jerusalem identity cards, will be separated from Jerusalem. The sick will be separated from the hospitals, the children from their schools and adults from their source of livelihood. In North Jerusalem there is still a chance to stop the wall. The world is interested in Jerusalem and A'Ram is less than 10 minutes distance to all local and international media sources. We must act before the wall is built! We need hundreds of volunteers. If you can spare a day or two and come to help us stop the bulldozers please send an email to info@rhr.israel.net or call 02-5637731. We need to know: 1. your name, 2. telephone number, 3. what days of the week you can come 4. and whether you are willing to sleep in A'ram in any of these days. Ta'ayush, Gush Shalom, The Coalition of Women for a Just Peace, The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Rabbis for Human Rights, MachsomWatch, Bat Shalom, Anarchists Against The Wall *Those interested in a musical/artistic program for the children of A'Ram - Please call Layla at 054-7981647* ~~~ [] Tali Fahima in the footsteps of Arna Mer - needs help [???? ???? ??? ???? ????? / Hebrew version was already sent to the Israeli list] Help Tali Fahima Tali Fahima was arrested on Monday, May 24following a two-week stay in Jenin. During this time she was active, together with residents of the Jenin refugee camp, in setting up a club for study and play for the children of the Jenin refugee camp. In a fundraising evening which was held with the aid of Yuosuf 'Asfur and "Jafa" Cafe for this purpose, a modest sum of money was raised for buying toys, paint and to cover the stay.  This activity was a continuation of the vists Tali held in order to gain knowledge of the, situation in which the people of the Jenin refugee camp live, a situation which Tali described in her words: "I was there, I saw with my eyes and what we are doing there shocks me". During these visits Tali met Zakaria Zbeida, commander of the Al-Aqsa brigade in Jenin, wanted by the security forces, and many other men and women in the camp with whom she formed personal ties . Now the security forces are trying to frame Tali Fahima, in order to block a special human step of solidarity, compassion, and joint non- violent action. Today, May 28, acourt session on her arrest was held. During this session the Judge Avraham Kasirer stated: "I am not convinced that theaspects of Fahima's deeds as presented by both sides and as presented by her in the mediashow her danger to the public and the security of thestate. ...Humanitarian activity is an act of charity of the detainee and of others to our neighbors,....The description of Fahima's activity in this regard is heart-warming and to be cherished". The lower court in Petah- Tikvah extended her arrest by two days, in order to allow the police to complete the investigation, and allowed her release on Sunday to house arrest with bail set at 5000 Shekels in cash. She also needs to pay $1000 to the lawyers who represented her during the extensions of arrest. Tali Fahima is daughter to a low-income single-parentfamily from Kiryat Gat -with two sisters, which does not have the means to withstand the many expenses resulting from the GSS and police harresement.  As an act of solidarity we would like to cover Tali Fahima's legal expenses - and it is especially urgent to collect the 5000 Shekels needed for her bail. We call on you to donate as you can to this end Cheques made to Adv. Smadar Ben-Natan or Gaby Lasky can br sent to the following address Lin Dovrat, Tsiona Tajer 7/2 Jaffa  For further details:  Lin 052-4502694 On Thursday, 3 June, we shall raise money during the year party of Yafa. Yafa is situated at 33 Yehuda MeRaguza corner Yefet St.  You can call Uri, 052-3548545, and abuaviv@actcom.net.il  Contact for donations in Haifa and the North: Iris Bar 054-4420806 nur@netvision.net.il [] 'We don't want to die for Netzarim!' 30.5 soldiers' protest letter [Cynical and flawed as it may be, Sharon's 'Disengagement from Gaza' gamble caused 46 more soldiers and officers to join the protest at spending their tour of reserve military service at the Netzarim settlement. Here follows a translation of the attached Hebrew original / ????? ??"?] WE DON'T WANT TO DIE FOR NETZARIM Dozens of reserve paratroopers who these days ended a tour of service at the [Gaza Strip settlement of] Netzarim are no longer willing to remain silent. "There is no logic in deploying an extended battalion for guarding a single isolated settlement and its dangerous access road" they wrote to Prime Minister Sharon". One of the signatories: "Do I have to commit suicide for the sake of 60 settler families? This is absurd". By Itzik Saban, Yediot Aharonot, May 30 "We have nothing to look for at Netzarim" wrote 46 reserve soldiers and officers of the reserve paratrooper regiment, who these days ended a tour of duty at Netzarim. The signatories, who call for implementation of the Gaza Disengagement Plan, also include a company commander and a deputy battalion commander. "There is no logic in deploying an extended battalion for guarding a single isolated settlement and its dangerous access road" wrote the soldiers and officers. The signatories emphasize that they hold many different political opinions. "We are no refusers, we will present ourselves for service whenever required - but that does not mean we have to remain silent about what we are called up to do." Master Sergeant Michel Halimi, one of the initiators, says: "After serving in Netzarim, we realized we must not remain silent any more. Why should I have to commit suicide for the sake of 60 settler families? We don't want to die for the sake of a completely illogical settlement. We have become the servants and drivers of the Netzarim settlers. They go into the military outpost without bothering to ask anybody's permission, disrupting military operations - and nobody dares stop them. I am doing reserve service for many years, and I never saw anything like that." "It is an insane situation" says another signatory. "When a convoy carrying civilians out of Netzarim is late, the settlers complain about us to the senior command. But when there is no sufficient space in the convoy, they take soldiers off the cars and put settlers in their place - even when it is soldiers getting long-overdue leave." The signatories were especially infuriated by a particular incident. During a memorial service which they held for four soldiers killed in Netzarim, the setting out of a settler convoy was delayed by a quarter of an hour. The settlers' "security coordinator" burst in and disrupted the memorial. "He was intolerably arrogant, reprimanding us and shouting 'Who are you to hold up the convoy?' Who is he to give us orders?" Halimi is still furious when recalling another event. Soldiers had to set out on the settlement's access road in order to bring back a settler who missed the convoy. "On the way, we got RPG [Rifle Propelled Grenades] shot at us. The jeep was penetrated, and just by miracle nobody was hit. Had somebody been killed, what would we have said to his parents. How would you justify such a death. We felt this in our bones during the entire tour of duty, and we felt that we get it out, as soon as possible. Before going to the press, we talked with the battalion commander as well as with the regimental CO and his deputy." The Gaza Settlers' spokesperson commented:"It was a one time mistake of the Netzarim Security Coordinator, which was severely dealt with by his fellow settlers. It is a pity that these reservists came up with these allegations in order to influence the cabinet decision [on the Gaza Disengagement Plan]. We have enormous piles of thanks letters, who liked their sojourn in the Gaza settlements." Parallel with sending the letter, many reservists plan to set out on a "Dialogue March", going on foot from the town of Yavneh to the Gaza Strip settlements. "We, reservists who have done many tours the Gaza Strip, intend to talk to the settlers" says Major Tuly Flint, a deputy Battalion Commander in the Alexandroni Regiment. "We want to tell them that we are not refusers, but that Israel must leave the Gaza Strip. We must take this step". ~~~ # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / ????? - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / ????? - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il/ # Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Yediot.tif Type: application/octet-stream Size: 76507 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040601/5315df0d/Yediot.obj From info at gush-shalom.org Wed Jun 2 19:16:57 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:14 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Joint Israeli-Palestinians protest at A'Ram Sat. morning June 5 Message-ID: <40BE1999.15099.48E68BE@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ SATURDAY MORNING AT A'RAM: WE RECEIVED AN INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN EMERGENCY PROTEST AGAINST WORK STARTING ON 8-METER WALL CUTTING THROUGH A'RAM AND SPLITTING IT OFF FROM EAST JERUSALEM Two days ago we wrote about the background - meanwhile Gush Shalom and the other participating organizations got the invitation for a joint Israeli-Palestinians non-violent protest in the morning of Saturday June 5. The event will include a tour of the wall project in the A'Ram area. We think it is an important demonstration which should have preference. It is a place where the local and international press can easily get, and pictures of a joint Israeli-Palestinians protest would definitely interfere with the government propaganda about the Wall. And it's time- table leaves the possibility to join Peace Now in the evening or other initiatives, all planned on that same 37th anniversary of the occupation. [Transportation details and Hebrew version were sent to the Israeli activists list.] From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Jun 3 16:57:36 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:14 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] 18 Rafah houses today - earlier this week 23 Message-ID: <40BF4A70.1368.9355D4E@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ International release, Thursday, June 3: ################ T O D A Y I N R A F A H 18 HOUSES DESTROYED EARLIER THIS WEEK 23 AN IMMEDIATE OUTBURST OF WORLDWIDE CONCERN MAY HAVE SOME IMPACT P L E A S E S E N D O N C E M O R E Y O U R P R O T E S T ################ The world's attention went in another direction, and the bulldozers are back. But maybe, so short after Rafah was in the spotlight, your renewed protest would again help stop them. We should address Tommy Lapid, Israel's Justice Minister who ten days ago remembered what happened to his own grandmother, and all the Foreign Ministries of the world - and again the Israeli embassies (seems to have a more than average effect). Sample letter (for creative use) PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOUR GRANDMOTHER HAD NEIGHBORS Dear Minister of Justice of the State of Israel Mr Lapid. Your courage to say loud what you said about your grandmother has made a deep impression. And it seemed to send away the bulldozers from Rafah - but only for a few days. Meanwhile 41 more houses have been demolished there, for no other reason than that the army wants to push through with its original plan. In the pace of this week it will take less than three months to "finish the project." I don't have to tell you that this is a war crime. Our hope is that you won't let it pass, even not when it is done piecemeal. Sincerely [your name and address] -- Please send it by fax (if you can) AND email to: Minister of Justice Yosef Lapid Ministry of Justice 29 Salah al-Din Street Jerusalem 91010, Israel Fax: +972 2 6285438 E-mail: sar@justice.gov.il and a copy to: Secretary of State Colin Powell Fax: +1-202-261-8577 and/or to the Foreign Minister of your country and to the editors of the daily paper(s)of your choice and to: Kofi Annan ecu@un.org, Mr. Terje Rod Larsen , Mr. Romano Prodi NB: Don't forget to also send it to the nearest Israeli Embassy: http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/israel1.htm (It will be good when the foreign ministry will be alarmed by many of its embassies) for your convenience, here are the combined email addresses we vollected (please add your own): To: sar@justice.gov.il Copies to: secretaryofstate@USA.gov, ecu@un.org, unsco@palnet.com, romano.prodi@cec.eu.int for a regularly updated site of life in Rafah (by just somebody) http://www.rafahtoday.org Read also: Disengaged from reality By Amira Hass Wed., June 02, 2004 Sivan 13, 5764 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/434206.html Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=434247 # Here follows the text of the ad to be published in Hebrew in Ha'aretz, tomorrow June 4, & on the Gush Shalom website THE "DISENGAGEMENT" IS A FRAUD The media have a ball with the fictitious "Disengagement Plan" and the ridiculous "Cabinet Crisis". But on the ground Sharon is in full action. On the 37th anniversary of the occupation, the destruction of Rafah goes on, the mistreatment at the checkpoints continues and the building of the inhuman wall progresses. Now the Wall has reached a-Ram. The wall cuts the town into pieces and cuts it off from its vicinity. The inhabitants will be unable to reach their working places, hospitals, schools and even their cemetery. This wall will not give us security. The "Disengagement Plan" is a fraud. The path of the wall is reality. ------------------------------- Come and see! Come and protest! ------------------------------- Tomorrow, Saturday, we shall tour the path of the wall at a-Ram and take part in a big, joint Israeli-Palestinian protest demonstration. For details call the Gush office. *** # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # For pictures of the Rafah destruction: http://www.rafahtoday.org # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il/ # Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Fri Jun 4 20:10:44 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (info@gush-shalom.org) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:14 2004 Subject: (Fwd) LRB Yitzhak Laor "Before Rafah" on Israeli militarism Message-ID: <40C0C934.17677.F0CC6A4@localhost> ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Yitzhak Laor" To: Subject: LRB Yitzhak Laor Before Rafah Date sent: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 15:27:31 +0200  Before Rafah Yitzhak Laor on Israeli militarism London Review of Books June 3, 2004 http://www.lrb.co.uk/v26/n11/laor01_.html On Sunday 16 May, a day before the IDF launched its long-awaited, well- planned attack on the civilian population of Rafah, the Israeli chief of staff, Major-General Moshe (Boogey) Ya'alon said it was 'almost the last chance' for such an operation and that 'special conditions were in place' for an imminent attack. By 'special conditions', of course, he meant the public desire for revenge following the deaths of 13 soldiers in Gaza in the space of 48 hours. It was a convenient opportunity to start a war. But he also meant that sooner or later the Jewish settlements blocking Rafah's access to its beach would be evacuated, so there was no choice but to destroy as much of Rafah as possible, and as soon as possible. Josי Saramago, visiting Israel in March 2002, before the invasion in which Israel reoccupied the territories, said that Israel had two problems. The first, he said, is that the settlements need the army. Everyone agreed. The second is that the army needs the settlements. Nobody agreed. Nobody even listened. Yet Ya'alon knows that without the settlements he would have no excuse for patrolling the Gaza strip. Do Israelis understand the military's motives? No. Many Israelis, probably the majority, would gladly turn their backs on the settlers. Not on the military, though. Therefore, the whole political campaign against the extreme right is futile. Behind the extreme right lurks the 'moderate army', and the army is the one player in Israeli society whose motives are never questioned. Israeli militarism is about Israel's faith in this huge benevolent apparatus. The army is always described in terms of 'our boys out there', sons, lads, children, a poor, beleaguered David. That's us, the eternal victims. And the enemy is always Goliath, even the children who defied the IDF in Rafah three days ago and therefore had to die while demonstrating, empty-handed, in solidarity with the thousands whom the benevolent military had thrown out of their shacks and houses. That same Sunday, 16 May, before the lethal convoy left on its way to Rafah, was almost a euphoric day among more moderate Israelis. On Saturday night, 150,000 people rallied in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv to call for peace, more or less. It was the largest rally Israel had seen for many years. The main speaker at the demonstration was Shimon Peres, foreign minister in Sharon's former government, a man for all seasons and suits. His excellent speech was broadcast live on Israeli TV, even on the state-owned channel, which has become almost a Likud station. Yet we shouldn't be surprised at the favourable TV coverage, just as we shouldn't be surprised that all three Israeli newspapers were very excited about the rally the following day, even Ma'ariv. 'We are not the Left, we are the majority of the people,' Peres declared. But that wasn't what the rally was about. And it wasn't about the IDF policy of daily killings: the strategy that ensures our war will never end. It was about the Gaza settlers and everyone's opposition to them. It was only when soldiers were killed for no purpose other than to defend the settlers that public outrage brought Israelis to say: 'Something must be done.' This is a mode Israelis adopt from time to time. But this 'something must be done' always goes in two directions. The first leads to the demonstration square (and then back home). The second leads to the military operation that has just won ecstatic support. People in the West don't know that the demonstrators are people who love the army, that the peace movement in Israel is still deeply involved in the military love affair, that no peace demonstration in Israel has ever dared say that the military might be participants in atrocities or warmongering. The phrase 'war crimes' is not allowed at these demonstrations, because such words bring the army, not only Sharon, into the frame of 'evil'. The rally's organisers - Peace Now, Labour and Meretz - invited General Yom-Tov Samya to speak. And he did. Military men at a peace demonstration: how nice. Only he hadn't come to say that he was tired of war, or that he'd once been wrong; he hadn't come to call for more moderate behaviour by the army. Samya had been the head of the IDF's Southern Command; for years he was in charge of the war against the Gaza strip. It was under his command that dozens of houses were demolished in Rafah and their poorest inhabitants thrown into the mud during the very cold winter of 2001. It was in his glorious day that 'war crimes' started to be part of the discourse. It was under his command that some officers formed the refusenik movement Courage to Refuse and went to prison. Of course they weren't allowed to speak on the podium at Saturday night's rally. In fact, the organisers had issued a press release in which they promised not to invite any refuseniks to speak. The rally in effect constituted a licence for the military to complete their dirty war: not because it was so friendly to the army but because it made it possible for nothing to be said about the imminent attack. Everybody knew there was a major attack on the way. Experts had argued on TV talkshows about whether the army would be given the green light. But not a word was said about it on the podium in front of the 150,000 moderate Israelis. The entire demonstration was about supporting Sharon against the settlers. The biggest banner in the rally read: 'Arik, the people are with you.' The Zionist Left had, yet again, produced an imaginary battlefield in order not to fight the real battle. Why are we for Sharon? Because he was supposed to be against the settlers. Where was the voice warning about the coming war in densely populated areas? Nowhere. And so it began, as always, by frightening the civilian population: poor, isolated refugees in a world that doesn't know what Palestinians want, or how they live. So they took their children and their mattresses and left, again, and the army continued to spread its stories about the tunnels of munitions running under the houses, and finally - with the Supreme Court authorising them to destroy more houses, because we're in a state of war, which the army declared, created, produced - the forces went in. Since that attack, which turned into a blood-bath, there have been demonstrations in Tel Aviv every day. Not massive, but larger than before. Some are being led by Courage to Refuse activists. There were clashes with police, there were arrests, yet the majority of Israelis went silent again. The Supreme Court justices, the professors of ethics, the chiefs of staff: they might meet at a university seminar on 'Morality and War' or 'International Law and Terrorism'. But right now the army is busy. According to the Israeli sociologist Alina Korn, there has been a ghettoisation of the Palestinians since the early 1990s. It's not bantustans that the authorities have in mind, but ghettos, detached from each other, dependent on Israeli military authority. The ghettos, which are already numerous, multiply, and the conditions differ from place to place. Ramallah is visible to the West, so life there is more bearable. Hebron is hidden. Rafah is entirely cut off. The Israeli army didn't kill the children in Rafah intentionally, it will be said. Who will remind us that for three months now, the army has been killing unarmed Palestinians demonstrating peacefully along the Wall that's going up in the West Bank? Israeli families of dead soldiers or dead civilians get a follow-up, even on foreign TV, for they had a future ahead of them before they died. Did the Palestinian children who died in Rafah have any future? No. So they are dead, and it will be over in a few days. Palestinians don't get a follow-up, not even on foreign TV. Maybe there'll be a documentary movie, followed by some public discussion about whether to allow the movie to be publicly screened, or whether it's another sign of 'the new anti- semitism'. Nothing will be followed up. The Israeli army is secure. It calls itself the Israel Defence Force. 20 May Yitzhak Laor is a novelist and poet who lives in Tel Aviv. From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Jun 6 02:06:36 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:14 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] A-Ram: The struggle has only begun today Message-ID: <40C26E1C.14726.15792FA9@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ International release June 5, 2004 A-RAM: THE STRUGGLE HAS ONLY BEGUN TODAY [גירסא בעברית תשלח לפי בקשה / Hebrew version at request] "Until three years ago, this road served seven Palestinian villages. Now it is reserved for the settlers only. As you can see, all the side-roads leading to Palestinian villages have been blocked. The villagers live with this since the end of 2000, but now the Wall is being erected to take away their fields." Gush Shalom and Ta'ayush had heeded the call of the a-Ram population to join their protest against the now imminent construction of the Wall cutting through the middle of this suburb of East-Jerusalem. Shai, an activist of the Jerusalem-Ta'ayush, displayed a thorough knowledge of the subject during the guided tour of the Wall route, also part of the program. "Over there is Biddu. The people there are very persistent in their courageous non-violent way of struggling against the Wall. Five people were killed by the shots of the army, and more than 400 hundred wounded. "The red roofs over there, that is the settlement Har Shmuel. The Wall is designed to annex it to Israel, so it is curving all around to include it at the expense of the Palestinian fields in the midst of which it was erected. "Ahead is the Ofer camp: hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and the courts where the army puts them on trial. Also the room where Administrative Detention without trial is imposed. At the hour, the bus radio tells of the latest in the pathetic government crisis. What we have just seen and heard put a rather different perspective on Sharon's "Gaza Disengagement Plan" which has monopolized the headlines for so many months. Israel's occupation rule over the West Bank is getter grimmer by the day, an occupation which is 37 years old today (two-thirds of Israel's total history!). We arrive at the northern main entrance to a-Ram. A few border police at the checkpoint are dithering about letting our four buses through, calling on the radio for instructions from their superiors. We solve their dilemma by piling out, and continuing on foot. Placards and banners as well as Gush Shalom's popular two-flag signs are hastily unloaded and taken up: "The Wall: Prison for Palestinians - Ghetto for Israelis" / " The Wall is War!" / "Jewish-Arab Partnership" / "A-Ram is suffocated" / "The Busharon Wall - paid for by the USA" / "Two-thirds of the people under the poverty line." A girl is wearing a T-shirt of the Brazilian Workers' Party, and near her a monk in the distinctive habit of the Franciscans. An old woman activist with a stick keeps up with the march, while those nearby create some shadow for her with their signs. With a blazing sun above, Palestinian children do a thriving business of selling icicles and cold drinks. Ahead, the sound of drums and trumpets. The Palestinian march is led by the orchestra of the local Palestinian boy scouts. The Israeli and Palestinian demonstrators merge effortlessly and become one single march. At an intersection, two parked cars become an improvised podium mounted by Israeli and Palestinian speakers. Knesset Members Achmed Tibi and Muhammad Barake make short impassioned speeches in Arabic, interspersed with frequent clapping and the shouting of "Down With The Wall - Down With The Occupation". Then representatives of the Palestinian Authority and local dignitaries. "Some 15000 inhabitants of a-Ram have left and moved into Jerusalem. It is bad for the city; it is bad for them because they are living overcrowded, paying high rents. Perhaps even it is not what Sharon wanted, to have more Palestinians in Jerusalem but that is what he achieved. The people have jobs in Jerusalem, businesses in Jerusalem, their children studying in Jerusalem schools. We are in fact part of Jerusalem. If an 8-meter high Wall is going to cut us off from Jerusalem, what can we do?" says Sirchan Salayme, Mayor of a-Ram and longtime partner in dialogue with Israeli peace activists. "We have come here together, Israelis and Palestinians, to cry out: No to a Wall which breaks up families, which denies people access to schools, to jobs and to medical services, which cuts Palestinian al-Quds into peaces. We are united in the struggle until the Wall falls, here and everywhere", said Leena Dalashe of Ta'ayush. "This Wall is a monster, a monster trampling on hundreds of thousands of people, a monster erected by our government in our name. We say here to Sharon: there can be no security for Israel is there is no security for Palestine. If we deny the Palestinians the possibility of a viable existence, we deny it also to ourselves" says Uri Avnery for Gush Shalom. Most of the rally had past quietly, but towards the end a large border police force is coming up from the south, with a threatening posture, clubs and tear gas held ready. Several Palestinian youths pick up stones. "No, no, don't give them a pretext" the Palestinian marshalls hold them back. The rally ends as planned. The polices turn back with their armament. On the way back, we have still another installment of the guided tour, climbing the hill overlooking Qalandia Checkpoint and getting a chilling view of the fast-changing landscape. "As you see, the Wall has already gotten to Qalandia. This road beneath us will have high walls on both sides and become reserved only for the settlers. A-Ram, which is at present the main depot for the whole West Bank, the place where the containers come from the port of Ashdod and the merchandise shipped north and south, will become an enclave, surrounded on all sides and connected only through a very narrow passage to Ramallah. This is what they are planning but it is not yet too late to stop them. The struggle has only begun today", says Jamal Jum'ah of the Palestinian environmental group Pengon. (Few experts more knowledgeable on the Wall than Jum'ah are to be found outside the ranks of the Israeli armed forces.) Some of the participants joined later the Peace Now event in Jerusalem (reports on www.haaretzdaily.com and www.jpost.com ) The a-Ram demonstration was shown fairly nice on Channel-I TV News. Photos soon on http://www.gush-shalom.org # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il/ # Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) # For pictures of the Rafah destruction: http://www.rafahtoday.org -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Jun 6 17:41:15 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:14 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Barghouti verdict - Gush Shalom delegation thrown out of court Message-ID: <40C3492B.18916.18D10557@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [] Barghouti verdict - Gush Shalom activists thrown out of court [] Avnery on government crisis: much ado about nothing ~~~ [] Barghouti verdict - Gush Shalom activists thrown out of court ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5 life times + 40 years for Barghouti Gush Shalom activists, thrown out of court, call it: "A predictable result of an unworthy procedure" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ גירסא בעברית תשלח לפי בקשה // photo's at the gush website soon June 6, 2004 - day of reading the Barghouti sentence. As before in the ridiculous procedures of the Marwan Barghouti trial Gush Shalom activists were not allowed into the courtroom. Among them, former Knesset Member Uri Avnery, historian Teddy Katz and a dozen more, people of all ages, who could make it during working hours. Prepared because of previous experiences, we immediately took from our pockets the well-known signs "Barghouti - Talk Peace With Him; Don't Imprison Him" and made a kind of a demonstration at the entrance to the courtroom. Adam Keller started explaining to the crowding journalists and cameras how ridiculous it is to treat a leader of the occupied Palestinian people like this, instead of sitting with him around the negotiations table, and that the predictable verdict concludes a procedure unworthy of the state of Israel, which will turn Marwan Barghouti into the Palestinian Nelson Mandela. Then court security personnel broke into the "spontaneous press conference", tearing the paper signs and with much violence forcing all of us out of the building. One Gush Shalom activist, Yuval Halperin was treated with special brutality: a security guard named Golan Ariel pushed him down on the flour, twisting his arm behind his back and chokinh him to the point of losing consciousness. Thereupon he was detained and taken away behind a closed door. The rest of us sat down on the floor, refusing to leave without him joining us. After some loud negotiating, Halperin was led out of the closed room. Gush Shalom lodged a complaint about the violence used against its members with the police. For what happened inside the courtroom where Barghouti was condemned to 5 life times + 40 years (sic!) see the Israeli press. NB: the first two links include also a reference to the Gush Shalom action, mentioning Avnery. Jerusalem Post Y-net(Hebrew / עברית) >http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2927563,00.html< Ha'aretz English Ha'aretz Hebrew / עברית Ma'ariv English Ma'ariv Hebrew: [] Avnery on government crisis: much ado about nothing Uri Avnery 5.6.04 Hebrew at request & soon at the site עברית על פי בקשה או בקרוב באתר To Drink from the Sea of Gaza Perhaps Abe Lincoln was right that you can't fool all the people all the time, but a lot of people can surely be fooled for a long, long time. Just look at Ariel Sharon. From the start, the "Disengagement Plan" was an exercise in deceit. But the world is eager to be deceived. The world's statesmen take it seriously, it causes violent storms in Israel, the media have a ball. All this for a plan that has neither hands nor feet. So what is the purpose of all this mayhem? Cynics might say: the mayhem itself. It puts Sharon in center stage where he can continue to play the master of events. Now the commotion has reached a climax. The main aim of the exercise is to satisfy George Bush. The president demanded a plan which will show him doing something for peace. The more he gets sucked into the Iraqi quagmire, the more he needs to prove that he is achieving something in our country. Especially since his last baby - the "Road Map" - has died in its cradle. Bush demanded that Sharon come up with a plan. No problem. Hocus pocus, here is a plan, with a fine promising name: "Disengagement". Speeches, meetings, a visit to the White House, exchanges of documents, state visits, emissaries, Mubarrak, Abdallah, disputes, compromises, and finally even a full-blown cabinet crisis. All this for a balloon full of hot air. The plan claims to have three aims: to get the settlers out of Gaza, to turn the Strip over to Palestinian rule and to destroy the "terrorist infrastructure" there. This week, Sharon himself defined the first aim in an unequivocal manner: "By the end of 2005, not a single Jew will remain in the Gaza Strip!" A resolute, bold and strong-willed statement, as befits a great leader. (In fact, this statement has a faintly anti-Semitic ring. If the Palestinian government wants to invite peaceful Jews to live there, why shouldn't they? Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to say: "No settler will remain in the Gaza strip"? Never mind.) But the crucial words in the statement were "by the end of 2005." They are reminiscent of the classic Jewish joke about the Polish nobleman who threatens his Jew with death if he does not teach his beloved horse to r ead and write. The Jew asks for three years to accomplish such an arduous task. When his wife hears of it she exclaims: "But you know you cannot teach that to a horse!" The Jew calms her: "Three yea rs is a long time. By t hen, either the horse or the nobleman will have died." In our country, eighteen months are half an eternity. The situation changes by the week. Befor e the end of 2005, many things may happen: Bush may lose the election, catastrophe may overcome Ira q, in our country blood y events may reach such proportions as to obliterate any memory of the "plan". Events this week made clear the central role that time plays in the "plan". Tzipi Livni, the M inister for Immigration Absorption, worked hard to engineer a compromise between Sharon and his opp onents. She reinvented the egg of Columbus: the government will officially adopt the plan, but not the implementation of t he plan. For some nine months, only "preparations" will be made. Not a single settlement will be ev acuated. After that, th e government will decide whether to evacuate any settlements at all, and, if so, which ones. (The o pponents then demanded that the government continue to pour money into the settlements which are su pposed to be evacuated. ) The fact that everybody treated this proposal seriously speaks for itself. A plan that is supp osed to be implemented next year might as well be postponed to the next century. But let us examine the plan on its merits, as if Sharon really intended to put it into practic e. He evacuates the settlements and demolishes them, the army leaves the Gaza Strip, some kind of P alestinian administrati on takes over. Will this bring peace? Will this stop the attacks? There is no chance that this would indeed happen. The basic principle held by all Palestinian factions is that the West Bank and the Gaza Strip c onstitute one integral territorial entity. This was stated explicitly in the Oslo Declaration and a ll the following agreem ents. Following this principle, Yasser Arafat has rejected all proposals of "Gaza First", unless th ey include at least a significant part of the West Bank (Jericho, for example.) Sharon knows this, and therefore he added to his plan an appendage: a small area on the northe rn fringe of the West Bank will also be evacuated. Four small settlements are located there, and th eir inhabitants are ver y eager to leave (with generous compensation, of course). No Palestinian will take such an evacuati on seriously. There is not the slightest chance that the fighters of any of the Palestinian factions in the "liberated" Gaza Strip will look quietly on, while Sharon realizes his designs in the West Bank: th e annexation of 55% of the West Bank to Israel ("settlement blocs", "essential security zones", "areas of special interest to Israel", as the army planners put it), with the Palestinians corralled into small enclaves. Thi s work is already going on rapidly with the building of the monstrous "separation wall". The "liberated" Gaza Strip will inevitably become a base of the battle for the liberation of the West Bank. The Israeli army will react, as usual, with all its might, invading, killing, destroying and uprooting. If this does not do the job (as it did not up to now), Sharon may cut off the supply of electricity, water and food. Since the Strip will be isolated from the world, this is possible. But it will not succeed, because the world will be watching, and the Americans cannot afford this. The military planners know this well, and have been inspired by a new patent ides: to get the Egyptians involved. Brilliant, or so it seems. The Egyptian regime lives on generous American handouts - rewards for signing a peace agreement with Israel. Congress, eager to please the Sharon government, recently threatened to delay the payment of 200 million dollars to Egypt. It is therefore vital for Husni Mubarrak to show the Americans that he is Sharon's ally. But Mubarrak knows that he is walking a tightrope. Egypt's connection with the Gaza Strip dates back more than 4000 years and has had many ups and downs. The Egyptians ruled the Strip after the 1948 war and do not like to be reminded of it. More than once, they tried to control the Palestinian cause, and each time it ended with their humiliation. President Gamal Abd-el-Nasser created the PLO in order to thwart Yasser Arafat, but within a few years Arafat had taken it over. President Anwar al-Sadat tried to become the guardian of the Palestinians, only to be put to shame by Menahem Begin. If the Egyptians now try to take over Gaza and obstruct the Palestinians' fight for the liberation of the West Bank, they will be considered collaborators and be exposed to attacks that may well spill over into Egypt itself. Hamas has powerful allies there who won't step back from violence. Mubarrak will be very cautious about accepting responsibility in Gaza, especially if Arafat is not involved. He knows well the curse beloved by Arafat: "Go and drink from the sea of Gaza!" Therefore, this whole plan is standing on its head. It has no basis in reality. All in all, it is a recipe for the continuation of the war in another form. But no need to worry. Sharon is not really serious about it. He is sure that before the time comes for the evacuation of even a single settlement, either the horse will die or the Polish nobleman will forget all about # For pictures of the ongoing destruction in Rafah: http://www.rafahtoday.org # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il/ # Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Tue Jun 8 21:26:55 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:14 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Behind the smokescreen: tightening grip over West Bank Message-ID: <40C6210F.1917.55DF268@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ International release, June 08, 2004 [] Behind the smokescreen: tightening grip over the West Bank Abu Dis--Az-Zawiya--Beit Awa--Bezariya--A-Ram--Settlement extension [] Israeli Anarchists arrested after opening roadblocks which strangled Palestinian village [] Palestinian and international women resist mass uprooting of olive trees in Az-Zawiya; CALL UPON ISRAELIS TO JOIN! video footage: http://www.womenspeacepalestine.org/news8junazzawiya.htm (IWPS) Hebrew will be sent separately / נוסח בעברית יבוא במסר נפרד [] Sharon's reported motivation: "To rest easy for another 50 years" Akiva Eldar in Ha'aretz of yesterday ~~~ [] Behind the smokescreen: tightening grip over the West Bank Abu Dis--Az-Zawiya--Beit Awa--Bezariya--A-Ram--Settlement extension After a long wrangle, Ariel Sharon got his reluctant cabinet to pass a highly ambiguous resolution concerning Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, supposedly to be implemented within eighteen months (which, in Middle East politics, is tantamount to eternity). This gave some renewed credit to Sharon's claim to be "a peace-maker" and made the international community less observant of what Sharon and his generals are doing in the here-and-now. Sharon used his renewed freedom of manoeuvre for launching an air strike into Lebanon, by far the closest to Beirut that the Israeli Air Force came since the withdrawal from Lebanon four years ago. It is also manifested in a marked tightening of the Israeli grip on the West Bank, of which Sharon has no intention of letting loose (except for the promised token dismantling of four settlements out of more than a hundred). It is expressed in accelerated construction of the Separation Wall/Fence/Barrier everywhere except for the sectors where construction was temporarily halted by injunctions of the Supreme Court (after joint Palestinian-Israeli appeals). In addition, there seems to be a tightening of roadblocks and travel restrictions, as well as of settlement construction. The following instances,all of which came to our attention in the past few days, is far from exhaustive. Rather, it represents the cases where the Palestinians involved have access either to the Israeli peace movement or the media - which in many places is not the case. # At Abu-Dis, another Palestinian Suburb of Jerusalem, Israeli army bulldozers invaded the grounds of the campus of Al Quds University and started preparatory work for erection of the Wall - in direct contravention of promises made to the university's president, the well- known Palestinian peace activist Sari Nusseibeh. (Kol Yisrael morning news, 8/6/04). # At the village of Az-Zawiya, where the Supreme Court last week lifted an earlier injunction and permitted the army to carry out "work which does not cause irreversible damage", the bulldozers arrived in the night between June 6 and 7, and by daylight had already uprooted dozens of olive trees. Work on the Wall and non-violent resistance by the villagers has been going on there for the past two days, and are expected to increase towards the end of the week. (See message by the IWPS women). # An official of the Palestinian Authority in the Hebron area told us that the army started issuing land confiscation orders in preparation for extending the Wall to this sector. Not only does the hitherto untouched village of Beit Awa stand to lose part of its land, but several small communities in the South Hebron Mount area - already severely harassed in the past years - were told by an officer that they would "have to relocate" in the interest of building the Wall. # Also in the same area, Israeli settlers at Karmel started to construct ten new houses on the land of their Palestinian neighbors. Upon making an appeal with the help of ACRI (Assoc. for Civil Rights) they were told that their land had become "state land" already in 1982 - except that until now nobody bothered to tell the owners about this amazing change of ownership. # The villagers of Bezariya had traditionally gone to Nablus for shopping, health sevices and everything else not locally available. In the past year, access to Nablus has become virtually impossible and the villagers turned instead to Tulkarem. In recent months, however, the direction of Tulkarem was cut off as well. Today Israeli anarchists and internationals came and succeeded in removing the blockage, at least for the time being - though later some of them were arrested (see report below). # During the Israeli-Palestinian demonstration last Saturday at A-Ram, norht of Jerusalem, we heard a chilling analysis from Jamal Juma'a of the the Palestinian environemental NGO Pengon. Among other things, the work starting now in this sector (directly north of Jerusalem) would transform A-Ram from a thriving community of 60,000 and major commercial depot into a completely surrounded and isolated community. Also, a major highway leading from Ramalla eastward would become reserved for settler use only, with high walls erected on both sides to prevent Palestinians from even approaching it. (Details www.pengon.org, info@pengon.org). >From all this follows: Sharon is abusing the credit given him, and in dealing with Israel's present prime minister one must follow an invariable rule: don't listen to what Sharon is saying, look at what he is doing! We would like to alert any media and decision makers to which you can get of that. For more information: Gush Shalom Spokesperson Adam Keller: +972-3-5565804 / +972-56-709603 [] Israeli Anarchists arrested after opening roadblocks which strangled Palestinian village Today, six Israeli activists of "Anarchists Against Fences" were detained for opening a barrier which effectively strangled the Palestinian vllage of Bezariya. The six had been among several dozen Israeli and international activists which arrived at the spot this morning. Together with the Palestinian villagers, the activists swiftly removed two mounds of earth which the army had piled up and which blocked the villagers' access to both Nablus and Tulkarem. Apparently the army and police were caught napping, and there was no sign of them as the intersection was cleared and the villagers enabled to travel freely for the first time in months. But on their way back, the activists' bus was boarded by plaincloths policemen, who took everybody's I.D's and/or passports, and photographed everybody in the bus. At first, all passengers were told that they were under detention. Later, the police selected six who were evidently considered "ringleaders" who were taken off to the Ariel Police Station, where they are still held at present. Untiring human rights lawyer Gabi Laski took up their case. For more details as well as photos and video footage: cat@squat.net or call +972-54-6327736/+972-54-5333364/+972-67-981647/+972-3-5283767 [] Palestinian and international women resist mass uprooting of olive trees in Az-Zawiya; CALL UPON ISRAELIS TO JOIN! video footage: http://www.womenspeacepalestine.org/news8junazzawiya.htm (IWPS) Hebrew will be sent separately / נוסח בעברית יבוא במסר נפרד ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Send reply to: Bulldozers are working constantly in the village and the villagers have sent out an appeal for internationals and Israelis to come to AZ-ZAWIYA. If you are able to go right away, that’s great. Otherwise, tomorrow there is to be a demonstration in AZ-ZAWIYA. Please meet in the village 1 pm. This Friday, June 11th, 2004 they want to have a huge demonstration with Israeli and international presence. Please come in large numbers to the village. Directions: Coming West along Highway 5, take the road towards Pdu’el and Alei Zahav. At a roundabout take the direction to Beit Arye. You will eventually come to the Deir Ballut checkpoint. You need to turn right here (involves first turning left because of barriers and then doing a U- turn). The road straight ahead takes you to Rafat and then Az-Zawiya. If you need to take Palestinian transport, go to Qarawat Bani Hassan roadblock and then take a shar ed taxi from there to Az-Zawiya. It is one village south of Mas’ha. If you need more information, please call IWPS at 09 251 6644 or 067 870 198 [we add from yesterday's message:] video footage: http://www.womenspeacepalestine.org/news8junazzawiya.htm. [] Sharon's reported motivation: "To rest easy for another 50 years" Akiva Eldar in Ha'aretz of yesterday A poor man's history By Akiva Eldar Mon., June 07, 2004 Hebrew: According to the newspaper headlines, which are heralding a "historic day," it appears that in Israel, history, too, is no longer what it used to be. The headlines also seem to be amusing the goddess of history, who was longing for a good laugh, and scheduled the "historic" cabinet session on the matter of the disengagement from Gaza precisely 37 years following its occupation. As if the aforesaid was not enough of a coincidence, news of the compromise reached with regard to delaying the evacuation of settlements broke almost exactly at the same time as the news of the death of former president Ronald Reagan. On September 1, 1982, Reagan published his Middle East peace plan, which proposed autonomy for the Palestinians in the West Bank, as part of a federation with Jordan. Ariel Sharon was defense minister in Menachem Begin's government, which ripped the Reagan plan to shreds because, among other reasons, of its demand to freeze settlements. Rejection of the plan led, five years later, to a parting gift from the Reagan administration - the first official dialogue between the United States and the Palestine Liberation Organization. From there, it was a short road to the Madrid Conference and the Oslo Accord, the Wye agreement and the road map. Each of these plans and agreements had a common denominator: All led to implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 242, which calls for an Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in the Six-Day War to secure an d recognized borders. One of the Likud ministers who has consistently opposed the disengagement plan told Haaretz that Sharon had admitted to him that his decision to sacrifice the settlements in the Gaza Strip was designed to erase all mention of 242. In response to a request from the said minister to hear where Sharon was headed after the evacuation of the settlements, the prime minister responded that following the withdrawal from the Strip and a handful of settlements in northern Samaria, it would be possible to rest easy for another 50 years. Sharon is therefore taking a gamble on his political future so as to put the brakes on the wheels of history, rather than to propel them forward. He is putting unity of ranks in the government and in his party at risk in order to perpetuate the overall situation and not to change it. Sharon has chosen to evacuate a few thousand settlers from Gaza out of fear that the alternative will be far more costly. Who can assure him that Bush won't go down the same path taken by his hero, America's 40th presiden t, who passed away? Who can guarantee him that the day after the U.S. elections, his good friend in the White House won't also find a way to show the world that he isn't Sharon's poodle? Indeed, it is difficult to find a resemblance between the disengagement plan and Bush's vision of the establishment of a Palestinian state, but there is no doubting the fact that Sharon has displayed "maximum effort" to g uide his plan through numerous obstacles, including some (the Likud referendum) that he set up himself. Thus, with half a promise of a withdrawal that is designed to block initiatives that are the likes of the Geneva understandings, and with the help of the cries of the settlers and their patrons among the extreme right and the rejectionists from home in the Likud, Sharon has turned into the darling of the peace camp. And in the final analysis - whether he disengages from Gaza or he doesn't - there is, nevertheless, a certain blessing in the actions of the prime minister. He has caused a split between the rational Israeli right and the fundamentalist Israeli right. He has driven a wedge between a camp that has remained stuck on the Land of Israel for security reasons, and even national yearnings, and a camp that is motivated by divine decree and a sense of messianic mission. Sharon has released the government of Israel from the yoke of former minister Avigdor Lieberman, who dared to threaten more than one million Israeli citizens with deportation. And one hopes that the prime minister's plan will lead to the resignation of Minister Effi Eitam, who is quoted thus in the May 31 edition of The New Yorker: "It is not by chance that the State of Israel got the mission to pave the way for the rest of the world, to militarily get rid of these dark forces." According to The New Yorker's Jeffrey Goldberg, Eitam told him that there are "innocent men among the Palestinians, but they are collectively guilty," and "we will have to kill them all." To avoid mistakes, the leader of the National Religious Party added: "I know it's not very diplomatic. I don't mean all the Palestinians, but the ones with evil in their heads - not only blood on their hands, but evil in their heads. They are contaminating the hearts and minds of the next generation of Palestinians." # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Video footage of mass uprooting of olive trees and the women's resistance in Az Zawiya, June 7 (all of it for the construction of the monster Wall) available at: http://www.womenspeacepalestine.org/news8junazzawiya.htm (International Womens' Peace Service - IWPS) # For pictures of the ongoing destruction in Rafah: http://www.rafahtoday.org # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il/ # Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sat Jun 12 21:28:09 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:14 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Wall construction in high gear - while world praises Sharon Message-ID: <40CB6759.30735.18112A1@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org WALL CONSTRUCTION IN HIGH GEAR WHILE WORLD PRAISES SHARON International release, Tel-Aviv June 12 [] Azawiya joint struggle against the Wall Palestinian farmers, Israelis, Internationals + link to video footage + request for alerting media & politicians blinded by Sharon's Gaza Plan [] HAWK IN DOVE'S FEATHERS - Gush' Friday ad [] In short: struggle news, reminders and links ~~~ [] Azawiya joint struggle against the Wall Palestinian farmers, Israelis, Internationals + link to video footage + request for alerting media & politicians blinded by Sharon's Gaza Plan גירסא בעברית תשלח לפי בקשה / Hebrew version at request June 11 - "What the army used here yesterday was not tear gas. We know what tear gas is, what it feels like. That was something totally different." We are being briefed by A., a middle-aged villager speaking Hebrew in a calm and unemotional way, while standing under the scorching sun in the fields of Zawiya Village, on Friday morning. "When we were still a long way off from where the bulldozers were working, they started shooting things like this one" (holding up a dark green metal tube with the inscription "Hand and rifle grenade no.400" - in English). "Black smoke came out. Anyone who breathed it lost consciousness immediately, more than a hundred people. They remained unconscious for nearly 24 hours. One is still unconscious, at Rapidiya Hospital in Nablus. They had high fever and their muscles became rigid. Some needed urgent blood transfusion. Now, is this a way of dispersing a demonstration, or is it chemical warfare?" "But if they think this will stop us, they should think again!" burst in a younger man standing behind - F., one of the organizers of today's march. "Without our land, what are we? Seven thousand people with no livelihood. Five kilometres it is from here to the Green Line, five kilometres all our fields and olive groves. The fence will come right up the village houses, it will leave us nothing. What will we eat? Better to die on our land, we will not give up!" While we were talking, more and more villagers were arriving, from Zawiya itself and its neighbours Rafat and Dir Balut - the three of which are bound, once the Fence/Wall is complete, to become an almost completely enclosed enclave. There were also more Israelis and internationals arriving,several dozen in all - the anarchists who had already been here on the previous days, and also members of Gush Shalom and Ta'ayush and the ISM and the IWPS women (the latter who are based in nearby Hares had made the rest of us aware). Some had come all the way in their private cars, dodging the army and police road-blocks. Others had used the settler bus line from Tel-Aviv and then the yellow Palestinian taxis nimbly plying the labyrinth of blocked West Bank roads. Close to noon, the march set out. At the head an enormous Palestinian national flag was carried, and the youths burst out with "Long live Palestine" and "National Unity - Fatah, Hamas, Popular Front!". Whatever their party affiliation, they were invariably kind and welcoming to the Israelis marching at their side. Boys were going around,offering icicles and firmly refusing payment. An elderly woman in traditional clothes, a megaphone in one hand and gas mask in the other, was directing the chanting. Behind her walked two young Icelanders, who had come from Reykjavik to work as volunteers for the Palestinian Medical Relief Committees. Many Palestinians had gas masks, as did the international TV crews accompanying the march. Those who did not have them made do with a kind of shallow carton cups with a string to keep them over mouth and nose, or with cloth tied over the face. Tension rose as the march wound though the fields, passing the broken olive trees destroyed in earlier days, and up to the point where yesterday's confrontation took place. And then a feeling of relief - the soldiers and bulldozers had gone away, during the hour before we got to the spot. There remained only a single jeep, observing from a distance. Finished for the weekend or avoiding another confrontation? Right on the spot from which the soldiers shot yesterday, strewn with empty cartridges, the Palestinian flag went upon the pole. A young man planted a green Islamic flag beside it, getting some frowns from members of other factions. Under the pole, speakers took up the megaphone and made fiery addresses: "Listen, Sharon! Listen, Bush! Zawiya is steadfast! We hold on to our land, to our olive trees!" Then the Friday prayers, thousands of villagers kneeling in unison in the direction of distant Mecca. The rally and prayer over, the column was about to set out back. But many of the youngsters were not yet done. They ran ahead, to the recently-carved track by which soldiers and bulldozers have come, and started piling rocks along it. Israelis and internationals joined them in shifting and rolling huge rocks, some needing the work of twelve people to move. "I know this will not stop the bulldozers by itself, but we will sure make life difficult for them every way we can" said a youth. Video footage of the protests of Thursday and Fridayhttp://www.iwps-pal.org/ftpiwps/videos/azzawiya_6-10-11.wmv [Gush Shalom contacted Israeli human rights organizations about the strange gas used Thursday, June 10, in Zawiya village.] PS: Aside from Zawiya, a major confrontation is developing at A-Ram,the Palestinian suburb of Jerusalem where work on the Wall kicked off with the sudden destruction of a major artery, in complete disregard of the hundreds of thousands who use it every day. And today's radio news announced that in the coming week work is to begin on the Wall section linking the settlement of Ariel to those of Kdumim and Karney Shomron - which would have the effect of both seizing the land of a dozen hitherto unaffected villages and of driving a wedge deep into the West Bank as a whole, so as to preclude creation of a viable Palestinian state. We would like you to approach whatever media and decision-makers are accessible to you in your environment, making clear that uncritical support for Sharon's "Gaza Disengagement" - such as expressed in this week's G-8 summit(!) - is serving as a smokesceen for massive land-grabbing on the West Bank and violent suppression of protesters. SAMPLE TEXT for letters - to be used as is, or as inspiration [feel free to add from the above report and/or from the text of the Gush advertisement which you find below] Sharon's "Gaza Disengagement Plan" - to be implemented (maybe) more than a year from now - should not blind you for what is at present happening on the ground in the West Bank. Don't be misled by Sharon's confrontation with the extreme right and the rapprochement towards Israel's Labor Party. At least part of Sharon's intention is to let the world look elsewhere while he is fastening the pace of erecting the Wall on the West Bank. This Wall, and especially its route snaking through the West Bank, cutting of enormous bites of additional Palestinian land, is preempting any possibility of a viable Palestinian state, exacerbating the conflict for a long time to come. yours..... We don't provide addresses this time; would like you to find yourself opinion leaders in your environment, but please send at least one copy to the nearest Israeli embassy http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/israel1.htm [] HAWK IN DOVE'S FEATHERS - Gush' Friday ad [English after Hebrew] ============== נץ בנוצות יונה ============== אולי יפורקו ההתנחלויות בעזה בעוד שנה, ואולי גם לא . תמורת הבטחה זולה זו קנה לעצמו שרון בזיל הזול תדמית יונית . אבל השבוע - הוא הגביר את קצב בניית החומה על אדמה פלסטינית - הוא עקר מאות עצי זית נוספים - הוא הרס את הכביש הראשי מקלנדיה לא-ראם המשרת מאות אלפים - הוא נותן לבנות בתים חדשים בהתנחלויות לא חשוב מה שרון מבטיח. חשוב אך ורק מה הוא עושה 03-5221732 עזרו לנו במימון הפעולות והמודעות בצ'קים לגוש שלום, ת"ד 3322 תל-אביב 61033 . www.gush-shalom.org קבלת מידע שוטף : info@gush-shalom.org A HAWK IN DOVE'S FEATHERS Perhaps the settlements in the Gaza Strip will be dismantled in a year. And perhaps not. So cheap it is for Sharon to buy himself a dovish image. But this week: - He stepped up the building of the wall on Palestinian farm land, - He uprooted many more olive trees, - He destroyed the main road from Qalandia to A-Ram which serves hundreds of thousands, - He let the settlers build new houses. Don't listen to what Sharon promises - look at what he does! Gush Shalom, Donations to help us advertise P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org info@gush-shalom.org [] In short: struggle news, reminders and links # Former US Marine and initiator of the Human Shield Action to Iraq, Ken O'Keefe, was jailed Thursday attempting to enter the Gaza Strip via the beach Israeli lawyers Yael Barda and Gabi Laski are making efforts to get injunction against his deportation More information http://www.p10k.net/UpdateItems.asp?ID=49 # Enormous interest in reenactment trial of The Five On Thursday evening, the Tzavta Hall in central Tel-Aviv was packed to the point of bursting where was reenacted the court martial of Haggai Matar, Matan Kaminer, Shimri Tzameret, Adam Maor and Noam Bahat - the five young men imprisoned for refusing to enlist . The actors on the stage played the moving testimonies of the accused and their penetrating condemnation of the occupation; the ranting of the prosecutor and the defence lawyer's appeal to constitutional and moral arguments; and finally, the harsh sentence - a year behind bars. (Misha Hadar, the young actor playing Noam Bahat, is himself a refuser bound for a prison term in the near future). http://www.refuz.org.il/ # Arna's Children June schedule at: http://www.arna.info/Arna/movie.php?lang=heb # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps: Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Mon Jun 14 19:33:21 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:14 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] The West Bank developing into crazy quilt - Uri Avnery Message-ID: <40CDEF71.17768.7E94BA@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ [] The West Bank developing into crazy quilt - Uri Avnery [] Some collected Wall news in Hebrew and English A-Ram Supreme Court decision disappointing A-Ram protest tent, from today (Monday 14) A-Ram womens' protest Wed. 2:00pm Ongoing protest Az-Zawiya [] Latest emergency call from Iskaka: Building of Wall to start Wedn. [] Preparations started for "fingernails" east of Ariel settlement [] Links re news of ongoing events & campaigns ~~~ [] The West Bank developing into crazy quilt - Uri Avnery Hebrew was already sent separately נוסח בעברית נשלח כבר Uri Avnery 12.6.04 The Nightmare Comes True I thought it was terrible. I was wrong. It is far, far worse! - These words sum up my feelings at that moment. I was standing on a hill overlooking the infamous Kalandia checkpoint. Below me was a narrow road, packed with Palestinians in the blazing sun, 30 degrees centigrade in the shade (but there was no shade) trudging towards the checkpoint. Very soon this road will be transformed. It will be widened to three lanes and be reserved for Israelis: on both sides of it, 8-meter high walls will spring up. It will allow the settlers of the Jordan valley to reach Tel-Aviv in about an hour. The Palestinians living on either side will be cut off from each other. This is a small part of the new reality that is rapidly being created on the West Bank and that is changing the country we knew and loved beyond recognition. I was standing near the edge of a-Ram. Once this was a small village on the outskirts of Jerusalem, on the road north to Ramallah. Since successive Israeli governments have prevented the Palestinians in East Jerusalem from building new homes, the severe overcrowding has forced a mass exodus to a-Ram, which has grown into a town of 60 thousand inhabitants. Most of them are officially still Jerusalem residents, carrying the blue identity cards of inhabitants of Israel. This allows them to come to Jerusalem, a drive of 10 minutes, work there, tend to their businesses, go to the hospitals and the universities there. This is about to stop. Along the age-old road from Jerusalem to Ramallah (leading on to Nablus, Damascus and beyond) construction of the 8-meter wall is due to start any minute now - not across the road, but along the middle of the road, the full length of it. The inhabitants of a- Ram, east of the wall, will not only be completely cut off from Jerusalem, but also from all the townships and villages to their west - their relatives, the schools which thousands of their children attend, their cemetery and their places of work. A small part of a-Ram remains outside the wall and will be cut off from the main part of the town in which they live. But this is only part of the story. Because the wall (or in some places a barrier, consisting of a fence, trenches and roads) will completely surround a-Ram from all sides. The sole exit from this walled- in area will be a narrow bridge connecting it with the adjacent area to its east, consisting of several Palestinian villages, which will be surrounded by another barrier. This enclave will have a narrow exit to the Ramallah enclave. Through this it will be possible for a person from a-Ram to reach Ramallah, God willing, by a roundabout route of some 30 kilometers, instead of the ten minutes or so it took before the occupation. A few kilometers to the west of a-Ram lies a group of villages centered around Bidou (where five Palestinians have been killed so far in protests against the wall). This area is rapidly becoming another enclave, completely surrounded by a separate barrier. The only way out will be a tunnel to be built under road No. 443 - the settlers' road of which the section I mentioned before will become part. All existing roads to Bidou have long since been cut off by trenches or piles of dirt, one can enter only at one spot controlled by a checkpoint. This will cease to exist. If a villager from Bidou has some business in a-Ram, he will have to go through the tunnel to Ramallah, turn to the enclave east of a-Ram and enter a-Ram by the narrow bridge, a semicircle of about 40 kilometers instead of a drive of a few minutes. A-Ram will be especially hard hit. Because of its location, it has developed in the last few years into a kind of transshipment point for goods travelling from Israel to the West Bank and vice versa. Israelis and Palestinians do business there. All this will end with the wall. The means of livelihood for many of its 60 thousand inhabitants will disappear. This is only one example of what is happening now all over the West Bank, turning it into a crazy quilt of walled-in enclaves, "connected" by bridges, tunnels or special roads, which can be cut off at any moment at the whim of the Israeli government or of a local army officer - and, all around them, roads-for-Israelis-only, expanding settlements and military installations. Every Palestinian town - Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarm, Kalkilia, Bethlehem, Hebron and others - will become the "capital" of a tiny enclave, cut off from all the others, from their "hinterland" and villages, except by tortuous roundabout routes. Fifty-five percent of the West Bank will be Israeli, the Palestinian enclaves will amount to 45% (about 10% of historical Palestine). This is no longer just a nightmarish future prospect - it is happening now, visible to the naked eye, while Sharon babbles about a "disengagement" to happen sometime in the future in one small part of the occupied territories. Practically no Israeli has any idea about all this. It may be happening one kilometer from his home (in Jerusalem, for example), but it might as well be on far side of the moon. The media are not interested, nor is the world. This is the peace Sharon has been dreaming about. This is the "Palestinian State" George Bush promised. This is a cornerstone of the new democratic Middle East. It will lead, of course, to bloodshed on an unbelievable scale. No people on earth will submit to such a life. For thousands and thousands of young Palestinians, a martyr's death will be preferable. And sometime in the future this awful structure will be torn down, like the Berlin wall, which, evil as it was, was much less inhuman. As always, after much suffering, the human spirit will prevail. [] Some collected Wall news in Hebrew and English A-Ram Supreme Court decision disappointing A-Ram protest tent, from today (Monday 14) A-Ram womens' protest Wed. 2:00pm Ongoing protest Az-Zawiya [Thanks to Rabbis for collecting & translating!] ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "rabbis for human rights" Subject: Court rejects A-ram Appeal; People also needed in Az-zawia Date sent: Sun, 13 Jun 2004 18:10:53 +0200 English follows Hebrew א) בג"ץ דחה את העתירה של תושבי א-ראם ואיפשר לצבא להמשיך בעבודות התשתית עבור הגדר. מותר להם להשלים את הכל, כולל סלילת כבישים והקמת מחסומים, חוץ מבניית החומה עצמה (שתיקח לא יותר מיומיים לבנות אחרי שהתשתית גמורה) תושבי א-ראם מתכננים 1. להקים אוהל מחאה אחרי הצוהריים ואנשים מוזמנים. 2. ביום רביעי מתוכננת הפגנת נשים לשעה 14:00. הסעות יוצאות מירושלים בשעה 13:15. לפרטים נוספים, תאום והרשמה להסעות אנא צרו קשר עם "בת שלום" 5632622-02, 5631477-02 3. הודעה על פעילויות נוספות תבוא בהמשך. ב) באזור סלפית - יש צורך מתמיד באנשים שימחו בכל יום עבודה בא- זאוויה. לפרטים IWPS 09-2516644, 054-6236154 a) The Supreme Court rejected the appeal submitted by A'Ram residents and allowed the military to continue building the infrastructure for the wall. The military is allowed to complete everything, including ripping roads and creating barriers, except for raising the wall itself (which will take no more than a couple of days once the infrastructure is complete). The residents of A'Ram are planning: 1. To erect a protest tent tomorrow afternoon to which people are invited. 2. A women's demonstration on Wed. at 14:00 Organized transportation will leave Jerusalem at 13:15, For further details and to coordinate and sign up for transportation, Please contact "bat shalom"- 02-5632622, 02-5631477 3. And as of tomorrow more events will be published. b) There is an ongoing need of people every working day in Az-Zawiya. Buldozers are about to go out every day. Please check with: IWPS 09-2516644, 054-6236154 [] Latest emergency call from Iskaka: Building of Wall to start Wedn. [Thanks to the untiring international women activists of IWPS] ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "IWPS" To: Date sent: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 15:06:55 +0200 URGENT CALL FOR ACTION IN ISKAKA WHEN – 9 AM Wednesday 16TH June Bulldozers will begin to work on the wall in Iskaka on Wednesday! The village has asked for internationals and Israeli’s to come to Iskaka on Wednesday at 9am. Demonstrations in Az Zawiya are also continuing so please try and send people to both villages. Contact number is 050 441991 or Jawal 059 671977 Call IWPS 09 2516644 or Carolyn 0546 236154 *Please call to confirm if you plan on coming. Directions to Iskaka – from Jerusalem Get a Taneeb bus or serveece to Zatara. When you get out of the bus at Zatara take the left fork of the road - direction Ariel. Take the first left off this road. It is the road to the settlement of Tapuach, the village of Yusuf and then Iskaka. This road also eventually reaches Salfeet. You can get a Palestinian serveece from the turnoff to Yusuf. There is a roadblock at Yusuf so you will need to get out and get another taxi from the other side of the roadblock. >From Tel-Aviv Get a settler bus to Ariel. Get out first stop in Ariel. Walk to the road and get Palestinian transport to Yusuf. By car from Jerusalem or Tel Aviv If you want to bring your car you will need to park it at the garage just outside Hares (ring IWPS for directions) and then catch Palestinian transport back to Yusuf and follow the direction from there. [] Preparations started for "fingernails" east of Ariel settlement Despite U.S. deal, Israel starts Ariel fence by Arnon Regular - Ha’aretz Monday, June 14 English Hebrew/עברית: Israel has started preparations for the construction of the separation fence east of the West Bank Jewish town of Ariel, and also the Kedumim and Immanuel settlements. Two weeks ago, Defense Ministry officials sent Palestinian residents of the Salfit town, south of Ariel, preliminary appropriation orders for land upon which the fence is to be built. This land appropriation move is at variance with the U.S. government's understanding that such steps would not be taken in the foreseeable future, and that the separation fence project in these West Bank areas would be deferred. Yet the move upholds a promise given by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which clinched the latter's support for the disengagement plan: Sharon indicated to Netanyahu that the separation fence in the Ariel area would be completed before the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip is finished. Netzah Mashiah, who heads the Defense Ministry's seam area authority, told Haaretz on Sunday that plans call for the completion of the separation fence east of Ariel, Immanuel and Kedumim by May 2005. About two weeks ago, civil administration officials in this West Bank region met with Palestinian Authority delegates and presented the land appropriation orders, along with a map of the precise area slated for the fence - the area is 3.5 kilometers long, and 100 meters wide, and runs between Ariel and Salfit. Appropriation orders for the Immanuel and Kedumim areas will be released in coming weeks. After these orders are issued, construction of the separation fence in the heart of the West Bank will begin. The lands to be appropriated in the Salfit area are the southern part of what Israeli security officials refer to as the "fingernails" zone - the term alludes to separation fence stretches that will ring large Jewish settlements on the West Bank. Fingernails planned for construction include the area around Kedumim in the north; around Immanuel and Karnei Shomron in the center of this West Bank region; and Ariel in the south. According to plans, the fingernails will in the future be expanded into what Israeli officials call "fingers" - meaning the separation fence will be continued up to the 1967 Green Line border. The current plan to build the separation fence from Ariel to Kedumim would eventually lead to the annexation of 150 kilometers of West Bank land to Israeli territory. Mashiah explains: "The appropriation orders distributed in the Salfit area are for the southern part of the Ariel fingernail and legal work [for the security fence construction] in this area has been completed. All of the fingernails in this West Bank area - in Kedumim, Immanuel and Ariel - will be completed, according to the plans, by May 2005. Construction of what is called the fingers [i.e. the expansion of the fence up to the Green Line] is supposed to start in early 2005, but no fixed timetable for the completion of this stage of the work has been determined." American officials originally demanded that Israel abandon plans to build the separation fence in these areas of the West Bank. Subsequently an agreement was reached with officials in Washington under which the fingernails are to be completed in 2004 east of Ariel, Kedumim and Immanuel, and then a year later these fence stretches are to be connected to the Green Line. Recently, Defense Ministry officials have tried to coordinate construction of the fingernails with settlers from the area, security officials have told Haaretz. However, in the Kedumim area, Jewish residents have voiced opposition to the plan to build the separation fence around their settlement. Also, legal obstacles impeded the construction of the fence in the Immanuel area, say the security officials. Due to this combination of legal impediments and settler resistance in cases of two of the planned fingernails, the defense establishment decided two weeks ago to focus efforts in the southern stretch of the fence, around Ariel, these officials explain. Caught in enclaves Dozens of Palestinian villages will be affected by the construction of the separation fence in these stretches of the West Bank. Residents of some of these villages will be caught in enclaves. Under appropriation orders issued two weeks ago by civil administration officials to land owners in Salfit, the property is to be taken by the end of 2007. Nawaf Suf, a PA liaison official from the Salfit area said Sunday: "We all know that expropriated land will never be returned to its owners, even if not even a centimeter of the separation fence is ever built ... The fence will promote development of the settlements, whereas it will cut off and destroy life in local Palestinian villages, whose residents will become hostages." [] Links re news of ongoing events & campaigns # The "Breaking the Silence" soldiers' exhibition continues in Tel Aviv (until June 25th) link for details [in Hebrew only] : http://www.shovrimshtika.org/hebrew/ # Arna's Children June schedule at: http://www.arna.info/Arna/movie.php?lang=heb # Video footage of mass uprooting of olive trees and the women's resistance in Az Zawiya, June 7 (all of it for the construction of the monster Wall) available at: http://www.womenspeacepalestine.org/news8junazzawiya.htm (International Womens' Peace Service - IWPS) # For pictures of the ongoing destruction in Rafah: http://www.rafahtoday.org # Palestinians draw the map for understanding the Disengagement Plan http://www.nad-plo.org/images/maps/pdf/gaza.pdf # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il/ # Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Jun 17 00:09:57 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:14 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Report on A-Ram struggle against the wall + many alerts Message-ID: <40D0D345.3909.BC8FA2D@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ June 16, 2004 [] The wall that separates Palestinians from Palestinians report on A-Ram protest [] Struggle (against the wall/against house demolitions) on many fronts: in Iskaka, the Negev, in courts, prisons + more English summary of attached alerts and reports ~~~ [] The wall that separates Palestinians from Palestinians report on A-Ram protest [Hebrew attached - ????? ??"? ] "I am speaking here as an Israeli, an Israeli patriot who loves this country and all who live in it, Israelis and Palestinians. When I see it torn to pieces, it is like seeing a thing of beauty destroyed" said former Knesset Member Uri Avnery of Gush Shalom at a press conference held inside the protest tent erected by the A-Ram municipality next to the ruined main street which is going to be replaced by an 8-meter high "Separation Wall." "This Wall has nothing to do with security; it does not separate between Israelis and Palestinians; it separates as anybody can see Palestinians from Palestinians in order to make their lives miserable. Building a wall here is like building a wall right through Dizengov Street in Tel-Aviv or like a wall through 5th Avenue and Champs Elysees." There were many other speakers: Kadura Fares, the Palestinian Minister for coordinating the anti-Wall campaign; Khatem Abdul Kader, member of the Palestinian parliament for the Jerusalem area; Knesset Member Muhammad Barake of Hadash; Sheikh Taysir Tamimi of the Supreme Muslim Court; Rev. Hannah Atallah, spokesperson of the Greek-Orthodox Church; Hannah Amira, member of the PLO executive. One recurring theme was: the silence of the Arab World. While the press conference was winding up Israeli and Palestinian women arrived, carrying signs and starting a protest march up to the Kalaniya Checkpoint to the north. During the march bulldozers stopped working and moved aside, and the police did not interfere, contenting themselves with closing the road further to the south by barbed wire. However, later in the afternoon police tear down the protest tent, claiming that "it has been built illegally on Jerusalem municipal land". A-Ram mayor Sirhan Salayme: "This is A'ram land and I personally as mayor approved erecting the tent. As if it not enough that they build a wall cutting us off from jobs, businesses and schools in Jerusalem, they also want to gag us and prevent the possibility of non-violent protest." On June 28, the Supreme Court will hear the appeal of the A-Ram inhabitants, joined by Israeli organizations. Till then however, the army is allowed to do all the preparatory work, though not build the wall itself. [] Struggle (against the wall/against house demolitions) on many fronts: in Iskaka, the Negev, in courts, prisons + more English summary of attached alerts and reports -- ????? / Hebrew "David Nir" Bail needed for 15 imprisoned Palestinian workers for details David 052-991-379 Yakov 050-573-3276 -- ????? / Hebrew Yacov Manor Friday protest of house demolitions in the aftermath of brutal invasion this week of villages in the Negev and ongoing discrimination of "unrecognized" villages 10.00am at Tel Shoket Junction transportation Tel-Aviv 8.30 - Arlosorof Train Station ph: 09-7670801, 050-733276 -- ????? / Hebrew + English Eitan Bronstein re planning of Zochrot events -- [English] Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) complaint about shooting at its ambulance -- [English] B'tselem New report calls permit system to Cross Separation Barrier 'Racist' -- [English] Palestine Media Center on: Hunger Strike of P10K Activist Ken O'Keefe in Israeli Jail and with pending deportation -- [English] "IWPS House" On how today the villagers of Iskaka along with internationals and Israelis managed to stop the bulldozers. And on continuation of struggle tomorrow and Friday # The "Breaking the Silence" soldiers' exhibition continues in Tel Aviv (until June 25th) link for details [in Hebrew only] : http://www.shovrimshtika.org/hebrew/ # Arna's Children June schedule at: http://www.arna.info/Arna/movie.php?lang=heb # Video footage of mass uprooting of olive trees and the women's resistance in Az Zawiya, June 7 available at: http://www.womenspeacepalestine.org/news8junazzawiya.htm (International Womens' Peace Service - IWPS) # Palestinians draw the map for understanding the Disengagement Plan http://www.nad-plo.org/images/maps/pdf/gaza.pdf # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew / ????? http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / ????? - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / ????? - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il/ # Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: "David Nir" Subject: =?windows-1255?B?8enl8iDj5+XzIOz55/jl+CDh8vjh5fo=?= Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 14:28:33 +0200 Size: 10915 Url: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040616/26a32acb/attachment.eml -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: =?windows-1255?B?6fL34SDu8OX4?= Subject: =?windows-1255?B?5PTi8OQg4fbl7vog+uwg+eX3+iD56fnpIDE4LjYuMDQ=?= Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 18:58:06 +0200 Size: 8013 Url: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040616/26a32acb/attachment-0001.eml -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: Eitan Bronstein Subject: zochrot is planning Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 13:53:06 +0300 Size: 14820 Url: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040616/26a32acb/attachment-0002.eml -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: "emma" Subject: PMRS Alert Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 16:21:54 +0200 Size: 4725 Url: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040616/26a32acb/attachment-0003.eml -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: "Noam Hoffstater" Subject: =?windows-1255?Q?New_B=92Tselem_Report=3A_Permit_System_to_Cross_Separati?= =?windows-1255?Q?on_Barrier_is_Racist?= Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 09:04:10 +0200 Size: 5488 Url: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040616/26a32acb/attachment-0004.eml -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: "PMC" Subject: Fw: Hunger Strike Activist Beaten in Israeli Jail Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 12:15:02 +0200 Size: 7284 Url: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040616/26a32acb/attachment-0005.eml -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: "IWPS House" Subject: re: demonstration at Iskaka called for tomorrow and Friday. Please keep coming to Az Zawiya also! Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 14:34:21 +0200 Size: 32198 Url: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040616/26a32acb/attachment-0006.eml -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: gush_A'ram.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 25600 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040616/26a32acb/gush_Aram.obj From info at gush-shalom.org Fri Jun 18 23:13:15 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:15 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Sharon cleared of charges - bulldozers work overtime Message-ID: <40D368FB.7896.15E22CB4@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ International release, June 18 ??????? ?????? / links to Hebrew [] The latest news about the route of the Wall [] The buddies - Gush comment on the whitewashing of Sharon [] So is there someone to talk to - or is there not? # Yediot photo of June 4 commented by Rami Elhanan # Haaretz June 11 - beginning of security establishment revelations A week of increasing debate Haaretz June 18 - Arafat interview *** [] The latest news about the route of the Wall We just heard through activist David Nir that he got a phonecall from Sawiya (not Azawiya about which we have been writing before). This morning bulldozers arrived, without any prior warning, and started destroying the villagers' olive groves, those most near to the settlement of Rehelim to its north. Soldiers told them that it is for "the fence." Sawiya is some ten kilometers east of the Ariel settlement, located in the very middle of the West Bank... The work is still going on though the Sabbat has started - a highly unusual behavior, giving the impression that Sharon is in a very big hurry to create even more facts. [] The buddies - Gush comment on the whitewashing of Sharon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The buddies get back together ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ????? ???? / Hebrew on the website www.gush-shalom.org [ad in this weekend's Ha'aretz Hebrew edition] Attorney General Meni Mazuz has published the decision that everyone had been waiting for since he was appointed to his job by the Sharon government: he acquitted Sharon from all wrongdoing. This decision clears the way for the Labor Party to join the government. Shimon Peres' dream is coming true. He will again be able to travel around the world as Sharon's chief spokesman. This way Sharon can go on undisturbed promoting his "Disengagement" deception, destroying the basis of existence of the Palestinian people, killing Palestinians, building the monstrous wall and wrecking all our chances to achieve peace. But what are generations of war compared to one day of Shimon Peres in the government? ----------- Gush Shalom, Help us maintain our weekly ad - with donations to: P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033, Israel ------------------------------------ *** [] So is there someone to talk to - or is there not? # Yediot photo of June 4 commented by Rami Elhanan # Haaretz June 11 - beginning of security establishment revelations a week of increasing debate: Haaretz June 18 - Arafat interview # Yediot photo of June 4 commented by Rami Elhanan [Hebrew attached - ????? ??"? ] English # Haaretz June 11 - beginning of security establishment revelations A week of increasing debate: Haaretz June 18 - Arafat interview [We didn't immediately pass on Akiva Eldar's article "Popular misconceptions" with the scoop of the by now internationally-publicized accusations from within the security establishment against the orchestrated anti-Arafat campaign started after Camp David, 2000. At last it is admitted that the demonization of Arafat wasn't based on any facts. Why we didn't pass it on? At first we felt bitter that only now this comes out, and we also didn't want to seem saying "I told you so". But since its publication a week ago, the article is not going away anymore. It opened an ongoing discussion in which more and more people of the security establishment as well as the long hermetic media begin to open their mouths. It is clear that the mistakes of the past - involving a very wide spectrum of Israeli society(!) - have been disastrous and cannot be simply reversed. But even though the thousands killed won't get back to life, it opens the perspective of "rehabilitation" of the Palestinian leader, and it will make it more difficult for Sharon to continue avoiding negotiatimg with the Palestinians. Meanwhile, Akiva Eldar went to Ramallah, together with the new Ha'aretz editor in chief David Landau, and today they publish an interview with the Palestinian president in which he is shown to be still the Palestinian leader willing - and probably the only one able - to do painful concessions in order to achieve peace with his not so easy partner.] Popular misconceptions Akiva Eldar, Haaretz June 11 ????? / Hebrew Is Yasser Arafat really aiming for the destruction of Israel, rather than a solution to the conflict? This perception has been turned into conventional wisdom in Israel - but many in the intelligence community just don't believe it. On Sunday, while Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, a supporter of the disengagement plan, was perspiring at the cabinet meeting, the head of the Defense Ministry's diplomatic- security unit looked calm and serene. Amos Gilad - who headed the research division of Military Intelligence (MI) between 1996 and 2001, and was coordinator of activities in the territories from 2001-03 - has gilt-edged shares in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's decision to turn to unilateral measures. It was he who provided Sharon's predecessor, Ehud Barak, the professional backing for the "no Palestinian partner" theory. The basis of this theory: Barak made a generous offer to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, and when the latter refused to accept it, his real face was exposed: that of a terrorist who aims at the destruction of Israel. This theory - which has earned the well-known epithet konseptzia ("conception" - harking back to mistaken assessments prior to the Yom Kippur War) in the intelligence community - is believed by most Israelis today and has also won many fans abroad. It was readily absorbed in ground soaked with the blood of intifada victims. Mofaz, first as chief of staff and then as defense minister, and Moshe Ya'alon, first as Mofaz's deputy on the General Staff and later as his successor, adopted the so-called konseptzia and spread it. Politicians from both right and left agree with it, as does the director of MI, Major General Aharon Ze'evi (Farkash). Distinctions like those presented by Gilad on Sunday, at his office in the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, were welcomed by the Prime Minister's Bureau. "Arafat is aiming to have Oslo lead to the fulfillment of his strategy that Israel has no right to exist," said the man who headed the research division at Military Intelligence during the period when the Oslo agreement was gasping for breath and dying. "Arafat is a terrible danger. Nothing will shake him as long as he lives. If he isn't dealt with in the right way, he will also bequeath us a heritage that no one will dare to change." Thanks to the position in which he served and his powers of persuasion, Gilad's konseptzia penetrated every home in Israel. But behind the doors of a few homes, among them those of senior people in the intelligence branches, different and even opposite assessments have been whispered throughout. Amos Malka, who was head of MI from mid-1998 to the end of 2001, and was Gilad's direct superior, is one of them, and his version is the opposite of Gilad's. He is joined in this by Major General (res.) Ami Ayalon, who headed the Shin Bet security service up until a few months before the intifada; in the approach taken by Arab affairs specialist Mati Steinberg, who until a year ago was a special advisor on Palestinian affairs to the head of the Shin Bet; and by Colonel (res.) Ephraim Lavie, the research division official responsible for the Palestinian arena at that time and Gilad's immediate subordinate. Violence - catalyst or weapon? Malka details the assessment of the situation he presented during his days as "national assessor" to the General Staff and to the government. >From time to time he peers at his papers and stresses that every word he utters is anchored in situation assessments by the research division and discussions with its professional echelons. Malka: "The assumption was that Arafat prefers a diplomatic process, that he will do all he can to see it through, and that only when he comes to a dead end in the process will he turn to a path of violence. But this violence is aimed at getting him out of a dead end, to set international pressure in motion and to get the extra mile. This was the assumption I found when I took up the position. Along the way, I was able to confirm it myself and bring it to the [attention of the] leaders. The classical example is the tunnel incidents - an initiated move of violence that was aimed, from Arafat's perspective, at instilling a sense of urgency. If you look into what happened after each of his violent moves, you will find that in nearly every instance, he to some extent achieved something. "We received the best proof that Arafat supports a diplomatic move," says Malka, "in May 1999. Prior to this date [the original target date for a permanent status agreement - A.E.], the whole country was caught up in the huge crisis event that was about to occur - the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state. We at MI assessed that nothing would happen in May 1999, and that Arafat would wait for the elections in Israel, for the formation of a new government and for the formulation of a policy." Malka read from his notes from March 2000: "Should Arafat believe that the channel of diplomatic talks is unable to advance him toward that goal (a Palestinian state) in 2000, Arafat might well take unilateral measures. If he realizes that progress is not in the realm of the possible, the crisis could develop into following the path of armed struggle. Conclusion: Without movement in the diplomatic process, which would give Arafat a sense of real progress, there is a high likelihood of hostilities." What "real progress" would have prevented hostilities? Gilad insists that Arafat has never let go of the vision of the right of return, in order to shorten the way to demographic victory over Israel. The current head of MI, Ze'evi, and former Mossad head Ephraim Halevy, share this assessment: Arafat has not come to terms with the existence of a Jewish state and has not given up the struggle to eliminate it. Malka insists that their version has no backing in any research document. "We assumed that it is possible to reach an agreement with Arafat under the following conditions: a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and sovereignty on the Temple Mount; 97 percent of the West Bank plus exchanges of territory in the ratio of 1:1 with respect to the remaining territory; some kind of formula that includes the acknowledgement of Israel's responsibility for the refugee problem and a willingness to accept 20,000-30,000 refugees. All along the way ... it was MI's assessment that he had to get some kind of statement that would not depict him as having relinquished this, but would be prepared for a very limited implementation." Right of return crisis The possibility of a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state in September 2000, and the danger of a decline into violent conflict were at the center of a discussion held in May 2000, in Barak's "Peace Administration." The discussion was held in the shadow of Barak's public threat that Israel's response would be severe, to the extent of occupying territories. Participating in the discussion were the head of the Administration, Dr. Oded Eran; the coordinator of activities in the territories, Major General Yaakov (Mendy) Orr; Colonel Shaul Arieli, Mati Steinberg and representatives of MI research. Orr and Steinberg expected that the crisis would degenerate into a violent reaction on the part of the Palestinian street. Steinberg added that an Israeli incursion into the territories could also sweep along the Arabs of Israel. It was in fact the MI people, Gilad's representatives, who expressed reservations about this chilling thesis and suggested that the reaction would be restricted to the level of propaganda, law and diplomacy. According to the testimony of three of the participants in the discussion, none of the MI people argued that Arafat was planning to blow up the diplomatic process and return to the military option. Several weeks later, on June 15, prior to his departure for Camp David, Barak summoned a conference with a group of military people and advisors. "This was one of the most exciting and most important discussions in which I have ever had occasion to participate," recalls Gilad, adding: "I warned Barak that Arafat will not give up on the realization of his vision through the right of return." According to some of the participants in the discussion, all the speakers agreed that if Arafat did not get what he expected to achieve, he would turn to limited violence. No one remembers that Arafat was said to be aiming for the destruction of Israel through demography. There was also no mention of the possibility that the Palestinians would abandon the peace process in favor of a comprehensive armed struggle. No one, including Gilad himself, argued that Arafat's expectations included Israeli agreement to take in 300,000 to 400,000 refugees in the framework of the right of return. Confirmation that MI research did not believe that Arafat expected a massive return of refugees can be found in a document of the information team of the research division, which was headed by Gilad. The document analyzes a position paper that was written in June, 1999, by Dr. Assad Abed al-Rahman, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization steering committee and the one in charge of the portfolio on refugees and the uprooted. "In his discussion of the possible solutions to the refugee problem, Abed al-Rahman presents a comprehensive and rigid position, which even the Palestinian leadership has already understood is no longer realistic," the document says. "Even those who hold an `extreme' position on the issue, among them Arafat, have adopted the position that if Israel recognizes the right of return in principle, its implementation can be partial and limited." In a lecture at Princeton University in March, 2002, the contents of which have not been published until now, Steinberg argued that the Camp David summit failed because of the dispute over the Temple Mount - not over the issue of the right of return, which was barely discussed at that summit and was born retrospectively in Israel in order to create the internal consensus. His remarks are congruent with the claim of Yossi Ginnosar, who participated in the summit: In an interview with the mass-circulation daily Yedioth Ahronoth before his death, he said that the idea that the summit had failed because of the right of return was aimed at justifying the failure and was "a duplicitous campaign that contributed to sowing despair in Israeli society and caused damage to the process that was conducted afterward." At a conference under the auspices of the Peres Center for Peace that was held in the spring of last year, Ephraim Lavie, who closely accompanied the negotiations for a permanent status agreement, analyzed the reasons for the summit's failure. He said that there is not and there never was any basis for assuming that Arafat or any other Palestinian leader would deviate from the resolution passed by the Palestinian National Council in Algiers in 1988: the establishment of a Palestinian state in the June, 1967 borders, with its capital in Jerusalem, and a solution to the refugee problem. However, Lavie stressed that since Oslo, the Palestinian leadership has been aware that there is no chance that Israel will accept the element of the right of return and implement it. The leadership is thus making do with a recognition in principle of the right of return and of the historical injustice, and is willing to accept a limited implementation, to which Israel will agree. Lavie, who was the intelligence officer in Barak's peace administration , argues that "at Camp David, there was some sort of a solution in sight to the refugee problem by means of compensation and a small number of refugees who would return to Israel, under one definition or another ... Israel saw Camp David as a crucial summit, and urged Arafat to concede explicitly the right of return - something that the PLO institutions have never approved. Arafat rejected this and dug in to his position that every refugee must be given the right to decide whether to return to the territories of 1949 or to accept a substitute and compensation, and that the conflict will end only with the implementation of the agreement. Israel interpreted this position as stemming from his unwillingness to make the historic decision to concede the right of return, and depicted this as evidence of his intention to demolish Israel's existence." A few weeks before Camp David, Malka reviewed Arafat's positions for the cabinet. "I said there was no chance that he would compromise on 90 percent of the territories or even on 93 percent. He is not a real- estate trader, and he is not going to stop midway. Barak said to me: `You are telling me that if I offer him 90 percent, he isn't going to take it? I don't accept your assessment.' I said to him that indeed, there is no chance that he would accept it. "Haim Ramon said: `Are you trying to tell me that if we offer him 77 percent and make a 20-year commitment to him for another 10 percent, and another 20 percent, and in the end we stop at 90 percent - he won't agree to this?' I told them that the difference between me and them is that they are speaking from hope and I am trying to neutralize my hope and give a professional assessment. But Barak saw himself as able to make his assessments without assessments from MI, because he is his own intelligence, and he thought he was smarter. Afterward, it was convenient for him to explain his failure by a distorted description of the reality." Why the terror began In his new book, "Hazit lelo oref" ("A Front Without a Rearguard: Voyage to the Boundaries of the Peace Process"), Shlomo Ben Ami - who was foreign minister and headed the team that negotiated with the Palestinians in Barak's government - wrote that immediately after the summit, "intelligence sources" picked up sounds from Ramallah that encouraged "renewing the process for the complete fulfillment of the chances for an agreement." According to his testimony, Barak himself was partner then to the efforts to achieve a breakthrough. How does this concord with the version that at Camp David "Arafat's true face was revealed?" Why did the prime minister and the foreign minister continue to waste their time on negotiations? Malka insists that even after the peace talks gave way to hostilities, MI did not revise its assessments. Neither did the research units at the Shin Bet, the Mossad, the Foreign Ministry and the office of the coordinator of activities in the territories adopt the thesis that the Camp David summit had revealed "the Oslo plot." The official working assumption at MI then stuck to the approach that Arafat was continuing to see terror as a strategic weapon that could reduce the gap between the Palestinians and Israel. But present MI head Ze'evi, Defense Minister Mofaz and Chief of Staff Ya'alon adopted the approach that there is no connection between the state of the peace process and terror. According to Gilad, "Arafat is faithful to his [perception] that terror can break us and will not allow the security mechanism to deal with terror as long as his policy view (greater Palestine) does not prevail." Ami Ayalon, however, believes that when there is progress in sight in the diplomatic field, the Palestinian Authority silences Hamas. Steinberg, who was his advisor, backs this up. "The Palestinian leadership's willingness to confront its internal opposition was dependent on a single factor: progress in the implementation of interim agreements or, at the very least, a political expectation of progress," he said at Princeton. Steinberg explained that although the intifada was not preceded by Palestinian planning and preparation, neither at the highest level nor at the local level, "From the moment it erupted, Arafat and the majority of Palestinians had an interest in exacerbating the crisis, on the assumption that it would bear political fruit." Malka adds that with the outbreak of hostilities, Arafat thought he was "going for something far more limited, that would cause a shock ... After two or three days Arafat was not able to go against the street." Both of them share the argument that the top Israeli security echelon contributed to fanning the flames. Malka relates that about a month after the intifada began, was he was on his way to the Gilo neighborhood in Jerusalem, he asked Yossi Kuperwasser, at the time the intelligence officer of the Central Command (and today head of the research division), how many 5.56 bullets the command had fired that month. "Kuperwasser got back to me with number 850,000 bullets. My figure was 1.3 million bullets in the West Bank and Gaza. This is a strategic figure that says that our soldiers are shooting and shooting and shooting. I asked: `Is this what you intended in your preparations?' and he replied in the negative. I said: `Then the significance is that we are determining the height of the flames.' I brought the issue up at Central Command discussions, but Mofaz went with the militant bit from the very first day and all along the way." Malka is convinced that today too, if Israel offers Arafat a state in 97 percent of the territories, with Jerusalem as the capital, exchanges of territory and the return of 20,000-30,000 refugees - he will sign the agreement and an order to lay down arms. Malka: Gilad rewrote the analyses While the issue of intelligence analyses submitted on the eve of the war in Iraq was the subject of a comprehensive parliamentary investigation - which found they were not based on reliable information, but rather on assessments and assumptions - the gaps in analysis of the Palestinian arena have never been examined. The former head of Military Intelligence (MI), Amos Malka, has a disturbing answer when asked where he was when his subordinate, Amos Gilad, spread his triumphant version of events: "I did everything I could. I went several times to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and submitted reports to the chief of staff. Nowhere did I say that I accepted the conspiracy theory that Oslo was a plot to eliminate Israel. To my regret, [current Defense Minister and then chief of staff Shaul] Mofaz and Bogey [Moshe Ya'alon, now Chief of Staff] as his deputy ignored what I said. What Gilad said suited them better, and therefore they adopted it." Malka notes that Gilad was "a very significant factor who influenced many people. Thanks to his rhetoric - and in a situation in which no one in the cabinet reads intelligence material, apart from the defense minister and the foreign minister, a little - the ministers are carried away by professional lecturers, who put the word `I' into 50 percent of their text." Malka challenges Gilad's professional integrity: "I say, with full responsibility, that during my entire period as head of Military Intelligence, there was not a single research department document that expressed the assessment that Gilad claims to have presented to the prime minister. As obligatory under the work regulations, no document can leave the research department without getting the approval of the head of the division. Therefore it is not possible that Gilad's written opinion was the opposite of those dealing with the Palestinian arena. If there was a difference between the assessments, there is no other definition of this but conspiracy. But because Gilad is endowed with a great awareness of history, it cannot also be assumed that the conception he transmitted orally was different from the one that the division formulated in writing. Therefore I argue that only after the Taba talks were broken off, on the eve of the 2001 elections, Gilad began retroactively rewriting MI's assessments." Lavie refuses to relate to the disagreement between the two schools of thought and confines himself to a brief response: "My detailed position on the Palestinian issue is well known to the past and present heads of MI. I believe that it is impossible to ignore Malka's claims, and it is essential to examine the validity of the existing conception in their light." Gilad - whose good relations with Malka cooled following the professional disagreement - is not impressed by the versions put forth by Malka and Lavie. "I would have no problem if 1,000 people thought differently than I. That still doesn't mean that they're right. It's a lie that I didn't voice different assessments. I made sure to bring the head of the department [dealing with the Palestinians] and the head of the branch to discussions with the head of MI. I insist that I have always said what I'm saying now and have been saying all along." In the background, there is also a disagreement between Gilad and Arab affairs specialist Mati Steinberg, whose view concurs with that of Malka and Lavie. In the past, Gilad spread a crude letter against Steinberg following a disagreement over Palestinian textbooks, and even complained that Barak had ignored it and preferred to meet alone with Steinberg numerous times. Steinberg, for his part, asserts that he has never met with Barak one-on-one. Gilad was also prepared to comment on the doubts that have surfaced recently with respect to the influence of the state of his health on the quality of his assessments, after he sued the Defense Ministry to obtain a high disability rating because of phenomena resulting from psychological pressure. Gilad relates that during the Lebanon War, as a major in MI, he warned GOC Northern Command Amir Drori not to let the Phalangist forces enter the Sabra and Chatila refugee camps. After he heard about the slaughter over the operational radio, he hastened to report the incident to the MI control center. Several days later, he was reprimanded for having used the intelligence network for operational reporting that was not within his area of authority. According to Gilad, the heavy pressure he was under affected him badly and a short time thereafter he came down with diabetes. The doctors told him that psychological pressure can cause diabetes, and upon his demobilization from the Israel Defense Forces they advised him to see to medical coverage from the Defense Ministry - and he did so, as has been reported recently. Even after his demobilization, Gilad continues to sit close to the junctures of security and diplomatic decision-making and to influence the leadership with the same decisiveness and conviction, although today too his views are not supported by the professional echelon of MI. *** A week of increasing debate [To get an impression of what kind of things come up in the discussion started by the Eldar article (in what continues to be only a beginning of opening up) here follow excerpts of what Ben Caspit wrote for Maariv June 6 and June 13 (with thanks to the UK friends) and the article of Danny Rubinstein in today's weekend supplement] Haaretz June 18 - Arafat interview by David Landau & Akiva Eldar A Jewish state? `Definitely' By David Landau and Akiva Eldar Arafat is ready to sign an agreement that would give Palestinians 97 per cent of the West Bank and Gaza - with the rest in a land swap, and the right of return of not all, but at least some refugees. In a free- ranging interview with Haaretz, conducted in the carefully preserved ruins of the Muqata, the PA Chairman also spoke of the historical family bonds between the two peoples. Full text: English ?????/Hebrew # Photos + report of June 16 A-Ram protest against the Wall The press conference + start of women's demo http://www.gush-shalom.org http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html Photos of the following women's protest march http://share.shutterfly.com/os.jsp?i=EeANWjlw2csWzqg&open=1 # The "Breaking the Silence" soldiers' exhibition continues in Tel Aviv (until June 25th) link for details [in Hebrew only] : http://www.shovrimshtika.org/hebrew/ and in English: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/440348.html # Arna's Children June schedule at: http://www.arna.info/Arna/movie.php?lang=heb # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps # Video footage of mass uprooting of olive trees and the women's resistance in Az Zawiya, June 7 (all of it for the construction of the monster Wall) available at: http://www.womenspeacepalestine.org/news8junazzawiya.htm (International Womens' Peace Service - IWPS) # Palestinians draw the map for understanding the Disengagement Plan http://www.nad-plo.org/images/maps/pdf/gaza.pdf Hebrew / ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew / ????? http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / ????? - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / ????? - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il/ # Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: NoOneToTalkTo_heb Type: image/jpeg Size: 88695 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040618/86e8c1c4/NoOneToTalkTo_heb.jpg From info at gush-shalom.org Sat Jun 19 16:19:55 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:15 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] IDF razing olive trees in nightly operation of ground & air forces Message-ID: <40D4599B.2325.604318@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/ International alert (protest letter data after [[]]) June 19, Tel-Aviv - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Weekend at Sawiya on the West Bank: IDF razing olive trees in nightly operation of ground & air forces Villagers brutalized at improvised roadblock - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [Yesterday night and this morning there came frentic calls from our Palestinian contact in Sawiya Village (between Nablus and Ramallah). We recorded the following from I. (full name is known to us):] "Friday the bulldozers came at noon and started working on our land, in the part close to the settlement of Rehelim [to the north of Sawiya - Ed]. We did not dare to go near, because there were soldiers guarding them all around. But also from a distance we saw that they were cutting down our olive trees and throwing them aside. We had gotten no notice or explanation; the owners of the land were not given any kind of confiscation order... They went on during the evening and also in the night. After sundown, there were helicopters in the air firing flares to give them light. In the morning on my way to work I passed the spot. There were no bulldozers or army, but you could clearly see where they had worked - from the destroyed trees. It did not look like they did it for the Wall, which is what we thought first. For the Wall, they clear long narrow strips of land. This was more of a square area, it looks like the setters want to place there new mobile homes. [Also from I. a related incident:] A few kilometres south of us, at Luan A-Sharkiya, there was an army road- block. It is usually there, but never before did it take so long to get through it, we waited for hours and hours. I am every day going through there to work, I don't remember anything like it. Many of us tried to bypass the road-block and go through the tracks on the side, but the soldiers were waiting for us there, too. With some soldiers you can reason, not with these. A soldier just hit me once in the face, a hard blow, and then let me pass without saying a word. Fortunately, he did not touch my car. Others before and after me got their windshields smashed, or wires ripped out of the engines, or tires cut with a knife. There was a different treatment to each one which they caught, without any logic or explanation." [ The Gush Shalom infoteam contacted the aide of KM Yossi Sarid and asked for his intervention, and also alerted the MachsomWatch women who specialize in monitoring the army checkpoints and road-blocks. When they arrived at at the spot about 11.00 am they found the soldiers in process in dismantling the improvised road-block and driving away. ] [[]] Protest letter data: [We advise to send (parts of) the preceding report as sample letter, but add in the beginning something like:] Dear Ministers Please, use your channels to find out what the IDF is doing during this very weekend on the farm lands of Sawiya Village near the settlement Rehelim (to the north of Sawiya). We turn to you - hoping that like on earlier occasions you will sound a voice of reason from within the Sharon government. Here follows the report which we got: ... [We think it is most useful to protest to the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Interior (they are the leaders of the liberal Shinuy Party and should be relatively sensitive to it) + (IMPORTANT!!) make it visible that you send copies to international diplomats and include a copy to the nearest Israeli Embassy. Please find below collected addresses for easy sending BUT if you can, send your protest ALSO by fax.] Minister of Justice Yosef Lapid Ministry of Justice 29 Salah al-Din Street Jerusalem 91010, Israel Fax: +972 2 6285438 E-mail: sar@justice.gov.il + other Justice Ministry email addresses: Director Mr. Shlomo Gur mankal@justice.gov.il Spokesperson Mr. Ido Baum dover@justice.gov.il Public Relations Ms. Yehudit Bigun pniot@justice.gov.il Minister of Interior Avraham Poraz Ministry of Interior 2, Kaplan Street, Jerusalem Fax: +972-2-670-1628 E-mail of the minister: sar@moin.gov.il + other Interior Ministry email addresses: Director Mr. Mordechay Mordechay mankal@moin.gov.il Spokesperson Ms. Tova Ellinson dover@moin.gov.il Public Relations Ms. Nechama Pluga-Zecharia pniot@moin.gov.il and copies to: Secretary of State Colin Powell Fax: +1-202-261-8577 and to: Kofi Annan ecu@un.org, Mr. Terje Rod Larsen , Mr. Romano Prodi and/or to the Foreign Minister of your country (for other than US, please find yourself the address) and to the editors of the daily paper(s)of your choice (please find yourself the address) For your convenience, here are the combined email addresses we collected (please add your own): To: sar@justice.gov.il, sar@moin.gov.il Copies to: secretaryofstate@USA.gov, ecu@un.org, unsco@palnet.com, romano.prodi@cec.eu.int, mankal@justice.gov.il, dover@justice.gov.il, pniot@justice.gov.il, mankal@moin.gov.il, dover@moin.gov.il, pniot@moin.gov.il NB: send your protest also to the nearest Israeli embassy & find the address at: http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/israel1.htm N.B.: U.S citizens can -- alert their representatives at: http://www.cflweb.org/congress_merge_.htm a lot of sample letters available re the increased settlement expansion on the West Bank happening RIGHT NOW -- call the Capital switchboard toll-free: 1-800-839-5276 and ask to be connected to your member of Congress. -- call or fax the White House White House Comments Line: 202-456-1111 White House Switchboard: 202-456-1414 White House Fax: 202-456-2461 -- approach the State Department Bureau of Public Affairs Comment Line: 202-647-6575 From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Jun 20 14:41:53 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:15 2004 Subject: [Gush Shalom] Crumbling mantra - creeping annexation Message-ID: <40D59421.715.2B25E87@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 גוש שלום ת.ד. 3322 ת-א אנגלית עם קישורים לעברית [] Avnery about the crumbling of the "No Partner" mantra [] Creeping annexation contradicts goal of peace (Ha'aretz editorial June 18) %%% http://www.gush-shalom.org פעילויות צפויות באתר %%% [] Avnery about the crumbling of the "No Partner" mantra :עברית / Hebrew: http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/article308_heb.html Uri Avnery 19.6.04 "Irreversible Mental Damage" Two weeks ago, the international community made a shocking declaration. Giving in to a demand by George Bush, the "Quartet" accepted the "Revised Disengagement Plan" of Ariel Sharon. This means that the United Nations, the European Union, the Russian Federation and the United States confirmed this document. I wonder if any one of the honorable diplomats has read the document with their own eyes. In the first paragraph of the "plan", the following words appear: "Israel has come to the conclusion that at present, there is no Palestinian partner with whom it is possible to make progress on a bilateral peace process." That is to say, the international community has confirmed that the Palestinian people has no right to take part in the determination of its own fate. Everything will be decided by the Government of Israel alone, with the backing of the United States, whose position will be automatically accepted by the other partners of the "Quartet". The European Union with its 25 member-states, the government of the Russian Federation and the organization that represents the entire world have humbly accepted the edict of Bush, the dictator of the world, who is himself a captive of Sharon. Sharon decided long ago that the elected president of the Palestinian people is "irrelevant", together with the whole Palestinian leadership. The Palestinian people have been eliminated from the list of decision-makers, thereby also abolishing in practice all the agreements signed with them, from Oslo to the Road Map. This is a scandalous step, unprecedented in its dimensions, and it passed without comment. Apart from Sharon and his minions, nobody noticed the implications. The big boot of the international community trod on the Palestinian people without even noticing it, as if on an ant. That is the culmination of a process that began with the return of the then Prime minister, Ehud Barak, from the 2000 Camp David summit. After the failure of that meeting, he coined the mantra that has since become the cornerstone of the policy of successive Israeli governments: "I have turned every stone on the way to peace / I have offered the Palestinians more generous proposals than any of my predecessors / The Palestinians have rejected all my offers / Arafat wants to throw us into the sea / We have no partner for peace." This mantra is based on a series of lies that have been exploded long ago. American eye-witnesses like Rober Malley, President Clinton's advisor at Camp David, as well as some of the Israeli participants and international researchers have published detailed reports that prove that Barak himself was responsible for the failure at least as much as Arafat - in fact, far more. And as if by coincidence, just when the international community absent-mindedly accepted that the Palestinian people is not a partner for peace, in Israel itself things are happening that turn everything upside down. The High Priest of the "We Have No Partner" creed is General (res.) Amos Gilad, who at the crucial time was chief of the research section (and as such the No. 2) of the Army Intelligence Department. Since army intelligence is the department solely responsible for the "national security assessment", it has a decisive influence on the formation of national policy. The army intelligence man reports directly to the Prime Minister and takes part in cabinet meetings. No minister would dare to question his assessments, which are the guiding star of the entire state. The research chief of the intelligence department is supposed to submit a professional summary of the huge amount of data amassed by the intelligence community. Most ministers are forbidden to read the written report, and even the few others are allowed only to glance at it. Therefore, the oral summary presented by the chief of research to the Prime Minister and the cabinet is of paramount importance. Amos Gilad went even further: he appeared almost daily in the media, commenting on almost every political and security event. He was not only the "national assessor", but also the "national explainer", as he was commonly called in the media. Who is this man, who has had a greater influence than any other person on the policies of Israel over the last few crucial years, and whose kontsepsia (Hebrew for "conception") is still directing the path of the state? This is the very same Amos Gilad who some days ago claimed for himself the benefits due to disabled army veterans. He was not wounded in battle, God forbid, but claimed that the stress caused by his difficult job has inflicted on him irreversible mental damage. This claim involves a considerable amount of Chutzpah, if not worse. But it also raises the question: This mental damage, when did it start? When were the first symptoms observed? Was it when he started endlessly repeating that Arafat wants to throw us into the sea? Or was this declaration, perhaps, itself a symptom of his mental problem? And how can he continue to fulfil his present duties? The last two weeks, Israel witnessed a stormy debate that should have shaken the very foundations of the state. The former chief of Army Intelligence, General (res.) Amos Malka, who was the direct superior of Gilad, broke his silence of many years and published a thunderous accusation: that Amos Gilad arrived at his "kontseptsia" without any intelligence basis whatsoever. On the contrary, the huge amount of information collected by the intelligence department indicated the very opposite. That is to say, Gilad freely invented his intelligence reports, based on his political views and/or on the desire to please his political bosses, Barak and Sharon. This grave accusation raised a storm in professional circles. Intelligence operatives of undoubted integrity emerged from their anonymity in order to support Malka publicly. They were headed by the man who, at the relevant time, was in charge of the Army Intelligence section for Palestinian affairs, Colonel Ephraim Lavie, who was then responsible for the collection of all intelligence material about the Palestinian leadership. There is no doubt that in the professional confrontation between Amos and Amos, Amos Malka emerged as the victor. This means, in simple words: there was no intelligence material at all backing the assertion that Arafat is working for the destruction of the State of Israel, that Arafat had broken off the peace process in order to start a terror campaign, that Arafat is not ready for a reasonable compromise. All these assertions, uttered by diverse Israeli politicians and generals, were based on the "assessment" of one man who, while appearing to represent the intelligence department, was actually suppressing the considered professional reports of his own department, as well as of the General Security Service (Shabak). When the debate heated up, the orientalist Matti Steinberg, a former advisor on Palestinian affairs to the chief of the Shabak, joined the fray. Steinberg not only confirmed that Gilad's "kontseptsia" was completely false and contradicted the intelligence material assembled by his own people, but he also asserted that Gilad's conception "fulfilled its own prophecy". Since Israel is immeasurably stronger than the Palestinians, its actions create reality. The acts guided by Gilad's "kopntseptsia" created results that suited it. Much as the "kontseptsia" of Eli Za'ira, the intelligence chief at the time of the Yom Kippur war, resulted in catastrophe, thus the "kontseptsia" of Amos Gilad caused - and is still causing - the disasters of the present intifada. (The 1973 intelligence conception was that Egypt would not dare to attack Israel, causing all the glaringly obvious signs to the contrary to be ignored, thus preventing adequate preparations and resulting in the death of 3000 Israeli soldiers. Since than the Hebrew word "kontseptsia" has assumed an almost obscene connotation in Israel.) As of now, Gilad's immediate superior (Malka) and his immediate subordinate (Lavie) both accuse him of presenting his personal opinions, which were unsupported by any intelligence backing, as if they were the official assessment of the intelligence services. Gilad has caused irreversible damage. His mantra was accepted by the vast majority of Israelis, as well as a large part of international public opinion. Its exposure in professional circles will not alter this fact. Indeed, the recent decision of the "Quartet" shows how deeply entrenched this lie has become throughout the world. By the way, these revelations show that the secret assessment of the highest professional echelons of the Army Intelligence Department and Shabak were practically identical with the assessments published at the time by Gush Shalom, which were met with total disbelief by the media and the public, including a large part of the "peace camp". To wit, that the Palestinian leadership, headed by Arafat, has never wavered from its readiness to make peace with Israel based on the creation of a Palestinian state on 97% of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (which together make 22% of historic Palestine), with territorial compensation for the remaining 3% and sovereignty over East Jerusalem and the Haram-al- Sharif ("Temple Mount"). The refugee problem would be solved by agreement with Israel (meaning: Israel will have a veto on any solution). The experts of army intelligence and the security service, too, agree that Arafat has not wavered from this position. On this basis, peace can be achieved even now, as Arafat himself confirmed this week in a fascinating interview with the new editor of Haaretz, David Landau. Ariel Sharon denies this, of course, because he is not ready for peace on these terms. He wants to annex at least 55% of the West Bank, hoping that the life of the Palestinians in the remaining 45% will become so impossible that they will leave the country of their own accord. Shimon Peres is eager to help him in the realization of this design. For that, Sharon needs the "We Have No Partner" mantra. Amos Gilad delivered the goods. Now the "Quartet" has accepted it, bringing shame on itself and obstructing the search for peace. %%% [] Creeping annexation contradicts goal of peace (Ha'aretz editorial June 18) :עברית / Hebrew: No safety net for annexation The vocabulary of Hebrew is expanding as successive Israeli governments try to cloud their intentions regarding construction in the West Bank - or, more accurately, their evasion of their obligations. The word mifredet (separator), for instance, will now describe the wall to be built the length of Route 60, which is the main transportation artery for Jerusalem's northern neighborhoods, and the expressions "fingernails" and "fingers" will from now on be the metaphors for a system of creeping construction of the fence around Ariel. Under cover of these `clean' expressions, a plan for the de facto annexation of some 150 square kilometers in the heart of the northern West Bank - including Ariel, Immanuel, Karnei Shomron, Kedumim and other settlements - is being implemented. This plan does not accord with Israel's promises to the American administration, which state that the fence in the Ariel area will remain open on the western side, thereby preventing even the appearance of annexation. But this is not only a gross breach of promise, which joins the failure to fulfill other road map commitments such as dismantling illegal settlement outposts or halting construction in the settlements. The constant, creeping annexation by Israel of land in the West Bank under the pretext of building the separation fence also constitutes a unilateral determination of the border, which contradicts the goal of reaching an agreement by mutual consent. The idea of a separation fence enjoys broad public support because it promises to reduce the number of terror attacks inside Israel. But Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government distorted this basic intention and turned the fence into a tool of ideology, thereby sparking numerous international denunciations. Now that Sharon has announced his plan for a unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, it appears that he is trying to "compensate" for the loss of Gaza by a rapid annexation of parts of the West Bank. He thereby confirms the suspicion that the withdrawal from Gaza is aimed not at facilitating a comprehensive peace agreement, but at unilaterally legitimizing the annexation of parts of the West Bank. In the face of this clear intention, the silence that has descended on the Labor Party is extremely puzzling. This party, which rightly promised Sharon a safety net for his plan to exit Gaza, has apparently lost its ability to distinguish between a safety net and criticism of a diplomatic mistake. It is possible that the chance of joining the Sharon government has somewhat addled the minds of the party's leaders; it is inexplicable that a party whose principal policy plank is a peace agreement, and that supports withdrawal, would lend its support, even by turning a blind eye, to a clear policy of annexation. The Labor Party remains the ideological alternative to the Likud. As the provider of a safety net, it has the ability to oppose the creeping annexation that Sharon is currently carrying out, and it must stand by its belief. The safety net that it is prepared to give Sharon cannot replace oversight, criticism and the drawing of red lines. %%% # U.S citizens who want to alert their representatives about increased settlement expansion on the West Bank which is happening RIGHT NOW can do so easily at: http://www.cflweb.org/congress_merge_.htm # Photos + report of June 16 A-Ram protest against the Wall The press conference + start of women's demo http://www.gush-shalom.org http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html Photos of the following women's protest march http://share.shutterfly.com/os.jsp?i=EeANWjlw2csWzqg&open=1 # The "Breaking the Silence" soldiers' exhibition continues in Tel Aviv (until June 25th) link for details [in Hebrew ]: http://www.shovrimshtika.org/hebrew/ and in English: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/440348.html # Arna's Children June schedule at: http://www.arna.info/Arna/movie.php?lang=heb # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps # Video footage of mass uprooting of olive trees and the women's resistance in Az Zawiya, June 7 and of resistance at Salfit against the construction of the monster Wall available at: http://www.womenspeacepalestine.org/news8junazzawiya.htm http://www.iwps-pal.org/ftpiwps/videos/salfit_june_17.rmvb (International Womens' Peace Service - IWPS) # Palestinians draw the map for understanding the Disengagement Plan http://www.nad-plo.org/images/maps/pdf/gaza.pdf Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il/ # Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Wed Jun 23 03:22:17 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:15 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] IDF raids exhibit in Tel-Aviv Message-ID: <40D8E959.13628.3B96112@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 גוש שלום ת www.gush-shalom.org/ International release +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ IDF raids exhibit in Tel-Aviv +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [The army, furious about the soldiers' exhibit, decided to react in a manner which is daily practice in the occupied territories - an illustration of what we always knew: in the long run the occupation corrupts the Israeli society.The following was put this evening on the Ha'aretz internet site.] IDF raids photo exhibit of soldiers who served in Hebron By Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondent Last Update: 22/06/2004 22:57 Hebrew/עברית: The Israel Defense Force's Military Police on Tuesday raided the "Breaking the Silence" exhibit of photographs taken by Nahal Brigade soldiers during their military service in Hebron, confiscating a folder containing the clips of articles about the exhibit and a videotape with statements made by some 70 soldiers about their experiences in the West Bank city. The four reservist soldiers who initiated and organized the exhibit were also summoned to interrogations Wednesday by Military Police. The army said the raid was meant to uncover evidence of violence and vandalism done to Palestinians and their property. The reservists who organized the show said the army was trying to intimidate and silence those soldiers who gave evidence about brutality in Hebron and to silence any other soldiers who planned to give evidence about what they have seen take place in that city. Micha Kurtz, one of the exhibit's organizers, said Tuesday, "We anticipated that the army would send the chief education officer or maybe even the Judge Advocate General to learn from the soldiers' evidence, because our main message was that every soldier age 18 is going to encounter such situations. "But instead, they sent the MPs," said Kurtz. "They are trying to frighten us and other soldiers who have expressed readiness to take part in the project," he said, accusing the army of preferring to repress criticism rather than learn from the evidence and testimony that was part of the exhibit. "The MPs, for example, didn't take the 60 sets of car keys that were illegally confiscated from Palestinians by soldiers in Hebron," he said, adding, "in fact, the IDF continues to deny the fact those keys were taken in the first place." The IDF Spokeswoman's office explained Tuesday that "The IDF educates its soldiers to behave according to moral standards in complex situations that include very difficult moral dilemmas. In the wake of reports quoting the participants in the exhibit about alleged crimes of violence and damage to property against Palestinians, the Judge Advocate General ordered a Military Police probe of the complaints. The MPs gave the exhibit's organizers a court order requiring them to hand over all the material that could help the inquiry and a summons to provide evidence and testimony to the investigators." The exhibit opened this month at the Tel Aviv Geographic Film School. It includes photographs taken by soldiers who served in Hebron whether as reservists or as conscripts. Many of the photographs were hung anonymously, without naming the photographer. The soldiers gave their images to photographer Miki Kratzman, who curated the show. Sixty of the 90 photos record aspects of the conflict with the Palestinians and settlers, and 30 depict the soldiers in their daily routines. Next week, the exhibit will go up at the Knesset. From info at gush-shalom.org Wed Jun 23 21:16:28 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:15 2004 Subject: (Fwd) Mevasseret Zion & Beit Suriq: Good Kites Make Good Neighbors Message-ID: <40D9E51C.25695.790F940@localhost> ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Ellen Rosenberg" To: Date sent: Wed, 23 Jun 2004 06:40:56 +0200 Shalom, We in Mevasseret Zion are having a joint kite event tomorrow afternoon - June 24 - at 16:30, in support of Beit Suriq and the other Arab villages that petitioned the High Court of Justice to change the route of the security fence. As originally planned, the fence would separate the village houses from their village terraces and fields. Here follows a press release Good Kites Make Good Neighbors Beit Suriq and Mevasseret Tzion On Thursday, June 24, 2004, at 16:30, kites will fly at Mevasseret Tzion and Beit Suriq as an act of solidarity and a sign of the neighborly relationship between the two communities. During the event, children and adults of both communities will make and fly kites, residents of Mevasseret beside Mevasseret's water tower and residents of Beit Suriq on an adjacent hill. The activity joins a series of events that have taken place since residents of Mevasseret discovered that the proposed route of the security fence passes close to the houses of Beit Suriq, preventing the villagers from reaching their fields and orchards. The fields and orchards are an important, and in some cases only, source of income for the families of Beit Suriq. In February 2004, because of the expected impact on their lives, Beit Suriq, Katana, Bidu, Beit Sira, Al-Qubeiba and six other villages included in an enclave to be created by the fence petitioned the High Court of Justice to change the route. Mevasseret residents feared that a fence on this route would create desperation and anger and that, instead of promoting peace, would upset the relative quiet that has existed between the two communities for some 37 years. Therefore, they asked the court to join the petition of the Arab villages. During the court deliberations, retired high-ranking military and police personnel testified. They claimed that the route of the fence, in addition to being extremely inconsiderate, would not even provide the sought-for security. They suggested an alternate route that would provide security to Israeli citizens while interfering as little as possible in the lives and income of the villagers. Deliberations ended in May but the court has not yet given its decision. Residents of the area from both sides have held a number of events to generate support for changing the route. There have been gatherings of Mevasseret and Beit Suriq residents and tours to the proposed route. A Beit Suriq/Mevasseret women's group has been formed. Some two weeks ago, a visit was made to the Al-Sheik family whose house is on the proposed route and who has been served a demolition order. The kite event is one of several planned future events. All are invited. For further details about the kite event: Ellen Rosenberg 02-5337491 Gita Dror 02-5344825 Hagai Agmon-Snir 050-7713697 Shay Shohami 054-4630907 ------- End of forwarded message ------- From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Jun 27 00:42:12 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:15 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] The real opposition - on the ground. Reports + articles anti-Wall struggle Message-ID: <40DE09D4.18454.17C108CD@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ Reports + articles anti-Wall struggle International release - אנגלית עם קישורים לעברית June 26 The real opposition - on the ground ++++++++++++++++++++ A-RAM (East-Jerusalem) - violent dispersal of peaceful protest: During today's joint protest against the Jerusalem Wall cutting through A- Ram: dozens of Palestinian and Israeli protesters wounded & random arrests ++++++++++++++++++++ [] Report of the A-Ram demo against the Wall by Adam Keller & links to Y-net and Haaretz [] An opposition which doesn't take part in the real battle by Uri Avnery [] Standing against the claws of the wall by Tanya Reinhart [] Court Orders Construction of the Wall in Az Zawiya Stopped P.S. See our calendar links & announcements - photos and video footage of recent actions - new maps, brochures, eye-witness reports - films, expositions, refusnik links - Gush Shalom details re website, donations, subscription to email ~~~ [] Report of the A-Ram demo against the Wall by Adam Keller & links to Y-net and Haaretz Hebrew at request / עברית על פי בקשה It had been planned meticulously. The initiative came from the A-Ram municipality - a huge demonstration including as many Israelis as could be convinced to come on the weekend before the Supreme Court's decision over the fate of A-Ram. But, from how it went it seems that somebody up there decided that it was not in their interest to have today an orderly demonstration of Palestinians together with Israelis. That, so short before the Supreme Court was to give its decision, it was much better to transform it into something in which "anything could happen." "Are you you going to A-Ram" asked the border policeman at the roadblock. "Yes, that's where we are going." All of us were ready to jump out and go on foot should the bus again be prohibited, but the policeman just smiled and said: "Have a good day." So, the five buses, full of Israeli activists - from Gush Shalom and Ta'ayush - went further to the point where the main Jerusalem-Ramallah road had been demolished in prepararion for erection of the "Separation Wall". Huge slabs of prefabricated wall were lying ready in a long row, to be erected as soon as the Supreme Court would give its final approval on Monday. Five young people pulled out hammers and tried to hit the concrete slabs, but the grey monsters were not even scratched. The rest of us took up signs: THE WALL MUST FALL / THE WALL BLOCKS PASSAGE TO SCHOOLS AND HOSPITALS / WALL EQUALS WAR / ISRAELIA AND PALESTINIANS TOGETHER AGAINST THE WALL / IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO LIVE WITH THIS WALL. A little bit further and the inhabitants of A-Ram came over to meet us. Row after row of Palestinians, in their thousands: young and old, men and women, some in traditional clothing, others in jeans. At the head of the joint march, Mayor Sirhan Sulayme - whose contact with Israeli peace groups goes back to the Oslo years. Beside him KM Ahmed Tibi and former KMs Tamar Gozanski and Uri Avnery, together with members of the Paelestinian Parliament and Muslim and Christian Clergy. After them the marching band of the Palestinian Boy Scouts, some with drums and trumpets other with the bagpipes, a relic of British rule. We walked in neat and orderly ranks - but not for long. Suddenly young people started running backwards, with teargas cannisters exploding all over. On the crest of the hill the border guards were standing in a row, shooting again and again. The young pipers tried valiantly to march on, for two or three minutes - but it was just impossible under such a barrage. "This was a prepared ambush! I saw exactly how it started: they opened up without any provocation from our side. They waited just until the wind was blowing from them to us - to get maximum effect from the gas" said a young Ta'ayush activist, fresh from military service. There were some fifteen of us crouched around a corner, holding to our noses slices of onion, distributed by Palestinians as anti-dote against the gas. The refuge turned out to be temporary: a border police car came charging around the corner shooting further tear gas cannisters. Quick, quick in here - a Palestinian called in Hebrew from side street, guiding us through a maze of back passages. Behind us youths were dragging market stalls to form a barricade across the main street. An orderly and peaceful protest march of thousands was broken into many small clusters, keeping loose communications via mobile phones. Some found refuge and welxome in Palestinian homes and offices; others were pursued deeper into the streets of A-Ram. Uri Avnery had managed to get into a shop near the junction where the police violence started. From there, the experienced journalist-activist opened a direct line to the media: "This looks like a real battlefield; every ten minutes or so, the youngsters are emerging from one of the alleys. They throw stones, also that they are toof ar from the Border Police to hit, and the police open up again very heavily. I have myself enough onion for the whiffs which I get here... Just now they shot a cannister directly at an ambulance crew which was picking up one of the wounded." >From tear gas, the Border guards went on to "rubber" bullets, intensive use of their clubs and not to forget the water canon (which was partly a blessing, clearing the air of gas). Altogether some fifty people got wounded, among them KM Tibi, Sheikh Taysir Tamimi who heads the Muslim courts in Palestine, and a press photographer of Yediot Aharonot... A bit further behind, some of the organizers recreated a kind of headquarters in the middle of the street: Mayor Salayme was there; as was Neve Gordon of Ta'ayush and the Palestinian Scout Master. "Although the people are scattered from what I hear over the phone there are Israelis together with Palestinians in every small groups" said Gordon. "We are trying to reason with the border police commander here; I told him on the phone that if he pulls his men back several hundred meters the violence will stop immediately; so far he is very intransigent." Only after some three hours, and after launching a particularly heavy attack in the course of which there were shot live bullets did the police finally withdraw. We could file back into our buses, but there was still the matter of ten detainees: five Israelis and five Palestinians. So, we all went over to the police station at Neve Yakov (Jewish neighborhood adjacent to A-Ram). The latest news: the Israeli detainees were told that they could go, but they refused to leave the station without the Palestinians. Some hundred activists are still vigiling outside at this late hour. On Monday morning the Supreme Court will take the decision so fateful for tens of thousands of A-Ram inhabitants. Quite some of today's demonstrators will be there in the courtroom at 9.00am; Bat Shalom women will already start a vigil outside the court at 8.45. See also: 'Yedioth' camerman beaten by Border Police at fence protest By Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondent Last Update: 26/06/2004 20:24 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/443608.html Hebrew / עברית http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/443603.html and: http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2937935,00.html [] An opposition which doesn't take part in the real battle by Uri Avnery [Hebrew soon at the site www.gush-shalom.org עברית בקרוב באתר] "The Starling Went to the Raven" 26.6.04 An old, worn-out whore who waits in vain for a man to seek her favors is a pitiful sight indeed. The Israeli Labor Party is in this pathetic position, but it is difficult to feel any pity for it. For months now, the party has been waiting at the door of the Sharon government, hoping to be invited in at any moment. >From time to time Sharon opens the door, shoots her a contemptuous look and slams the door shut in her face. This week it happened again, for the nth time. Usually Shimon Peres is blamed for this situation. Quite rightly, of course. Peres is longing for the position of Foreign Minister the way a man dying of thirst in the desert longs for water. As a member of the government he could meet with kings and presidents, take part in international conferences, make solemn declarations and do all the things that give meaning to his life. For him, life in opposition is no life at all. But the question is: Why was this man elected to his position as executive chairman of the party? Those who elected him knew where he wants to go. After all, he has already served as Sharon's foreign minister, spreading the good tidings that Sharon is no longer Sharon, that the leopard has changed every one of his spots and is now just like one of the sheep on his farm. As the chief of the largest parliamentary faction outside the governing coalition, Peres is entitled by law to be addressed as the "Leader of the Opposition". No title could suit him less. While Menachem Begin, for example, flourished in opposition and spent 29 happy years there, Peres wilts like a flower without water. He has no idea what to do. If he were offered a plan for opposition activities on a plate, he wouldn't know what to do with it. From the very beginning of his career, as an instructor in the Working Youth movement, Peres was a man of the government. As an assistant of David Ben-Gurion, as the Director General of the Defense Ministry, as a minister and as Prime Minister - he always identified with the government, worked for the government and represented the government. When Ben-Gurion compelled him to leave Labor in 1965 and participate in the founding of the opposition Raffi party, he was miserable and used the first pretext to rejoin the government. When he lost an election and was stuck in opposition, he looked for the first opportunity to join a "national unity" government. From this point of view, Peres is a perfect symbol of his party. From 1933, when it assumed power in the Zionist organization's governing institutions, until the 1977 "upheaval" which brought the Likud to power, Labor enjoyed 44 uninterrupted years in power. Indeed, the Likud victory dumfounded everybody. Until that moment, nobody could even imagine a government without Labor. At the time, a Member of Parliament could not but pity the Labor members, who drifted along the Knesset corridors like ghosts. When they mounted the rostrum to speak about some subject, they automatically assumed the pose of government spokesmen and had to remind themselves in mid-speech that it was, after all, their job to criticize. Throughout the last year one could hardly find a single sign that the Labor Party was in opposition. True, it regularly submits no-confidence motions, but that is an empty weekly ritual that is not taken seriously by anybody either in the Knesset or outside. On no subject whatsoever does Labor really fight the government. It identifies itself with the Thatcherist economic policy of Treasury Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, which hits the poor (who vote for the Likud anyhow) and serves the economic elite (which belongs to the Labor Party). It cannot fight against the settlements, since Peres himself founded the first settlement in the center of the West Bank, Kedumim. The Separation Wall which imprisons the Palestinians in ghettos was initiated by the Labor Party, and when Sharon became Prime Minister he only changed its path. The mantra "We Have No Partner for Peace" was coined by the Labor leaders, Ehud Barak and Shlomo Ben-Ami. The idea of annexing the "settlement blocs" was conceived by Yossi Beilin, then a leading Labor member. The close relations between Shimon Peres and Ariel Sharon are not accidental. As the prophet Amos said (3,3): "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" Both came from the same place: the court of David Ben-Gurion. Both represent variations of the same ideology. Indeed, as the ancient Hebrew proverb goes: "Not for nothing did the starling go to the raven, but because they are two of the same kind." The very name "Labor Party" is a misnomer - it is neither a party nor has it anything to do with labor. It has no roots at all in four of the five major components of Israeli society: the religious, the Oriental Jews, the new immigrants from Russia and the Arab citizens. It is limited to the fifth component - the Ashkenazi (European) Jews, especially the older generation. This is a well-established, privileged, indeed pampered elite that is comfortable in the existing situation, with nothing "burning in its bones" and no inclination whatsoever to get involved in party politics (with the odd exception). The party is in a shambles. It has, in fact, no real local branches, only small groups of interested functionaries. Worse: there are no signs of a new leadership, or even new ideas, after the collapse of the old concepts. One sees only a group of tired politicians, each of whom looks out only for himself, fighting to get a few minutes on television, where he can repeat obsolete phrases from the past. The public listens and yawns. It is these politicians who elected Peres, because they could not agree on any other candidate for party chairman. This is not a symphony orchestra, but only a bunch of street musicians, each with his own tune in his head. All this would not be important, if it did not have such grave implications. The absence of a real opposition creates a void in the political landscape and leaves the entire arena to Sharon and his henchmen. The small Meretz party, now called "Yahad" ("Together") is no effective opposition either - not only because of its size, but because it suffers from many of Labor's afflictions. It does not take part in the daily battles on the ground. It does not fight against the monstrous wall. The Prime Minister's bribery affair, which would have provided a field day for any real opposition, did not evoke a reaction from Yahad. Labor, of course, kept mum. The small parties that represent the Arab citizens are much more active, but most of the Jewish public ignores them, much as it ignores the Arab public in general. This is a disastrous situation. It sows despair among those who are longing for change but see no viable substitute that can assume power. It explains the odd result of all public opinion polls: the majority is ready to make sacrifices for peace, the majority votes for Sharon. A change of government is impossible without a change of opposition. And a new opposition has a chance of arousing enthusiasm only if its agenda is really opposed to the government's agenda. For that, courage, faith and a fighting spirit are needed. Until such an opposition comes to life, inside or outside the Labor Party ~~~ [] Standing against the claws of the wall by Tanya Reinhart Yediot Aharonot and Ynet, Wednsday June 23, 2004. Translated from Hebrew by Mark Marshall and Edeet Ravel. Hebrew http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2936546,00.html Along the route of the separation barrier in the West Bank, a new culture is springing up: on one side, soldiers and bulldozers; on the other, Israelis and Palestinians embracing the land and the trees, trying to save them both. Last week, Sharon decided he was secure enough in the role of man of peace to start pushing the wall towards the settlements of Ariel and Kedumim, deep in the West Bank, about 20 kilometres from Israel. And since then the Israelis and Palestinians have also been there. The breathtaking scenery of the Ariel district has been sliced up by the new roads that the rulers have built for their own exclusive use. Beneath them lie the old roads of the vanquished. There, on the lower level, is where the other Israel-Palestine treads. Israeli youths arrive in settlement buses and then make their way on foot and in Palestinian taxis among the checkpoints. They trek between the villages in groups or alone. Some sleep in the villages. Others will travel the same route the next day to reach the demonstration. Everywhere they go they are greeted with blessings and beaming faces. "Tfaddalu," the children in the doorways say, as if they had never heard of stone-throwing. Like the inhabitants of other Palestinian villages along the route of the fence, those in the Ariel area have opened their hearts and their homes to the Israelis who come to support their non-violent resistance to the barrier that is robbing them of their land. The Israelis who go into the villages are not afraid of Hamas. If they fear anyone, it is the Israeli army, which can decide at any time, on a commander’s whim, to douse the demonstrators with inordinate quantities of tear-gas or to declare the area a closed military zone (i.e., closed to Israelis) and arrest any Israeli who tries to remain in the area. What brings young Israelis to stand with the Palestinians in front of the army is the conviction that there is a basic line of justice that must not be crossed. It was not security considerations that determined the present route of the fence. If the goal were to prevent terrorist infiltration, the fence could have been built differently. The route planned by Col. (res.) Shaul Arieli, head of the Barak government’s "Peace Administration", also deviated from the 1967 border and enclosed the large settlement blocs, placing them on the Israeli side. But the 300 square kilometres of West Bank territory which that route would have devoured is less than a third of what the present route will grab. Arieli’s plan would have cut off 56,000 Palestinians from contiguous connection with the West Bank; the current route will strand 400,000 (Eldar, Ha'aretz, 16.2.04). Sharon and the army have designed the barrier with a view to taking over as much West Bank land along the border with Israel as possible, and to gradually empty it of its inhabitants. Qalqiliyah, which has been isolated from its lands and the rest of the West Bank, is already a dead city. Many of its inhabitants have fled to seek subsistence at the edges of other West Bank towns; those who remain have succumbed to the despair and decline that characterizes prisoners. This is what lies in store for Biddu, Beit Sureik and the other villages between the settlement Giv’at Zeev and the Israeli town Mevasseret Zion. Now it is the turn of Zawiya and Deir Balout, which lie between the settlement Ariel and the Israeli Rosh Ha'ayin. In the army’s language, Ariel and Kedumim are the “claws” of the fence, claws that are now sunk into the West Bank, grabbing a giant chunk of Palestinian land that will be transferred to Israel. As part of the process, it will be necessary to “cleanse” the land of its inhabitants by slow strangulation, as in Qalqiliyah. The Israelis who face the army went to the West Bank because they know there is a law that is higher than the army’s laws of closed military zones: there is international law, which forbids ethnic cleansing, and there is the law of conscience. But what brings them back, day after day, is the new covenant that has been struck between the peoples of this land, a pact of fraternity and friendship between Israelis and Palestinians who love life, the land, the evening breeze. They know that it is possible to live differently on this land. http://www.tau.ac.il/~reinhart ~~~ []Court Orders Construction of the Wall in Az Zawiya Stopped ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: IWPS - via Dorothy Naor Date sent: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 23:46:46 +0200 Some good news for a change! Let's hope the work stops, period. Dorothy AZ ZAWIYA, WEST BANK. Earlier this afternoon the Israeli Supreme Court issued a ruling ordering the construction work on the Apartheid Wall in Az Zawiya to be stopped. This is being viewed as a victory by the village of Az Zawiya as well as the Israeli and international activists which have been protesting non-violently against the construction of the Apartheid Wall, also known as the Separation Barrier or simply the Wall, almost daily since 7 June. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) response to the non-violent demonstrations against the construction of the Apartheid Wall in Az Zawiya has involved a disproportionate use of force. There have been hundreds of injuries, mostly caused by rubber bullets and tear gas among the Palestinian, Israeli and International protesters during the non-violent demonstrations. The severity of the tear gas injuries which include convulsions, severe breathing problems as well as miscarriages has created an international cry of concern regarding the use non-lethal chemical weapons during peaceful demonstrations. The planned route of the Apartheid Wall will completely enclose the villages of Az Zawiya, Deir Ballut and Rafat. The villages will be completely cut off not only from Israel but also their own agricultural land and the rest of the West Bank. Unlike other Palestinian cities which have been entirely enclosed by the Wall, these are agricultural villages are completely dependent on their land for economic survival. A look at the map will show that there is no security basis for taking this land and isolating these villages in an enclave. A detailed map of the area which includes the route of the Wall can be found at www.reliefweb.int/hic-opt/maps/Closure/mar/Salfit_closure0304_600.pdf “I hope this decision will stop our pain. This decision is a direct result of the efforts of the people of Az Zawiya as well as the Israeli and International activists who have stood with us” said Anan Ashqar, from the Az Zawiya Popular Committee to Stop the Wall. “The Israeli government is always trying to take our land…we are always facing new orders of the Israel trying to take our land, our struggle is not over. There is continuous aggressive land confiscation in this area,” adds Ashqar. For further information, including a more detailed Press Pack containing background information on the village of Az Zawiya please contact the IWPS Office: 09-2516-644 Mobile: 055 854 988/067 870 198 or IWPS@palnet.com. P.S. See our calendar links & announcements - photos and video footage of recent actions - new maps, brochures, eye-witness reports - films, expositions, refusnik links - Gush Shalom details re website, donations, subscription to email - photos and video footage of recent actions \/ # Photos + report of June 16 A-Ram protest against the Wall The press conference + start of demo http://www.gush-shalom.org http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html Photos of the following women's protest march http://share.shutterfly.com/os.jsp?i=EeANWjlw2csWzqg&open=1 # Video footage of mass uprooting of olive trees and resistance (in the framework of construction of the monster Wall) in Az Zawiya & Salfit: http://www.womenspeacepalestine.org/news8junazzawiya.htm http://www.iwps-pal.org/ftpiwps/videos/salfit_june_17.rmvb (International Womens' Peace Service - IWPS) # U.S citizens who want to alert their representatives about increased settlement expansion on the West Bank which is happening RIGHT NOW can do so easily at: http://www.cflweb.org/congress_merge_.htm - new maps, brochures, eye-witness reports \/ # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Palestinians draw the map for understanding the Disengagement Plan http://www.nad-plo.org/images/maps/pdf/gaza.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) - films, expositions, refusnik links \/ # The "Breaking the Silence" soldiers' exhibition photo gallery at: http://www.shovrimshtika.org/hebrew/modules.php?name=coppermine stories (Hebrew only) http://www.shovrimshtika.org/hebrew/modules.php?name=News article in English: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/440348.html # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il/ - Gush Shalom details re website, donations, subscription to email info \/ -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Jul 1 09:30:52 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:15 2004 Subject: Anti-Wall struggle vindicated at the Supreme Court Message-ID: <40E3CBBC.23548.5516E0F@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ Anti-Wall struggle vindicated at the Supreme Court [] Surprise at the Supreme Court [] A sober appraisal of the verdict - by Adam Keller [] Back to the Green Line - Gush Shalom ad [] 200,000 people out of bounds - by Danny Rubinstein, Ha’aretz June 28 [] Friday: verdict on Palestinian demonstrators arrested in A-Ram [] Tel-Aviv Symposium: The real plans behind Sharon's disengagement plan P.S. See our calendar links & announcements - photos and video footage of recent actions - new maps, brochures, eye-witness reports - films, expositions, refusnik links - Gush Shalom details re website, donations, subscription to email ~~~ [] Surprise at the Supreme Court Jerusalem, June 30, 2004 This morning, the hard-fought struggle around "The Separation Wall" was transplanted - from the environment of sun-baked West Bank hills and churning bulldozers and uprooted olive trees and exploding tear gas canisters, and into the exquisitely neat hall of the Supreme Court in Jerusalem. That hall was highly crowded as we waited tensely for the final verdict. A lot has gone into the particular case before the court this morning. Should the wall go up along the planned route, Beit Surik and Bidu and six other villages north-east of Jerusalem stand to lose most of their agricultural land and become an isolated enclave, surrounded and enclosed on almost all sides. The villagers' tenacious struggle and refusal to give up their land, their daily unarmed marches towards the encroaching bulldozers, had already cost five of them their lives - three of these being shot down during a single bloody day at Bidu. This struggle succeeded in arousing the sympathy and solidarity of quite a few Israelis: young anarchists who came day after day to share in their struggle and the risk; the people of Mevaseret Tzion, the Israeli town right across the pre-'67 border from Beit Surik, many of whose inhabitants joined in the appeal against the route of the fence supposedly intended for their own security; the ex-generals organised in "The council for Peace and Security" who presented an affidavit stating, on the basis of their professional reputation, that the route of the fence was wrong from the purely military point of view... Israelis and Palestinians involved in the struggle were there in big numbers this morning - as were quite a few representatives of the other side, military officers and security operatives with their inevitable sunglasses. Several people had with them this morning's Ha'aretz, in which the editorial enumerated the great hardships caused to Palestinian population by the Wall and called for amelioration, without once mentioning the fact (obviously known to the editors) that the judges were to rule today on the very same issue. In the last few minutes before the judges' entry, intensive speculation and hot debates between optimists and pessimists flared up. "What do you think? What can we hope for?" asked anxioulsy a young activist who just a few days ago spent time in police detention, following the anti-Wall demo at A-Ram. "Better not expect too much. Very often these kind of case ends in a colorless, vague compromise" warned a grizzled, white-haired lawyer. But when Supreme Court President Aharon Barak filed in a few minutes later, flanked by his colleagues Eliyahu Mazza and Mishael Cheshin, he was sharp and incisive from beginning to end of his presentation. "We have been presented with an appeal by the inhabitants of several Palestinian villages, disputing eight separate confiscation orders whose purpose is the building of the Separation Fence. "First, we had to deal with the fundamental issue: does the government has the authority to build a fence within Judea and Samaria and confiscate land for that purpose? It is our definite opinion that, were the fence built in order to achieve political purposes, its building would have been utterly inconsistent with International Law and thus illegal. However, we reject the appellants' contention that such was the government's purpose in building the fence. We see no reason to dispute the state's position that the purpose is purely one of defence against a threat to the security of Israel's citizens, threatened by suicide bombers. But even having the authority to build the fence, the government is duty bound to keep the right balance security needs with the rights and interests of the local population which might get hurt by its erection. The government's duty to act with proportionality, to cause no more damage than absolutely necessary, is laid down explicitly both in International Law and in the Israeli administrative law - and the state did not give proper consideration to that duty. While the security considerations are highly important, due consideration must be given to the fact that the fence damages the daily life of thirty-five thousand local inhabitants. Thousands of dunums [Dunum = about 1/4 acre.Ed.] are taken up by the fence route itself. Tens of thousands dunums more are cut off from their owners. The proposed permits regime, which would give access to the land under restrictive conditions cannot significantly reduce the damage. [Through earlier appeals, the Supreme Court was made aware that in villages where the Separation Fence was already erected, the army is often keeping closed the 'agriculatural gates' which are supposed to give farmers access to their land - in many cases causing irreversible damage to plantings left untended. ed.]. The entire fabric of daily life in around the fence is severally damage. In light of the above, we rule that the military commander had not taken proper care to balance security needs with the interests and needs of local population, and that he must reconsider and and reduce the damage to these needs and interests (even if it cannot be completely avoided). While we recognize the state's contention that the original route gives an additional amount of security as compared to the proposed alternative routes, such as the one proposed by the Council for Peace and Security. But this addition is the amount of security is not proportional to the severe damage caused by the proposed route of the fence would cause to the local population - damage which can be significantly reduced by defining a new route. Therefore, the state has not fulfilled its duty of acting with proportionality. In conclusion, we declare six of the eight confiscation orders subjected to our consideration null and void, we uphold one of them, and we order the state to reconsider the last one in light of the principles we have set forth." Commentators on the radio soon made the import more plain: 30 kilometers of fence, out of the 40 dealt with in this case, would have to be changed; three kilometers of already erected fence would need to be torn down, and in other section the army would have to make restitution for the damage caused by its "infrastructure work", especially the cutting down of hundreds of olive trees. In a parting blow, the judges ordered the state to pay the Palestinian appellants twenty thousand Shekels in lawyers' fees - which, in terms of the Supreme Court's etiquette, may be considered a high indication of the court's disapproval of the government's case. [] A sober appraisal of the verdict - by Adam Keller It was a surprise for virtually all of us present. Out in the courthouse lobby, Brigadier General Danny Tirza was fast moving from one TV crew to another, crying out: "This is a disaster, a black day for the state of Israel! Our judges have handed Arafat a major victory on a silver platter!". His words were soon echoed on the airwaves by the entire extreme right, including several government ministers, as soon as they heard the news. Adv. Muhammad Dahleh, who represented the Palestinian villagers, was clearly elated and praised the judges' courage. It is not often given to an Israeli Arab lawyer representing Palestinians under occupation - more often than not a thankless and heartbreaking job - to achieve this much for his clients. And Uri Avnery of Gush Shalom commented: "The court has restrained the trampling dance of Sharon's bulldozers through the Palestinian fields and olive groves". By now, the judges' words reverberated around the country and the world, causing a sharp controversy with rightists and leftists taking up their predictable positions. It is time for a sober appraisal of what was achieved - and what was not -at the court today. It is definitely a piece of good news, which we had sorely needed - especially on such a week of renewed bloody escalation (the killing of senior Palestinian militia leaders in highly questionable circumstances during an army invasion of Nablus; the Palestinian riposte of blowing up an army outpost in the Gaza strip and shooting an improvised rocket which killed an Israeli child in the town of Sderot - followed by an extensive Israeli invasion of the same Strip from which we are supposed to "disengage", and massive defoliation by army bulldozers; the killing of an Israeli truck driver north of Ramallah). With the Israeli society and political system as they are nowadays, it takes considerable courage for judges to declare in writing security needs must be balanced against the needs and interests of Palestinians. In the eyes of quite a few Israelis, one additional percent of security for themselves is well worth causing a hundred percent increase in Palestinian suffering. Judge Barak and his colleagues well know full well that, should a new suicide bombing happen in the near future, they are likely to become the scapegoats. (At that, the court's ruling might have been quite different but for the fact that in the past months Israel enjoyed a long respite from such attacks.) The verdict offers immediate relief to the people of Bidu, Beit Surif and their neighbors. And Judge Barak stated explicitly stated that his ruling would serve as the example and test case for all other pending cases regarding other sections of the Fenece/Wall. In particular, it would obviously apply to the impending case of A-Ram - different since it applies to urban rather than village Palestinians, but highly similar in that it there, too, the proposed route of the Wall would severely and irreparably dislocate and tear apart a whole fabric of daily life, affecting tens of thousands of people. Also, the verdict states clearly the inadmissiability of erecting a fence or wall for the purpose of achieving political aims, such as the de-facto annexation of territory. While the court ruled that that there was no such intention with regard to the Beit Surif sector brought today under its purview, it is quite possible that the judges would rule differently with regard to the most controversial section - the so-called Ariel Corridor, where the Wall is envisaged as penetrating dozens of killometers into the West Bank so as to keep control of the settlement-city of Ariel and its environs (and in the process, hopelessly break up the territorial continuity of any future Palestinian state). Since the Ariel Corridor is anyway the subject of a hot debate, both inside the Sharon Cabinet and between that cabinet and the Bush Administration, the Supreme Court ruling may tip the balance in favor of its being finally scotched. On the debit side, the judges did rule that the government does have the authority to build a fence within "Judea and Samaria" (significantly, they used the annexationist term) and confiscate land for the purpose, and that causing SOME damage to Palestinians inhabitants is acceptable, though it should be minimised. It can be expected that in some months a new route for the Fence/Wall will be prepared and win the court's approval, and that some Palestinians (hopefully, far fewer than previously) will still get that their land confiscated; and these unlucky individuals would have little further recourse or means of effective opposition. Moreover, today's ruling can hardly be separated from the one expected on July 9 from the International Court in the Hague. As officials at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem were quick to point out, the fact that an Israeli court made a quite critical ruling on the Wall would help the Sharon Government shield itself from the far sharper verdict expected at in the Dutch seat of government. With all that, the overall balance still seems to be positive, and the furious reaction of the army and extreme right is far from unreasonable. To quote Adv. Dahleh again: "The verdict from the Hague may be far better, but the one from Jerusalem is the one which is going to be actually implemented on the ground..." Latest updates in Haaretz: Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/446134.htmls English: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/445720.html [] Back to the Green Line - Gush Shalom ad (to be published in Ha'aretz on July 2) The Separation Wall is wrong by its very nature. It's not separation that we need, but an agreement. The Supreme Court has not accepted this principle - but it has handed a great victory to the peace forces, nevertheless.. By deciding that the needs of the local population and International Law carry no less weight than the decrees of the military commander, the court has vindicated our stubborn, joint Israeli-Palestinian struggle against the path of the wall. Now they seek a new path. But the only reasonable one is the Green Line. Gush Shalom, We would be grateful for donations to help defray the cost of this ad, to P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033, Phone 972-3-5221732. www.gush-shalom.org Requests for information about current actions: info@gush-shalom.org [] 200,000 people out of bounds - by Danny Rubinstein, Ha’aretz June 28 Hopefully this comprehensive article, published two days before the court's ruling, will now turn out to have been a self-defying prophecy. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/444251.html Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=443737 They're not building a separation fence here, but rather prisons for tens of thousands of Palestinians, according to the Palestinian civic leaders in Jerusalem's northeastern neighborhoods. Last Wednesday they sat, as they have done every day for the past few weeks, in the office of Sirhan Salayme, head of the A- Ram local council, and discussed the separation fence. Salayme, a veteran Fatah activist, says that ever since details of the planned fence became known, he hasn't dealt with any other matter. If the plan is implemented, the lives of residents throughout the area are destined to change to such a degree that it will be nearly impossible to live there. Much has already been said about the wall and fence under construction in what is termed "the Jerusalem envelope," but what is being done now in the Arab neighborhoods between Jerusalem and Ramallah is unlike anything else, first because this is a crowded urban area with some quarter-million residents, and second because the presence in the region of numerous Jewish neighborhoods and settlements has prompted those planning the route of the walls and fences to perform juggling tricks that boggle the imagination. The entire mess of problems which the fence created in the area between Qalqilyah and Ariel is nothing compared to the trouble brewing in northeastern Jerusalem. Israelis don't know Salayme and his colleagues, the neighboring council heads, say that Israelis who are in favor of the separation fence neither know nor understand what is currently happening in these neighborhoods. Were they to visit there they would be astounded - it's simply madness, says the owner of a shoe factory in A-Ram, who maintains trade relations with stores in Tel Aviv. "Imagine that they build a high wall, completely impassable, between Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan, and that in several places it cuts across the Ayalon highway, thereby transferring the Hatikva neighborhood to Ramat Gan," he says to assist comprehension. The history of the area where the fence is going up is well known. After the Six- Day War, when East Jerusalem was annexed to Israel and its borders expanded, the government decided to include the small Atarot airport within Jerusalem's city limits. The presumption behind this move, primarily touted by then mayor Teddy Kollek, was that Israel's capital needed an airport. To implement this idea, a sort of long finger of land pointing northward allowed the airport to be included within Jerusalem's jurisdiction. During the subsequent 37 years, the Arab population in East Jerusalem nearly quadrupled, from about 65,000 to some 230,000. The Arab neighborhoods could not absorb the new population, particularly because construction permits were not issued for them, and that's why thousands of Arab Jerusalemites built their homes in new neighborhoods that developed outside the city limits, i.e. in West Bank territory but adjacent to Jerusalem. At the same time, large Jewish neighborhoods like Pisgat Ze'ev and Neve Yaakov were built in the open spaces within the northern borders of the city, and a series of settlements beyond, reaching all the way to the Ramallah district's eastern boundary. For over 20 years there were no closures or roadblocks, and residents did not require transit permits as Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians, moved about freely throughout the terrain. The northeastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem became a crowded urban space containing businesses, banks, schools, factories, restaurants and entertainment venues. The route of the separation fence in these neighborhoods does not exactly correspond to the municipal border. In many instances, the fence route deviates from the border for a myriad of reasons, most of which have to do with topographic conditions, the road system and the housing density. These are the Arab neighborhoods outside the wall and the fences, which are actually the northern neighborhoods of Jerusalem: A-Ram, the largest, which incorporates the Postal neighborhood (Dahiyat Albarid) and has about 60,000 residents, of which 60 to 70 percent hold Jerusalem identity cards. Anata and the Peace neighborhood (Dahiyat A-Salaam) have a combined population of some 30,000 residents, about half of whom hold Jerusalem ID cards. Shuafat refugee camp (sometimes called the Anata camp) is home to some 30,000 people, nearly all of whom carry Jerusalem IDs. The camp is within Jerusalem city limits, but outside the fence. The villages to the east, Hizma and Jebaa, have a population of 8,000, the vast majority of which hold West Bank IDs. The neighborhoods to the north, Kfar Akev and Samiramis, have around 20,000 residents, half of whom hold Jerusalem IDs. Many homes in these neighborhoods are within Jerusalem city limits, but outside the fence. Qalandiyah refugee camp has some 30,000 residents, most of whom have West Bank papers. Bir Naballah neighborhood and the villages in its vicinity have 35,000 residents, most with West Bank papers. Thus, in the entire region outside the fence and the separation wall there are over 200,000 residents. and it is estimated that about a third of these hold Jerusalem IDs, and are entitled to enter Jerusalem. The daily lives of residents who do not have Jerusalem IDs are also tied to the city. Many of them have been issued permits by the military authorities - they work or study in Jerusalem, and need access to the city's health and welfare services. Daily commuters This data was taken into account in the fence plan, which includes constructing large facilities at the Qalandiyah checkpoint through which Palestinians with Jerusalem IDs and military permits will be able to enter on their way to Jerusalem. It will be Jerusalem's "Erez crossing," say the fence planners. West of it, near the road to Bitunya, a passageway for trucks and goods will be constructed along the lines of the Karni crossing. How well will the crossing function? Salayme brings an example from the school system. A-Ram has some 20,000 students, children and teenagers, but only 5,000 are enrolled in local schools. The remaining 15,000 students commute each morning to schools in Jerusalem. Once the fence is complete, they will have to travel northward along the cement wall that is already going up the middle of the main road. After reaching Qalandiyah, they will be able to head back southward and enter through the crossing into Jerusalem. The 15,000 students will be joined each day by thousands of others - no one knows the exact number - seeking to enter Jerusalem. Will the crossing points be able to handle the traffic load? Gaza laborers sometimes come to the Erez crossing at 1 A.M. so as to gain entry into Israel in the morning hours. The number crossing at Erez is far lower than the number of Palestinians destined to cross at Qalandiyah each morning. Even if the most accommodating crossing arrangements are put in place - and it's hard to imagine that will be the case if the violence continues - this is an impossible plan. Several large schools are also located along the road to Jerusalem: the small, private Al-Iman School, the Lutheran church's vocational school, Al-Ummah College operated by the Waqf (the Muslim religious trust), the Dar Alyatim vocational school, and the Rosary Convent's girls' school. Three of these schools are within the territory surrounded by the fence; two will be left outside it. How will the students, some of whom live within Jerusalem and some outside the city limits, get across? All will come to the Qalandiyah crossing between 7 and 8 A.M. Already at this stage, when the erection of fences and walls has not been completed, the Qalandiyah crossing is a crowded and filthy site that inflicts tremendous suffering on all those who enter. No one in the region has any doubt that when tens of thousands more join the fray each morning, it will be hell. The residents of these neighborhoods have also been informed of the further construction of internal fences that will provide passage into the settlements. These fences, the second phase of the separation fence project, will create five large islands in which the Palestinian populace will concentrate in quasi-ghettos. The people who really grasp what sort of future awaits all these neighborhoods, which form a Palestinian development zone par excellence, are the businessmen. In recent weeks prices have plummetted by dozens of percent in the shops lining the main roadway to Ramallah. "The whole area is going downhill rapidly," says Haj Mussa Tayim, chief among the traditional neighborhood dignitaries, most of whom are scions of the large Hebron families that moved to Jerusalem in the last few generations. "It's a new Nakba," he says. That's the Palestinian terms for "The Catastrophe" that happened with the creation of Israel in 1948, and Tayim is quoting a large poster that hangs on the wall of the A-Ram council, explaining to readers the extent of the catastrophe they are about to encounter. [] Friday: verdict on Palestinian demonstrators arrested in A-Ram Four Palestinian demonstraotrs - Mohammed Khalil Mansour, Khaled Fuad Salameh and the boys Nidal Mousa Salem Ka'abneh (17) and Mohammed Ahmed Amr (15) are still held in custody since being arrested at Saturday's demonstration in A-Ram, while five Israelis who were also arrested there were released on the same evening. This seems to be a manifestation of a systematic discriminatory policy, by which Palestinians are habitually held longer and treated worse than Israelis charged with the same offence. At the hearing on Wednesday noon, the state accused the Palestinian detainees of being "violent and dangerous". The assertion was completely denied by defence lawyer Yael Barda - who reiterated that it was the police which acted at A-Ram with extreme unprovoked violence against a large, orderly procession of Israeli and Palestinian protesters. During the court hearing there was a was vigil by dozens of Israeli and international activists. Judge Shelev-Gerter of the Magistrate's Court at Jerusaelem's Russian Compound (Room 232) will render the verdict on the Palestinian demonstrators' continued detention on Friday, July 2, at 10:00 am. Anyone who can is asked to turn up there and express solidarity. Mohammed Mansour, a thirty-five year old father of five, is a community organizer and coordinator with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). Since he began working with the ISM, he was arrested at a non- violent demonstration against the destruction of Palestinian farmland for the path of the Wall in Bidu, and has been detained multiple times by the Israeli military. During his arrest in A-Ram, Mansour was severely beaten, sustaining chest and back injuries and also a ruptured eardrum. For more information: Adv. Yael Berda: +972-50-874-3083 Huwaida Arraf (ISM): +970-67-473308 [] Tel-Aviv Symposium: The real plans behind Sharon's disengagement plan נוסח עברי ישלח בנפרד Israeli Palestinian Peace Forum - ivitation to a symposium: Disengagement or Annexation: What are the real plans behind Sharon's disengagement plan? Tuesday, 6.7.04, 7:30 pm - Tzavta Hall, 30 Iben Gvirol St., Tel Aviv Recently, the Sharon Government approved a "Disengagement Plan" from the Gaza strip. Beyond the question whether the Sharon government wants to evacuate settlements is able to, we should examine its plans for determining unilaterally Israel's new borders and its plans for the future of the Palestinian people. We can learn about the government's real plans from its actions in the Occupied Territories: The building of the separation wall inside the West Bank and the implementation of various methods of control and oppression of the Palestinians, in order to create an absolute dependency on Israel. Palestinian and Israeli speakers will illuminate the disengagement plan from different angles, and discuss its long term implications for both people. The speakers: Shaul Arieli (Geneva initiative) – The disengagement plan in comparison with the settlers` aspirations and in comparison with the Geneva initiative. Iyad Murad (Budrus, West Bank) – The struggle against the route of the Wall in the context of the disengagement plan. Amira Hass ("Haaretz" journalist) – The beginning of the disengagement from Gaza – 1991. Fadel Tahboub (East Jerusalem) – The disengagement plan, a perspective of Palestinian peace movements. Gerardo Leibner (Taayush) – Political and human implications of separation walls. A Palestinian woman speaker (name to be published) – The role of Palestinian women in the non-violent struggle and its influence on the political reality. Itzhak Schnnel (Israeli-Palestinian Peace Forum) – The strategies of the settlers and the question of evacuation. Most presentations will be in Hebrew, some in English. Presentations will be followed by an open discussion with the audience. Discussion will be accompanied by photographs of the Wall, by photographer Elisheva Smith. Entrance is free, donations to defray costs asked from those who would like to give them. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- .S. See our calendar links & announcements - photos and video footage of recent actions - new maps, brochures, eye-witness reports - films, expositions, refusnik links - Gush Shalom details re website, donations, subscription to email - photos and video footage of recent actions \/ # Photos + report of June 16 A-Ram protest against the Wall The press conference + start of demo http://www.gush-shalom.org http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html Photos of the following women's protest march http://share.shutterfly.com/os.jsp?i=EeANWjlw2csWzqg&open=1 # Video footage of mass uprooting of olive trees and resistance (in the framework of construction of the monster Wall) in Az Zawiya & Salfit: http://www.womenspeacepalestine.org/news8junazzawiya.htm http://www.iwps-pal.org/ftpiwps/videos/salfit_june_17.rmvb (International Womens' Peace Service - IWPS) # U.S citizens who want to alert their representatives about increased settlement expansion on the West Bank which is happening RIGHT NOW can do so easily at: http://www.cflweb.org/congress_merge_.htm - new maps, brochures, eye-witness reports \/ # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Palestinians draw the map for understanding the Disengagement Plan http://www.nad-plo.org/images/maps/pdf/gaza.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) - films, expositions, refusnik links \/ # The "Breaking the Silence" soldiers' exhibition photo gallery at: http://www.shovrimshtika.org/hebrew/modules.php?name=coppermine stories (Hebrew only) http://www.shovrimshtika.org/hebrew/modules.php?name=News article in English: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/440348.html # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il/ - Gush Shalom details re website, donations, subscription to email info \/ -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. _______________________________________________ If you got this forwarded and you want to subscribe, send mail to gush-shalom-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org and write "subscribe" in the subject line. -- To unsubscribe, send mail to gush-shalom-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org and write "unsubscribe" in the subject line. For assistance: info@gush-shalom.org  From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Jul 1 09:30:52 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:15 2004 Subject: Anti-Wall struggle vindicated at the Supreme Court Message-ID: <40E3CBBC.23548.5516E0F@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ Anti-Wall struggle vindicated at the Supreme Court [] Surprise at the Supreme Court [] A sober appraisal of the verdict - by Adam Keller [] Back to the Green Line - Gush Shalom ad [] 200,000 people out of bounds - by Danny Rubinstein, Ha’aretz June 28 [] Friday: verdict on Palestinian demonstrators arrested in A-Ram [] Tel-Aviv Symposium: The real plans behind Sharon's disengagement plan P.S. See our calendar links & announcements - photos and video footage of recent actions - new maps, brochures, eye-witness reports - films, expositions, refusnik links - Gush Shalom details re website, donations, subscription to email ~~~ [] Surprise at the Supreme Court Jerusalem, June 30, 2004 This morning, the hard-fought struggle around "The Separation Wall" was transplanted - from the environment of sun-baked West Bank hills and churning bulldozers and uprooted olive trees and exploding tear gas canisters, and into the exquisitely neat hall of the Supreme Court in Jerusalem. That hall was highly crowded as we waited tensely for the final verdict. A lot has gone into the particular case before the court this morning. Should the wall go up along the planned route, Beit Surik and Bidu and six other villages north-east of Jerusalem stand to lose most of their agricultural land and become an isolated enclave, surrounded and enclosed on almost all sides. The villagers' tenacious struggle and refusal to give up their land, their daily unarmed marches towards the encroaching bulldozers, had already cost five of them their lives - three of these being shot down during a single bloody day at Bidu. This struggle succeeded in arousing the sympathy and solidarity of quite a few Israelis: young anarchists who came day after day to share in their struggle and the risk; the people of Mevaseret Tzion, the Israeli town right across the pre-'67 border from Beit Surik, many of whose inhabitants joined in the appeal against the route of the fence supposedly intended for their own security; the ex-generals organised in "The council for Peace and Security" who presented an affidavit stating, on the basis of their professional reputation, that the route of the fence was wrong from the purely military point of view... Israelis and Palestinians involved in the struggle were there in big numbers this morning - as were quite a few representatives of the other side, military officers and security operatives with their inevitable sunglasses. Several people had with them this morning's Ha'aretz, in which the editorial enumerated the great hardships caused to Palestinian population by the Wall and called for amelioration, without once mentioning the fact (obviously known to the editors) that the judges were to rule today on the very same issue. In the last few minutes before the judges' entry, intensive speculation and hot debates between optimists and pessimists flared up. "What do you think? What can we hope for?" asked anxioulsy a young activist who just a few days ago spent time in police detention, following the anti-Wall demo at A-Ram. "Better not expect too much. Very often these kind of case ends in a colorless, vague compromise" warned a grizzled, white-haired lawyer. But when Supreme Court President Aharon Barak filed in a few minutes later, flanked by his colleagues Eliyahu Mazza and Mishael Cheshin, he was sharp and incisive from beginning to end of his presentation. "We have been presented with an appeal by the inhabitants of several Palestinian villages, disputing eight separate confiscation orders whose purpose is the building of the Separation Fence. "First, we had to deal with the fundamental issue: does the government has the authority to build a fence within Judea and Samaria and confiscate land for that purpose? It is our definite opinion that, were the fence built in order to achieve political purposes, its building would have been utterly inconsistent with International Law and thus illegal. However, we reject the appellants' contention that such was the government's purpose in building the fence. We see no reason to dispute the state's position that the purpose is purely one of defence against a threat to the security of Israel's citizens, threatened by suicide bombers. But even having the authority to build the fence, the government is duty bound to keep the right balance security needs with the rights and interests of the local population which might get hurt by its erection. The government's duty to act with proportionality, to cause no more damage than absolutely necessary, is laid down explicitly both in International Law and in the Israeli administrative law - and the state did not give proper consideration to that duty. While the security considerations are highly important, due consideration must be given to the fact that the fence damages the daily life of thirty-five thousand local inhabitants. Thousands of dunums [Dunum = about 1/4 acre.Ed.] are taken up by the fence route itself. Tens of thousands dunums more are cut off from their owners. The proposed permits regime, which would give access to the land under restrictive conditions cannot significantly reduce the damage. [Through earlier appeals, the Supreme Court was made aware that in villages where the Separation Fence was already erected, the army is often keeping closed the 'agriculatural gates' which are supposed to give farmers access to their land - in many cases causing irreversible damage to plantings left untended. ed.]. The entire fabric of daily life in around the fence is severally damage. In light of the above, we rule that the military commander had not taken proper care to balance security needs with the interests and needs of local population, and that he must reconsider and and reduce the damage to these needs and interests (even if it cannot be completely avoided). While we recognize the state's contention that the original route gives an additional amount of security as compared to the proposed alternative routes, such as the one proposed by the Council for Peace and Security. But this addition is the amount of security is not proportional to the severe damage caused by the proposed route of the fence would cause to the local population - damage which can be significantly reduced by defining a new route. Therefore, the state has not fulfilled its duty of acting with proportionality. In conclusion, we declare six of the eight confiscation orders subjected to our consideration null and void, we uphold one of them, and we order the state to reconsider the last one in light of the principles we have set forth." Commentators on the radio soon made the import more plain: 30 kilometers of fence, out of the 40 dealt with in this case, would have to be changed; three kilometers of already erected fence would need to be torn down, and in other section the army would have to make restitution for the damage caused by its "infrastructure work", especially the cutting down of hundreds of olive trees. In a parting blow, the judges ordered the state to pay the Palestinian appellants twenty thousand Shekels in lawyers' fees - which, in terms of the Supreme Court's etiquette, may be considered a high indication of the court's disapproval of the government's case. [] A sober appraisal of the verdict - by Adam Keller It was a surprise for virtually all of us present. Out in the courthouse lobby, Brigadier General Danny Tirza was fast moving from one TV crew to another, crying out: "This is a disaster, a black day for the state of Israel! Our judges have handed Arafat a major victory on a silver platter!". His words were soon echoed on the airwaves by the entire extreme right, including several government ministers, as soon as they heard the news. Adv. Muhammad Dahleh, who represented the Palestinian villagers, was clearly elated and praised the judges' courage. It is not often given to an Israeli Arab lawyer representing Palestinians under occupation - more often than not a thankless and heartbreaking job - to achieve this much for his clients. And Uri Avnery of Gush Shalom commented: "The court has restrained the trampling dance of Sharon's bulldozers through the Palestinian fields and olive groves". By now, the judges' words reverberated around the country and the world, causing a sharp controversy with rightists and leftists taking up their predictable positions. It is time for a sober appraisal of what was achieved - and what was not -at the court today. It is definitely a piece of good news, which we had sorely needed - especially on such a week of renewed bloody escalation (the killing of senior Palestinian militia leaders in highly questionable circumstances during an army invasion of Nablus; the Palestinian riposte of blowing up an army outpost in the Gaza strip and shooting an improvised rocket which killed an Israeli child in the town of Sderot - followed by an extensive Israeli invasion of the same Strip from which we are supposed to "disengage", and massive defoliation by army bulldozers; the killing of an Israeli truck driver north of Ramallah). With the Israeli society and political system as they are nowadays, it takes considerable courage for judges to declare in writing security needs must be balanced against the needs and interests of Palestinians. In the eyes of quite a few Israelis, one additional percent of security for themselves is well worth causing a hundred percent increase in Palestinian suffering. Judge Barak and his colleagues well know full well that, should a new suicide bombing happen in the near future, they are likely to become the scapegoats. (At that, the court's ruling might have been quite different but for the fact that in the past months Israel enjoyed a long respite from such attacks.) The verdict offers immediate relief to the people of Bidu, Beit Surif and their neighbors. And Judge Barak stated explicitly stated that his ruling would serve as the example and test case for all other pending cases regarding other sections of the Fenece/Wall. In particular, it would obviously apply to the impending case of A-Ram - different since it applies to urban rather than village Palestinians, but highly similar in that it there, too, the proposed route of the Wall would severely and irreparably dislocate and tear apart a whole fabric of daily life, affecting tens of thousands of people. Also, the verdict states clearly the inadmissiability of erecting a fence or wall for the purpose of achieving political aims, such as the de-facto annexation of territory. While the court ruled that that there was no such intention with regard to the Beit Surif sector brought today under its purview, it is quite possible that the judges would rule differently with regard to the most controversial section - the so-called Ariel Corridor, where the Wall is envisaged as penetrating dozens of killometers into the West Bank so as to keep control of the settlement-city of Ariel and its environs (and in the process, hopelessly break up the territorial continuity of any future Palestinian state). Since the Ariel Corridor is anyway the subject of a hot debate, both inside the Sharon Cabinet and between that cabinet and the Bush Administration, the Supreme Court ruling may tip the balance in favor of its being finally scotched. On the debit side, the judges did rule that the government does have the authority to build a fence within "Judea and Samaria" (significantly, they used the annexationist term) and confiscate land for the purpose, and that causing SOME damage to Palestinians inhabitants is acceptable, though it should be minimised. It can be expected that in some months a new route for the Fence/Wall will be prepared and win the court's approval, and that some Palestinians (hopefully, far fewer than previously) will still get that their land confiscated; and these unlucky individuals would have little further recourse or means of effective opposition. Moreover, today's ruling can hardly be separated from the one expected on July 9 from the International Court in the Hague. As officials at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem were quick to point out, the fact that an Israeli court made a quite critical ruling on the Wall would help the Sharon Government shield itself from the far sharper verdict expected at in the Dutch seat of government. With all that, the overall balance still seems to be positive, and the furious reaction of the army and extreme right is far from unreasonable. To quote Adv. Dahleh again: "The verdict from the Hague may be far better, but the one from Jerusalem is the one which is going to be actually implemented on the ground..." Latest updates in Haaretz: Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/446134.htmls English: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/445720.html [] Back to the Green Line - Gush Shalom ad (to be published in Ha'aretz on July 2) The Separation Wall is wrong by its very nature. It's not separation that we need, but an agreement. The Supreme Court has not accepted this principle - but it has handed a great victory to the peace forces, nevertheless.. By deciding that the needs of the local population and International Law carry no less weight than the decrees of the military commander, the court has vindicated our stubborn, joint Israeli-Palestinian struggle against the path of the wall. Now they seek a new path. But the only reasonable one is the Green Line. Gush Shalom, We would be grateful for donations to help defray the cost of this ad, to P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033, Phone 972-3-5221732. www.gush-shalom.org Requests for information about current actions: info@gush-shalom.org [] 200,000 people out of bounds - by Danny Rubinstein, Ha’aretz June 28 Hopefully this comprehensive article, published two days before the court's ruling, will now turn out to have been a self-defying prophecy. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/444251.html Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=443737 They're not building a separation fence here, but rather prisons for tens of thousands of Palestinians, according to the Palestinian civic leaders in Jerusalem's northeastern neighborhoods. Last Wednesday they sat, as they have done every day for the past few weeks, in the office of Sirhan Salayme, head of the A- Ram local council, and discussed the separation fence. Salayme, a veteran Fatah activist, says that ever since details of the planned fence became known, he hasn't dealt with any other matter. If the plan is implemented, the lives of residents throughout the area are destined to change to such a degree that it will be nearly impossible to live there. Much has already been said about the wall and fence under construction in what is termed "the Jerusalem envelope," but what is being done now in the Arab neighborhoods between Jerusalem and Ramallah is unlike anything else, first because this is a crowded urban area with some quarter-million residents, and second because the presence in the region of numerous Jewish neighborhoods and settlements has prompted those planning the route of the walls and fences to perform juggling tricks that boggle the imagination. The entire mess of problems which the fence created in the area between Qalqilyah and Ariel is nothing compared to the trouble brewing in northeastern Jerusalem. Israelis don't know Salayme and his colleagues, the neighboring council heads, say that Israelis who are in favor of the separation fence neither know nor understand what is currently happening in these neighborhoods. Were they to visit there they would be astounded - it's simply madness, says the owner of a shoe factory in A-Ram, who maintains trade relations with stores in Tel Aviv. "Imagine that they build a high wall, completely impassable, between Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan, and that in several places it cuts across the Ayalon highway, thereby transferring the Hatikva neighborhood to Ramat Gan," he says to assist comprehension. The history of the area where the fence is going up is well known. After the Six- Day War, when East Jerusalem was annexed to Israel and its borders expanded, the government decided to include the small Atarot airport within Jerusalem's city limits. The presumption behind this move, primarily touted by then mayor Teddy Kollek, was that Israel's capital needed an airport. To implement this idea, a sort of long finger of land pointing northward allowed the airport to be included within Jerusalem's jurisdiction. During the subsequent 37 years, the Arab population in East Jerusalem nearly quadrupled, from about 65,000 to some 230,000. The Arab neighborhoods could not absorb the new population, particularly because construction permits were not issued for them, and that's why thousands of Arab Jerusalemites built their homes in new neighborhoods that developed outside the city limits, i.e. in West Bank territory but adjacent to Jerusalem. At the same time, large Jewish neighborhoods like Pisgat Ze'ev and Neve Yaakov were built in the open spaces within the northern borders of the city, and a series of settlements beyond, reaching all the way to the Ramallah district's eastern boundary. For over 20 years there were no closures or roadblocks, and residents did not require transit permits as Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians, moved about freely throughout the terrain. The northeastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem became a crowded urban space containing businesses, banks, schools, factories, restaurants and entertainment venues. The route of the separation fence in these neighborhoods does not exactly correspond to the municipal border. In many instances, the fence route deviates from the border for a myriad of reasons, most of which have to do with topographic conditions, the road system and the housing density. These are the Arab neighborhoods outside the wall and the fences, which are actually the northern neighborhoods of Jerusalem: A-Ram, the largest, which incorporates the Postal neighborhood (Dahiyat Albarid) and has about 60,000 residents, of which 60 to 70 percent hold Jerusalem identity cards. Anata and the Peace neighborhood (Dahiyat A-Salaam) have a combined population of some 30,000 residents, about half of whom hold Jerusalem ID cards. Shuafat refugee camp (sometimes called the Anata camp) is home to some 30,000 people, nearly all of whom carry Jerusalem IDs. The camp is within Jerusalem city limits, but outside the fence. The villages to the east, Hizma and Jebaa, have a population of 8,000, the vast majority of which hold West Bank IDs. The neighborhoods to the north, Kfar Akev and Samiramis, have around 20,000 residents, half of whom hold Jerusalem IDs. Many homes in these neighborhoods are within Jerusalem city limits, but outside the fence. Qalandiyah refugee camp has some 30,000 residents, most of whom have West Bank papers. Bir Naballah neighborhood and the villages in its vicinity have 35,000 residents, most with West Bank papers. Thus, in the entire region outside the fence and the separation wall there are over 200,000 residents. and it is estimated that about a third of these hold Jerusalem IDs, and are entitled to enter Jerusalem. The daily lives of residents who do not have Jerusalem IDs are also tied to the city. Many of them have been issued permits by the military authorities - they work or study in Jerusalem, and need access to the city's health and welfare services. Daily commuters This data was taken into account in the fence plan, which includes constructing large facilities at the Qalandiyah checkpoint through which Palestinians with Jerusalem IDs and military permits will be able to enter on their way to Jerusalem. It will be Jerusalem's "Erez crossing," say the fence planners. West of it, near the road to Bitunya, a passageway for trucks and goods will be constructed along the lines of the Karni crossing. How well will the crossing function? Salayme brings an example from the school system. A-Ram has some 20,000 students, children and teenagers, but only 5,000 are enrolled in local schools. The remaining 15,000 students commute each morning to schools in Jerusalem. Once the fence is complete, they will have to travel northward along the cement wall that is already going up the middle of the main road. After reaching Qalandiyah, they will be able to head back southward and enter through the crossing into Jerusalem. The 15,000 students will be joined each day by thousands of others - no one knows the exact number - seeking to enter Jerusalem. Will the crossing points be able to handle the traffic load? Gaza laborers sometimes come to the Erez crossing at 1 A.M. so as to gain entry into Israel in the morning hours. The number crossing at Erez is far lower than the number of Palestinians destined to cross at Qalandiyah each morning. Even if the most accommodating crossing arrangements are put in place - and it's hard to imagine that will be the case if the violence continues - this is an impossible plan. Several large schools are also located along the road to Jerusalem: the small, private Al-Iman School, the Lutheran church's vocational school, Al-Ummah College operated by the Waqf (the Muslim religious trust), the Dar Alyatim vocational school, and the Rosary Convent's girls' school. Three of these schools are within the territory surrounded by the fence; two will be left outside it. How will the students, some of whom live within Jerusalem and some outside the city limits, get across? All will come to the Qalandiyah crossing between 7 and 8 A.M. Already at this stage, when the erection of fences and walls has not been completed, the Qalandiyah crossing is a crowded and filthy site that inflicts tremendous suffering on all those who enter. No one in the region has any doubt that when tens of thousands more join the fray each morning, it will be hell. The residents of these neighborhoods have also been informed of the further construction of internal fences that will provide passage into the settlements. These fences, the second phase of the separation fence project, will create five large islands in which the Palestinian populace will concentrate in quasi-ghettos. The people who really grasp what sort of future awaits all these neighborhoods, which form a Palestinian development zone par excellence, are the businessmen. In recent weeks prices have plummetted by dozens of percent in the shops lining the main roadway to Ramallah. "The whole area is going downhill rapidly," says Haj Mussa Tayim, chief among the traditional neighborhood dignitaries, most of whom are scions of the large Hebron families that moved to Jerusalem in the last few generations. "It's a new Nakba," he says. That's the Palestinian terms for "The Catastrophe" that happened with the creation of Israel in 1948, and Tayim is quoting a large poster that hangs on the wall of the A-Ram council, explaining to readers the extent of the catastrophe they are about to encounter. [] Friday: verdict on Palestinian demonstrators arrested in A-Ram Four Palestinian demonstraotrs - Mohammed Khalil Mansour, Khaled Fuad Salameh and the boys Nidal Mousa Salem Ka'abneh (17) and Mohammed Ahmed Amr (15) are still held in custody since being arrested at Saturday's demonstration in A-Ram, while five Israelis who were also arrested there were released on the same evening. This seems to be a manifestation of a systematic discriminatory policy, by which Palestinians are habitually held longer and treated worse than Israelis charged with the same offence. At the hearing on Wednesday noon, the state accused the Palestinian detainees of being "violent and dangerous". The assertion was completely denied by defence lawyer Yael Barda - who reiterated that it was the police which acted at A-Ram with extreme unprovoked violence against a large, orderly procession of Israeli and Palestinian protesters. During the court hearing there was a was vigil by dozens of Israeli and international activists. Judge Shelev-Gerter of the Magistrate's Court at Jerusaelem's Russian Compound (Room 232) will render the verdict on the Palestinian demonstrators' continued detention on Friday, July 2, at 10:00 am. Anyone who can is asked to turn up there and express solidarity. Mohammed Mansour, a thirty-five year old father of five, is a community organizer and coordinator with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). Since he began working with the ISM, he was arrested at a non- violent demonstration against the destruction of Palestinian farmland for the path of the Wall in Bidu, and has been detained multiple times by the Israeli military. During his arrest in A-Ram, Mansour was severely beaten, sustaining chest and back injuries and also a ruptured eardrum. For more information: Adv. Yael Berda: +972-50-874-3083 Huwaida Arraf (ISM): +970-67-473308 [] Tel-Aviv Symposium: The real plans behind Sharon's disengagement plan נוסח עברי ישלח בנפרד Israeli Palestinian Peace Forum - ivitation to a symposium: Disengagement or Annexation: What are the real plans behind Sharon's disengagement plan? Tuesday, 6.7.04, 7:30 pm - Tzavta Hall, 30 Iben Gvirol St., Tel Aviv Recently, the Sharon Government approved a "Disengagement Plan" from the Gaza strip. Beyond the question whether the Sharon government wants to evacuate settlements is able to, we should examine its plans for determining unilaterally Israel's new borders and its plans for the future of the Palestinian people. We can learn about the government's real plans from its actions in the Occupied Territories: The building of the separation wall inside the West Bank and the implementation of various methods of control and oppression of the Palestinians, in order to create an absolute dependency on Israel. Palestinian and Israeli speakers will illuminate the disengagement plan from different angles, and discuss its long term implications for both people. The speakers: Shaul Arieli (Geneva initiative) – The disengagement plan in comparison with the settlers` aspirations and in comparison with the Geneva initiative. Iyad Murad (Budrus, West Bank) – The struggle against the route of the Wall in the context of the disengagement plan. Amira Hass ("Haaretz" journalist) – The beginning of the disengagement from Gaza – 1991. Fadel Tahboub (East Jerusalem) – The disengagement plan, a perspective of Palestinian peace movements. Gerardo Leibner (Taayush) – Political and human implications of separation walls. A Palestinian woman speaker (name to be published) – The role of Palestinian women in the non-violent struggle and its influence on the political reality. Itzhak Schnnel (Israeli-Palestinian Peace Forum) – The strategies of the settlers and the question of evacuation. Most presentations will be in Hebrew, some in English. Presentations will be followed by an open discussion with the audience. Discussion will be accompanied by photographs of the Wall, by photographer Elisheva Smith. Entrance is free, donations to defray costs asked from those who would like to give them. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- .S. See our calendar links & announcements - photos and video footage of recent actions - new maps, brochures, eye-witness reports - films, expositions, refusnik links - Gush Shalom details re website, donations, subscription to email - photos and video footage of recent actions \/ # Photos + report of June 16 A-Ram protest against the Wall The press conference + start of demo http://www.gush-shalom.org http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html Photos of the following women's protest march http://share.shutterfly.com/os.jsp?i=EeANWjlw2csWzqg&open=1 # Video footage of mass uprooting of olive trees and resistance (in the framework of construction of the monster Wall) in Az Zawiya & Salfit: http://www.womenspeacepalestine.org/news8junazzawiya.htm http://www.iwps-pal.org/ftpiwps/videos/salfit_june_17.rmvb (International Womens' Peace Service - IWPS) # U.S citizens who want to alert their representatives about increased settlement expansion on the West Bank which is happening RIGHT NOW can do so easily at: http://www.cflweb.org/congress_merge_.htm - new maps, brochures, eye-witness reports \/ # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Palestinians draw the map for understanding the Disengagement Plan http://www.nad-plo.org/images/maps/pdf/gaza.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) - films, expositions, refusnik links \/ # The "Breaking the Silence" soldiers' exhibition photo gallery at: http://www.shovrimshtika.org/hebrew/modules.php?name=coppermine stories (Hebrew only) http://www.shovrimshtika.org/hebrew/modules.php?name=News article in English: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/440348.html # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il/ - Gush Shalom details re website, donations, subscription to email info \/ -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. _______________________________________________ If you got this forwarded and you want to subscribe, send mail to gush-shalom-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org and write "subscribe" in the subject line. -- To unsubscribe, send mail to gush-shalom-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org and write "unsubscribe" in the subject line. For assistance: info@gush-shalom.org  From info at gush-shalom.org Mon Jul 5 00:27:58 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:15 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Avnery: Justice, Gas and Tears + more Message-ID: <20040704212945.A3F165A978@smtp8.wanadoo.nl> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ International release, July 4, 2004 [] Justice, Gas and Tears - Avnery on police violence & court verdict [] Petition for lifting restrictions against Mordechai Vanunu [] Five imprisoned refusniks to face parole board & more refusnik updates [] Az Zawiya needs you: Wall construction continues despite Supreme Court [] Johns Hopkins University research: severe malnutrition in Gaza [] Collection of toys, computers and clothes for Palestinian Children P.S. See our calendar links & announcements - new maps, brochures, eye-witness reports - films, expositions, refusnik links - Gush Shalom details re website, donations, subscription to email ~~~ [] Justice, Gas and Tears - Avnery on police violence & court verdict www.gush-shalom.org ????? ???? Uri Avnery 3.7.04 Justice, Gas and Tears In the silence of the courtroom, there was an audible gasp of surprise and shock when Supreme Justice Aharon Barak, reading the court?s decision, reached the words: ?The military commander did not use his discretion in a proportional way, as required.? At that moment the veteran peace activists who filled the room realized that they had won. Four days before, we could not have dreamt of that. We were far from the sterile silence of the beautiful Supreme Court building: a distance of a few kilometers geographically, a distance of light-years mentally. At that time we were running through clouds of tear gas, choking and coughing, in the center of A-Ram. It began, surprisingly, in an atmosphere of friendliness. We came in a convoy of buses from all over the country in order to join the inhabitants demonstrating against the wall, on the eve of the Supreme Court decision. We expected to be held up at the roadblock across the entrance to A-Ram. The demonstration was not secret, we had announced it in the media. We were ready to leave the buses quickly and continue around the roadblock on foot. We were surprised, therefore, when the border-policemen were all smiles. The one who entered our bus spoke like a sympathizer. ?Do you know what you are getting into?? he asked in a friendly way. When we answered that we did, he said ?have a nice day? and waved us on. In the center of A-Ram, thousands of Palestinians were waiting for us. We intended to march on the main road, along the planned path of the wall that will cut the densely populated urban area in two. The big concrete slabs of the wall were already lying in the ground, waiting for the moment when the court would lift the temporary injunction that is holding up the building activity. The demonstration was intended, of course, to be completely non-violent. The proof: in the first line there marched a Christian Orthodox priest, a senior Muslim sheikh, local dignitaries and present and past members of the Knesset and the Palestinian parliament. In front of us walked the A- Ram youth orchestra. As a symbolic act we had brought five big hammers, and some of the demonstrators were asked to use them to strike concrete slabs lying on the ground. We advanced slowly in the burning sun. Suddenly a row of border- policemen appeared on top of the hill overlooking the road. Before we realized what was happening, a salvo of teargas grenades ? one, two, three dozens ? were shot at us. In a few moments we were enveloped by a dense cloud of gas that covered all escape routes. We dispersed in all directions, but the gas grenades continued to explode around us. Those of us who made it to the central square of the town were attacked with tear gas, water cannon and rubber-coated bullets. The place resembled a real battlefield ? clouds of gas, the sound of exploding stun grenades and shooting, the screaming sirens of the Palestinian ambulances, burning boxes along the street, abandoned posters, shuttered shops. When the Palestinian paramedics started to run with their stretchers towards the ambulances, local boys emerged from the alleys to throw stones at the border-policemen (a mercenary force universally hated in the Palestinian territories). From time to time groups of border-policemen ran towards us, grabbing demonstrators of both sexes and dragging them towards the armored jeeps. One of the ambulances was burning. Undercover policemen in plain clothes, pistols in their hands - beat people and dragged them along the ground. All this continued for more than two hours. All that time, a question was nagging me: Why was this happening? Clearly we had walked into a well- prepared trap. But what was the aim? On the way back we listened to the news on the radio. A police spokesman announced that the border-police had been attacked by demonstrators who threw axes and hammers at them. In our bus, everybody burst out laughing. The mystery was solved two days later in court, when the judges were dealing with A-Ram. The government attorneys demanded that the temporary injunction that was holding up the wall in A-Ram be lifted. They had a crushing argument: two days ago, they said, the border-policemen guarding the machinery had been viciously attacked by demonstrators. Their life was in danger. Therefore, in order to save the policemen from the evildoers (us), the building of the wall must be speeded up. The judges, so it seems, were not impressed. They announced that in another two days, on Wednesday, the court would publish a set of principles that would, from now on, apply to he whole length of the barrier, including A-Ram. And indeed, on Wednesday the decision that caused the audience to gasp was delivered. We knew in advance that the court could not forbid the wall altogether. That would have been a challenge to the government, the army and the national consensus. Neither did we expect a decision that would have decreed that the wall should be set up on the Green Line (the internationally recognized pre-1967 border). We thought that the court would, at most, change the path of the wall a few kilometers here and there. But the actual decision went much further: it demands big changes all along the 750 kilometers of the barrier, in order to remove it from the vicinity of Palestinian villages and release their land. The judges accepted, in fact, most of the arguments that we had been voicing in dozens of demonstrations: (a) that the path of the wall violates international law, (b) that it destroys the fabric of life of the Palestinian population and turns their life into hell, and (c) that this path does not emanate from security considerations, but rather from a desire to enlarge the settlements, annex territory to Israel and drive the Palestinians out. Judge Barak, the president of the Supreme Court who drafted the decision, was walking a tightrope. On one side he risked provoking the powerful military establishment and a large section of public opinion. On the other side, he wanted to keep his considerable reputation in the international judicial community. Years ago I interviewed him at length. One of the things he told me is engraved in my memory: ?The court has no divisions to enforce its decisions. Its power is based solely on the confidence of the public. Therefore, the court cannot distance itself too much from the public.? That was shown again this week: Barak went very far, but knew where to stop ? half way between the planned path and the green Line. In this he was helped by the Council for Peace and Security, a pro-peace group of retired senior army officers, who proposed an alternative path. Barak knows well that he is taking a considerable risk: if a suicide attack now takes place inside Israel, the right-wing will surely put the blame on the court. Actually, something similar has already happened. Only a few minutes after the court decision was read out, Colonel (res.) Danny Tirzeh, the skull-capped officer with responsibility at the Ministry of Defense for the building of the wall, said that the court?s decision will cause Jews to be murdered. The man was not fired on the spot, God forbid, but only rebuked by his minister. Ariel Sharon may well be satisfied with the court?s decision. True, the path of the wall will have to be planned anew, costing more money and time. But in a week the International Court of Justice in The Hague will deliver its decision on the wall and the matter will return to the UN. There the Israeli and American representatives will argue that the Israeli court has already rectified the inequities that needed to be addressed. In A-Ram and the other suburbs of Jerusalem, too, the path will have to be changed. I hope that it will be removed from the highway where we were demonstrating last Saturday. I have inhaled enough gas to last me a while. [] Petition for lifting the restrictions from Mordechai Vanunu From: Rayna Moss ????? ?????? ?????? Mordechai Vanunu is released, but not free. Oppressive restrictions have been placed on him by Israeli authorities, based on 1945 British Mandate emergency regulations. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) is representing Vanunu in an appeal challenging the draconian restrictions to Israel's High Court. The restrictions include: not being allowed to leave Israel, not being allowed to come within a certain distance of embassies, ports, and borders; not being allowed to travel within Israel beyond the city of his residence without advance permission; not being allowed to speak about his work at Dimona; not being allowed to speak to the foreign press; and limits on and monitoring of his phone and internet use. The injustice of not being allowed to leave Israel is compounded by the fact that, following a massive campaign whipped up against him in the mass media, with the active participation of several cabinet minsters, Vanunu has received threats on his life from ultra-right wing Israeli extremists. A Ma'ariv newspaper internet poll two days after his release asked the question, "What should be done with Vanunu?" and listed "kill him" as one of several choices. Under such circumstances, It is obviosuly out of the question for Vanunu to simply stroll down the street of any Israeli city. It is a particularly vicious policy to expose a man to such hatred and hostility among the general Israeli public - and at the same time force him to stay on in Israel and forbid him to go anywhere else. Thanks very much for your support. PETITION To Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Justice Minister Yosef ("Tommy") Lapid Attorney General Menachem Mazuz: LET MORDECHAI VANUNU GO! He has served his full sentence, and is not charged with any offenses. Lift all the restrictions. Allow him to leave Israel immediately. Signature: Affiliation (if any): Send to Rayna Moss [] Five imprisoned refusniks to face parole board & more refusnik updates Compiled from messages sent by Nssim Duek (Refusnik Parents' Forum, ) and Ram Rahat (Yesh Gvul, ). ????? ?????? ?????? Noam Bahat, Adam Maor, Haggai Matar, Shimri Zameret and Matan Kaminer are awaiting the parole board hearing on July 6, where it willedecided whether or not to reduce the year-longterm imposed on them by the Jaffa Military Court. Ahead ofthe hearing, dozens of Israeli lawyers and jurists signed a petition, due to be published in Ha'aretz tomorrow (July 5). The lawyers, having different opinions on the issue of conscientious refusal of military service in itself, point out the punishment is disproptionally heavy, that it did not take into accout the five's idelistic motivation and their stated willingness to perform alternative civil sevice, and also considering the lighter punishment meted out for more serious offences and the widespread exemptions from miltiary service granted to other sectors of Israeli society. Link for details: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html * On July 9, CO Yoni Ben Artzi and his lawyer Michael Sfard will appear at the Miltary Appeals Court in Tel Aviv, to appeal the verdict of the Jaffa Miltary Court. Despite the fact that that the army already dischaged Ben Artzi from all militay sevice and recognised him as being a civilian, the court still found Ben Artzi guilty of "disoeying the order of his commanding officer", the mostmilitary of all criminal offences, and imposed the term of two months in the military prison system. Ahead of this week's appeal by Ben Artzi, the army took the highly unusual stepof increasing the panel which will hear his appeal from three judges to five, four (!) of them generals. * On Monday, June 28 Captain (res.) Eitan Lerner, from Tel Aviv, was sentenced to 28 days in Military Prison 6, for refusing to take part in the occupation. Letters of support to him via : yeshgvul@yahoogroups.com * Daniel Tsal, refuser going through his fourth consecutive prison term, was this week transfered from Military Prison 4 to Training Base 13, which means some improvement in daily conditions. The big question, as yet unanswered: when finding that repeated terms of a month or so don't break Tsal's resolve, will the authorities place him (like the Five) before a court-martial, empowered to impose a much heavier punishment. To some degree, the answer depends on the amount of solidarity and support. Letters of support to Daniel Tsal via: Jehoshua@freud.tau.ac.il Other ways of expressing solidarity:  - Sign a petition: http://www.refuz.org.il/petition.php - Adopt a refusenik: - Participate in solidarity actions later this month, details via Yesh Gvul. [] Az Zawiya needs you: Wall construction continues despite Supreme Court From: "IWPS" URGENT ALERT: On Friday, the Israeli DCO (District Coordinating Office) informed its Palestinian counterpart and the mayor of Az Zawiya that despite the injunction and the court ruling on the path of the Wall, the army intends to continue working on the Wall in Az Zawiya and Deir Balut. They military claim that the injunction allows them to continue working in areas where they have already begun uprooting and cutting trees. The villagers in return made clear that they will continue demonstrating until the work stops. PLEASE JOIN THE PEOPLE OF AZ ZAWIYA IN NONVIOLENT PROTEST: Demonstrations are scheduled every morning at 10:00 a.m. until the work is stopped (meeting point by the old Mosque) . For updates call IWPS (International Women's Peace Sevice) 09-2516644 or 067-387806; for details on how to arrive from Israel call Anarachists Against The Wall 066-327736, 067-724519, 064-494030.  Please remember appropriate dress: no shorts (men or women), cover arms, wear longer, looser clothing. Also, bring plenty of water and something to counteract tear gas (onions, cologne or vinegar are all effective). [] Johns Hopkins University research: severe malnutrition in Gaza By Laila El-Haddad, Aljazzera coorespondent in Gaza, 29 June http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/1D105487-229E-42A6-B58B- 6B4E7A1AAC64.htm  Malnutrition affects a child's ability to concentrate   At the entrance to the Ard al-Insan clinic in Gaza, also known as the  Palestinian Benevolent Association, Iman Jilawi was pleading with  programme director Itimad Ghabil.  Her daughter had just been released from the hospital after  intestinal surgery, she said, and she did not have the money to pay  for a change of the dressing, let alone for her taxi ride home. She  was here, though, for another reason: in addition to being ill, her  daughter was severely malnourished. And she was not alone.  A cacophony of wails could be heard from within the teeming waiting  room. Together with their weary mothers, tens of infants waited to be  examined by nurses and nutritionists.   There was Mahmud Sukar, who at eight months weighed in at a mere 4.5  kilograms, and whose family has been surviving on United Nations food  coupons set to expire in a few weeks.   And Farah Khalifa, who at 18 months weighed six kilograms.  "I can't even remember the last time I tasted meat," said her  mother. "My fridge is empty, and my daughter is surviving on my  breast milk."  The problems faced by the visitors to the clinic are confounded by a  vicious circle of poverty and unemployment, which makes Ghabil's job  all the more frustrating.  "I don't know what to do. I can't help them every time they come in  here," said Ghabil. "They need continuous help."  Deteriorating nutrition  In the summer of 2002, a landmark study initiated by Care  International and Johns Hopkins University, in coordination with Al- Quds University in Jerusalem, found a major problem with the quality  of food intake as well as a worrying level of acute malnutrition in  children in the Gaza Strip.   The clinic is overrun with mothers seeking care for their children  The figures showed that one-fifth of Palestinian children were  suffering from malnutrition - a rate more than four times above that  of a normally nourished population, according to the study.  "In humanitarian terms it was a percentage that was high enough to  trigger some kind of intervention - and that's what the aid agencies  were most interested in," said project coordinator Dr Gregg Greenough  of Johns Hopkins University in an interview with Aljazeera.net.   Chronic malnutrition undermines the immune system and affects the  body's ability to resist and respond to infections and infectious  diseases.   It is of particular concern in places where populations are already  vulnerable, as those in the Gaza Strip are.   Last month, Greenough returned to Gaza to conclude a follow-up study,  with mixed results. While malnutrition in Gaza had gone down, the  daily intake of essential macro and micro nutrients had decreased to  alarming levels.   "This is something unprecedented. We actually see that as they get  older [Palestinian] children are taking in less calories per day. It  drops off the charts," he said.  Poverty  Greenough and his colleagues say the decrease in quality of food  intake is directly related to poverty: "Bread is cheap, and tea is  cheap," he says. Malnutrition is not immediately evident in such  children, however, because of the body's self-sustaining nature.    Some kitchens contain little more than bread and water  "You can feed yourself filler food, such as bread, and preserve your  weight and height," said Greenough.   "What the body will do is lose weight, but not lose height right  away. And before you lose weight and height, you decrease energy  intake. You might be less attentive at school, for example."  According to Ard al-Insan, malnutrition prevalence is a late  indicator of a crisis precisely because of these reasons. As a  result, a significant proportion of Palestinian children may very  well be at high risk of malnutrition.   Tenuous relief  While the study did have some promising results - it found that acute  levels of malnutrition had dropped in the Gaza Strip to 13% -  Greenough is not holding his breath.   Food assistance is a temporary measure for relief, he says, and if  taken away, hundreds of vulnerable families will find themselves back  in the malnutrition loop.   Children suffer weight loss and a weakened immune system  "My concern is that it's still tenuous, and acute malnutrition could  still rise," said Greenough.  With unemployment steadily on the rise, and income levels for those  who are employed decreasing dramatically, Greenough has good reason  to worry.  By some estimates, unemployment in general is in excess of 60% in the  Gaza Strip, while around 80% of the population is living under the  poverty line, with an income of under $2 a day.  In addition, the median monthly income for those who are employed has  decreased from $550 before the second intifada to $267 during the  first quarter of 2004, a drop of nearly 52%, the Palestinian Central  Bureau of Statistics found.  There are also more mouths to feed, according to the World Bank and  the United Nations. Whereas in 2000, one worker supported four people  in the West Bank and six in the Gaza Strip, the ratios are now seven  and nine respectively.   Future prospects  All this has the executive director of Ard al-Insan, Itidal al- Khatib, worried about the future.   Although malnutrition may pose a greater health risk in other  countries, in Gaza the situation is aggravated by a military  occupation and a jobless economy with the living standard of a  developed country.  "With declining incomes and declines in the access to public  services, it would not be surprising if we would see evidence of  deteriorating nutrition in a short time," she said.  "Mothers of malnourished children are usually also malnourished  themselves and absolutely exhausted" says Itidal al-Khatib, executive director of Ard al-Insan.  None the less, the clinic has continued with its work, which al- Khatib says revolves around nutritional security from the grassroots  up. Active mothers are given training and a certificate upon  completion of a nutrition course, and go on to form a support group  in their neighbourhood with other vulnerable women.   "Mothers of malnourished children are usually also malnourished  themselves and absolutely exhausted.   "It affects her mental capacity. Most mothers that come in here have  depression, and their coping mechanisms are not developed, which  affects their relationship with their families and children. We try  to counsel the entire household so it's useful without being  stigmatic."  Forced to cope  But Palestinian families have had to resort to severe measures just  to ensure their survival, according to recent studies.   Such coping mechanisms have ranged from forgoing medical needs, to  decreasing the numbers of meals per day.   Mothers skimp on clothes for their offspring and fuel bills  The new Johns Hopkins study has found that two-thirds of the  population is not paying or paying less on utility bills in order to  purchase food. More than half have given up buying clothes for their  children, and 20% forgo buying medications needed for chronic  diseases.   And according to Ard al-Insan's annual report, nine per cent of  families in Gaza eat only one meal a day, and another 40% rely on  money borrowed from relatives in order to buy their food. Dairy  intake has decreased by more than 80%, due to the rising cost of milk.  Some 46.8% of all Palestinian households receive food assistance from  agencies. In Gaza, the number is a startling 72%.   Greenough says the situation will not improve in the long-term unless  the underlying cause is addressed: poverty.   "I've been in some homes and all I've seen is water, parsley, and  bread," he said.   "The problem isn't the food - there's food out there, but people just  can't buy it. It's very, very sad."  [] Collection of toys, computers and clothes for Palestinian Children From: "yafit biso" ????? ?????? ?????? Dear everybody The school holidays which began a few days ago are not always a time of pleasure for children in the besieged West Bank villages, who are often feeling bored and frustrated. Me and several of my friends are trying to help children of different ages by collecting old toys, as well as old computers to which we fit programs in Arabic and give them especially to sick children who can't leave home to play. Children's cloths are also welcome. Anyone who can donate such items, please contact Yafit-Jamilah Biso 03-9568061 or 064341840 P.S. See our calendar links & announcements - new maps, brochures, eye-witness reports - films, expositions, refusnik links - Gush Shalom details re website, donations, subscription to email # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Palestinians draw the map for understanding the Disengagement Plan http://www.nad-plo.org/images/maps/pdf/gaza.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew / ????? http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) - films, expositions, refusnik links \/ # The "Breaking the Silence" soldiers' exhibition photo gallery at: http://www.shovrimshtika.org/hebrew/modules.php?name=coppermine stories (Hebrew only) http://www.shovrimshtika.org/hebrew/modules.php?name=News article in English: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/440348.html # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / ????? - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / ????? - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il/ -- Gush Shalom website, how to donate / subscrie to emails etc.: http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From keller_adam at yahoo.com Mon Jul 5 01:20:39 2004 From: keller_adam at yahoo.com (Gush Shalom) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:16 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Avnery: Justice, Gas and Tears + more Message-ID: <20040704222039.4050.qmail@web61101.mail.yahoo.com> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ International release, July 4, 2004 [] Justice, Gas and Tears - Avnery on police violence & court verdict [] Petition for lifting restrictions against Mordechai Vanunu [] Five imprisoned refusniks to face parole board & more refusnik updates [] Az Zawiya needs you: Wall construction continues despite Supreme Court [] Johns Hopkins University research: severe malnutrition in Gaza [] Collection of toys, computers and clothes for Palestinian Children P.S. See our calendar links & announcements - new maps, brochures, eye-witness reports - films, expositions, refusnik links - Gush Shalom details re website, donations, subscription to email ~~~ [] Justice, Gas and Tears - Avnery on police violence & court verdict www.gush-shalom.org עברית באתר Uri Avnery 3.7.04 Justice, Gas and Tears In the silence of the courtroom, there was an audible gasp of surprise and shock when Supreme Justice Aharon Barak, reading the court’s decision, reached the words: “The military commander did not use his discretion in a proportional way, as required.” At that moment the veteran peace activists who filled the room realized that they had won. Four days before, we could not have dreamt of that. We were far from the sterile silence of the beautiful Supreme Court building: a distance of a few kilometers geographically, a distance of light-years mentally. At that time we were running through clouds of tear gas, choking and coughing, in the center of A-Ram. It began, surprisingly, in an atmosphere of friendliness. We came in a convoy of buses from all over the country in order to join the inhabitants demonstrating against the wall, on the eve of the Supreme Court decision. We expected to be held up at the roadblock across the entrance to A-Ram. The demonstration was not secret, we had announced it in the media. We were ready to leave the buses quickly and continue around the roadblock on foot. We were surprised, therefore, when the border-policemen were all smiles. The one who entered our bus spoke like a sympathizer. “Do you know what you are getting into?” he asked in a friendly way. When we answered that we did, he said “have a nice day” and waved us on. In the center of A-Ram, thousands of Palestinians were waiting for us. We intended to march on the main road, along the planned path of the wall that will cut the densely populated urban area in two. The big concrete slabs of the wall were already lying in the ground, waiting for the moment when the court would lift the temporary injunction that is holding up the building activity. The demonstration was intended, of course, to be completely non-violent. The proof: in the first line there marched a Christian Orthodox priest, a senior Muslim sheikh, local dignitaries and present and past members of the Knesset and the Palestinian parliament. In front of us walked the A-Ram youth orchestra. As a symbolic act we had brought five big hammers, and some of the demonstrators were asked to use them to strike concrete slabs lying on the ground. We advanced slowly in the burning sun. Suddenly a row of border-policemen appeared on top of the hill overlooking the road. Before we realized what was happening, a salvo of teargas grenades – one, two, three … dozens – were shot at us. In a few moments we were enveloped by a dense cloud of gas that covered all escape routes. We dispersed in all directions, but the gas grenades continued to explode around us. Those of us who made it to the central square of the town were attacked with tear gas, water cannon and rubber-coated bullets. The place resembled a real battlefield – clouds of gas, the sound of exploding stun grenades and shooting, the screaming sirens of the Palestinian ambulances, burning boxes along the street, abandoned posters, shuttered shops. When the Palestinian paramedics started to run with their stretchers towards the ambulances, local boys emerged from the alleys to throw stones at the border-policemen (a mercenary force universally hated in the Palestinian territories). From time to time groups of border-policemen ran towards us, grabbing demonstrators of both sexes and dragging them towards the armored jeeps. One of the ambulances was burning. Undercover policemen in plain clothes, pistols in their hands - beat people and dragged them along the ground. All this continued for more than two hours. All that time, a question was nagging me: Why was this happening? Clearly we had walked into a well-prepared trap. But what was the aim? On the way back we listened to the news on the radio. A police spokesman announced that the border-police had been attacked by demonstrators who threw axes and hammers at them. In our bus, everybody burst out laughing. The mystery was solved two days later in court, when the judges were dealing with A-Ram. The government attorneys demanded that the temporary injunction that was holding up the wall in A-Ram be lifted. They had a crushing argument: two days ago, they said, the border-policemen guarding the machinery had been viciously attacked by demonstrators. Their life was in danger. Therefore, in order to save the policemen from the evildoers (us), the building of the wall must be speeded up. The judges, so it seems, were not impressed. They announced that in another two days, on Wednesday, the court would publish a set of principles that would, from now on, apply to he whole length of the barrier, including A-Ram. And indeed, on Wednesday the decision that caused the audience to gasp was delivered. We knew in advance that the court could not forbid the wall altogether. That would have been a challenge to the government, the army and the national consensus. Neither did we expect a decision that would have decreed that the wall should be set up on the Green Line (the internationally recognized pre-1967 border). We thought that the court would, at most, change the path of the wall a few kilometers here and there. But the actual decision went much further: it demands big changes all along the 750 kilometers of the barrier, in order to remove it from the vicinity of Palestinian villages and release their land. The judges accepted, in fact, most of the arguments that we had been voicing in dozens of demonstrations: (a) that the path of the wall violates international law, (b) that it destroys the fabric of life of the Palestinian population and turns their life into hell, and (c) that this path does not emanate from security considerations, but rather from a desire to enlarge the settlements, annex territory to Israel and drive the Palestinians out. Judge Barak, the president of the Supreme Court who drafted the decision, was walking a tightrope. On one side he risked provoking the powerful military establishment and a large section of public opinion. On the other side, he wanted to keep his considerable reputation in the international judicial community. Years ago I interviewed him at length. One of the things he told me is engraved in my memory: “The court has no divisions to enforce its decisions. Its power is based solely on the confidence of the public. Therefore, the court cannot distance itself too much from the public.” That was shown again this week: Barak went very far, but knew where to stop – half way between the planned path and the green Line. In this he was helped by the Council for Peace and Security, a pro-peace group of retired senior army officers, who proposed an alternative path. Barak knows well that he is taking a considerable risk: if a suicide attack now takes place inside Israel, the right-wing will surely put the blame on the court. Actually, something similar has already happened. Only a few minutes after the court decision was read out, Colonel (res.) Danny Tirzeh, the skull-capped officer with responsibility at the Ministry of Defense for the building of the wall, said that the court’s decision will cause Jews to be murdered. The man was not fired on the spot, God forbid, but only rebuked by his minister. Ariel Sharon may well be satisfied with the court’s decision. True, the path of the wall will have to be planned anew, costing more money and time. But in a week the International Court of Justice in The Hague will deliver its decision on the wall and the matter will return to the UN. There the Israeli and American representatives will argue that the Israeli court has already rectified the inequities that needed to be addressed. In A-Ram and the other suburbs of Jerusalem, too, the path will have to be changed. I hope that it will be removed from the highway where we were demonstrating last Saturday. I have inhaled enough gas to last me a while. [] Petition for lifting the restrictions from Mordechai Vanunu From: Rayna Moss עברית מהשולח המקורי Mordechai Vanunu is released, but not free. Oppressive restrictions have been placed on him by Israeli authorities, based on 1945 British Mandate emergency regulations. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) is representing Vanunu in an appeal challenging the draconian restrictions to Israel's High Court. The restrictions include: not being allowed to leave Israel, not being allowed to come within a certain distance of embassies, ports, and borders; not being allowed to travel within Israel beyond the city of his residence without advance permission; not being allowed to speak about his work at Dimona; not being allowed to speak to the foreign press; and limits on and monitoring of his phone and internet use. The injustice of not being allowed to leave Israel is compounded by the fact that, following a massive campaign whipped up against him in the mass media, with the active participation of several cabinet minsters, Vanunu has received threats on his life from ultra-right wing Israeli extremists. A Ma'ariv newspaper internet poll two days after his release asked the question, "What should be done with Vanunu?" and listed "kill him" as one of several choices. Under such circumstances, It is obviosuly out of the question for Vanunu to simply stroll down the street of any Israeli city. It is a particularly vicious policy to expose a man to such hatred and hostility among the general Israeli public - and at the same time force him to stay on in Israel and forbid him to go anywhere else. Thanks very much for your support. PETITION To Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Justice Minister Yosef ("Tommy") Lapid Attorney General Menachem Mazuz: LET MORDECHAI VANUNU GO! He has served his full sentence, and is not charged with any offenses. Lift all the restrictions. Allow him to leave Israel immediately. Signature: Affiliation (if any): Send to Rayna Moss [] Five imprisoned refusniks to face parole board & more refusnik updates Compiled from messages sent by Nssim Duek (Refusnik Parents' Forum, ) and Ram Rahat (Yesh Gvul, ). עברית מהשולח המקורי Noam Bahat, Adam Maor, Haggai Matar, Shimri Zameret and Matan Kaminer are awaiting the parole board hearing on July 6, where it willedecided whether or not to reduce the year-longterm imposed on them by the Jaffa Military Court. Ahead ofthe hearing, dozens of Israeli lawyers and jurists signed a petition, due to be published in Ha'aretz tomorrow (July 5). The lawyers, having different opinions on the issue of conscientious refusal of military service in itself, point out the punishment is disproptionally heavy, that it did not take into accout the five's idelistic motivation and their stated willingness to perform alternative civil sevice, and also considering the lighter punishment meted out for more serious offences and the widespread exemptions from miltiary service granted to other sectors of Israeli society. Link for details: http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html * On July 9, CO Yoni Ben Artzi and his lawyer Michael Sfard will appear at the Miltary Appeals Court in Tel Aviv, to appeal the verdict of the Jaffa Miltary Court. Despite the fact that that the army already dischaged Ben Artzi from all militay sevice and recognised him as being a civilian, the court still found Ben Artzi guilty of "disoeying the order of his commanding officer", the mostmilitary of all criminal offences, and imposed the term of two months in the military prison system. Ahead of this week's appeal by Ben Artzi, the army took the highly unusual stepof increasing the panel which will hear his appeal from three judges to five, four (!) of them generals. * On Monday, June 28 Captain (res.) Eitan Lerner, from Tel Aviv, was sentenced to 28 days in Military Prison 6, for refusing to take part in the occupation. Letters of support to him via : yeshgvul@yahoogroups.com * Daniel Tsal, refuser going through his fourth consecutive prison term, was this week transfered from Military Prison 4 to Training Base 13, which means some improvement in daily conditions. The big question, as yet unanswered: when finding that repeated terms of a month or so don't break Tsal's resolve, will the authorities place him (like the Five) before a court-martial, empowered to impose a much heavier punishment. To some degree, the answer depends on the amount of solidarity and support. Letters of support to Daniel Tsal via: Jehoshua@freud.tau.ac.il Other ways of expressing solidarity:  - Sign a petition: http://www.refuz.org.il/petition.php - Adopt a refusenik: - Participate in solidarity actions later this month, details via Yesh Gvul. [] Az Zawiya needs you: Wall construction continues despite Supreme Court From: "IWPS" URGENT ALERT: On Friday, the Israeli DCO (District Coordinating Office) informed its Palestinian counterpart and the mayor of Az Zawiya that despite the injunction and the court ruling on the path of the Wall, the army intends to continue working on the Wall in Az Zawiya and Deir Balut. They military claim that the injunction allows them to continue working in areas where they have already begun uprooting and cutting trees. The villagers in return made clear that they will continue demonstrating until the work stops. PLEASE JOIN THE PEOPLE OF AZ ZAWIYA IN NONVIOLENT PROTEST: Demonstrations are scheduled every morning at 10:00 a.m. until the work is stopped (meeting point by the old Mosque) . For updates call IWPS (International Women's Peace Sevice) 09-2516644 or 067-387806; for details on how to arrive from Israel call Anarachists Against The Wall 066-327736, 067-724519, 064-494030.  Please remember appropriate dress: no shorts (men or women), cover arms, wear longer, looser clothing. Also, bring plenty of water and something to counteract tear gas (onions, cologne or vinegar are all effective). [] Johns Hopkins University research: severe malnutrition in Gaza By Laila El-Haddad, Aljazzera coorespondent in Gaza, 29 June http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/1D105487-229E-42A6-B58B-6B4E7A1AAC64.htm Malnutrition affects a child's ability to concentrate  At the entrance to the Ard al-Insan clinic in Gaza, also known as the Palestinian Benevolent Association, Iman Jilawi was pleading with programme director Itimad Ghabil. Her daughter had just been released from the hospital after intestinal surgery, she said, and she did not have the money to pay for a change of the dressing, let alone for her taxi ride home. She was here, though, for another reason: in addition to being ill, her daughter was severely malnourished. And she was not alone. A cacophony of wails could be heard from within the teeming waiting room. Together with their weary mothers, tens of infants waited to be examined by nurses and nutritionists. There was Mahmud Sukar, who at eight months weighed in at a mere 4.5 kilograms, and whose family has been surviving on United Nations food coupons set to expire in a few weeks. And Farah Khalifa, who at 18 months weighed six kilograms. "I can't even remember the last time I tasted meat," said her mother. "My fridge is empty, and my daughter is surviving on my breast milk." The problems faced by the visitors to the clinic are confounded by a vicious circle of poverty and unemployment, which makes Ghabil's job all the more frustrating. "I don't know what to do. I can't help them every time they come in here," said Ghabil. "They need continuous help." Deteriorating nutrition In the summer of 2002, a landmark study initiated by Care International and Johns Hopkins University, in coordination with Al- Quds University in Jerusalem, found a major problem with the quality of food intake as well as a worrying level of acute malnutrition in children in the Gaza Strip. The clinic is overrun with mothers seeking care for their children The figures showed that one-fifth of Palestinian children were suffering from malnutrition - a rate more than four times above that of a normally nourished population, according to the study. "In humanitarian terms it was a percentage that was high enough to trigger some kind of intervention - and that's what the aid agencies were most interested in," said project coordinator Dr Gregg Greenough of Johns Hopkins University in an interview with Aljazeera.net. Chronic malnutrition undermines the immune system and affects the body's ability to resist and respond to infections and infectious diseases. It is of particular concern in places where populations are already vulnerable, as those in the Gaza Strip are. Last month, Greenough returned to Gaza to conclude a follow-up study, with mixed results. While malnutrition in Gaza had gone down, the daily intake of essential macro and micro nutrients had decreased to alarming levels.  "This is something unprecedented. We actually see that as they get older [Palestinian] children are taking in less calories per day. It drops off the charts," he said. Poverty Greenough and his colleagues say the decrease in quality of food intake is directly related to poverty: "Bread is cheap, and tea is cheap," he says. Malnutrition is not immediately evident in such children, however, because of the body's self-sustaining nature. Some kitchens contain little more than bread and water "You can feed yourself filler food, such as bread, and preserve your weight and height," said Greenough. "What the body will do is lose weight, but not lose height right away. And before you lose weight and height, you decrease energy intake. You might be less attentive at school, for example." According to Ard al-Insan, malnutrition prevalence is a late indicator of a crisis precisely because of these reasons. As a result, a significant proportion of Palestinian children may very well be at high risk of malnutrition. Tenuous relief While the study did have some promising results - it found that acute levels of malnutrition had dropped in the Gaza Strip to 13% - Greenough is not holding his breath. Food assistance is a temporary measure for relief, he says, and if taken away, hundreds of vulnerable families will find themselves back in the malnutrition loop. Children suffer weight loss and a weakened immune system "My concern is that it's still tenuous, and acute malnutrition could still rise," said Greenough. With unemployment steadily on the rise, and income levels for those who are employed decreasing dramatically, Greenough has good reason to worry. By some estimates, unemployment in general is in excess of 60% in the Gaza Strip, while around 80% of the population is living under the poverty line, with an income of under $2 a day. In addition, the median monthly income for those who are employed has decreased from $550 before the second intifada to $267 during the first quarter of 2004, a drop of nearly 52%, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics found. There are also more mouths to feed, according to the World Bank and the United Nations. Whereas in 2000, one worker supported four people in the West Bank and six in the Gaza Strip, the ratios are now seven and nine respectively. Future prospects All this has the executive director of Ard al-Insan, Itidal al- Khatib, worried about the future. Although malnutrition may pose a greater health risk in other countries, in Gaza the situation is aggravated by a military occupation and a jobless economy with the living standard of a developed country. "With declining incomes and declines in the access to public services, it would not be surprising if we would see evidence of deteriorating nutrition in a short time," she said. "Mothers of malnourished children are usually also malnourished themselves and absolutely exhausted" says Itidal al-Khatib, executive director of Ard al-Insan. None the less, the clinic has continued with its work, which al- Khatib says revolves around nutritional security from the grassroots up. Active mothers are given training and a certificate upon completion of a nutrition course, and go on to form a support group in their neighbourhood with other vulnerable women. "Mothers of malnourished children are usually also malnourished themselves and absolutely exhausted. "It affects her mental capacity. Most mothers that come in here have depression, and their coping mechanisms are not developed, which affects their relationship with their families and children. We try to counsel the entire household so it's useful without being stigmatic." Forced to cope But Palestinian families have had to resort to severe measures just to ensure their survival, according to recent studies. Such coping mechanisms have ranged from forgoing medical needs, to decreasing the numbers of meals per day. Mothers skimp on clothes for their offspring and fuel bills The new Johns Hopkins study has found that two-thirds of the population is not paying or paying less on utility bills in order to purchase food. More than half have given up buying clothes for their children, and 20% forgo buying medications needed for chronic diseases. And according to Ard al-Insan's annual report, nine per cent of families in Gaza eat only one meal a day, and another 40% rely on money borrowed from relatives in order to buy their food. Dairy intake has decreased by more than 80%, due to the rising cost of milk. Some 46.8% of all Palestinian households receive food assistance from agencies. In Gaza, the number is a startling 72%. Greenough says the situation will not improve in the long-term unless the underlying cause is addressed: poverty. "I've been in some homes and all I've seen is water, parsley, and bread," he said. "The problem isn't the food - there's food out there, but people just can't buy it. It's very, very sad." [] Collection of toys, computers and clothes for Palestinian Children From: "yafit biso" עברית מהשולח המקורי Dear everybody The school holidays which began a few days ago are not always a time of pleasure for children in the besieged West Bank villages, who are often feeling bored and frustrated. Me and several of my friends are trying to help children of different ages by collecting old toys, as well as old computers to which we fit programs in Arabic and give them especially to sick children who can't leave home to play. Children's cloths are also welcome. Anyone who can donate such items, please contact Yafit-Jamilah Biso 03-9568061 or 064341840 P.S. See our calendar links & announcements - new maps, brochures, eye-witness reports - films, expositions, refusnik links - Gush Shalom details re website, donations, subscription to email # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Palestinians draw the map for understanding the Disengagement Plan http://www.nad-plo.org/images/maps/pdf/gaza.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) - films, expositions, refusnik links \/ # The "Breaking the Silence" soldiers' exhibition photo gallery at: http://www.shovrimshtika.org/hebrew/modules.php?name=coppermine stories (Hebrew only) http://www.shovrimshtika.org/hebrew/modules.php?name=News article in English: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/440348.html # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / עברית - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / עברית - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il/ -- Gush Shalom website, how to donate / subscrie to emails etc.: http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail From info at gush-shalom.org Wed Jul 7 00:54:52 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:16 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Hunger Strike against A-Ram Wall / 4 generals & 1 pacifist Message-ID: <20040706215926.7A76571C1@smtp5.wanadoo.nl> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ ****************************** *Due to technical problems you may have gotten several earlier messages at once, and some even twice - for which we apologize. *During the absence of part of the information team (until July 18) you may not always get the complete link information as we use to give (Hebrew/English) for articles which we pass on. ****************************** International release, July 6, 2004 action news [] Hunger strike at A-Ram - the destructive construction continues [] How many generals does it take to judge one pacifist? Friday - Ben Artzi appeal [] Wednesday demonstration at Mahane Yehuda Market, Jerusalem analysis [] Foreseeing the future - Uzi Benziman on Wall and Supreme Court ~~~ [] Hunger strike at A-Ram - the destructive construction continues In spite of the Supreme Court ruling of last week the army is continuing with the "preparatory work" for the Wall in A-Ram, which includes destruction of the main Jerusalem-Ramallah Highway in total disregard of the fact that it is a major artery for a whole region. Therefore, the struggle continues. On Saturday July 3, Palestinian, Israeli and International women peace activists marched together from themunicipality of Al-Ram, and stood for an hour in a silent vigil in front of (and some upon) the huge cement blocks, ready to be erected for the Wall. The women's vigil was followed by a hunger strike, initiated by the locals' Popular Committee Against the Separation Barrier in A-Ram. They have raised a hunger strike tent near the A-Ram checkpoint - which was the scene of extreme police violence on June 26. Well-known Palestinian leaders of the Jerusalem area are joined by Knesset Member Azmi Bishara and veteran Israeli activist Michael ("Mikado") Warshawski. Everybody who can is asked to join in. For details: Sirhan Salaymeh, A-Ram Mayor 067-893194 Warshawski 064-733453 or Sirhan from A-Ram at: KM Bishara 054-290729 ~~~ [] How many generals does it take to judge one pacifist? Friday - Ben Artzi appeal From: Ram Rahat, Yesh Gvul On Friday July 9, 2004 the High Military Court of Appeals will hear Yonatan Ben-Artzi's appeal contesting his sentence of two months in jail for refusing to be drafted. There will be a special panel of five judges,of whomfour areMajor Generals: Ishai Bar (President of the Court); Ilan Shiff (former Judge- Advocate General); Gideon Sheffer (former commander of the IDF Manpower Division) and Yitzchak Eitan (former commander of the Central Command). Is the army so scared of one pacifist that it needs this line-up? The Court session will be held atthe IDF Headquarters (9, Ein Dor St., Hakirya, Tel Aviv), beginning at 9 a.m. It's open to the public and it's very important that all supporters of the Refusal Movement be present. ~~~  [] Wednesday demonstration at Mahane Yehuda Market, Jerusalem From: "rabbis for human rights" The Forum of Organizations Against Unemployment On Wednesday, July 7, at 3:30 pm, we will gather at the Mahane Yehuda MarketplaceSHUCK in Jerusalem to protest vis-a-vis the "Caesarea Conference" - a conference which brings together politicians, central figures in the economy and academics. What are we demanding? Basic human rights: employment, a roof over everybody's head, education, healthcare and welfare. At 5:00 pm we will march towards the Prime Minister's residence and hold a protest rally in front of it. For details: Sigal 067-333018, Miki 067-202378, Chaya 065-345930 Transportation: North: Haifa - Solel Bone Plaza at 1:00pm/ Nazareth - Commercial Center 1:00 pm South: Dimona - Commercial Center 1:00pm/ Beer-Sheva - Egged Bus Station 1:45pm/ Plugot Junction 2:30pm Tel Aviv - Arlozorov Railway Station 2:00pm [] Foreseeing the future - Uzi Benziman on Wall and Supreme Court Forseeing the Future By Uzi Benziman, Ha'aretz, July 4  Ariel Sharon should be reminded of his statements: Three days ago, he warned the heads of the defense establishment not to criticize the High Court of Justice ruling and he promised to abide by it. As is appropriate for a prime minister in a properly functioning country, Sharon urged his subordinates to reach the necessary conclusions from the court's decision on the security fence, and to complete its planning and construction along the permissible route. He even told them to take into consideration the needs of the Palestinian villagers.  Sharon was so generous in his approach that he told the senior officials in his office, "I don't know how many among them [Palestinians] are farmers, but it is a very hard thing to take lands from these people, who invested their lives in these fields." Cut this bit out and save it!  As opposed to the impression created in the media, and among the right- wing ministers and MKs, the High Court of Justice decision last Wednesday grants the government a great deal of leeway for constructing the fence along a route that it sees fit. The justices accepted the position of the state as being self-evident, that the fence was initiated purely as a result of security needs, and that its route was not influenced by political considerations. In addition, the High Court gave utmost weight to the professional considerations of the state's security experts over those of senior retired officers, and over those of the justices themselves.  The reason for the High Court's involvement in the fence issue was diluted to a single element in the decision-making process: excessive arrogance among the planners and the officers, which led them to blatantly ignore the rights of the Palestinian residents. One may conclude that the minute the defense establishment restrains a bit the indifference of those in its ranks dealing with the setting up of the fence, the minute it proves that it shows some consideration to the complaints of the victimized Palestinian population, the High Court will lift the gates and allow it to complete the fence on the basis of its fundamental guiding principles.  In order to prevent a mere cosmetic correction to the fence's route, it is important to emphasize an afterthought statement by the High Court of Justice, and attach to it the prime minister's declaration regarding the government's commitment to accept the decision of the judicial authority. Justices Aharon Barak, Eliahu Mazza and Mishael Cheshin included the following statement in their decision: "The fence should not be built for political reasons. It cannot come about by motives for annexation. Its purpose cannot be the setting of a political border." The justices then ruled that in the cases brought before them there was no political motive behind the construction of the fence.  This will not necessarily be the case when petitions are filed against the building of the fence in the area of Ariel. The security justification for the route of the fence in this part is less convincing than the section between Mevasseret Zion and Beit Surik. The political motivation in building the obstacle deep to the east of Kfar Sava is much more obvious than the strip of land along Route 443, against which petitions were filed and on which the High Court ruled last week. If and when the court deliberates the circuit of the fence that is meant to annex the settlements in central Samaria, it will be bound by its statement that the fence is not a legitimate means for establishing a political border. Then, there will be great significance in the prime minister's commitment to abide by the High Court's ruling.  Before the government becomes mired in contradictions to its commitment to the High Court's decision, or before it forces the court into a corner from which it will be difficult to pull back from its statement that a fence should not be built for the purpose of annexation, it is advisable that it reconsider its decision to push the fence deep into Palestinian territory in the Ariel area.  At the Defense Ministry, they argue that 50,000 Israelis live in the area in question, and only one Palestinian family, but this is their way of absolving the act. However, even here they admit that the fence, along its planned circuit, will include large agricultural plots owned by Palestinians.  The government will have a hard task in persuading the public that the motive behind the building of the fence in this area is solely security based, and the prime minister will find it difficult to shake off his expression of understanding to the suffering of the peasants who must be cut off from their lands. It is worthwhile to foresee the future and return the route of the fence close to the Green Line. # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Palestinians draw the map for understanding the Disengagement Plan http://www.nad-plo.org/images/maps/pdf/gaza.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew / ????? http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) - films, expositions, refusnik links \/ # The "Breaking the Silence" soldiers' exhibition photo gallery at: http://www.shovrimshtika.org/hebrew/modules.php?name=coppermine stories (Hebrew only) http://www.shovrimshtika.org/hebrew/modules.php?name=News article in English: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/440348.html # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / ????? - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / ????? - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il/ -- Gush Shalom website, how to donate / subscrie to emails etc.: http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail _______________________________________________ If you got this forwarded and you want to subscribe, send mail to gush-shalom-intl-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org and write "subscribe" in the subject line. -- To unsubscribe, send mail to gush-shalom-intl-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org and write "unsubscribe" in the subject line. For assistance: info@gush-shalom.org From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Jul 8 17:41:13 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:16 2004 Subject: Separation Wall separates us from the world - reports of the ongoing struggle Message-ID: <20040708144315.152615A148@smtp8.wanadoo.nl> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ ****************************** *During the absence of part of the information team (until July 18) you may not always get the complete link information as we use to give (Hebrew/English) for articles which we pass on. ****************************** International release, July 8, 2004 [] Separation Wall separates us from the world - Hague verdict tomorrow Action alerts and reports: [] A-Ram hunger strike entering its fifth day [] Simone Bitton?s documentary "Wall" screened at protest tent tonight [] Women's demonstration at A-Ram, Sat. July 10 [] Friday protest against the Wall at A-Zawyia [] Saturday: women's demonstration at Salem Checkpoint (Jenin Region) [] Five imprisoned refusniks face the parole board [] Reminder: Ben Artzi appeal tomorrow [] Court to rule on deportation of detained ISM activist [] ElBaradei in Israel; Vanunu prepares legal challenge to restrictions [] A peace presence in the street during the Jerusalem Cinema Festival Commentary: [] Let's dismantle the fence - Yoel Esteron in Ha'aretz, 8/7/04 [] Separation Wall separates us from the world - Hague verdict tomorrow "THE SEPARATION WALL SEPARATES US FROM THE WORLD" is the text of the Gush Shalom ad due to be published in Ha'aretz tomorrow (Friday), to coincide with the International Court at the Hague announcing its verdict (which the Sharon Government already declared it will not respect). Sharon did state his adherence to the verdict of the Israeli Supreme Court last week - which does not prevent the army from continuing work on constructing the Wall in several sectors, causing grave hardship to the Palestinian population. The struggle against the Wall on the ground intensifies, with the hunger strike continuing to gather momentum at A-Ram and various protests scheduled elsewhere. At the same time, warfare is intensifying in the Gaza Strip from which Sharon is supposedly "disengaging". This night, eight Palestinians, including several civilians, were killed tonight during an unequal battle with the heavily armoured Israeli troops engaged in the destruction of fields and orange groves (in a futile effort to "deprive guerillas of cover"). And meanwhile, Minister Ehud Olamart, Sharon's trusted lieutenant, is heading to Ankara capital in a effort to heal the widening breach with the Turks, until recently Israel's most staunch ally in the region and now increasingly vocal in their criticism. There is much for peace activists to do - following is the latest collection of information and commentaries.  [] A-Ram hunger strike entering its fifth day (Compiled of messages from Yehudith Harel and Shiko Behar , "rabbis for human rights" ) For the fifth consecutive day, the hunger strike tent at A-Ram is the focus of mobilization against the Wall. The strikers include Knesset Member Dr. Azmi Bishara, Palestinian legislative council member Hatem Abdel Qader, veteran Israeli activist Michael ("Mikado") Warshawski, and nine other Palestinian leaders and activists as well as Muslim and Christian clergy from the Jerusalem area. They are getting a constant stream of local and international visitors, and get world-wide messages of support (for example,from a sizable group of European Parliament Members - text from MEP Luisa Morgantini ). The tent is located at the al-Razi Cultural Association (for those coming from Jerusalem it is on the left side of the main road just past the A- Ram checkpoint) The hunger strike has already been followed by similar initiatives ? hunger strikes, seat-ins, days of fast ? in other places in the West Bank. Likewise, the Palestinian National leadership in Jerusalem has announced - A general commercial strike on Thursday July 8th - A mass demonstration against the wall in Hizma - A collective Friday prayer at A-Ram junction, near the tent of the hunger-strikers. For more information: Sirhan Salaymeh, A-Ram Mayor 067-893194 Warshawski 064-733453, KM Bishara 054-290729 abishara@knesset.gov.il Leena Dalasheh leena@alt-info.org Rabbis for Human Rights are organizing transportation to the tent - details 050-607034. Meanwhile, in another sector at the Jerusalem area, over 1,000 residents of the Israeli neighbourhoods Talpiot Mizrakh and Armon HaNatziv have signed a petition on behalf of their Palestinian neighbours in Sheikh Saed, severely threatened by the Wall (Contact: Hillel 02-6732936). [] Simone Bitton?s documentary "Wall" screened at protest tent tonight Meanwhile, tonight (Thursday July 8, 2004) at 8.30 pm there will be at hunger strike tent a special preview screening of WALL, director Simone Bitton?s latest documentary film about the construction of the separation fence/wall. WALL first premiered at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival (Director?s Fortnight). It is scheduled to open in theatres in France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland in October of this year.Simone Bitton: ?The film is a personal cinematic meditation on the current phase of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It has no maps, no narration, no opinionated or militant commentary. It has sounds and images?the documentation of a wall under construction?because everybody?s talking about the wall, but very few people have actually seen it up close. This insane wall symbolizes the insanity we have reached, but it is more than a symbol: it is very concrete; an immense project of dispossession, land expropriation, altering the geography and the destroying the landscape. It closes the Palestinians in prison-like cantons and takes the Jews back to the ghetto.?WALL (MUR) will screen in the framework of the Spirit of Freedom Competition at the Jerusalem Film Festival Wednesday July 14, 2004 18:00, Beit Shmuel Thursday July 15, 2004 13:45, Jerusalem Cinematheque For tickets: www.jff.org.il Following the screenings there will be a Q&A with the director.For more information contact:Rachel Jones: +972-52-3462693 Yael Lerer: +972-50-5811712 Awatef Shiekh: +972-54-6656605 [] Women's demonstration at A-Ram, Sat. July 10 The Fight against the Separation Wall has not ended Now is the time to keep the pressure up Political and religious leaders are holding hunger strike in A-Ram. Come to support and show solidarity! Palestinian, Israeli, and International women will again hold A silent vigil At the A-Ram cross road Saturday, 10th of July 2004 At 16:00 - 17:00 Please wear white Transportation: Liberty Bell Park, Jerusalem 14:30, French Hill commercial centre 14:45 Transportation from Tel Aviv call 064-604172, from Nazareth: 052-2353324 Further info Bat Shalom: 02-5631477 or 052-3353992 [] Friday protest against the Wall at A-Zawyia From: "Ta'ayush" On Friday, July 9, the International Court of Justice in the Hague will give its decision concerning the Separation Fence in the Occupied Territories. The people of the Salfit region will mark this event in a demonstration in A-Zawyia. Note, the issue is not only that the A-Zawyia villagers stand to lose their land and livelihood - which is grave enough. The actual erection of the Fence in the area of Ariel (Salfit), which Prime Minister Sharon had already obliged himself to carry out, would divide the West Bank in half and put an end to the possibility of an independent Palestinian state. We call on everybody to voice our objection together with the Palestinians of the Salfit area! To join, call Esti 050-7425484  [] Saturday: women's demonstration at Salem Checkpoint (Jenin Region) ISM Jenin would like to invite Israeli activists to join a women's peaceful demonstration in front of Salem Checkpoint in the Jenin region, this Saturday, July 10, 11am. Palestinian women will speak about their experiences of the occupation. To join, call 054-7705968 or 059-744037. [] Five imprisoned refusniks face the parole board From: "Anat Matar" The military parole committee convened yesterday at the military court in Jaffa to discuss the possibility of a parole to the five conscientious objectors refusing to enlist in an army of occupation. The committee will give its decision in a couple of days. Background: after spending more than a year in military prisons and incarceration, the refuseniks - Haggai Matar, Matan Kaminer, Shimri Zameret, Adam Maor and Noam Bahat - were sentenced in January to one year in prison (not including the previous terms). According to the IDF?s demand, they were transferred to a civilian prison in February. During the hearing, Captain Erez Guryon, who represented the IDF?s chief military prosecutor, objected to any deduction at the moment and asked that the committee would reconvene in September to decide upon the possibility of a minimal reduction. He emphasized that the five did not express any remorse about their deeds. He then added that then, in September, he?d express the opinion that the five should get ?some reduction, between a third of the period to nothing, but closer to nothing". Guryon also said that the issue of the future of the five, after their release, was still open, and that they might be summoned again to the induction center. Refuser parents' response: The army acts against our sons in the same spirit as it used to during the trial ? the spirit of the inquisition. The request for remorse is meant to break their conscience. Is this what we want in a democratic state? What Guryon said during the hearing amounts to a denial of the usual benefit given to every prisoner. We presented to the committee wonderful reports written by the prison?s social workers, proving that the behaviour of the five is excellent, that they contribute to their inmates by teaching and helping them, that they are appreciated by wardens and inmates alike. We call upon every conscientious person in Israel and throughout the world to help bringing this ordeal to an end, by writing letters to Israeli authorities, by organizing activities of support and rallies calling to the release of the conscientious objectors. Conscience is not a crime; it is not a murder, a rape, a robbery. It is too bad that the army authorities still refuse to realize this.? [] Reminder: Ben Artzi appeal tomorrow Tomorrow (Friady July 9) at 9.00 am CO Yoni Ben Artzi will be appealing his two-month imprisonment, before a special bench of five military judges, four of them generals. The Court session will be held at the IDF Headquarters (9, Ein Dor St.,Hakirya, Tel Aviv). It's open to the public - if you can, please be there! [] Court to rule on deportation of detained ISM activist By Relly Sa'ar, Haaretz July 8 Tel Aviv District Court Judge Oded Modrik is expected to decide today (Thursday) whether to comply with requests by the security services to expel New Yorker Anne Robinson-Peter, the 44-year-old graphic and video artist who has been under arrest by the Immigration Police for the past two weeks. An activist in the International Solidarity Movement in support of the Palestinians, Robinson-Peter has been held at Ben-Gurion International Airport in the holding cells reserved for people refused entry to the country. She arrived two weeks ago for a 14-day visit with the intention of filming a video about a 79-year-old Holocaust survivor traveling the country and the territories, and to take part in demonstrations against the separation fence. According to her attorney, Shamai Leibowitz, Robinson-Peter was questioned for some 10 hours by security agents at the airport and refused to hand over information about other members of the Israeli- Palestinian organization. She was denied entry to Israel on two grounds, says the report on her being questioned at the airport: "Her guaranteed participation in hostile sabotage activity," and belonging to "a leftist organization." Robinson-Peter, who does work for the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Simon & Schuster, the publishing house, refused to comply with the authorities' refusal to allow her into the country, arguing that she had spent two weeks in Israel two years ago without any conditions. When she refused to leave, she was placed under arrest. After her lawyers appealed to the District Court on the day after her arrival, a temporary injunction was issued preventing the authorities from deporting her. But the court refused to issue a release order letting her out of the holding cells even under constraints. The security services claimed at the closed door hearings two weeks ago that they have "secret information" about the woman. At a court hearing Tuesday, say her lawyers, the prosecutors refused to provide a statement backing up the claims of the security services, which had originally argued at her arrest that her presence in the country endangers state security. "The prosecutors wanted the judge to hold a closed door hearing with the Shin Bet representative, without a defense attorney present," said Leibowitz. "That would be a clear violation of the legal process, since if the state is accusing my client of such grave charges its duty is to present a written statement so we can respond to it." While Robertson-Peter is not being allowed contact with anyone other than her lawyer, she answered through him why she insisted on staying in Israel despite the considerable discomfort it has involved for her. "My client," said Leibowitz, "refuses to allow the state to impugn her with the stigma of being a terrorist who is involved in hostile terrorist activity, and she is disgusted by the way her activities on behalf of human rights are regarded as a so-called danger to the security of the state. She is fighting to prove that there is nothing wrong with her activities." For more information contact:Huwaida Arraf (ISM) +972-547-473-308 Attorney Yael Berda +972 68 743 083 Attorney Shamai Leibowitz +972 64 414 505 In New York:Radhika Sainath (ISM) at +1-(917) 669-6903 Carol Workman (Ann?s sister) at +1-(802) 655-3250 [] ElBaradei in Israel; Vanunu prepares legal challenge to restrictions From: Rayna Moss By Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondent Government efforts to keep low-key the visit of Dr. Mohammed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency visit and keep the press out of it failed, as the visitor has held three impromptu press conferences - one at his hotel, one after his Jerusalem meeting with Health Minister Danny Naveh and one after his Ramat Aviv meeting with Gideon Frank, head of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission (in practice involvd with nuclear weapons rather than energy). ElBaradei's lecture at the Hebrew University campus in Jerusalem was held behind closed doors, with the list of invitees carefully screened in advance by Frank and his staff, but anti-nuclear activists organised by the Vanunu Solidarity Committee held a picket outside, calling for a Middle east free of all weapons of mass destruction. ElBaradei leaves tonight for Vienna, the IAEA headquarters. lBaradei to raise idea of nuclear-free Mideast By Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondent http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/447921.html Opening a closely watched visit to Israel, Dr. Mohammed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is expected to raise Wednesday the idea of Israel taking part in an international conference under IAEA patronage to discuss the establishment of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East. "I would like to see Israel supporting the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," ElBaradei said on his arrival in Israel Tuesday, adding that he would like to see Israel sign an additional agreement committing it to disclose information on any potential nuclear-related exports. But the IAEA director said he did not intend to push the Jewish state on the nuclear issue. "It's not a question of pressure. I have no power to pressure," he said. ElBaradei is to raise the nuclear-free zone concept during a scheduled Wednesday meeting in Tel Aviv with Gideon Frank, head of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, and commission officials, to discuss various aspects of Israel's nuclear policies. Formally, ElBaradei is the commission's guest. At the Wednesday meeting, he will also raise the idea of the IAEA sending inspectors to monitor Israel's nuclear activities. Israel strongly objects to any international inspections of its nuclear facility in Dimona, although it does allow IAEA inspections at the small research reactor at Nahal Soreq, near Yavneh. ElBaradei is scheduled to meet later on Wednesday with Health Minister Dan Naveh, and with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Thursday. "There are no signs of a policy change in Israel," said a diplomat close to the IAEA. ElBaradei's spokesman Mark Gwozdecky said ElBaradei realized "the objectives are ambitious and are not going to be achieved overnight. But he is willing to invest the time necessary to make progress." Israel is expected to announce Wednesday a new national program for nuclear medicine that will win financial and technical support from the IAEA. The announcement will come during a meeting in Jerusalem this afternoon between Naveh and ElBaradei. The declaration is meant to emphasize the long-standing cooperation between Israel and the IAEA and to dull the tension that exists between the state and the international agency over Israel's policy of nuclear ambiguity. Also up for discussion are the various international treaties Israel has signed, such as the treaty for the protection of reactors and disaster prevention programs, as well as programs meant to prevent terrorists from acquiring nuclear weapons or material. On Thursday, ElBaradei is slated to meet with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the prime minister's bureau. He will also see Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom at Ben-Gurion Airport, where Shalom will be returning from overseas as ElBaradei leaves for his Vienna headquarters. Also tomorrow, he is slated to deliver a speech at Hebrew University to a select audience of academics, government officials and press on his view on how to reduce the world's supply of nuclear weapons. During his talks with the Israeli officials, both sides will raise the issue of Iran's nuclear program and IAEA efforts to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Government sources are emphasizing that the visit is "routine" and no change in policy should be expected. Indeed, the government is making efforts to keep the visit very low profile. ****** http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArtVty.jhtml?swMordechai Ha'aretz, July 7, 2004 Vanunu gets foreign experts to testify in his petition to the Court By Yossi Melman and Yuval Yoaz Restrictions imposed by the Defense Ministry have made it impossible for Mordechai Vanunu to hire Israeli experts to submit evidence for his petition to the High Court. Vanunu has therefore sought testimony from overseas experts, said Dan Yakir, who is legal counsel for the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. The purpose of the expert testimony is to prove that Vanunu disclosed everything he knew about Israel's nuclear program more than 18 years ago, and no longer poses a security threat to the country. One is a physicist, Dr. Frank Barnaby, who was a member of the original Sunday Times team that interviewed Vanunu prior to the original disclosure of information in the mid-1980s. In his affidavit, Barnaby said he interviewed Vanunu at length, and the former nuclear technician at the Dimona plant told him everything he knew about the reactor. Barnaby concluded at the time that Vanunu's knowledge was limited, and exhausted by the disclosures he gave to The Times. "My impression is that I managed to extract from Vanunu maximum information - that is, he told everything he knew about pieces of a much larger puzzle," wrote Barnaby. The second overseas expert is Joseph Rotblat, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II. This affidavit brings up moral and ideological arguments, and stresses the need for whistle-blowing about the dangers posed by nuclear programs. Originally, Vanunu sought testimony from Uzi Even, who worked at the Dimona reactor and served in the Knesset for the Meretz party. But the Defense Ministry's director of security, Yehiel Horev, objected that Even ended his work at Dimona in 1968, and so his knowledge of the plant is not pertinent. On Sunday, a high-level High Court panel - Aharon Barak, Eliahu Mazza and Mishael Cheshin - will consider Vanunu's petition. Vanunu demands that security restrictions imposed on him since his release from an 18- year prison term be overturned. Israel's security establishment claims that Vanunu retains still-undisclosed classified information, and so the restrictions are needed to protect state security. [] A peace presence in the street during the Jerusalem Cinema Festival During the forthcoming Cinema Festival, in Jerusalem, Peace Now will set up a stand every evening at the main event, hand out information material and stickers and in general show Jerusalemites a peace presence. Those willing to volunteer for one hour and a half during one of the Festival evenings, Please contact Daniel Ofir 054 4556052. 02 5660648, daniel@peacenow.org.il. Peace Now is also asking those willing to hang on their balconies a sign with the slogan "Removing Settlements - Choosing for Life" to call the same number, and get the sign delivered by a Peace Now team. [] Let's dismantle the fence - Yoel Esteron in Ha'aretz, 8/7/04 http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=448265&contrass ID=2&subContrassID=3&sbSubContrassID=0 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/448224.html By Yoel Esteron, Ha'aretz 8/7/2004 It's terribly hot. Perhaps because of the oppressive heat it's difficult to remember how it came to be that the Israeli majority supports the fence. Was it something that MK Haim Ramon (Labor) said? Was it something that MK Yossi Beilin (Yahad/Meretz) didn't say? The left was opposed to a fence, but then it turned out that the right was in favor; or maybe it was just the opposite. The suicide attacks have driven all the Israelis crazy, and rightly so. And former prime minister Ehud Barak said that there's no choice. In the final analysis, people who during cooler days understood that building a separation fence, or wall, is an act of despair made do with a lukewarm battle for the "route." With a shrug of their shoulders they supported the fence, on condition that it was built along the "route." Thus was born a new magic word, which of course disappeared into thin air. Whoever allowed Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to build a fence should have known that the route would not be that of Peace Now. The Israelis saw the fence tearing Palestinians away from their families and their lands - and kept silent. The center and the left, and not only the right, are submissively accepting "security considerations." The pathetic demonstrations here and there against the fence have only emphasized the silence and the submissiveness. The few demonstrators have been labeled with some dubious image, as anarchists from the outer fringes. All the others stayed home with their air conditioners. Who has even seen a piece of the fence with his own eyes? It is nearby, yet as far away as the fence that India built in Kashmir. If Mina Tzemach or Camil Fuchs conduct a survey, it will turn out that most of the Israelis have already "disengaged" from the centers of friction, and above all, from Jerusalem. If that is the case, what does the "Jerusalem envelope" have to do with them? And where exactly is Bat Hefer and its fence? For most Israelis, the fence is a rumor. The High Court of Justice gladdened the heart of anyone whose conscience bothered him. A poor consolation. Look, there are justices in Jerusalem, and they have ordered the government to move the fence in northwest Jerusalem so that the Palestinian villages won't be cut off from their fields. A decision that is respectable, reasoned and just, and which misses the main point because even the High Court cannot ask the real, critical question: Is there any need at all for a fence? Ostensibly, the answer is clear. We need a fence in order to stop terror, at least until there is peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. It is difficult today to oppose this pure logic, without being suspected of suffering from sunstroke. It's too late already - the fence has been under energetic construction for months. The High Court decision may be a "black day," according to Colonel (res.) Danny Tirza, the man who planned the route, but tomorrow is another day. The fence is tempting. It's as attractive as the slogan: "They are there and we are here." The fence may prevent the next attack for a while - who can argue with the security experts? Even the High Court unquestioningly accepts the pronouncement of the head of the Israel Defense Forces in the territories. But it exacerbates the Palestinians' hatred and despair. It will create 10 terrorist attacks in place of the attack it prevents. Life without a fence was terrible, but at least it created a sense of urgency; that we have to do something to stop the killing; to solve the conflict; to make peace. The fence creates an illusion that we can "manage" the conflict instead of resolving it, another dubious invention of recent years. The Israeli majority has given up. That is the true significance of its indifference toward the fence. It is hiding on the coastal plain, and longing for a little quiet after years of terror. Even the peace camp is willing to make do with little - with a crumb from the High Court. Meanwhile, it is allowing the right to continue the settlement enterprise in the West Bank without interference, a dunam here and a dunam there, and imposing the suffering of the occupation on millions of Palestinians. Anyone who wants to live without terror, to live in peace, has to oppose the fence. Not when peace, or the messiah, comes. Now. Anyone who supports the fence, or remains silent, cannot console himself that he is supporting a route that is reasonable. Anyone who doesn't oppose the fence is in effect accepting Sharon's fence. The result will be more and more terror that circumvents the fence; the longer the occupation continues, the more horrible the terror. The fence will not stop it for long, it will only make it more sophisticated and more terrible. Here is an urgent proposal to the agenda for Israelis from the center and leftward: Let's dismantle the fence. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Palestinians draw the map for understanding the Disengagement Plan http://www.nad-plo.org/images/maps/pdf/gaza.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Hebrew / ????? http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) - films, expositions, refusnik links \/ # The "Breaking the Silence" soldiers' exhibition photo gallery at: http://www.shovrimshtika.org/hebrew/modules.php?name=coppermine stories (Hebrew only) http://www.shovrimshtika.org/hebrew/modules.php?name=News article in English: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/440348.html # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / ????? - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / ????? - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il/ -- Gush Shalom website, how to donate / subscrie to emails etc.: http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only.  From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Jul 11 14:58:58 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:16 2004 Subject: Avnery on the Hague court/Ben Artzi appeal/soldiers break the silence Message-ID: <20040711120805.D6BCCD42C6@mailgw.sweethome.co.il> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/  International release, July 11, 2004  [] Uri Avnery -There are Judges in The Hague [] Gila Svirsky: Thank you, your honors... [] Military Court of Appeals Hears Jonathan Ben-Artzi's Case [] Refusnik Reservist Chaim Feldman to be imprisoned tomorrow [] Breaking the Silence ? soldiers' testimonies from the Territories ~~~ [] Uri Avnery -There are Judges in The Hague ???? ???? ???? ??? ???? www.gush-shalom.org There are Judges in The Hague Uri Avnery 10.7.04 One of the Israeli newspapers, Haaretz, put the two events on the front page: the 100th anniversary of the death of Theodor Herzl, the founder of the modern Zionist movement, and the judgement of the International Court of Justice , which declared the Israeli Separation Wall illegal. This coincidence may seem fortuitous. What connection could there possibly be between a historical anniversary and the latest topical event? But there is a connection. It is expressed in one sentence written by Herzl in Der Judenstaat, the book that became the cornerstone of Zionism. This is what it said: "There (in Palestine) we shall be a sector of the wal l of Europe against Asia, we shall serve as the outpost of civilization against barbarism." This sentence could easily be written today. American thinkers propound the "clash of civilizations ", with Western "Judeo-Christian" culture battling "Islamic barbarism". American leaders declare that Israel is the outpost of Western civilization in the fight against Arab-Muslim "international terrorism". The Sharon government is building a wall for the purpose, or so it says, of protecting Israel again st Palestinian-Arab terrorism. It declares at every opportunity that the fight against "Palestinian terrorism" is a par t of the struggle against "international terrorism". The Americans support the Israeli wall with all their heart and their wallet. Even the semi-official name of the barrier - the "Separation Fence" - emphasizes this tendency. It is intended to "separate" between nations, between civilizations, and indeed to separate culture (us) from barbari sm (them). These are profoundly ideological reasons, mostly unconscious, for the building of the wall. On the surface, it seems to be a practical response to a real and present danger. An ordinary Israeli will say: "Are you nuts? What are you talking about? What has this to do with H erzl? He died a hundred years ago!" But there is a direct connection. This is also true for another aspec t of the wall. In Herzl's day a phrase was coined that became the slogan of the Zionist movement in its early year s: "A land without a people for a people without a land." That is to say, Palestine is an empty countr y. Anyone who tours the length of the planned path of the wall is struck by one aspect that leaps to t he eye: it has been determined without the slightest consideration for the life of the Palestinian human be ings living there. The wall crushes them as a man steps on an ant. Farmers are cut off from their fields , workers from the workplaces, pupils from their schools, sick people from their hospitals, the berea ved from the graves of their beloved ones. It is easy to imagine the officers and settlers bent over the map and planning the path - as though through an empty space, with nothing there except settlements, army bases and roads. They argue about topog raphy, tactical considerations and strategic objectives. Palestinians? What Palestinians? The Israeli Supreme Court that handed down its decision last week concentrated mainly on this point . It did not contest the generals' pronouncement that the wall is necessary. If the generals say so, the court stands to attention and salutes. Neither did the court decide that the wall must be built on the Green Line, the internationally recognized border between Israel and the territories it occu pied in 1967, which is also the shortest and most easily defended line. But it recognized the fact that the territories contain a Palestinian population and demanded that their human requirements be taken in to consideration. During the week that has passed since then, it became clear that the army is ready to make some cha nges to the path of the wall, but not to change its basic concept. The "improved" path still creates enclaves for th e Palestinians and limits their freedom of movement, if less than the former path. Some of the farmers will be reconne cted with their land. Nothing more. Now comes the International Court of Justice and announces principles that are much closer to those supported by the Israeli peace forces that have demonstrated against the wall. It says that the wall itself is illeg al, except where it follows the Green Line. All the sectors built inside the occupied territories violate internatio nal law as well as conventions and agreements signed by Israel. The court says that those sectors of the wall must be removed, the situation restored to what it wa s before, and the Palestinian compensated for the damage inflicted on them. All the countries of the world are called upon to abstain from giving any aid to the building of the wall. Will this have any impact on Israeli public opinion? I am afraid not. During the last few months, t he official propaganda machine has been preparing the public for this day. The judges of the International Court, it was s aid, are anti-Semites. It is well known that all the nations, with the possible exception of the United States, want to de stroy the Jewish State. Some years ago a jolly song was very popular: "All the world is against us / But we don't give a da mn " So, to hell with them! Will it have an impact on world public opinion? Probably, though the court's "advisory opinion" is not binding and the court has no army or police to enforce its decisions. There is no point in submitting it to the Sec urity Council, where it will automatically be shot down by an American veto. At any time, and even more so on the eve of elections, an American administration will be loath to offend the pro-Israeli lobby, both Jewish and Evangelical. The US w ill ignore the court and go on financing the wall. But in the veto-free UN General Assembly there will be a wide-ranging debate that will shine a spot light on the real character of the wall. The propaganda machine of the Sharon government, aided and abetted by most o f the world's media, has produced an image of the wall as a necessary means for the prevention of suicide attacks inside Israel. The debate in the General Assembly may help to publicize the real purpose of the monster. The day before the judgement I was in a big tent at A-Ram, just north of Jerusalem, a town that is one of the principal victims of the wall. A hunger strike of Palestinians and Israelis against the wall has been taking place there. The place has attracted pilgrims from all over the country. Inside the tent, the world premiere of a film took place. Its director, Simone Bitton, an Israeli o f North African origin living in Paris, shows the wall as it is. In the film, Palestinians describe what the wall has done to them. A Jewish Kibbutz member calls it a disaster for Israel, a disaster of our own making. The Director of the Ministry of Defense, General Amos Yaron (who was relieved of his army command by the Kahan Inquiry Commission for his involvement in the Sabra and Shatila affair) explai ns that the Palestinians themselves are to blame for their suffering. After all, if they just stopped resisting the occupati on, there would be no need for the wall. But the most moving sequence of the film was purely visual, a sequence without words. One sees gree n fields and olive groves stretching to the horizon, and occasional villages with their soaring minarets. A crane lifts a hug e concrete slab into place on the wall. It hides a part of the landscape. A second slab is raised and hides some more. The thi rd slab blocks the landscape entirely - and you realize that before your very eyes, another village has been cut off from life f orever, with the huge, 8-meter-high wall enclosing the village from all sides. But at the same moment a thought crossed my mind: After all, the same crane that puts the blocks th ere can also remove them. It happened in Germany. It will happen here. The decision of the judges of The Hague, coming from 1 5 different countries, has made a contribution to that. Perhaps it is an irony of history: the judges who represent European culture demand that the wall b e removed. If Herzl had witnessed that, he would have been puzzled. [] Gila Svirsky: Thank you, your honors... From: Gila Svirsky Thank You, Your Honors Gila Svirsky In a carefully reasoned but unequivocal decision, the International Court of Justice in the Hague d id the expected: It found that Israel's construction of its security wall inside Palestinian territory is illegal ac cording to international law. As an Israeli deeply concerned about the security of my country, and a Jew deeply concerned about t he moral implications of building this barrier, I applaud this decision. Israel's security claims in favor of the wall are seriously flawed: As it is now being constructed , the wall does not follow the 1967 border, but rather reaches deep into Palestinian land, a route that will ultimately leave hund reds of thousands of Palestinians on the Israeli side. How will this prevent Palestinian suicide bombers from entering Israel? On humanitarian grounds, the wall is unconscionable. It prevents Palestinian access to farmland, s chools, hospitals and jobs. Picture your children having to wait at the wall twice a day for soldiers to show up and unlock the gate, allowing them to get to and from school. Picture the farmer who made a living from his olive trees, which are now inaccess ible or have been felled to make way for construction. Imagine that you suddenly need to see a doctor, but have no permit to get th rough. Imagine that you simply want to visit your elderly mother, but the wall now comes between you. According to B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights organization, when the wall is complete, some 38% of Palestinians will find their lives disrupted and their livel ihoods discontinued. The presence of the wall is not only cruel to Palestinians; it will ultimately harm Israeli securit y as well, as it intensifies the bitterness and hatred directed toward us. Is this the security that the wall will provide? Unlike Palestinians who can hardly avoid it, most Israelis have never even seen the wall; it is bui lt inside Palestinian territory, where only Israeli settlers (and the soldiers sent to protect them) now venture. If oth er Israelis saw it, I hope they would be shocked. In several places, the wall does not simply wend through Palestinian towns, it actually surrounds them entirely, penning the residents inside - their right to enter or leave left to the whim of young so ldiers guarding the gate. In these localities, civilian populations are now entirely encircled by a 30-foot-high, gray concre te battlement interrupted only by watchtowers from where soldiers train binoculars and automatic rifles on the residents belo w. Lights mounted on the wall shine down into the streets, making constant surveillance that much easier. As a Jew whose an cestors were confined to ghettoes during anti-Semitic periods of history, I find this horrifying. Will keeping 100,000 Pale stinians penned in ghettoes and enclaves serve the security needs of Israel? Did forcing Jews into the ghettoes of Europe serv e the security needs of those countries? Last week, the Israeli Supreme Court acknowledged the grave violations of Palestinian human rights resulting from the wall, and ordered the army to reroute it in specific locations. While our government is hoping that this Israeli court ruling will make it possible for Israel to ignore the Hague tribunal - on the grounds that "the wall is an inte rnal security matter that we are dealing with" - most Israeli peace activists do not agree. Construction of the wall within Occ upied Territory - meaning on somebody else's property - is a violation of basic rights, no matter how you look at it. And claim s that the wall provides security are undercut by the large numbers of Palestinians who will remain on the "Israeli" side. Ultimately, the best way for my country to achieve security is to negotiate peace with the Palestin ians, and sufficiently improve the lives on both sides so that there is a vested interest in maintaining the peace. The w all, however, does just the opposite. As a result, it is not only bad for Palestine, but bad for Israel too. A few days ago, I watched an old Palestinian woman surveying with dismay her family's olive trees t hat the army had cut down, shaving a swath on which the wall will rise. "Those stupid people," she said, careful not to name them, "If not for their stupidity, we could have lived in peace with each other." ____________________ Gila Svirsky is a peace and human rights activist in Jerusalem. Coalition of Women for Peace www.coalitionofwomen4peace.org [] Military Court of Appeals Hears Jonathan Ben-Artzi's Case ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: Matania Ben-Artzi Pacifist Jonathan (Yoni) Ben-Artzi's struggle reached a new level on July 9, 2004, when his case ca me in front of an extended panel of five judges in the Military Court of Appeals in Tel Aviv. Among the judges were four Major-Generals, including a f ormer commander of Israel's Central command, a former head of military personnel, and the former and current Presidents of the Court of Appeals. Yoni has spent nearly two years in military jail and detention, until the army decided to release h im for "incompatibility due to lack of motivation". However, his Court Martial process hasn't ended. He has appealed his "technical" con viction by a lower military court (for refusing to enlist) and his sentencing (in April 2004) to two additional months in jail and 2000 NIS (or two mo re jail months). At the appeal hearing, the prosecution no longer claimed, as it did in the lower court, that Yoni i s not a pacifist. Indeed, such a claim would be difficult to defend, given the scandalous testimony of the head of the army's "conscience committee ", and the lower court's subsequent ruling that effectively recognized Yoni as a pacifist. The military prosecutor, who laced his arguments with en dless contempt for pacifists, argued that even if the army should have recognized Yoni as a pacifist, and even if the law exempted him from military service, he should have still obeyed the order to enlist, and should thus be convicted. At times, the prosecutor, flustered by relentless questioning by the judges, seemed to have a personal vendetta against Yoni, and the entire court seemed amused by his high-pitched ranting. Among many "pearls of wisdom", he said that Yoni decided to become a pacifist because it is "sexy" (as compared to dodging the service on "psychological" grounds). Defense lawyer Adv. Michael Sfard, a prominent human rights lawyer in Israel, compared Yoni's situa tion with that of Antigone, the heroine of Sophocles' tragedy. He said that, as a pacifist, Yoni could not obey the order, which was itself il legal and contradictory to basic justice. He could simply not have acted otherwise. As for the judges ? they seemed genuinely troubled by the petty nature of the prosecution's argumen ts, and by the scandalous nature of the "conscience committee". The Court's President, Maj.-General Yishai Bar, asked the skull-cap wearing prosecutor, whether a religious Jew, who receives an order to eat pork, and refuses, should be convicted. The prosecutor did not answer. When the pro secutor stated that Israel views negatively the idea of pacifism, Maj.-General Bar asked if this applied also to the Biblical Prophets' vision. The prosecutor's reply was that this was a scenario for the latter days. Maj.-General Gideon Sheffer, former head of military personnel, and current he ad of a committee exploring the issue of civil service, commented on the lack of such an alternative to military service in Israel. In the unlike ly event, that Bar, Sheffer and their fellow judges, in a show of public and judicial courage, offer Yoni an alternative civilian service, it wo uld be a major milestone in the struggle against militarism in this country. [] Refusnik Reservist Chaim Feldman to be imprisoned tomorrow From: Ram Rahat,Yesh-Gvul ???? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? A Letter to a Liaison Officer Chaim Feldman is a combat reservist. He was jailed for 21 days last year for refusing to serve the occupation. I it is very likely that tomorrow (Monday July 12) he will be jailed again. This le tter to his unit's liaison officer explains why: To Second Lt. Adi Boneh, Liaison Officer, Unit 02043 Shalom, My message is brief and clear - I have no intention of wearing the uniform of the so-called Israeli Defence Forces, and will not serve it in any capacity. I won't be connected to an organization that fires tank shells into a crowd of human bein gs that includes children and adults. I won't be connected to an organization that builds a crude and racist concrete wall that separates simple peo ple from their work, their fields, their football pitch and even from their cemetery. I won't be connected to an organization that defends the fascist law-breaking settlers who cut down and burn olive groves, attack children, damage property and humiliate normal people. I simply won't be attached to an organization that commits crimes. The IDF should have remained a small, dynamic army, but in fact the state turned it into a monster; for this state is alienating itself from its neighbors in the Middle East by building racist apartheid walls in order to rabidly protect its shi tty Jewish character! By so doing it tramples the amazing potential for co-existence with the Arab people, a people who a re no less talented or good than the Jews. Just imagine what a wonderful country this could be if we only got closer to them and if we all learned to speak Arabic before English. But no, we didn't learn the big lesson of the holocaust. We continue to hate and we still isolate ourselves within ou r Polish ghetto. All my actions are geared to a real peace, between all the people who dwell here, and between the p eople and our environment. This is the real service that I have to do here in Israel, and if people would use their energy on this, and not on the army, this would have been a better place long ago. Now, in July 2004, I am coordinating the struggle against the Trans-Israel Highway, which threatens to destroy the Menashe Heights. Our tent was put up amongst the olive groves and peach orchards of the Kapher Kara'a village, where the trees are fa ted to be uprooted. In addition I have been active in the struggle against the terrible Apartheid wall which threatens to raise up more hatred against us from the ranks of the Palestinians and the Israeli Arabs. In the impoverished camps of the Palestinians some other good souls and I are trying to help set up gardens and farm plots for food for the villagers. In addition I have to help support my unemployed parents and be responsible for the upke ep of our home, so please release from this criminal burden. I have no intention of lowering my military Fitness Profile [a common method of ge tting discharge from miltary service and avoiding imprisonment. ed.] . I am a combatant and proud of what I am - and now my real battle is for peace between the people and with the land. Even if you decide to send me to prison for two years, I will refuse. I have no regrets. Anything i s better than being a criminal in IDF clothes. Thank you, Chaim Feldman If Chaim is jailed tomorrow he will join: Reservists Eldar Kirsh, 25, a student who was sentenced to 25 days at Prison 4 this past Monday. Matan Koren, a student who was sentenced to 28 days at Prison 6 on June 30th. Eitan Lerner,41, Feldenkreiss teacher, sentenced to 28 days at prison 6. Draftees Daniel Tzal, Adam Maor, Naom Bahat, Shimri Zameret, Matan Kaminer and Haggai Matar In their honour Yesh Gvul is holding a Solidarity Vigil at Prison 6 (Athlit) next Saturday, July 17 th, 2004 at 12:30pm. (Transport details will be announced during the week.) [] Breaking the Silence ? soldiers' testimonies from the Territories from:  yehuda@shovrimshtika.org ???? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? Last week, the exhibition of photographs and testimonies ?Breaking the Silence ? Fighters Tell abou t Hebron? closed, after being on display during June at the Gallery of Geographic Photography in Yad Eliahu, Tel Aviv. During the month, over 6,00 0 visitors came to the exhibition, from all over the country; many themselves were soldiers, many of those soldiers brought their families with the m, and at the exhibition told their families what they felt and what they do during their own military service. The exhibition became an unending gallery discussion during which not only did we talk about how we felt and what we had done in our military service, but also man y of the visitors to the exhibition decided to break their own silence and be gan to talk. We heard from many about experiences they had undergone which were similar to ours. From many others, we also heard of different things , tough experiences, things we found unbelievable, things that require checking, investigation and exposure. We understood that what we had displayed at the exhibition about our Hebron experience was only the tip of the iceberg ? most of which is still hidden from view. We understood then that an opportunity has fallen into our laps ? the right to b reak a small tip of that iceberg, to break the silence. Amongst visitors to the gallery were people who expressed their wish to give witness about things t hey had seen, things that happened in their presence, things they were part of, things they initiated and carried out. Dozens of soldiers deci ded after their visit to the exhibition to writenew testimonies about some of the situations they had been in during their military service: situations they felt should be brought to the attention of the Israeli public. We understood that we had opened a crack in the door We understood that our role was not over, we understood that we had to continue, to listen and reco rd what these soldiers have to say, and put all this material together and expose i t to our fellow Israeli citizens. We understood it is our duty to discuss in our homes what happens there, in the occupied territories. Breaking the Silence is moving on, into its next stage. At the exhibition, we concentrated on Heb ron. We are now opening ?Breaking the Silence? to all. IF YOU SERVED IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES DURING THE PAST FOUR YEARS, AND YOU WISH TO BREAK YOUR SILENCE, WE ARE HERE FOR YOU. www.shovrimshtika.org In our intention to open the crack of the door wider, through which the Israeli public will receive information about what their sons and daughters do during their military service in the Occupied Territories, all of which we are undertaking with care to safeguard both the confidentiality and the identities of the soldiers who decide to break the silence, as we did at the exhibition. During the coming months we intend to cover the whole country, to gather more testimonies from figh ters about their military service in the Occupied Territories; these testimonies we intend to display on our website: www.shovrimshtika.org and thro ugh the media (very soon we shall be publishing the testimonies we collected during the course of the exhibition) . We intend to take the exhibition to exhibition spaces outside the centre of the country. To set up meetings and discussions at youth clubs, schoo ls, universities and private houses. To set up frameworks where fighters who are interested can break the silence. We learnt something else during the exhibition. ?Breaking the Silence? exhausted our bank account.  To set in motion the work programme we have set ourselves during the coming months, we need your help. Your help is important to us, not only in o rder to fund our activities, but also in order to receive the support and encouragement which it is in your hands to give. In order to give a testimony, contact: yehuda@shovrimshtika.org or leave a message at: 068-454725 To arrange meetings and gatherings in public halls as well as in private housesleave message at: 06 8-454725 Or: www.shovrimshtika.org  For contributions: Bank Hapoalim, Account Number 315451, Branch 608 Cheques should be made out to ?Breaking the Silence? and may also be posted to POB 68150, Jerusalem 91681. The website address (still in the process of being designed): www.shovrimshtika.org   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------   # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict  in 101 steps   Hebrew / ?????http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdfEnglishhttp://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf# Palestinians draw the map for understanding the Disengagement Plan  http://www.nad-plo.org/images/maps/pdf/gaza.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated)  Hebrew / ?????http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htmEnglishhttp://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm# Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories:  http://www.machsomwatch.org   (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints)http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) - films, expositions, refusnik links  \/# The "Breaking the Silence" sold iers' exhibition    photo gallery at:   stories (Hebrew only)   article in English:   # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew / ????? - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/  English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / ????? - http://www.newprofile.org/  Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five)  For ENGLISH details please clickhttp://www.refuz.org.il/help.html  For HEBREW please clickhttp://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il /-- Gush Shalom website, how to donate / subscrie to emails etc.:  http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English)http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles inArabic)with\\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents")\\and a lot more  N.B.:  On the Gush Shalom website links for  Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish  In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language  press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org  + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line.  Archive of email reports:If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can  send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece  of paper to:   Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel  or ask us for charities in your country which receive  donations on behalf of Gush Shalom  Please, add your email address where to send our  confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at  request only.   From info at gush-shalom.org Fri Jul 16 02:31:03 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:16 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Some successes in the court - comments, reports & action alerts Message-ID: <20040715233413.95560D41DE@mailgw.sweethome.co.il> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ International release, July 15, 2004 # Gaza - words and deeds (an introduction) [] Three cheers for the Judges! (Gush Shalom special ad in several Israeli poapers, July 16) [] Documentary on the Separation Wall screened on the Wall itself [] After The Hague, the popular struggle must step forward activist meeting Tuesday [] The terms of five imprisoned refusniks reduced by a third [] Saturday, solidarity vigil with refusniks [] Peace Now Jerusalem calls for balcony campaign & Friday demo Qalqilya / Kfar Saba [] KM Bronfman supports struggle of international activists against deportation; new court session Sunday [] Why did I come to Israel - by Ann Petter # Gaza - words and deeds (an introduction) Yesterday, PM Sharon called upon Labor Party leader Shimon Peres to join the government so as to facilitate "disengagement from Gaza". At the same time - and in that same Gaza Strip - Sharon is engaging in the razing of fields and orange groves and the massive destruction of houses - in one case, crushing a seventy-year old man in a wheel chair who was unable to get out of his house before the bulldozers started. Also, the town of Beit Khanoun is under tight siege for the second consecutive week, and the army shot on the UN convoy bringing supplies to its inhabitants. Still, the decision of the international court invigorated the anti- occupation forces. And exactly this week the five occupation refusers who spent nearly two years behind bars were surprisingly vindicated at the parole board. [] Three cheers for the Judges! (Gush Shalom special ad in several Israeli poapers, July 16) Both the Israeli and the international judges have completely rejected the present path of the wall. The International Court of Justice has decided that if Israel wants to build a wall at all, it can build one on the pre-1967 Green Line. The Supreme Court of Israel has decided to reject most of the present path and to bring the wall much closer to the Green Line. Both courts have ruled that the present path violates international law and imposes immense and unnecessary suffering on the Palestinian population. The path fixed by the Sharon government undermines the basic security of Israel because it engenders hatred, prevents peace, separates us from the world and prolongs the war forever. Our thanks to the judges in Jerusalem! Our thanks to the judges in The Hague! GUSH SHALOM P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 69133 www.gush-shalom.org, info@gush-shalom.org ~~~ [] Documentary on the Separation Wall screened on the Wall itself From: Dalia Hatuqa Under the auspices of the Ramallah International Film Festival, the Palestinian premiere of the film ?Wall? by the renowned director Simone Bitton was held today (Thursday July 15) at the wall in Ras Kubsa, Abu Dis, with the wall itself used to screen the film. The Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center is also inviting all those interested to the screening of the same film on Friday July 16th at 6pm at Al- Kasabah Theater in Ramallah. This film was part of the Quinzaine des r?alisateurs at the 2004 Cannes film festival, and won the Grand Prize at the 2004 Pezzaro Film Festival, as well as the Grand Prize at the Marseilles International Documentary Film Festival in 2004. Simone Bitton is an internationally acclaimed filmmaker, born in 1955 in Morocco, who has directed about15 documentary films for television, about varied topics as Mahmoud Darwish (The Language as the Land), about Azmi Bishara (Citizen Bishara), about Moroccan opposition figure Mehdi Ben Barka (Ben Barka: L?equation marocaine), about Oum Kalthoum, Farid el Atrash, & AbdeWahab, about the history of Palestine (Palestine, Story of a Land), and about Palestinian bombers and their victims (Bombing). ?Wall? is her first feature-length documentary produced for the big screen, and has been called ?sensational? by the French daily Lib?ration, ?an eye opener? by the US entertainment industry bible Variety, and ?An hour and a half of sadness, transparency & beauty? by Al Hayat. The film shows that the wall is in fact crossable, and thus the aim behind it is to humiliate and break people?s spirits and livelihoods, rather than to achieve security goals. It is a film of images not of ideas, there is no narration or voice over, it shows the daily life of the people around the Wall, Palestinian inhabitants, Israeli settlers, the Arab migrant workers building it, passers by, and an Israeli general who tells the camera that ?we view both sides as ours". [] After The Hague, the popular struggle must step forward activist meeting Tuesday ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Ivy Sichel" Date sent: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 21:07:16 +0300 In light of the recent Supreme court ruling and the decision in the Hague this is the time to increase our involvement in non violent demonstrations against the building of the wall. Aa?ed Murrar, a Palestinian activist from Budrus sait it best: "The popular struggle is only in its early stages. The decisions of the Israeli Supreme Court and of the International Court of Justice in The Hague are milestones ? which undoubtedly help promoting the struggle ? but in no way do they announce its end. The popular struggle must step forward more forcefully. We must not count on the fact that the courts? decisions will bring about the change on the ground. A continuous popular struggle is the only guarantee that the judicial decisions will be actually implicated". Starting next Tuesday, regular planning and preparation meetings for Israelis wishing to support the Palestinian struggle will begin in Tel Aviv. Those interested in joining the popular struggle are invited. The idea is to not deal with ideology but to concentrate on activity. meetings will be dedicated to coordination and preparation of demonstrations that take place along the route of the fence with a concentration on actions that carry low physical and legal risks. Tuesday July 20 8 pm salon mazal, simta almonit 3 tel aviv more details from Kobi 03-528-3767 noa 064-659-706 neta 054-598-1248 [] The terms of five imprisoned refusniks reduced by a third By Lily Galili, Haaretz Corrspondent, Ha'aretz July 14 A military appeals committee Wednesday decided to reduce the sentences of five men who refused to s erve in the Israel Defense Forces by one-third, defying the military prosecution's recommendation. The military prosecution had demanded that the five express regret as a condition for commuting the ir one-year sentences. The five - Hagai Matar, Adam Ma'or, Matan Kaminer, Noam Bahat and Shimri Tzameret - are serving the ir sentences in civilian prisons. Following the committee's decision, they will be released on Sept ember 15. The committee also recommended that they be allowed to appear before a board that determines (un)su itability for serving in the army, thus providing them with the possibility of being released from service altogether. The committee had received letters from the prison authorities and from other inmates expressing ad miration for the young men's behavior in prison. Members of the committee also noted that the five had made attempts to se rve the community before their imprisonment, and expressed confidence in their statements that they planned to continue to do so. "The committee has recognized that the refuseniks' loyalty to their consciences is an expression of their strong desire to contribute to Israeli society," said their lawyer, Dov Khenin. [] Saturday, solidarity vigil with refusniks ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "ram & michaela rahat" Date sent: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 23:29:43 +0200 Because of the continuing heat wave, Saturday's Solidarity Vigil for the imprisoned refuseniks will take place at Prison 6 at 6pm (instead of 12:30pm) Transportation: Jerusalem - 4pm - Binyanei Ha'uma Tel Aviv - 5pm - Namir and Arlozorov [] Peace Now Jerusalem calls for balcony campaign & Friday demo Qalqilya / Kfar Saba ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Daniel Ofir" Date sent: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 23:19:40 +0200 Balcony campaign in Jerusalem continues The settlers are fighting against any possibility of settlement evacuation. Let us show them that t he majority thinks otherwise, also in Jerusalem! Peace Now is getting many calls for joining the Balcony Campaign. Thanks a lot to all the volunteer s. Your balcony can also have an impact! If you live in a central street (King George, Gaza, Sderot Be n Zvi, etc) Peace Now team will be happy to hang on your balcony a banner with the slogan Removing Settlements ?Choosing Life It is a small effort that carries a big reward! Please call Daniel 054 ? 4556052; daniel@peacenow.org.il Shalom Aleinu, Daniel Ofir [In the same message was given a comment on the ruling in The Hague] It is sad to see and hear how Israel is regarded (again) as a State breaking International Law an d Human Rights of the residents in the occupied territories. All this would have been avoided if Israel had built the separation fence on the place it must be ? on the Green Line. ICJ ruling abstained from condemning any part of the fence that was built on or inside the Green Lin e. A fence on the Green Line could have also prevented the attack in Tel Aviv. If the Sharon government would not have taken advantage of the public demand for a security fence in order to build an annexation wall, Israel could have had a security fence as well as preserving its ethical strength. -- Friday 16.7.04 at 15:00, a demonstration in favor of the Mifkad Haleumi (better known as "The Ayalo n-Nusseibeh Innitiative") will take place simultaneously in Qalqilya and Kfar Saba, at the first an niversary of its launch ing and after 340,000 Israelis and Palestinians signed the declaration of principles, including 5,0 00 from the Sharon Area and 3,000 from Qalqilya and its surroundings. For details 03 ? 7538888. [] KM Bronfman supports struggle of international activists against deportation; n ew court session Sunday The govenment policy to deport or deny entry to international activists, especially members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), has come under close scrutiny in the past weeks. Ann Robinson-Petter, 44, a graphic artist from New York, arrived in Israel on June 23, among a grou p of 12 American women, led by the 79-year old Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein. Petter had a video camera,with which seh i ntended to document the group's tour and in general the work of Palestinian, Israeli and internatio nal peace activists opposing the "Separation Wall". But upon arriving at Ben Gurion, she was seprat ed from the orthers, in terrogated and refused entry on charges of being a "security threat". Since then she is held at the airport detantion cell, in comapny with "illegal migrant workers" cau ght in the raids of Israel's notorious "Immigration Police", and conducting a persistant legal and public campaign. Last week she was joined at the cells by two more activists who are likewise denied entry to Israel : Christina Grafer, 46, a Dutch computer specialist, and 32-year-old Jamie Spector, an educational counselor from San Francisco. Spector's case is espeically emabassing to the authorities, as being Jewish and indeed active in the San Francisco Jewish community.A ccoridng to the sacred tenets of Zionist ide ology, enshrined in Isr ael's Law of Return, this should have confered not only the right to hold a short visit to Israel ( and to Israeli-held territories) but also an eligibility for Israeli citizenship... Earlier this week, Judge Oded Mudrik of the Tel-Aviv Disctict Court rejected Ann Petter's appeal an d upheld the deportation order, largely on the basis of "secret evidence"presented by the security services and whihc Pet ter and her lawyers were not allowed to see. During the proceedings, Adv.Yael Barda contended that the Interior Minister who issued the deportat ion order was in fact acting as a ruberstampfor the security sevice. Surprosingly, the state confir med that contention: "O n security issues we follow the advice of the security services". Adv. Barda and her colleague Sham i Leibovitz presented an appeal to the Supreme Court, contending that the minister is legally bound to exercise an indepen dent judgement and his failing todoso makes the deportation order invalid. Menawhile, the three detainess were visited by Knesset Member Roman Bronfman (Meretz-Yahad), after which he stated: ."I got the clear impression of the three's willingness to contribute their time and qualifications to e nd the bloody occupation. As far as I know, their actions and plans strickly follow the principle o f non-violence. I am troubled by the fact that the Ministry of Interior refuses entry to them, as w ell as to other humanit arian activists, due solely to their contact with the ISM. I believe that the presence of activists who report on severe human rights abuses in the Occupied Territories contributes to the morality a nd security of Israeli society, and counteracts the mutual demonization of both sides to the conflict. Not only should the y not be deported - they should be commended." This morning (Thursday.) the Supreme Court ordered Ann Petter's casebe returned for a further hear ing to the TA District Court. However, the judges ruled legitimate the method of the state showing the judge privately in his chambers "secret material" about Petter, which of course weighs the scales against her.  All fair-minded people are invited tocome to the new hearing, due on Sunday, July 18, at 08:30am, in the District Court of Tel Aviv, (1 Weitzman St., 3rd floor, Judge Oded Mudrik's Courtroom). For more information: Adv. Yael Berda 050 8743083 Adv. Shamai Leibowitz 052-4414505 Huwaida Arraf +972 54 747 3308 or +970-59-260-990 Dan Goldenblatt (Km Broinfman's helper) [] Why did I come to fight Israel's Wall - by Ann Petter by ANN PETTER The Nation [posted online on July 14, 2004] The International Court of Justice has ruled Israel's "Separation Wall" illegal and has called on Israel to dismantle the wall. Nineteen days ago I came to Israel to protest that wall and to bear witness to its devastating effects on the Palesti nian population. Instead I was detained by Israel police upon arrival at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airp ort and have since been held in immigration detention awaiting deportation. I have been labeled a threat to "security," an d the judge has called my camera a weapon. It seems to me the only threat I pose to Israel is a pub lic relations one. I have been asked, Why did I come from outside Israel to participate in political activity here? The first and simplest answer is because it is the right thing to do. The international community needs to insist on justice for all, for the sake of all. Secondly, I came from outside Israel to engage in political activity here because my count ry, the United States, bears the greatest responsibility for perpetuating the violence here. The United States gives more foreign aid to Israel than to all African countries combined and crucial political support for nearly all of its policies concerning Palestinians, even those that violate international law, as does construction of the wall. I came to Israel because my tax money pays for Apache helico pters and tank shells like the ones recently shot at a peaceful protest in Gaza, and because the la bels on the tear-gas co ntainers we pick up in demonstrations say "Made in Pennsylvania." My taxes are sent to Israel in vi olation of US laws. The US Foreign Military Assistance Act prohibits military assistance to any cou ntry that has a pattern of consistently violating human rights. During a visit to the West Bank a year ago I saw that the wall is being built primarily inside the West Bank on Palestinian land, cutting off thousands of Palestinians fro m their farmland, trapping many in enclaves and devastating the Palestinian economy. With that know ledge, I returned here to say the exact same thing that the ICJ has now declared. I intended to join a march organized by the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian-led movement working for Palestinian self- determination and to end the Israeli occupation. Through nonviolent actions, the ISM volunteers bear witness to the effects of military occupation. We act where our governments fail to act. We report what the international media fail to report. For daring to witness and report the brutal effects the wall is taking on the Palestinian population, I have been deemed a "security threat" by the State of Israel, denied entry to both Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, and threaten ed with expulsion. My first appeal to challenge my deportation was denied yesterday. However, because I know that my efforts to stand against human rights violations like the construction of the wall are supported by international law, I am appealing this decision to the Israeli Supreme Co urt and will remain in prison until my case is reviewed there. >From Ben Gurion's detention center I have experienced first-hand a scaled-down version of the syste m of injustice experienced daily by alestinians, who call on us to pay attention to the prison walls being built around them. In light of the decision made by the International Court of Justice, and in light of America' s ongoing support of Israel's defiance of international law, I urge people to answer the call and p articipate in bringing to the world the Palestinian voices calling for freedom and justice. Copyright ? 2004 The Nation  # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict  in 101 steps Hebrew / ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Palestinians draw the map for understanding the Disengagement Plan  http://www.nad-plo.org/images/maps/pdf/gaza.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated)  Hebrew / ????? http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm # Eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories: http://www.machsomwatch.org (Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints) http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php (internationals throughout OT) - films, expositions, refusnik links # The "Breaking the Silence" sold iers' exhibition  photo gallery at:   stories (Hebrew only)  article in English: # Refusniks Constantly-updated refusniks lists: English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/ Hebrew /????? - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/ English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en Hebrew / ????? - http://www.newprofile.org/ Help us free our children from the military prison! (parents of The Five) For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html Homepage with lots of information: http://www.refuz.org.il / -- Gush Shalom website, how to donate / subscribe to emails etc.: http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Tue Jul 20 23:59:39 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:16 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] In memoriam Toma Sik 1939-2004 + autobiographic notes Message-ID: <40FDA3DB.7579.FB1754@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ International release Toma Sik 1939-2004 Today we heard that Toma Sik is dead - overrun by a tractor during a nightly walk home through the fields to his newly-bought old farm somewhere in a forgotten part of Hungary which should have fulfilled his dream of establishing a commune of organic-humanist (and vegan) "new peasants". He was a pioneer of the Israeli-Palestinian search for peace, a forerunner of the present day pacifist-refusniks and actively involved in many struggles. For decades his friendly bearded face was to be seen at any demonstration. Arriving on his bicycle he would take down bundles of leaflets, written in his inimitable style and which he produced on his old stencil machine. Nobody could fulfill all the criteria which he set, not even himself - as he would gladly admit with a sense of humour rare among heavily principled people. His being anarchist, vegan, pacifist, world-citizen and the rest of it didn't prevent him from giving his all to organizations with less universal goals such as Gush Shalom, where he played a central role until he left Israel in the late 1990s and ultimately settled down again in his country of birth. For those who remember him and for those who don't we decided to publish what he himself wrote some years ago. PUZZLES OF A LIFETIME by Jesa'ajahu Toma Sik (Schuck Tamas) 1997 It is now the fourth year that the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Government of the State of Israel are negotiating and - extremely slowly - implementing the agreements in the so called Peace Process. Just today, 4th March, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Nethanyahu has stated he is going on with the erecting of a new zionist settlement on the outskirts of Palestinian Arab East-Jerusalem. This, in spite of the agreement not to change situations before the stage of negotiations on the final arrange-ments takes place; in spite of the Palestinian National Authority's President Yasir Arafat being wellcome today by U.S.A. President Bill Clinton, who has condemned the Israeli act; in spite of international, including the European Union's objection. The Palestinians have swallowed so far every frog in order to have a little bit of dry land, the water of which has been pumped away by the zionists. Still, the Palestinians are being continuously and constantly harrassed, humiliated, expelled and expropriated by those with whom they are peacefully negotiating for a resolution of the historical conflict. They are reconciling, the zionist continue to harm them and demanding that "the Palestinians should prove themselves"... and the world is afraid to say loudly and firmly anything against the (un)Jewish State, the least to apply any sanctions against it. Because of "anti-semitism", because of the Nazi afflicted Holocaust. But anti-semitism has been taking place for 100 years in Palestine, against the Palestinian Arab semites, by European Jewish colonialists. A mini-holocaust. And apparently not everything is yet known or will be known ever. How can it be stopped? Is it, that the World is afraid of the Simson Syndrome that now involves the World's sixth nuclear power?! This year I'm going to be 58 years old. My birthdays always have been great events, at least those which I recall. And every event brought up a puzzle, anew a puzzle. My first birthday, the very day when I was born, happened on August 17th, 1939. Exactly two weeks before the outburst of WWII. I was born in O(ld)buda, a semi-village quarter of Budapest, Hungary, into a Jewish Hungarian family where my mother Ilus(h) and her mother, my granny, two housewives, spoke Austrian German between themselves. I didn't know my grandfather S(h)andor Wilhelm, but mother told me he was a head of a workers-group in the clay-bricks factory on the outskirts of its workers-quarter we used to live. When my mother was born, they were living in the Hungarian region of Slovakia. My father, Endre/Nathan Schuck was a printer apprentice. My grandfather Schuck Mor/Moshe, was a rabbi in Karcag, a township in North-Eastern Hungary. In addition to his rabbinical studies, he had also a doctorate from Munchen University, Germany, from where he also brought his wife, my other granny. My mother used repeatedly to tell me with pride, that grandpa was an "elected rabbi". I never had seen any of them in their and my life. Also I didn't know all these data but years later. Actually I had only the opportunity to eat this granny's bake of giant loafs of country bread that she used to send by parcel-post to me and my mother, after the War. PUZZLE No.1: a. Was WWII a birthday present to me or did I bring it to the World as a surprise gift? b. And why was I born as an almost surely candidate to be killed very soon? Or was it my later salvage from the horrors, my real birthday present? My first clear memoirs of childhood are concerned with military: The first memoir: A German language "leader" or song: "Wann die Soldaten durich die Stadt maschiren, ofnen die Maetchen Fenstern und die Turen; warum? darum, nur weigen tchin da drassa bum bum bum" ("when the soldiers are marching along in town, the maids are opening the windows and the doors; why? because of the.... [brass and drums band sounds]"). The second memoir: It could be my 4th birthday. For a period of time preceding it, the central issue of my life was "the officer's suit". My aunt Irma took measures of me and I was promised I was going to have it: "the officer's suit"! Time passed and I was thinking much of the "officer's suit", but it failed to arrive. Finally it was made and I had the opportunity to wear it, on my birthday. Look at the picture. My memory of concern and interest, as I recall it, doesn't correspond with the expression that I can see on my face of that photoed child. I wonder what had happened to "the officer's suit" when we were compelled to move into Budapest ghetto. Never I have seen it or heard about it anymore, only my memory recalls it from time to time, or the photo. PUZZLE No.2: Were the song and the "officer's suit", a pacifist education of a Jewish Hungarian kid? The third memoir: It could be late 1943 or early 1944. My most valuable uncle, Jeno, was seen in a picture mailed by him to us earlier, photoed somewhere "on the front" in a Hungarian soldier's uniform: trouser, shirt and a simplest soldier's hat that looked like an upside down boat, without an emblem... He was neither a sailor nor a battle soldier. He was a compulsory field worker, digger of tranches at most dangerous sites in the war, for the Hungarian army on the side of the Germans against the Soviets. Because he was a Jew, he was untrustable to hold weapons and was fit only for hard work and for grave dangers. Although he was a talented lawyer. (He was highly trusted by all concerned, when he made the arrangements for my parents' divorce a year earlier, when I was three years old. My mother, with whom, it was decided, I was to remain, always spoke with admiration of him.) Now he was dead. The first of my family who died in WWII. He died both because he was in uniform and because he was a Jew. Was he? I never had had the chance to ask him... The fourth memoir: 1944!!! I was standing in the middle of the two-way high street, Vorosvary Ut, on which we were living. I just had bought some new-old stamps: small size, bearing the faces of historical leaders of the Hungarian nation, from the times of the conquest and Hungarian settlement of Pannonia (Latin) or the Karpat Medence or Basine, some less than thousands of years earlier. This was the old part of the stamps. The new part was, that they were overprinted: "Temesvar hazater!" or "Kolozsvar hazater!", meaning: "Timisuara Returns Home!" or "Cluj Returns Home!" or "liberated" - from Roumania. (The first are Hungarian, the latter Roumanian names of the same.) I didn't know then anything about history, politics, even not about the war that was taking place, I even didn't understand the situation in which all this was taking place, that the Germans "granted" these towns to the Hungarians "for their good services", not for justice, at the expense of the Roumanians...; or that historically these were places of Hungarians or not, or that people were living together, side by side or mixed, in different cultures... *) The fifth memoir: Same year, one day, the street became noisy. I went out to the pedestrians walk, finding there crowds lining up along the road, on both sides of it. The Nazi-German troops were marching into Budapest on this highway from Vienna. In front of me, a small and thin woman with long hair was moving jumpingly; she also wanted to see the marchers. As she was moving jumpingly, she didn't stop shouting: "Heil Hitler! Heil Hitler!" But she couldn't see anything, because she was small. "Wann die Soldaten durich die Stadt maschieren"... Later, I was already a "big boy" then, 5 years old, I don't recall whether my birthday took place before, after or in the course of all these events, that went on speedily: Jews were compelled to wear yellow stars on their clothes (aunt Hermine and I would sit at the window and count the yellow-stared people passing by on the street... like after the War with uncle Armin, who was also in the War a compulsory worker but survived like his wife and daughter who were hidden by some good Christians - we counted buses driven through in front of his flat); being forbidden to go to cinema or theatre (but my mother took the yellow stars off her and my clothes and we had a journey into the city - I remember only the fearful journey, not the show that we saw...); to live in "Jewish houses" signalled with yellow stars; and lastly to be concentrated in Budapest ghetto that was setup in the VIII. Quarter which was the urban center of Jews with the main synagogue of the city in it. Footnote: *) Recently, in 1996, the Hungarians and the Roumanians, now free from both National-Socialist, Fascist-German occupation and State-Capitalist, Soviet-Communist occupation, came to a peaceful and peace-promising agreement about Transylvania where these towns are with a majority of Hungarians that will not demand annexation to Hungary but will be granted cultural rights. Actually, Hungary has many national minorities all over its territory, and Hungarians are living as national minorities in all the surrounding countries.* The first Jewish House where we lived shortly was that of my uncle Viktor Kornfeld and aunt Irma. Many interesting things happened in this house with many friendly neighbours and many children, boys and girls. There was also a boy there who in order to join us, always had to run away from his home that neighboured our courtyard. His mother used to shout after him: "Don't go to play with those stinking Jews!" But he did and enjoyed our company, although we harrassed him a bit because he was fat. However, what left a strong impression on me was the event that followed a playing on the street. Kiscelli utca (street) is one that climbs onto the hill to a former aristocratic castle by the same name. Towards the end of it is a school that later was that where I had my first three elementary grades. Almost opposite to it was a Jesuite monastery just before the hill started to be steep. As I was playing outside, I noticed a crowding mob about the monastery and something made me afraid, so I went into our courtyard. Some minutes later, a goodlooking, serious man with a loving and caring face looked in to us through the gate and told: "Brothers, danger is approaching, lock the gate firmly!" So it was done with bars and locks and cabinets staged to back the gate, and that saved us from the attacking mob. People in the house said that the warning man who was formerly a Jew, was a humanist. I still love this man very much although I don't know what and who he was and whatever happened to him. Some time before the ghettoization, we were already in the third Jewish House: my mother, granny, my aunt Hermine (her husband, Basch Mor, my beloved agricultural uncle who worked with horses and lived in a Christian family's farm in the middle of our quarter, and I loved riding with him in the cart - was then already deported to Auschwitz from where he didn't return, like later aunt Irma) and my seven years older brother Frici/Frigyes/Shlomoh. One early morning, maybe at 3-4 o'clock, rude knocking on the door woke us up. Three Hungarian fascists in leather coats came to take away my mother. She was 40 years old. I cried and screemed very much. The chief fascist showed a nice face and told me: "Don't cry child, your mummy will come back in the afternoon!" It became apparently a very long and dark day, that lasted until the end of the War, maybe half a year or more. Then came back my mother, in such a shape, that I was afraid to sleep in the same room with her, for two months... PUZZLE No.3: Maybe, this last anecdote is the reason for my utmost love for truth and utmost hatred of lie and deceit? The reason for which I'm terribly deeply hurt whenever facing untruthfulness? Then had come the time to enter to the ghetto. Many Jews were pushed into it brutally. My cousin Annus(h) Feher's husband, Mihaly, had a non-Jewish acquaintence with whom he had friendly commercial rela-tionship. That man was a fascist-party member, apparently not an enthusiastic but a compelled one. That man carried us gently into the ghetto, even pulling the hand-cart loaded with our few remaining belongings. He also had hidden my cousin's family until the war ended, then they had a partnership in a conditory where I used to eat a lot of mixed sweet fallouts of the portioned cakes. Ghetto, war, air-raids, hunger. Amazingly, I know there was hunger but I don't recall anything concerning that. On the contrary: once my aunt Hermine took me out from the shelter, we went along to the street corner in danger. Outside there was a steaming great pot. We were given a bit of a red-like deluted liquid in a small dish, I tasted it on the spot, spit it out because its dull and odd taste, we spilled the liquid and went back to the shelter. I even don't recall disappointment!... My brother was, at the age of 12, a messanger for the Juden Raat, the Jewish Council, that administered the ghetto for the fascists. Whether it was collaboration or self-help in very hard times - no one may or can judge now accurately, and the debate is still going on. What relates to me is, that the Juden Raat had made some arrangement for children in the ghetto to have better living conditions. They concentrated them in the school-building. My aunt Hermine didn't let me out from her hands: "His mother deposited him to me, I'm responsible for him" - she said. So I stayed with her. When the Soviets attacked the town, their pilots were looking for big, factory-like buildings. So the children were bombarded there. Not I, thanks to my beloved aunt Hermine. Many years later, in 1984, there was published information about a 1944 Swedish attempt to save children from Nazi occupied countries, mainly from Hungary. The zionist were requested to cooperate. David Ben Gurion, the political forefather and architect of the "state-on-the-way" and later of the State of Israel - refused to cooperate, because the Swedish wanted the children to be taken to Sweden and he wanted them in Palestine... Somehow, in my psychology, there is an opposite correlation between aunt Hermine and Ben-Gurion. Was it on my birthday or not, one morning a group of soldiers in gray long coats entered our crowded shelter, in the middle of which a woman was laying with a wounded abdomen. The soldiers ordered everyone to get up from their seats and themselves set down instead. Maybe a quarter of an hour they sat than left. That was liberation, because those were Soviet-Russian soldiers. A kind of a birthday. Somehow we returned to our original flat after my mother returned too. It was occupied by a Christian Hungarian family with some young women in it. We got one room and they kept one. Every night the Russian army visited the flat; the other room... One day, again the crowds were on the pavements. Again an army was marching, this time the Russian/Soviet Communist Red Army. As I came out of our courtyard, I recall it sharply - I saw the same little woman moving jumpingly, wishing to see, but she couldn't because she was too small... "Kogda soldati vdolyy gorod marshas..." Liberation from the ghetto and from the Nazi occupation was also celebrated by my birthday some time later and then by entering to elementary First Grade and becoming a pupil. Three consecutive years I spent in the same school with different boys and girls of my age. I was happy and advancing. There were extra Jewish religious classes and I was singing in the synagogue's choir, not with much enthu-siasm. All of a sudden, the small Jewish community that remained and obviously became an even smaller minority than it was before the War, decided they wanted to renew the Jewish school. So they did, when I entered 4th Grade. The "whole school", we were in one classroom, some 4-5 grades, each bench a different grade. The teacher was symoultaneously "teaching" each bench, moving between them. I hated this. Luckily enough, 5th Grade was a Secondary School and I moved back with all the children of the neighbourhood. And I quit the synagogue quite quickly, deciding about it by myself, with my mother consenting without any trouble. I hardly remember any birthday present that I ever received. I do remember that I was lusting for an electric train set. It was very costly and it remained a dream until I was paid my first honorarium as a youth- journalist. For that minimal sum I bought a set of electric model train. But that was in the 1950s in Israel/Palestine. What happened in Obuda some 10 years earlier was, that I had a schoolmate, a neighbour boy, who did have an electric train. But his mother was not very willing to let us play with it. So, what we did was like this: we walked over to the nearby bricks factory, where my grandfather used to work, much earlier, and we had stolen from the shelves some drying clay bricks before they were burned in the kilns. We re-wetted them, kneeded them and made of them long narrow plates. Into these, we carved "tracks" in which we rolled a wooden reel of tread that had run out. That was our "tram". I enjoyed this game very much in all its stages, the creative and productive and the operational. Nevertheless, the lust remained and trains became an important factor in my life. @) With this background, in 1950, at the age of 11, I spent my birthday on a ship floating from Venezia, Italy, to Haifa, Israel/Palestine. Before that, I still had two reminders of my uncle Jeno: on the train from Budapest to Vienna I was wearing my hat from the commu-nist children's movement, a blue turned-over-boat hat... We were sitted in the cabin with a Jewish couple. The man permitted himself to grab my hat and threw it out through the window with a gesticula-tion: "You won't need it there anymore!" - he shouted with a self-appointed authority and pride. I was terribly hurt by this act of him. I wished I could stop the train and go looking for my hat, that was of course impossible. Later, I met that man at the port of Haifa, when we went to pick up our belongings. He was involved in some smuggling affair... the big enthusiast!... The other reminder happened at the borderpost before stepping out, or rather rolling out to Austria. Hungarian border police checked our luggage. My mother kept with her that same picture of her late beloved brother Jeno, in Hungarian military uniform of WWII, without an emblem... the picture was confiscated! It could be used as a sample to sew fake Hungarian - now Communist - soldier's uniform and "harm the people's republic". Could it? My uncle Jeno's, who was not let even be a soldier but only a tranch digger?... Footnote: @) When the first time I made a journey from Israel to Europe, in 1973, as an adult, I made it by boat and train. The train took from Greece to England through Yugoslavia, Austria, then... Germany. At the moment the train passed the border to Germany, the monotonic knocks of the wheels on the tracks started to "play" to me: "..where are the tracks leading... where are the tracks leading..." Then I had written a little poem: "In Germany I'm Jewish, In Palestine a Palestinian Arab, In America an Indian, In Vietnam a Vietnamese..." Before our departure from Budapest, my mother had known for months that I was objecting to leaving Hungary, that I was a "Hungarian Communist patriot". She also knew that she was not a zionist who wanted to settle Palestine with Jews. It was her longing for my elder brother that made her decide to emmigrate to Israel. My brother, on the other hand, was an innocent survivor of Budapest ghetto, 13 years old in 1945, when a zionist youth movement grabbed him and took him to Palestine. It took him 3 years to arrive there, following a "journey" in Europe, reaching out to Belgium, spending some time also in Cyprus in a British camp. He arrived in Palestine at the age of 16, just to join the establishing of a new zionist boarding school at a kibbutz, and after a few months of "schooling" - he went to fight for the zionist statehood, against the miserable Palestinian Arabs who were living anyway under foreign occupation for some 500 years... He and many other survivors from the horrors of Nazism, Holocaust and war, at different ages, involved themselves in afflicting similar fates on themselves again and mainly on people whose only fault was that they happened to live as indigenous people of the Biblical "Holy Land", that the zionists designated as the site for a Jewish state, while apparently a part of the Palestinians are genuine discendents of ancient Israelites and Judeaites and other Cana'anites. A persecuted minority in Europe became a persecu-ting minority of a foreign country's innocent and anyway suffering majority, turning it to a minority in its homeland and itself to a majority but remaining a minority in the wider, regional sense - too much complicated? Look at the map of Israel/Palestine, and the Middle East, at the historical and up-to-date statistical data - you'll understand it better. I didn't know all this at that time. Although I was a "Communist", so- called, of course I was only an 11 years old child. Though emotionally quite sensitive, apparently loaded with an accumulated experience of horrors and observations, I was totally unaware of the political and social situation in Israel/Palestine called by us simply Palestina. When still in Budapest in the late 1940s, I recall, I happened to look at a weekly picturious magazine - A Figyelo - The Observer - in which there was a report about some Jewish underground's military operation. What I recall is, that it was some clash between Jewish groups. The term Arabs was not in my consciousness, nor conscience. We arrived in Israel/Palestine on 21st August 1950. Nobody knew of were my brother's kibbutz Mavqi'im was. We had only a post-office-box address in Tel-Aviv for it. After sleeping overnight in a bus at the Central Bus Station, next morning we found the bus to Mavqi'im. Two hours of slow and hot journey with endless stops. The bus drove through a number of empty clay-hut villages; others could be seen at some distance from the road on the plain and on hillsides. Empty, no one in them. I wasn't bothered. My concern was to find finally a reasonable place to stay at, until I'll be able some how to get back to "my homeland". Finally we arrived. I had plenty of days to look around. The kibbutz was on a hill overlooking around a beautiful fruit-jungle. There were grapes of several different sorts, almonds, olives, apricots, plums, sicamores, cactis. The grapes were creaping on the sand and up the sicamore trees or the cactis. Most of this jungle was unirrigated. Actually, I know that part of it was irrigated only because I saw the water-pump near the highway and heard its characteristical monotonic but melodical sound when the gasolene pump- engine was operating. I'm still able to hear it in my imagination as a kind of liric music of childhood. My brother with his wife Tamar - an Austrian Jewish girl who fled from the Nazis to England and was educated there - were living in a tent. Once, when I was deeply furious about my imposed staying faraway from "my homeland", I set fire to their tent. Fortunately, it was saved before it was burnt down. I was angry and tensed, although I liked very much the fruit and the sight around. On weekends, there were football games taking place on a plain ground... surrounded with empty clay-huts.**) Apparently, it was the central square of the Palestinian clay-hut village, now empty: Barbara. I wondered, where the inhabitants were, but I didn't ask anything. Also, near the highway, opposite to the pump-house, there was a long block building. It served as an electric carpentry shop using electricity from a local generator nearby. I wondered: how was that, that my brother was living in a tent like other kibbutz members, the first - Swedish - wooden houses were just in the process of being erected, and the carpentry shop was in a block building?! And I asked. The answer I got was, that the block building was a former school!.... I was tought in "indoctrinative" Communist Hungary, that the work of children, pupils, is to learn. Where were the pupils? - I asked myself. Nobody answered my question. I must have had become quite emotional about this then, because this school- building and the village of Barbara became my conscious "second birth- place". In the course of years, the clay-huts diminished slowly, then bulldozed, only the mosque was still standing and a cowshed was erected near to it. Later the mosque disappeared too. Now only a eucaliptus wood indicates to the educated, were Barbara was standing. But the school- building still exists. It's now neither a school nor a carpentry-shop anymore; it's a halfway-house, mini-market and restaurant. The pump-house and the generator-hut also disappeared, due to the new system has set a new infra-structure. Even the old dirt road on the northern side of it was replaced with an asphalt road on the south. Once or twice a week, the kibbutz members decided to have a ride to Al- Majdal (the name of the Palestinian town world-famous for it's canvas also called "Gaza"; now the town is called Ashqelon and Al-Majdal is "its" "old city"...), to eat Polish ice-cream and to see a film. The narrow main street of Al-Majdal was full of Jewish visitors from the surrounding new kibbutzim and moshavim established just a year or so earlier. We used to walk to the end of the street where the ice-cream shop was, and there the way was blocked. Also it was impossible to go out to side streets. I wondered why, but there was no answer. Then we went to the cinema. Already at the first time I noticed: it was a former school, the walls between the classrooms being knocked down. Footnote: **) Clayhuts are not built by bricks but are made of clay-mud mixed with small stones and hay built up like a sculpture. Also in Hungary there were such earlier.Now ecologistic architectures say that't the healthiest building material. In Yemen there are beautiful palaces built of clay. Years later, when living in a boarding school some hundred and fifty kilometers norther from there, a brother in law of a schoolmate of mine visited him. We spent some time together. The man was living in Al-Majdal in a one room flat of former Arab residents, where I later visited him. It was in the former Arab ghetto, some tens of meters from the ice-cream shop... He told us, how in 1950 he was running on the roofs of the houses in Al-Majdal with his Uzzi sub-machine gun in his hand, guarding the ghettoized Palestinians. These were simple peasants from the surrounding villages. According to the UN Resolution 181 on the Partition of Palestine, the whole area was supposed to be a part of the Arab State in Palestine. In the war of 1947-49, Israel, the Jewish State in Palestine, occupied this area and made its Palestinian residents into "equal rights citizens". However, later I got informed by a pacifist friend who visited Al-Majdal on 8th October 1950 - less than 2 months after my arrival there... - and through an old newspaper clipping from the Jerusalem Post, dated 25th October 1950 --- that every two weeks Palestinians were evacuated to the Gaza Strip refugee camps eversince the Armistice Agreements were signed in 1949. The last evacuation took place on 24th October 1950, ten days after I was confronted with another imposition: life in a boarding school without my beloved and caring mother, where I was supposed to be indoctrinated to become a "good citizen of Israel Jewish State". I had my birthplace in O(ld)Buda in Hungary, I was attached emotionally to empty Barbara in Palestine and I was to be "re-born" at Aloney-Yitzhaq Youth Village. I refused but had no powers, only 11 years old. Nevertheless, in December I ran away together with another friend, who was from Hungarian Transylvania in Roumania. He had another set of reasons for his act. The whole Israel Police in the region was on the alert looking for us. They were in panic, although we took the most reasonable and simple way: an official bus ride. No one looked for us on the once-in-a-day bus line to Mavqi'im! They were concerned with "murderous infiltrators" in the area, those expelled miserable Palestinian peasants who came back to fetch something from their forcibly abandoned property in the empty clay-hut villages. Only later, when the historical facts were disclosed to me, I understood why they paniced about us and why they didn't think logically and straightly when looking for us: "The hat on a thief's head is burning!... PUZZLE No.4: What is clay for? PUZZLE No.5: What is Minority and what is Majority? I was returned to the boarding school. In spite of my actively rejectionist behaviour, quite quickly I learnt the Hebrew language, but I didn't become again a good pupil as I was before in Budapest. I contacted the Legation Office of Hungary in Tel-Aviv and for my 13th birthday I got a permit to return to Hungary. My mother didn't sign up for her affirmation to this. But later, in 1988, I was informed by my cousin Annus(h) that my mother wanted us to return "because of me", maybe also because of her own misery and loneli-ness. However, my cousin could take to hers only me. To this my mother could consent neither. So, I was compelled to continue my stay in the boarding school which for me was like a - partly pleasant - refugee camp. I was constantly conscious of my situation: being a Hungarian but being unable to implement this; not being a Jew - actually, I refused to the ritual of Bar Mitzwah, the Confirmation; not willing to become an Israeli. What was I then? - rised the question of identification. Definitely I was identifying with my current, local environment: I developed quite an enjoyable way of life, being active in the youth's social/organizational life. We played school-democracy and I was a central figure in that: a good and responsible worker, minimal but clever pupil, editor, council-member, prosecutor, protector, what not, even a rebel. I was still lusting strongly for Budapest, I was in tremendous emotional and physical tension that were expressed in great sensitivity and headaches. And I wondered constantly: What was I!? Another basic question rised out of this complex situation: Am I fair? I'm not a Jew neither an Israeli, and never I'll be; but the Jewish Agency is feeding, maintaining and educating me at the boarding school. It was imposed on me, but still was a fact. However, I never will be paying this back to them in the way they expect it. I found it unfair. So I decided I should develop a way of life in which I'll not live at the expense of others. Thus, towards my 16th birthday, in 1955, I decided I was to become an intentional, conscientious and practical vegetarian, pacifist, world citizen: I didn't want to kill other animals anymore and live at their expense (I didn't know then, that by that I will not be harmed but will benefit from it to my health...); if I was not prepared to take the lives of other animals how could I kill humans as a soldier? But how could I avoid being a soldier if being a part of a nation, a state? So I became a world citizen. I was neither Hungarian or an Israeli anymore, just a human being, that now has another definition too: a secular humanist rationalist with a strong flavour of anarchist. But the three "birth- places" - basically all being impositions... - remained a part of me, like everything that is told in this story, and much more. I refused military service and councelled conscientious objectors for 30 years in militaristic Israel; I have been an active secular humanist struggler for human and civil rights for both Arabs and Hebrews of any religious denomination; an active anarchist world-citizen denying the right of any and all states to impose themselves on all humans who are all world citizens; a Reichian oriented egalitarian seeking to live in a sustainable agricultural commune - all with a great inherent active sympathy and identification with those who are suffering; because those who cause don't need it: they are self-righteous. PUZZLE No.6: THE GREATEST PUZZLE OF MY LIFE: How has it happened, that so many Jewish kids, including my brother, and adults, who went through the same horrors, suffering, deaths and what not in the Holocaust, had become immediately after it - nationalist, chovinist, militarist, racist, murderous combatant zionist; while I, with the same background and experience - became an internationalist mondian universalist anarchist, antimilitarist and pacifist, anti-racist anti-zionist and even vegan vegetarian. My conclusion from my 5 years old child's experience in ghetto Budapest has been, that I didn't wish to aflict such a fate on any 5 years old, younger or older person. Other people concluded: never more to our children; and they have raised children and have sent them to the armies to kill and to be killed... PUZZLE No.7: How is that, that every human usually has one birth-place, but mostly they call it "homeland","fatherland" or "motherland" (although mostly they never even have visited at all, all that land); and I have three "birth-places" - Obuda, Barbara and Aloney-Yitzhaq - but no "homeland", as for me home is any place where I meet with friendly people who share their thoughts and feelings with me; and land is any spot where I may and can put a foothold, without pushing away anyone else. Now I am out of Israel/Palestine for more than a year, with no intention to go back there. Also the Palestinian National Authority has disappointed me with their state-entity identical with their oppressors'. It was just clear and expectable what would have take place, nevertheless it's a disappointment for me personally. Still, the issue of the Palestinian people's plight is bothering me. I wish I could do something real for it. The same for the Israelis, who are in a greater trap: they feel like the riders on the horses, but they overlook the danger of falling down and that is well there. NOW I HAVE ANOTHER PUZZLE, MAYBE THE FINAL ONE: WHAT WILL BE THE NEXT "RE- BIRTH" ON THIS COMING BIRTHDAY OF 58 in August 1997? And many more details I haven't told you yet... P.S. Why the real and full-length Orient-Express train - London-Cairo - cannot run, and Israel's railway system consists of one single line, disconnected from the Euro-Asian Train Network? # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Jul 22 00:59:02 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:16 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] The Good Boy Scout - Avnery on Sharon-Chirac Message-ID: <40FF0346.32561.1051F65@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ The Good Boy Scout - Avnery on Sharon-Chirac [In the light of recent events Uri Avnery wrote a Part Two to last week's column "Marie and the Ghosts" (the links are to Part One)] English http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/article312.html Hebrew/עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/article312_heb.html The Good Boy Scout Uri Avnery 21.7.04 Hebrew at request & soon at the site עברית על פי בקשה או בקרוב באתר www.gush-shalom.org "In a dramatic television broadcast, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, called upon the million Russian emigrants in Israel to return at once to their homeland, in view of the growing danger to their security there." That did not happen, of course. But it is easy to imagine what would have been the reaction in Israel if Putin had indeed made such an appeal. Or if the president of France, Jacques Chirac, had called upon the French- speakers in Israel, the hundreds of thousands of immigrants from France and North Africa, to move to France, where their life is not threatened by suicide bombers. The Israeli media would have gone berserk. The Knesset, in an emergency session, would have denounced the outrageous anti-Semitic outburst of the president of Russia and/or France. The politicians would have tried to outdo each other in condemnations of the inadmissible interference in the internal affairs of Israel. The Foreign Office would have ordered the return of the ambassador in Moscow and/or Paris for "consultations". What happened was, of course, the reverse. It was the Israeli Prime Minister who called on the French Jews to leave their homeland "as soon as possible" and come to Israel, in view of the - alleged - anti-Semitic wave in France. The French government and media reacted exactly as their Israeli counterparts would have done. Every tenth Frenchman (and Frenchwoman) is Jewish. "A deplorable misunderstanding," the official French spokesman intoned. Meaning, in non-diplomatic language: "Shut up, you bastard!" Profound commentators all over the world tried to guess the hidden motive of Ariel Sharon. Was this a veiled warning to France not to vote in favor of the judgement of the International Court in the UN General Assembly? (France voted for it anyhow, compelling all of Europe to follow suit.) Was he doing a favor to President Bush, who detests Chirac? The truth is much more simple. It is impossible to guess Sharon's intention, because he had none. It was an inconsequential speech before an inconsequential audience. Sharon wanted to say something that would give him five seconds on TV, and he got them. Everybody was satisfied: the TV stations, the Prime Minister, his audience and the general public. Everybody, that is, except the French. In Israeli ears it was an unimportant, routine statement. Israeli leaders miss no opportunity to call on every occasion upon Jewish communities to drop everything and come to Israel. If there is a sign of anti-Semitism anywhere, this is an automatic response. If there is a "misunderstanding", it is mutual. It could be called, in the vogue phrase, a "clash of civilizations": the French-European and the Israeli-Zionist. In the French view, the French Jews are French. The republic is not based on religion or ethnic origin. The way the French see it, every citizen is a partner in the republic and French culture - whether Christian or Jew, Alsacien or Breton, North-African or Corsican. This is the basis of the Republique. And along comes the Prime Minister of a foreign country and has the cheek - not to say chutzpa - to attack the very foundations of the republic and sow discord among its citizens. That is the gravest assault on France, barring an outright military attack. In the Israeli view, it looks quite different. According to official doctrine, Israel is "the State of the Jewish People". The "Jewish People" consists of all the Jews in the world, irrespective of whether they live in Brooklyn, Barcelona or Bratislava. Every child here learns that all the Jews in the world will come to Israel sooner or later. They will have no choice, since the Goyim (Gentiles) hate the Jews, and so the anti-Semites will come to power in all countries in due course. Israel exists in order to offer them a haven when they are compelled to flee, once the inevitable comes about. This explains the ambivalent reaction of the Israeli establishment to any anti-Semitic event anywhere. The natural reaction is, of course, one of anger and condemnation. But there is also another reaction, a hidden one that borders on satisfaction: Here, we told you so. Now it is happening. We were right all along. Both reactions lead to the cry: Come, brothers, before it is too late! It rather resembles the good boy-scout in the joke, the one who helps the old lady to cross the road, whether she wants to or not. So Chirac is furious, Sharon is obdurate and repeats his call, and in the middle stand the poor French Jews, who just want to be left alone. # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sat Jul 24 23:08:41 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:16 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] "We won't know peace, as long as our neighbors do not" (Avnery) Message-ID: <4102DDE9.9069.C7E814@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ [] "We won't know peace, as long as our neighbors do not" [] The refusal epidemic continues to spread: For the first time, a regular service officer refuses service in OT ~~~ [] "We won't know peace, as long as our neighbors do not" [In the following Uri Avnery takes position against those who regard strife among Palestinians as something to be happy about, and clarifies why disintegration of the PA structure and the leadership of Arafat won't bring peace any closer.] Hebrew at request & soon at the site ????? ?? ?? ???? ?? ????? ???? I am writing this with an aching heart. I have postponed writing it as long as I could. In Jewish tradition, there is a searing phrase: "The Temple was not destroyed but for gratuitous hatred." It sums up the events in beleaguered Jerusalem, in the year 70 AD, when the town was surrounded by the Roman legions. While Titus' soldiers were maintaining the siege and the population was beginning to starve, inside the town ferocious battles took place between various factions of zealots, who killed each other and burnt each other's last stores of wheat. Something like this is now taking place in the Palestinian territories. While the occupation forces are tightening the siege and carrying out "targeted killings", battles between the Palestinians themselves have broken out, with militants shooting at each other, targeting leaders and burning headquarters. Occupation generals, politicians and commentators in Israel follow the events with glee or click their tongues sanctimoniously: "Didn't we tell you? The Palestinians can't rule themselves, there is no one to talk with, we have no partner for peace. When they are left to themselves, anarchy reigns." On many Israeli tongues the Greek word "chaos" (pronounced with an American accent) was rolling. Since the Sharon government is responsible for the present situation in Gaza in the first place, it resembles the son who kills both his parents and pleads in court: "Have mercy! I am an orphan!" Paradoxically, the Palestinian factions, of all people, seem to believe Sharon's announcement about his intention to leave Gaza. What is happening there is, first of all, a fight about the skin of the bear that has not yet been caught. Everybody talks about "reforms", a word dear to the Americans, but the battle is about power and control. Muhammad Dahlan's faction hopes to take possession of the Gaza Strip before Sharon's promised withdrawal. Sharon's people are open about their preference for this group. The Americans support them in order to suit Sharon, and the Egyptians support them to please the Americans. The rival faction supports Mussa Arafat who was sent by his relative, Yasser Arafat, to control the security apparatus. He may not be the most popular appointee, but the leader in far-away Ramallah appointed his most trusted lieutenant in order to fend off the danger he fears most: that the Gaza Strip will cut itself off from the West Bank and become a kind of autonomous Bantustan under Israeli-American-Egyptian tutelage. This is what is happening on the surface. But the events also have deeper roots in the present Palestinian situation, which consists of an existential contradiction. On the one side, the Palestinian war of liberation is far from over. It is at its height. It can well be said that never has the very existence of the Palestinians - both as a nation and as individuals - been in greater danger than now. On the other hand, on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip there has come into being a kind of mini-state that requires a state-like administration: security, economy, education, justice, welfare and so on. The surreal situation in Gaza reflects this contradiction: while Mussa Arafat, Muhammad Dahlan and the other Fatah leaders fight each other for control of the Palestinian Authority and its security organs, a brutal war is going on between the occupation forces and the Tanzim, Hamas and Jihad militants. The leader of the Palestinian war of liberation is Yasser Arafat. Among the Palestinians, no one contests that. He is the only person able to safeguard the unity of the Palestinian people. He is the only leader with a wide strategic grasp of all the geographic and functional aspects of the dispersed Palestinian people. He has the attributes necessary for a leader in such a situation: an uncontested personal authority, physical courage, the ability to make decisions and a talent for manoeuver. Palestinians call him the 'Father of the Nation" and compare him with George Washington, David Ben-Gurion and Nelson Mandela. The criticism of Arafat, prevalent mostly among the intellectual and political elite - concerns his functioning as the chief of the "mini- state". Unlike the Prime Minister of Israel, Arafat is not suspected of personal corruption. He is being blamed for the fact that the Palestinian Authority is too much like the other Arab regimes, suffering from concentration of power, proliferation of security apparatuses, corruption, cronyism and the undue influence of big families. As a Palestinian member of parliament told me recently: "Arafat leads the national struggle, and all of us support him. But he neglects the domestic order, and against that we protest." However, Sharon is not fighting against Arafat to encourage him to delegate power or because he has seven different security formations (the United States has 15 intelligence agencies, four military services and an untold number of police organizations.) He is fighting against Arafat because his elimination will cause the disintegration of the Palestinian nation into splinters and thus clear the way for ethnic cleansing. Arafat is very much aware of this danger and, in comparison, all the diseases of the Palestinian Authority seem to him secondary. The strategy of Sharon and his generals is simple and brutal: to destroy the Palestinian Authority, turn life in the occupied territories into hell, disintegrate Palestinian society and drive the survivors from the country, not in one dramatic sweep (as in 1948) but in a slow, continuous, creeping process. Up to now, this has not succeeded. In spite of inhuman conditions, the Palestinian society has held on in a manner that arouses wonderment. The events of the last few weeks look to Sharon and the army chiefs like signs of collapse. I believe they are wrong and that the Palestinian society will draw back from the abyss. It is reasonable to expect that the prisoner in the Mukata'ah, who has already led his people out from so many existential crises, will do so again. I sincerely hope so, because Arafat is the only person who can make peace with us. We will know no peace, as long as our neighbors do not. [] The refusal epidemic continues to spread: For the first time, a regular service officer refuses service in the Territories Translated from an article by Osnat Shustak, Ma'ariv 21/7/2004 - not found in the web version. Second Lieutenant T. a 28-year battalion doctor and regular officer, refused to join his armoured battalion in an incursion into the Gaza Strip - for reasons of conscience. Several weeks ago, battalion 82 of the Seventh Regiment was sent on operation at the town of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, aimed at preventing the launch of Quasam rockets at the [Israeli town of] Sderot. T. had previously served in the Territories, and even took part this May in "Operation Rainbow" [including the demolition of houses and the shooting of tank shells at unarmed demonstrators] at the town of Rafah - though already then he expressed reservations about the army's activities in the Gaza Strip. This time he refused to take part in the operation, stating that taking part in the army's actions in the Territories would contradict the hippocratic oath he swore as a doctor, as well as standing in contrast to the army's own declared values and being detrimental to the state security. Many efforts were made to convince him to recant, but T. stuck to his refusal. Of no avail were the exhortations of his commanding officers, who stated that his job would be to take care of Palestinians as well as fellow soldiers, and that by refusing to join the operation he is putting soldiers' lives in danger. Finding him insistent, T.'s direct commander passed him on to the Seventh Regiment commander, who sentenced T. to 35 days' imprisonment for refusing an order during a military operation. He also told T.: "You are not worthy to be an officer". It seems that upon being released from his prison term T. will be discharged from service - though the army had paid for his medical studies in the expectation of getting years of service in return. "I regard this very gravely" said Defence Minister Mofaz on Army Radio."There are two highly detrimental aspects to this officer's actions. First, he refused to take part in an action very vit al to the security of Israel's citizens, in order to prevent the shooting of rockets at Sderot and its environs. Also, this officer who is a doctor was unwilling to help soldiers who might be hurt, which is trampling upon the hippocratic oath. I think that the way his commanders dealt with this case is the way to deal with refusers." On the other hand, David Zonshein of the "Courage to Refuse" movement praised the doctor's action: "It is not 'an extremist act', it is a very Zionist act. It is important for the public to know that there are officers who want to serve and love their country, but are opposed to the enormous damage which service in the country is doing to the country. This is the first time that a regular service officer is refusing service in the Territories. I hope and believe that his act h as broken a fissure in the consensus and that more officers will now be willing to act for what they believe in - even if they have to pay a personal price". [N.B. Ma'ariv did not mention to its readers that the Beit Hanoun operation in which Dr. T. refused to take part was about a still ongoing campaign of destruction of Palestinian fields, hothouses and orange groves, demolition of houses and the imposition of a weeks-long siege on Beit Hanoun's 20,000 inhabitants. ] # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / ????? http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Mon Jul 26 18:08:32 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:16 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] One UN, two fences // The rules of disengagement Message-ID: <41053A90.19312.9A39E5@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ Zvi Bar'el confronts the general Israeli public opinion. The Chomsky's article is a pragmatic reminder to activists. [] One UN, two fences By Zvi Bar'el Ha'aretz [] The rules of disengagement - Noam Chomsky ~~~ [] One UN, two fences By Zvi Bar'el Ha'aretz Sun., July 25, 2004 Hebrew/עברי "God be praised that the fate of Israel and of the Jewish nation is not decided in this world," Israel's United Nations ambassador Dan Gillerman declared after the General Assembly voted to accept the recommendation of the International Court of Justice at The Hague concerning the separation fence. Gillerman got a bit carried away, because the fate of Israel, and more especially recognition of it as a state, were in fact decided not only in this world but in this very hall in the UN building. It's true that since then the atmosphere and the voting patterns that have foisted themselves on the world body have been such that they opposed Israel almost systematically. It's true that the occupation of the territories was extensively criticized and came in for a flood of condemnatory resolutions, to the point where it seemed that the UN was working in the service of the opposition in Israel. Still, it's not out of place to remember that, precisely on a question relating to fences, it was Israel that relied heavily on UN resolutions. In Lebanon, for example. The demarcation of the border between Israel and Lebanon and the building of the problematic fence along the length of the border could not have passed peacefully and won renewed recognition without UN auspices and the agreement of the sides to accept the UN's decision. Even Syria agreed to declare that Israel had fulfilled its commitment according to Security Council Resolution 425, from 1978, and had pulled out completely from Lebanon. The Shaba Farms, again according to the UN, "belong" to a different Security Council resolution, namely 242. Their fate will be decided within the framework of negotiations with Syria. It is that UN decision that gives Israel legitimacy to go on holding the farms. But wait a minute - isn't this the same Resolution 242 based on which the General Assembly last week, and before it the court in The Hague, decided that Israel must destroy the separation fence in the West Bank? It's the same occupation regarding which Israel sometimes adopts the decisions of the international community and sometimes rejects them, based on its own convenience. Has the UN changed and retracted its previous resolutions? No, it's the nature of the fence that has changed. In Lebanon, Israel declared that it was withdrawing to the recognized international boundary betwee n the two countries. "Recognized" means recognized by the United Nations. Lebanon made a sour face, Hezbollah said no, Syria ranted and raved for a ti me, but in the end the people with the blue helmets, carrying maps that were in part controversial, decided what was the recognized border. Isr ael was satisfied and also executed the pullback to the last centimeter. There was nothing in the decision by the prime minister at the time, Ehud B arak, to the effect that it would be necessary to build the fence a few kilometers inside Lebanon in order to prevent future attacks by Hezbollah, an d no one complained about the Arab character of the UN that decided the border without taking into consideration terrorist attacks by Hezbollah. Between Israel and the West Bank there is ostensibly no agreed and recognized international border, not even according to Resolution 242, which calls for negotiations to be conducted on secure and agreed borders. However, in contrast to Lebanon, whe re an agreed border is also supposed to be a secure border - as indeed it is, most of the time - Israel maintains the opposite in the West Bank: A secure border will be an agreed border. This is the heart of the great bluff that rests on two bluffs of equal magnitude. The first holds that ther e can be an agreed border along a fence on one side of which are dozens of settlements and about a quarter of a million settlers, and the second i s that the fence is temporary and will be rectified in conjunction with an agreement. The result is a logical conundrum: If an agreement will rectify the route of the fence, the implica tion is that the Palestinians will, in fact, agree to leaving the settlements across the fence or that Israel will agree to dismantling them. If neith er development occurs, it's doubtful the border will be able to be considered secure, and if it's not secure it can't be agreed, according to the I sraeli logic. The problem at the moment is not what the international court at The Hague said or didn't say, or whether the UN is pro-Arab or only anti-Israeli, or whether the separation fence is the pillar of Israel's security. The main point is the bluffs this government will use to continue to sell the fence at home. [] The rules of disengagement - Noam Chomsky 22 July 2004 Mail & Guardian [ In this article Noam Chomsky clarifies his position about Sharon's "disengagement plan", as well as the Geneva Initiative, binationalism and what should be the aim of activists in the short term. The article which quotes at some point Gush Shalo m, elaborates on questions which came up already in the earlier interview by Stephen R. Shalom and Justin Podur - to be found at: ] The Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains a prime mover of Middle East chaos and suffering. But an impasse-breaker isn't beyond reach. In the short term, the only feasible and minimally decent solution to the conflict is along the lin es of the long-standing international consensus: a two-state settlement on the border (Green Line), with minor and mutual adjustments. By now, United States-backed Israeli settlement and infrastructure projects change the import of “m inor." Nevertheless, several two-state programmes are on the table, the most prominent being the Geneva Accord, presented in December by a group of p rominent Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, working outside official channels. The Geneva Accord provides a detailed programme for a one-to-one land swap and other aspects of a s ettlement, and is about as good as is likely to be achieved — and could be achieved if the US government would back it. The realpolitik is that Israel must accept what the great power dictates. The Bush-Sharon “disengagement plan" is in fact an expansion-integration plan. Even as Israeli Prim e Minister Ariel Sharon calls for some form of withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, “Israel will invest tens of millions of dollars in West Bank settl ements", James Bennet quotes Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in The New York Times. Other reports indicate that the development will take place on the Palestinian side of the “separation wall". Such settlements run counter to the Bush-endorsed “roadmap”, which calls for a halt to “all settlem ent activity". “As important a milestone as it is, an end to Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip requires a corr esponding change in policies in the West Bank for its advantages to be realised," writes Geoffrey Aronson, of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, i n Washington. The foundation has just published a map of Israeli plans for the West Bank, showing a patchwork of discontinuous, walled-off Palestinian enclaves that reproduces the worst features of South Africa's apartheid bantustans, as Meron Benvenisti has pointed out in Haaretz. The question that is now raised is whether the Israeli and Palestinian communities are so intertwin ed in the occupied territories that no division is possible. Last November, however, former leaders of Shin Bet, the Israeli security service, generally agreed that Israel could and should completely pull out from the Gaza Strip. In the West Bank, 85% to 90% of the settlers would leave “with a simple econom ic plan" while there are perhaps 10% “with whom we will have to clash" to remove them — not a very serious problem, in the Shin Bet leaders' view. The Geneva Accord is based on similar assumptions, which appear realistic. It is, incidentally, quite true that none of these proposals deals with the overwhelming imbalance in military and economic power between Israel and an eventual Palestinian state, or with other quite crucial issues. In the longer term, other arrangements might emerge, as more healthy interactions develop between t he two countries. One possibility with earlier roots is a binational federation. >From 1967 to 1973 such a binational state was quite feasible in Israel-Palestine. During those year s, a full peace treaty between Israel and the Arab states was also feasible, and indeed had been offered in 1971 by Egypt, then Jordan. By 1973 the op portunity was lost. What changed is the 1973 war and the shift in opinion among Palestinians, in the Arab world and in the international arena in favour of Palestinian national rights, in a form that incorporated United Nations Resolution 242 but added provisions for a Palestinian state in the occupied territories, which Israel would evacuate. But the US has unilaterally blocked that resolution for the last 30 ye ars. The result has been wars and destruction, harsh military occupation, takeover of land and resources , resistance and finally an increasing cycle of violence, mutual hatred and distrust. Those outcomes cannot be wished away. Progress requires compromises on all sides. What's a fair compromise? The closest we can come to a general formula is that compromises should be accepted if they are the best possible and can lead the way to something better. Sharon's “two-state" settlement, leaving Palestinians caged in the Gaza Strip and in cantons in abo ut half of the West Bank, radically fails the criterion. The Geneva Accord approximates the criterion, and therefore should be accepted, at least as a basis for Israeli-Palestinian negotiation, in my opinion. One of the thorniest issues is the Palestinian right of return. Palestinian refugees should certain ly not be willing to renounce it, but in this world — not some imaginary world we can discuss in seminars — that right will not be exercised, in more than a limited way, within Israel. In any case, it is improper to dangle hopes that will not be realised before the eyes of people suf fering in misery and oppression. Rather, constructive efforts should be pursued to mitigate their suffering and deal with their problems in the real world. A two-state settlement in accord with the international consensus is already acceptable to a very b road range of Israeli opinion. That even includes extreme hawks, who are so concerned by the “demographic problem" — the problem of too many non-Jews in a “Jewish state" — that they are even advancing the (outrageous) proposal to transfer areas of dense Arab settlement within Israel t o a new Palestinian state. A majority of the US population also supports the two-state settlement. Therefore, it is not at all inconceivable that organising/activist efforts in the US could bring the US government into line with the international consensus, in which case, Isr ael would very likely go along as well. Even without any US pressure, a great many Israelis favour something of this sort — depending on ex actly how questions are asked in polls. A change in Washington's position would make an enormous difference. The former leaders of Shin Bet, as well as the Israeli peace movement (Gush Shalom and others), bel ieve that the Israeli public would accept such an outcome. But speculation about that is not our real concern. Rather, it is to bring US government policy int o line with the rest of the world, and apparently with the majority of the US public. — © Noam Chomsky 2004 Mail & Guardian online # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Aug 1 22:19:54 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:16 2004 Subject: [Billboard] Chaos and devastation in Gaza - the army speaks of 'failure' Message-ID: <410D5E7A.3460.9368B26@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ International release Tel-Aviv, August 1, 2004 [] Introduction by Adam Keller: Chaos and devastation in Gaza - the army speaks of 'failure' [] "Refusal not a choice - a duty" CO Daniel Tsal imprisoned for fifth consecutive time [] Rebuilding the Kabu'ah family’s home – work camp August 8 to 22 [] Walking against the Wall -- July 30 - August 19 [] Physicians for Human Rights petition High Court: "End dire situation at Rafah Crossing" from the Israeli press [] Scorched earth in Gaza (Haaretz Editorial, July 27) [] The army's kashrut stamp - Nehemia Strasler (Haaretz, July 30) [] I’m jealous - Tali Lipkin-Shahak (Ma'ariv, August 1) on settler chain & Gush ad of this week - on same subject ### [] Introduction by Adam Keller: Chaos and devastation, the real Gaza Plan; army speaks of 'failure' Sometimes, when one bites one's nails, the voice of sense comes from the army - though, alas, not from its responsible Minister. This morning, the mass-circulation Ma'ariv carried two banner headlines: IDF: Gaza Operation has no effect against Qassam Rockets, We Should Get Out Defence Minister: Extend the Beit Hanoun Operation The army invaded Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip more then a month ago, and embarked on a harsh series of collective punishments - defoliation and destruction of fields, orange groves and houses. This was supposed to intimidate the local population, so that it would turn on the militias and stop the firing of missiles. But unnamed "senior army officers" told Amir Rapaport of Ma'ariv and his colleague Yossi Yehoshua in Yediot Aharonot that the result had been the opposite: "In the month before the entry of Israeli forces into Beit Hanoun, five rockets were shot from there into Israel. In the month that the army is there, no less than fifty-five. The army presence is increasing the Palestinian motivation to shoot them, out of defiance and the friction (sic) between soldiers and local population is increasing the civilian population's willingness to help the terrorists. The army's prolonged presence in this town of 20,000 is causing humanitarian problems and increases international criticism of Israel.". The officers further criticized Defence Minister Mofaz's directive for the army to penetrate deeper into the Gaza Strip in chase of the elusive rockets. "This would require occupying Jabaliya and other very thickly inhabited areas, where some 100,000 people live. This would require large forces which will get involved in heavy fighting, increasing the international criticism. Also, more soldiers would be exposed to the Palestinian anti-tank missiles, which have already shown their ability to penetrate armored cars and kill those inside." Instead, the army proposes withdrawing forces now and keep the option of coming back for "short-term, pinpoint raids" if necessary. What nobody seems to propose, in either the political or the military establishment, is what should have been the obvious solution: to negotiate a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians, so as to ensure a smooth transition of power when (and if) Sharon carries out his vaunted Gaza Disengagement Plan. In fact, the Egyptians and Europeans have been trying for months to broker such a cease-fire, only to be rebuffed by Sharon. A cease-fire would not serve the purposes of Sharon, who stoutly maintains that "there is no Palestinian partner" and does all he can to make it true, by fomenting chaos in the to-be-evacuated Gaza Strip. That, it now seems, is a major objective of the entire disengagement plan - indeed, Sharon and his associates could hardly hide their glee at various recent manifestations of discord among the Palestinians. With the government of Israel undertaking such policies, both peoples seem headed for increased suffering and bloodshed. ~~~ [] "Refusal not a choice - a duty" CO Daniel Tsal imprisoned for fifth consecutive time [Refusnik Parents' Forum - Press Release, August 1, 2004] Refusnik Daniel Tsal was last week imprisoned for the fifth consecutive time and sent to a 28-day term in the military prison, due to his continuing refusal to enlist in an army of occupation. Before being imprisoned Tsal was summoned to a meeting with the commandant of the Army's Induction Centre at Tel Ha'shomer, who implored him to recant and join the army - and threatened that, since Tsal was "a political refuser", his continued refusal would result in "a long prison term". As he did on previous occasions, Tsal answered that he regards opposition to the occupation not as choice but as moral duty - and was sent off to Military Prison-4, following an "instant trial" lasting about five minutes. The 19-year old Tsal, inhabitant of Tel-Aviv, is spending repeated terms in the military prison system since April 13, the date when he was supposed to join the army. At the end of each term he was again ordered to enlist and refused again. In every conversation with army officers he reiterated the points he had made in an Open Letter to the Minister of Defence, back in March: "The principles of 'the only democracy in the Middle-East' have been steadily eroded and rendered void, with the rights of three million people being daily trampled underfoot, destroying the foundations upon which the state of Israel was supposed to be founded... In historical times such as the present, a sane person must confront the system which enables the oppression to go on. I have a moral obligation - not a choice, but a duty - to refuse to take part in the occupation, to reject institutes which which try to abolish the most elementary of human rights. A sane person, who has not yet been overcome fear and racism, ows it to basic humanity to refuse participation in such an instrument of occupation and oppression as the IDF has become." Following his most recent imprisonment, Tsal added: "Since I first expressed my refusal, the army of occupation committed many additional violations of human rights: the destruction of houses and defoliation of fields, mistreatment of inhabitants at road-blocks, and also the killing of innocents, including children. Whenever I hear of such things I feel sorry and ashamed that the army of my country is doing such things - and happy that I am in prison rather then being part of that army." Tsal told that the first two days of his present term were spent in extremely difficult conditions: "Forty detainees held together, crowded in a single small, dirty and stinking cell. The toilet is inside the cell, and it is overflowing all the time, filling the entire cell with a strong smell of excrement. All around, there are piles of garbage which nobody cleans away, and at night mice and other animals roam the cell " Tsal told his parents. Only after two and half days was he transferred to another part of the prison, where conditions are more reasonable. "Let there be no mistake, I don't say that I was put there because of my political stand. This is a standard part of the military prison, and most of those imprisoned there are people who got in trouble with the military authorities for non-political reasons. And in fact, many of them are held in that hell for much longer then I was, sometimes for several weeks at a time. That place, officially designated as Mahlaka 5 of Pluga Gimel at Military Prison 4, is a place of infamy which must be closed down. But I am not surprised that an army which behaves cruelly to people under occupation ends up being cruel also to its own soldiers" says Tsal. "It seems that the army command has learned nothing and forgotten nothing. They did not learn the lesson from the affair of the five refusers who had been detained and imprisoned, sentenced by a court martial and are imprisoned already for more then two years. The IDF command has not yet learned that you can't end or break the human conscience" say the refusers' parents. For more information call Yehoshua and Esti Tsal, Daniel's parents, at 972-3-5184586 or 972-58-797378. Solidarity messages via Jehoshua@freud.tau.ac.il. ~~~ [] Rebuilding the Kabu'ah family’s home – work camp August 8 to 22  >From August 8 to 22, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) is coordinating a summer work camp to rebuild the house of Musa Kabu’ah and his family at Anata Village, on the West Bank northeast of Jerusalem . The Kabu'ah Family are Beduins of the Jahalin tribe - uprooted in 1950 from their original homes in the Negev village of Tel Arad, expelled into the then Jordanian-ruled West Bank, and eventually settling down in the mostly arid area east and northeast of Jerusalem. In the 1980’s and 1990’s many of them were expelled again, the new homes they found being destroyed to make room for the growth of the Israeli settlement Ma’aleh Adumim. The Kabu’ah family consists of seven adults - Musa, his two wives, his two sons and their respective wives - and fourteen children ranging in age between two and sixteen. In 1980 they purchased a plot of land in Anata on which they eventually started building a house, which was finished in 1998 and moved into in 1999. The house had four flats, one for each of Musa’s wives and her children and one for each married son and his family. With the help of a lawyer, the family applied for a building permit in 1999, but it was rejected on the grounds that the land was not zoned for building, but rather as “agricultural land.” In fact, there are some 200 other homes in Anata alone under threat of being demolished for the same reason. (When agricultural land is required for creation of Israeli settlements, the process of re-zoning is almost instantaneous; for the housing of Palestinians, such a change is almost impossible to achieve). On May 2, 2004 the family was given a demolition order. They appealed to the District Court, but to no avail. On the morning of June 2 some 100 soldiers, 20 police officers and four bulldozers arrived to enforce the order. Family members refused to leave their home and were dragged out by force, many of them – including some of the women and children - being beaten up in the process. Journalists from Reuters, BBC, and AP were present, though unable to come near the site, and interviewed ICAHD’s field coordinator Salim Shawamre (himself a victim of house demoition). By midday, the Kabu’ah house was leveled into a pile of rubble. Since then the famly members are scattered, some staying at the nearby house of an uncle, other in makeshift aluminium huts. They feel angry and embittered, the children waking up at night with nightmares. . ICAHD decided to undertake rebuilding the Kabu’ah home, as an act of solidarity with the family and the entire community of Anata. The international work camp will take place from August 8th to August 22nd. ICAHD activists will be joined by Israeli, Palestinian and international volunteers. In addition to building the house, participants will join artists in renovating and painting an Anata kindergarten, as well as take part in cultural and social events. Tours of Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Negev desert, and the area of the “Triangle” in northern Israel will be offered to volunteers discussing “facts on the ground” in respect to both the Occupation of the Palestinian territories and the consequences of the wall on each side. Discussions, dialogue, lectures and panels by leading Palestinian and Israeli NGO representatives will also take place at the Beit Arabiya Peace Center in Anata – itself located in a house demolished by the army and rebuilt last year in ICAHD’s previous summer work camp, and… still standing. For joining the camp contact Lucia Pizzaro at lucia@icahd.org ph: +972-2-6245560. More information at www.icahd.org ~~~ [] Walking against the Wall -- July 30 - August 19 ISM (International Solidarity Movement) is calling upon Israelis and Internationals to join with Palestinian villagers in a joint three week march along the route of the "separation" walls and fences cutting through the West Bank. Despite the policy of deporting any "suspected ISMer" upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, several dozen internationals made it into the country and will be taking part in the march. The march began last Friday (July 30) at Zbuba village, near Jenin and will continue, with participants walking 10 to 12 kilometers a day - to culminate on August 19 at the outskirts of Jerusalem. At night marchers are hosted by Palestinian communities affected by the wall. In each village, community members explain the impacts of the wall and other aspects of the occupation. In some villages marchers intend to carry out non-violent direct actions against the wall. On Wednesday August 18, a Gush Shalom bus will be taking participants to join in the march. On that day, the march is scheduled to pass along the length of the already-built high wall southeast of Ramallah, up to the notorious Qalandia Checkpoint. (To join, call 03-5221732 and leave your name and phone number; exact time and transportation details will be provided later). This Tuesday, August 3, Rabbis for Human Rights are organizing a group to join the march (details from Arik 050-607034). For details on joining at other days call Raz of Ta'ayush 050-7946044. To contact directly the ISM organisers call ISM Media Office 972-2-277-4602 or 972-67-358-579. Updates and full march schedule from [Following is an exerpt from the ISM report on the first day of the march.] Today, Friday the 30th, the much anticipated March for Freedom began in Zububa, in the heartland of the northern West Bank. Participants set out on foot at 9:30, arriving in Taiba at approximately 11:30am and speeding two hours before continuing on to Anin. Although the Israeli army was present, they did not interfere with the march. Only when entering Taiba there was a short-lived encounter with Israeli border police near the school which is close to the Israeli fence. Palestinian youth spontaneously began to shake the fence and hang Palestinian flags. The Israeli border police responded by throwing sound bombs but the situation did not escalate. On the Palestinian side the march is sponsored by the Committee to Resist the Wall, The National and Islamic Forces, the Union of Palestine Medical Relief Committees, and popular committees and village councils of the 89 villages, towns and cities through which the march will pass. The International Solidarity Movement, the IWPS and Israeli Anarchists Against the Wall are participating in the march from the starting point in Zububa. Additional groups and organizations will join the march at different points along the route. Gush Shalom will be joining the march August 18 when it reaches Jerusalem. Palestinians representing other areas in the West Bank also joined the march today (Friday). People from Budrus, Biddu and Tulkarem were present for the first day of the Freedom March and discussions took place in each village about the impact of the Wall on the lives of Palestinians and their communities. ~~~ [] Physicians for Human Rights petition High Court: "End dire situation at Rafah Crossing" ------forwarded message follos------ Date sent: Sun, 1 Aug 2004 12:52:24 +0200 From: "Shabtai Gold" עברית לפי בקשה // hebrew at request mailto:Shabtai@phr.org.il Petition to High Court: End dire situation at Rafah Crossing  Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, together with Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, and 12 residents of the Gaza Strip who are currently stranded on the Egyptian side of the Rafah Border Crossing, petitioned the Israeli High Court today demanding that the Israeli army immediately find an acceptable solution to the current crisis at the Rafah crossing. Over 2500 Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip- including patients, children and the elderly - are currently stranded on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing - some have been waiting there for more than two weeks.  One of the petitioners is a pregnant woman- the situation is putting the fetus as well as the mother’s health at risk. According to various health sources there are approximately 1000, or more, patients returning from medical care who are stranded.  Since 10 July 2004, the crossing has been closed in both directions and has been open for only 2 days. This has created a situation in which people returning from Egypt to Gaza, many after having undergone medical treatment, are unable to return home. They are also unable to return to Egypt because of monetary problems. The Rafah crossing is essentially the only exit and entrance point for Palestinian residents of the strip. The Israeli authorities say they closed the crossing for security reasons.  These people severely lack basic supplies such as medicines, food and water. The people are waiting in a small confined waiting area. From testimonies received by Al-Mezan Center and Physicians for Human Rights- Israel, the situation is dire.  The petitioners claim that Israel, as decreed in previous Israeli High Court rulings and according to International Humanitarian Law (IHL), is required to care for the humanitarian needs of these people, even though, due to the Israeli restrictions, they are physically located at the moment in Egypt. In addition, the High Court has already stated on a previous occasion (Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, et. al. petition to the High Court during the incursion into Rafah in May 2004) that the army must actively concern itself with caring for the health and humanitarian needs of the Palestinian civil population before it implements military action.  Currently, the Israeli army has offered only symbolic solutions to solving the problem, such as having 5 Palestinian buses a day transfer the people back into Gaza, via the Nitsanim crossing(70 km south of Rafah). With over 2500 people stranded, this solution is not truly an option.  The petitioners demand that the crossing be opened, and if this is not possible, that the army supply viable alternative solutions.  The petitioners, who are represented by Adv. Ihab `Iraqi, demand that Israel care for the humanitarian needs of the people and find an immediate solution, with or without the cooperation of the Palestinian Authority, as it is required to do by IHL [International Humanitarian Law] and its own court’s rulings. For more information: Maskit Bendel, +972-54-7700477, or Shabtai Gold, +972-54-4860630 ~~~ [] Scorched earth in Gaza (Haaretz Editorial) Tue., July 27, 2004 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/456498.html The item was just another routine report: an update from the war of attrition Israel and the Palestinians are conducting in the occupied territories. Haaretz correspondent Nir Hason reported on Sunday that the IDF demolished a packing house in Beit Hanun in northern Gaza. Worse things have happened during the four year war: last week, as happens almost every week, Palestinians, including children, were killed in IDF operations. On Sunday night, Border Police killed six Palestinians in Tul Karm. Apparently, only three of them were armed. In Beit Hanun, at least, nobody was killed. But some harsh details emerge from the Beit Hanun report. The packing plant served about 1,000 farmers in Gaza. Their vegetables and fruit were packed for export to Europe, and helped provide a livelihood for thousands of residents of Gaza. Just two weeks ago, the Peres Center for Peace transferred funds to the packing plant for the purchase of new sorting machinery. That machinery was also destroyed in the IDF action, a half million shekel loss. The packing house is now expected to go bankrupt, and the farmers won't have any way to market their produce. The IDF has been in Beit Hanun for several weeks, in the wake of Qassam rocket fire on Sderot that killed an adult and child. In effect, the army created a kind of "security zone," meant to prevent Qassam cells from reaching an area from which it is possible to shell Sderot. Asked, the Southern Command says that last week rockets were fired from the area of the packing plant. The officers on the ground decided to uproot the vegetation around the area, but no order was given to demolish the plant. Apparently, the army unit deviated from the orders it was given. But the bulldozer driver who destroyed the building was not operating in a vacuum. With local, tactical rationales - like removing threats to Israeli settlements and roads - the IDF has for years been justifying collective punishment in the Gaza Strip. That's how hundreds of houses were demolished along the Philadelphi route in Rafah, and in February that's how some 100 Palestinian shops on the Palestinian side of Erez were destroyed after two terrorists tunneled into the Israeli side and managed to kill a soldier. While in Jerusalem, in a decision about the route of the separation fence, the High Court of Justice is emphasizing the importance of proportionality of the harm done to Palestinian human rights as a basic principle for consideration of military actions, the IDF repeatedly violates the principle over and over in Gaza. There is no proportion between the limited military purpose of demolitions to the damage done to the farmers, who had nothing to do with the rocket launches. By destroying the packing plant, the IDF also violated another, far more ancient principle. Apparently, the army commanders forgot the Biblical principle from Deuteronomy 20, verse 19: "When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it, thou shalt not destroy the trees ... for the tree of the field is man's life." A few months before the beginning of the implementation of the disengagement plan, it is difficult to shake the impression that the IDF has undertaken a "scorched earth" policy in the Strip. The army is supposed to defend Israeli citizenry under difficult circumstances and in light of a growing threat. But when it is swept into actions such as these, the danger is not merely the loss of trees, homes or livelihood. The IDF is also uprooting the last shreds of hope that the withdrawal will also be the beginning of repairing relations between the two peoples. ~~~ [] The army's kashrut stamp - Nehemia Strasler Fri., July 30, 2004 Hebrew/עברית A document dealing with the ethics of fighting terror recently reached the chief of staff's desk. The document was written by Professor Asa Kasher and a team of officers, lawyers and advisors. The authors produced a remarkable document, which says that force should not be used against terror unless it is necessary to protect the citizens of the state. The document makes it the soldiers' responsibility to protect the security of Palestinians who are not involved in terror and to warn the Palestinians in advance when necessary so that they are not harmed. The document states that the army may not exact vengeance or punishment; it may only defend the citizens of the state. Therefore, no closures or curfews should be imposed on civilian populations as punishment and no trees should be uprooted or houses demolished for the purpose of revenge. Furthermore, when deciding on a military action in the territories, the army must take into account the negative impact that killing and destruction will have on local and international public opinion. Read it and weep. What army are they talking about? To which reality are they referring? How impervious can they be? A week does not go by without innocent Palestinians, whether men, women or children, being killed. Not a week goes by without houses being demolished, trees being uprooted, humiliation and abuse at the checkpoints. But the chief of staff is silent, and so is the prime minister. Do they need a document to tell them what is kosher and what is not? The brutality of the occupation did not begin yesterday, but it sometimes escalates a level. The troubling images that emerged in mid-May from the miserable refugee camp of Rafah shocked anyone in the world with a conscience. That Israel Defense Forces operation killed 52 Palestinians - some of them innocent civilians, including two teens whose only crime was feeding their pigeons on the roof. If the public has grown used to the killing, it will evidently also grow used to the house demolitions: the little children leaving their homes with bags on their back, the shell- shocked old women searching in the rubble of their homes in an effort to save something - an old jacket, a notebook, a photo. On July 12, Ibrahim Halfalla, a wheelchair-bound father of seven, was crushed to death under the rubble of his house. It happened when the IDF demolished his house in Khan Yunis in the middle of the night. The soldiers did not check to find out whether someone was at home - and the bulldozer buried the man alive. That same week, published photos taken at the Hawara checkpoint showed a soldier handcuffing a Palestinian and then beating him in front of his wife and two children. Their only crime was wanting to get home. A week earlier, on July 6, Dr. Khaled Salah, a lecturer in electrical engineering at A-Najah University, was killed in his home by snipers. His 16-year-old son, Mohammed, was also shot and lay on the floor of the family apartment for hours before dying. When the mother shouted to the soldiers that her son was still alive and they should let an ambulance through, they laughed in her face while her son bled to death in front of her. Not only was the family not involved in terror, Khaled Salah was a member of the university's Palestine-Israel peace committee. And as if that were not enough, after the murder, the soldiers entered the house and destroyed what remained. They shot at clothing, towels, books, the television, the computer, the refrigerator and thoroughly vandalized the apartment. And these were not "problematic" soldiers, but the elite of the elite, the naval commandos, exacting vengeance on innocent civilians because one of their officers was killed in the operation. They apparently did not have time to read the document on ethics. The IDF has rampaged through Beit Hanun over the past month. Soldiers march into residential apartments, turn them into forts and expel the tenants. Last Thursday, a bulldozer demolished a packing house that was used by 1,000 farmers, for no reason. Just like that, out of an evil desire for vengeance. Everything was demolished. The sorting machinery, the washing and packing machinery, the refrigerators, the packing material. A thousand farmers were left unemployed. These acts of destruction (which are prohibited by the document) only raise the walls of hatred higher and make the conflict insoluble, because every teenager whose home has been demolished and whose parents have been humiliated will want to take his own vengeance - and then we will say there is nobody to talk to. An army and state that behave in such an immoral way - harming civilians, demolishing, taking vengeance on the innocent - do not deter the other side, but strengthen it, and particularly its extremists. Harming the innocent proves that it is not worthwhile to be moderate: Either way, the bullet or the bulldozer will get them. Such actions weaken Israel's position in the world and endanger the existence of the state. Israel depends on international public opinion, and certainly on American public opinion. Such actions erode the public's own resilience, increase emigration from Israel and weaken the army - because without a moral justification, even the most well-equipped army in the world cannot win. ~~~ [] I’m jealous - Tali Lipkin-Shahak (Ma'ariv, August 1) on settler chain & Gush ad of this week - on same subject Why can’t the left make a human chain along the Green Line? Tali Lipkin-Shahak Hebrew/עברית http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART/760/624.html I have a dream. In my dream, my Israeli brothers and sisters are joined in an Israeli chain, from Dan to Eilat, holding hands and using their joined bodies to outline the limited but sane borders of the State of Israel. They are woven into a human chain of protest, for a moment of solidarity against the shame and worry created by insensitive, aggressive Israeliness. I’ll admit that I’m jealous. The organizational skill and commitment that brought approximately 100,000 opponents of disengagement out in the hot sun arouses admiration. They have what it takes. Even if they are only slightly more than one and half percent of the Israeli population, they manage to make their presence known and their voice heard, loud and clear. The rest of Israel, not necessarily including the residents of the left’s tattered tent city, dissipates in the summer heat, shrinks in the winter’s cold, melts in the rain and evaporates in a heat wave. It forgoes its right to make another voice heard. It is not the left that has disappeared. It is the lazy majority that has lost its tongue. 'Israeliness' has become the private brand of those who oppose disengagement and dream of the “whole land of Israel”. Aggression, violence, scorn for human rights and human life are becoming typically Israeli traits. Wherever there is daily confrontation, “Mr. Israel” has become bitter or deaf, blind and speechless. Three weeks ago, Israeli soldiers pursued wanted men in the city of Nablus. During the nighttime battle Captain Moran Vardi, an officer in the naval commando unit, was killed. While chasing his killers, who had taken cover in the yard of a quiet residential building, IDF snipers killed a father and son who were trapped in their bullet-ridden apartment. It had been damaged in the shelling and the lock was bent out of shape so they, and other family members, could not escape. Prof. Halid Salah called on the soldiers to stop firing at them but the sniper caught him, and his 16 year-old son, Mohammed, who died on the living room floor. The house became a killing field. According to reports, some of the soldiers were insensitive and violent towards the survivors. Newspapers published this embarrassing story but it is easy to turn the page. Itai Engel broadcast a story on Channel 2 television that ruined the viewers’ Sabbath mood. The IDF spokesman said, “the army has expressed is sorrow” and “they did not intend to injure them. It may be that one of the soldiers misidentified the source of fire aimed at them or they were forced to shot at suspicious movements”. The Israel Defense Forces shoot and apologize, shoot and cry, and shoot again. This, too, is a type of Israeliness that is becoming ingrained in us, the result of a long series of embarrassing, dark incidents for which no one has been brought to justice. The corrupting occupation, from which a small percentage of the public has difficulty separating, has become the personification of the fighting, unembarrassed Israel that formed a chain along the roadsides. If there is any point to disengagement, which wove a chain of opposition this week, it is possibility not matter how small, that it will be exactly what those who joined hands from the Western Wall to Gush Katif fear, the beginning of a return to another 'Israeliness'. We can only dream about the other chain. ~~~ -- Gush ad of this week - on same subject A DEMONSTRATION OF WEAKNESS The great “Israeli Chain” demonstration was a bluff. According to the organizers, the demonstrators came in 1000 buses. A bus contains 52 seats. This means that the demonstrators numbered altogether 52,000 people and some thousands more who came in private cars. This is less than a quarter of the settlers, who are a tiny minority in Israel. The demonstration would have hardly filled half of Tel-Aviv’s Rabin Square. They were strung out in a chain in order to make it look more impressive, but even the chain contained many large holes. Many of the other settlers were at the same time busy negotiating their evacuation and compensation. The Israeli public was not there. They are simply fed up with the settlers. ~~~ # Visit the website of Mandela Institute and help children of Palestinian prisoners to buy a school bag: http://www.mandela-palestine.org # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Aug 5 23:16:38 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:16 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] "Not by military means alone" but look ALSO WHO said it... Message-ID: <4112B1C6.11498.1B73669@localhost> #Gush statement "Not by military means alone" #Presbyterian Church under attack for saying what you think + how to support them #How to support prisoner children towards new school year ~~~ Gush statement, Ha'aretz August 6 'A BOTTOMLESS BARREL' First, the Chief-of-Staff, Moshe Ya'alon, said that the IDF will "fight against terrorism" until they "sear the Palestinian consciousness." Recently, one of the chiefs of the Security Service said that the army's "fight against terrorism" is like "emptying the sea with a spoon." This week, the Chief of Army Intelligence said that it is impossible to succeed by military means alone, since "Palestinian terrorism" is like "a bottomless barrel." The army chiefs want to withdraw from Beit-Hanoun, the area they occupy at the northern tip of the Gaza Strip. They do not want to get into the nearby Jabalya refugee camp. They want to get out of there. For that, an agreement with the Palestinian leadership is needed - and that is exactly what Sharon does not want. Gush Shalom, Help us with donations to P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033, Phone 972-3-5221732. # The Presbyterian Church in the United States recently took a step towards divestment from companies who profit from the harming of innocent people, whether Palestinian or Israeli. They also say that Israel's "separation wall" being built through occupied Palestinian territory is illegal and should be removed. As pro-occupation forces are mobilizing to flood the PCUSA with messages condemning their actions, they are in dire need to get support. We recommend signing the petition of Jewish Voice for Peace at http://ga3.org/campaign/pcusa/eg6i3i41jde38j # Visit the website of Mandela Institute and help children of Palestinian prisoners to buy a school bag: http://www.mandela-palestine.org # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict, in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated). Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Aug 8 01:46:05 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:17 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Arafat meets Gush Shalom; calls for ceasefire/elections Message-ID: <411577CD.16361.2EF5534@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ <> Arafat meets Gush Shalom activists: Calls for cease-fire & new Palestinian elections <> Uri Avnery answers F.A.Q. re Sharon's Disengagement Plan <><><> <> Arafat meets Gush Shalom activists: Calls for cease-fire & new Palestinian elections Arafat meets Israeli activists - calls for cease-fire with Israel and new Palestinian elections Gush Shalom Press Release 7.8.2004 "I would like to hold as soon as possible new elections throughout the Palestinian Authority - presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections. But the occupation authorities make it impossible for us to proceed with so much as voter registration" said the Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat to a delegation of about 20 activists of Gush Shalom (The Israeli Peace Bloc) who this morning visited the presidential compound at Ramallah. "Does that mean that Muhammad Dahlan would also be able to run for president against you?" asked one of the Israeli activists, referring to the former Gaza security chief who recently gave several newspaper interviews critical of Arafat. "Certainly, anyone in the Palestinian territories could run in the elections - but Dahlan called me a few days ago and said he does not intend to challenge me" answered Arafat. He noted that elections are impossible when voters and candidates cannot move freely between cities and when candidates who meet Israel's disapproval can be hauled off to Israeli prisons or "liquidated" by Apache helicopters. The elections issue was later taken up during the impromptu press conference held by the Israeli delegation on the outside steps of the building, still showing the scars of various invasions and incursions by Israeli forces. "Had the Sharon Government been serious in its declared quest for 'a credible Palestinian partner it would not have had to look far" said Uri Avnery of Gush Shalom. "All that would be needed is to facilitate free Palestinian elections under international supervision - as was done in 1995, when Arafat was elected by a large majority - and then open negotiations with whoever wins, the incumbent or somebody new. But that is the very last thing our Prime Minster wants. He prefers to continue his enormous campaign of defamation and incitement, in Israel, the US and the rest of the world, continue to moan that 'there is no partner' and go on with acts of oppression and with the building of walls and settlements. We of Gush Shalom came here as patriotic Israelis. We came to meet with the person who got the confidence of the Palestinian people the last time they were asked for their opinion, and who by all indications would have gotten it again had elections been held now. We came to meet the only Palestinian leader who is able and willing to make peace with the state of Israel, and to get for such a peace wide support among Palestinians. Another subject prominent on the agenda of the Israelis' meeting with Arafat was Sharon's declared plan of "disengaging from Gaza". Asked several times if he thought Sharon would actually go through with it, Arafat answered "I hope so". He added "What I don't understand is why Sharon needs 17 months to get ready to withdraw from there. After all, it took Israel just six hours to evacuate all of South Lebanon, an area more then ten times the Gaza Strip." "If Israel does withdraw, we can and will take up management of the Strip. But Sharon is certainly not making things easy with the widespread destruction his army is perpetrating there daily. For example, in normal times the Palestinian hothouses around Gaza are highly productive, in this very small area they have an agricultural output about 30% of the whole Kingdom of Jordan. But now many of the hothouses are destroyed by the army, these farmers can't support the economy, we have to support them. The Palestinian Authority's ability to support people is hampered by the Israeli government violating the agreement on taxes. Since Israel controls all the borders, it was agreed in 1994 that Israeli customers will collect the customs duties on the merchandise coming to us, deduct a 3% fee and pass to us the other 97%. In normal times, it came to 70 or 80 million Shekels per month (14 to 16 million, in US Dollars), This was a big part of our budget, but now for more than three years the Israelis are depriving us of it, except for a very small part which they gave Finance Minister Fayad as a kind of favor. But we don't ask for favors, this is our money which we should get from customs like every other government in the world. Arafat repeated several times his wish for a cease-fire with Israel "a full cease-fire in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank." But at the moment Sharon is not willing to negotiate, except for local coordination between military commanders at the Beit Hanoun area [north Gaza Strip]. "We want to reach a cease-fire. I have no problem negotiating with Sharon. I have no problem meeting him personally, or if he doesn't want that - through intermediaries. We met Sharon and Netanyahu at the Wye River Conference, and we signed an agreement. I have no problem repeating that." One of the Israeli activists remarked that at Wye Sharon had refused to shake Arafat's hand. "Yes, he refused to shake my hand, but he signed an agreement with me nonetheless. And Netanyahu did shake my hand, even called me his friend." The conversation then shifted to the feasibility of a cease-fire with all the Palestinian factions involved. "If we reach a cease-fire, I will enforce it on all the factions, I am not joking. Yesterday, the spokesman of Islamic Jihad, Muhammad el-Hindi, declared that his organization will accept an agreement signed by the Palestinian Authority. Haled Mash'al, head of the Hamas Political Bureau, is now in Egypt for talks about a cease-fire. Since he can't get into the territories, I talk with him on the phone. In 1981, when we were in Lebanon, i signed an agreement to stop shooting missiles on the Galilee. When the people of the Popular Front and the Democratic Front wanted to go on shooting missiles, I put them in prison. I am not joking, if we sign an agreement for cease-fire including the end of shooting missiles on Israel, then it will stop." There was a specific question regarding the "El-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade." Arafat answered: This organization is not part of the Fatah Movement; some of the people there say that I am their supreme commander, but they get money from Iran via Munir Maqdah [a Lebanon-based Palestinian officer, who rebelled against Arafat some years ago]. But as I said, I am not joking. If there is a cease-fire, it will apply to them like everybody else. The final part of the meeting, Arafat went into historical reminiscences. "After Oslo, I met in Amman with Rabin and King Hussein. We discussed the possibility of a Benelux-type framework between Israel, Palestine and Jordan. I got afterwards some feelers from Lebanon of their being interested to be included as well. The murder of Rabin ended all this, I hope that some day it would be possible to take it up again." For more information: Gush Shalom Spokesperson Adam Keller: 03-5565804 / 050-6709603 ~~~ <> Uri Avnery answers F.A.Q. re Sharon's Disengagement Plan Some Order in the Mess Uri Avnery 7.8.04 Ariel Sharon's "disengagement" plan has already made a mess on all levels. It has sparked a continuing cabinet crisis, an upheaval in several parties, a disorientation of public opinion, confusion in the security establishment and armed confrontations between Palestinian organizations. The Israeli peace movement is mixed up like everybody else. Some support Sharon because of the plan and even want to join his government, others denounce Sharon and the plan furiously. Let's try to make some sense of this mess. 1. What does the plan say? According to Sharon, he plans to evacuate - and probably demolish - all settlements in the Gaza Strip, evacuate the settlers and the army and leave the territory to the Palestinians. According to the plan, the Israeli army will hold on to the "Philadelphi Axis" as an insurmountable barrier between the Strip and Egypt. As a symbolic gesture, the plan also provides for the dismantling of three small, unimportant settlements on the northern edge of the West Bank. 2. Will it be implemented? Not at all certain. The plan was not the result of elaborate staff-work. It was more in the nature of an improvisation, quickly served up to please President Bush. Sharon knew that it would be opposed by the right-wing and the Palestinians, and pull the rug out from under the Labor Party. The government has officially resolved to confirm the plan in principle, but has not decided to dismantle a single settlement. Such a decision would necessitate another government resolution. In the meantime, the matter is moving forward languidly. The army is supposed to produce a plan, but insists that the job of removing the settlers should be turned over to the police. The Ministry of Justice has been charged with the drafting of the necessary laws. A committee is supposed to prepare a sliding scale for compensation. The tempo of progress in no way indicates speedy implementation. But, most importantly: there is no effort at all to mobilize public opinion in favor of the disengagement. The opponents of disengagement, the settlers and their allies, are working with great zeal. They have already won a victory in the referendum of Likud members, they have organized a big "human chain" demonstration, they are preparing further large actions. They manipulate the media with great dexterity. They can mobilize at a moment's notice tens of thousands of settlers and right-wingers. They have at their disposal almost unlimited amounts of money, provided by American Jewish millionaires and Christian fundamentalists. Opposing this propaganda juggernaut, there is nothing but silence. The Likud is not mobilizing its members for a campaign of support for the plan, the Labor party is busy with internal squabbles about joining the government and the left-wing does not know what to think about the whole affair. The supporters of the plan console themselves with the knowledge that in all public opinion polls, a majority supports the plan. But this is a wobbly majority, unenthusiastic and unsure of itself. It has not yet been tested in a real crisis. It can easily evaporate. 3. Is there a time-table? None at all. Sharon and his people speak loosely about starting the evacuation in March, 2005, and finishing the job by the end of that year. By the look of things, this is idle talk. Since Yitzhak Rabin remarked that "there are no sacred dates", all Israeli leaders have violated agreed timetables. The natural inclination is always to postpone difficult decisions. When I met Yasser Arafat this morning, he remarked: "It took Israel six hours to leave South Lebanon, why does Sharon need 17 months to leave the Gaza Strip?" 4. So what is Sharon's real purpose? The plan suits his grand design to turn all (or almost all) of Eretz Israel into a Jewish State. (Eretz Israel - the Land of Israel - is nowadays understood as identical with Mandatory Palestine, the land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan.) For him, Gaza, a negligible piece of real estate (less than 1.5 % of the country!) is devouring a disproportionate part of Israel's military and financial resources. What is important for him is "Judea and Samaria" - the West Bank, which is 16 times larger. He hopes that the disengagement from Gaza will enable him to annex more than half of the West Bank and to enclose the Palestinians in a number of enclaves that are practically isolated from each other and at the mercy of Israel. In the long run, the aim is to make life intolerable for the Palestinian population and cause it to leave altogether. 5. If so, is there any positive side to the disengagement plan? In the peace camp, some voices insist that the plan should be supported because it creates, for the first time, a precedent of evacuating settlements in Eretz Israel. Emotionally and politically, this would certainly have a huge impact. (The Yamit area, where several settlements were evacuated in pursuance of the peace treaty with Egypt, is not considered part of Eretz Israel). The peaceniks who support the plan argue that the long-term intentions of Sharon are irrelevant. The only important thing is what actually happens on the ground - and on the ground 7500 settlers will be removed from the Gaza Strip - if it happens, of course. 6. On the other side, can the plan cause damage? A disengagement that is divorced from peace negotiations can be very dangerous. Sharon's people say that they don't give a damn what will happen in the Gaza Strip after the Israeli withdrawal. They are pretending. Behind the scenes, the military and political leadership is planning the installation of a local warlord, who would rule the Strip under Israeli (and therefore also American and Egyptian) protection. Their preferred candidate is Muhammad Dahlan, the former boss of the political police in the Strip. If this happens, the local strongman may well end up like Bashir Jumail, who was supposed to rule Lebanon under Israeli protection. He was soon murdered. The warlord installed by Israel may be removed and actual power in the Gaza Strip then pass into the hands of the armed organizations that will continue to fight against Israel by all available means, including missiles. The Israeli army will then occupy the territory again, and the whole story will begin again from square one. On the other hand, if the experiment succeeds, the Gaza Strip will become an "autonomous" area under Israeli control, administered by a local strongman. It will be rather like the South African Bantustans at the time of apartheid. The Palestinian people will, of course, view this as an existential threat and fight against it by all possible means. 7. Can the plan be supported by the peace camp? Only if the following conditions are met: (a) The government of Israel must declare that the West Bank and the Gaza Strip constitute one single territorial unit, as explicitly stated in the Oslo agreement. (b) The disengagement must be connected with the renewal of peace negotiations between the government of Israel and the elected leadership of the Palestinian people. (c) The disengagement must be implemented by agreement with the Palestinian Authority and the territory must be turned over to it in an orderly manner. The agreement should include arrangements that will guarantee the security of both sides, perhaps backed by an international peacekeeping force. (d) The "Philadelphi Axis" must be dismantled. Land, air and sea connections between the Gaza Strip with the world must be opened, perhaps under international supervision. (e) All buildings and infrastructure of the settlements must be turned over intact to the Palestinian Authority or an international institution. Their value may be taken into account when the refugee problem is settled. (f) A definite timetable must be agreed for the implementation of all phases of the disengagement. PS: When I asked Arafat today whether he believes that the disengagement plan will actually be implemented, he answered: "We hope so!" "I didn't ask whether you hope so, but whether you believe it!" I insisted. Arafat smiled and repeated: "We hope so!" # Visit the website of Mandela Institute and help children of Palestinian prisoners to buy a school bag: http://www.mandela-palestine.org # The Presbyterian Church in the United States recently took a step towards divestment from companies who profit from the harming of innocent people, whether Palestinian or Israeli. They also say that Israel's "separation wall" being built through occupied Palestinian territory is illegal and shoul d be removed. As pro-occupation forces are mobilizing to flood the PCUSA with messages condemning their actions, they are in dire need to get support. We recommend signing the petition of Jewish Voice for Peace at http://ga3.org/campaign/pcusa/eg6i3i41jde38j # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / ????? http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Tue Aug 10 00:44:57 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:17 2004 Subject: (Fwd) Road Apartheid // Woman CO's struggle // ex-Mossad man vs IDF Message-ID: <41180C79.31908.245D2F5@localhost> FYI # The Forbidden Road Regime in the West Bank B'tselem calls it "Apartheid Practice" Translation of press release + link to Hebrew original # "Still I won't enlist in occupation army" Refuser Laura Milo after court rejected her plea Translation press release, original Hebrew attached # Ex-deputy Mossad director: IDF under Ya'alon lost its morality with several links to press reports *** # The Forbidden Road Regime in the West Bank B'tselem calls it "Apartheid Practice" Translation of press release + link to Hebrew original ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Mon, 9 Aug 2004 16:35:09 +0200 From: "Noam Hoffstater" B'Tselem, 10 August 2004 PRESS RELEASE ??????/Hebrew version at: http://www.btselem.org/Hebrew/Press_Releases/2004/040809.asp The Forbidden Road Regime in the West Bank - An Apartheid Practice B?Tselem issues a new report today: The Forbidden Roads: The Discriminatory West Bank Road Regime. In its new report, B?Tselem finds that: * Israel restricts Palestinian travel on forty-one roads and sections of roads throughout the West Bank, totaling more than 700 kilometers of roadway (the report includes a detailed map of the Forbidden Roads Regime). * B?Tselem has divided the Forbidden Roads Regime into three categories of roads: ?sterile roads? where Palestinian traffic is completely prohibited, roads where Palestinians require special permits, and roads with restricted access. The regime applies only to Palestinians. Israeli vehicles are allowed to travel freely along these roadways. * Permits for Palestinians to travel on restricted roads are issued at the sole discretion of the Israeli security establishment. Rejections are given verbally and without explanation. According to the head of the Civil Administration, Brig. Gen. Ilan Paz, ?There are no definitive clear criteria for examining requests for a permit.? * The Forbidden Roads Regime has been in operation for years, but the rules and regulations for its implementation have never been issued in writing. Thus, Israel frees itself of accountability and increases the arbitrariness with which it enforces the regime. * The Forbidden Roads Regime operates under the premise that every Palestinian is a security risk. Based on this premise, the Roads Regime violates the rights to freedom of movement and to equality of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel has an obligation to safeguard the lives of its citizens. But this obligation does not allow it to cause such harsh, extensive, indiscriminate, and prolonged harm to the local population. By unlawfully discriminating against Palestinians based on their national origin, the Forbidden Roads Regime is reminiscent of the apartheid system that existed in South Africa. The regime violates fundamental principles of international law that are binding on the State of Israel. B?Tselem demands that the government of Israel immediately end the Forbidden Roads Regime and that it respect the right of Palestinians to move freely on all roads inside the West Bank. --------------------------- For a copy of the report, summary, map of the forbidden roads, and additional details, contact Yariv Tikolsker, Outreach Director 054-5900976 See also: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/462450.html Hebrew/????? http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/SearchArticle.jhtml http://www.maarivintl.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID =10614 ~~~ # "Still I won't enlist in occupation army" Refuser Laura Milo after court rejected her plea Translation press release, original Hebrew attached Press release of Refuser Parents' Forum [Hebrew attached - ????? ??"? ] "The court's verdict did not and could not change my conscience, my resolution not to collaborate with the occupation and not to enlist in the army of occupation. If anything, the situation on the ground has become even worse since I declared my refusal. The Supreme Court decided that under the laws of the state of Israel I cannot get an exemption on grounds of conscience. That makes me sorry, but it must be clear - for me, enlisting in the army is not an option - unless something really unexpected happens, like the army pulling suddenly out of all the territories" says Laura Milo, the conscientious objector whose appeal to the Supreme Court was rejected this morning. A year ago, Milo wrote to the army: "The occupation is, in its very essence, totally contrary to my moral-humanist values. The government of Israel enacts a policy of daily humiliation of the occupied Palestinian population. I will not take part in a body which carries out a reprehensible policy. Joining the IDF, which is an immoral body, is totally against the dictates of my conscience". When examined by the army's "Conscience Committee", Milo stated fortrightly that she is not opposed to all military service anywhere, but rather to the occupation in particular, and that she would be willing to enlist if the army were to terminate the occupation. In the past, young women taking such a position were granted exemption from military service; however, shortly before Milo came before the comittee, the discrepency between treatment of male and female refusers came out during the court-martial of five young men who refused to join the army. As a result, the military authorities undertook a tougher attitude to the female refusers , so as "to establish gender equality". Laura Milo was the first girl refuser to be affected. She was ruled to be "a political refuser", denied discharge and ordered to formally enlist - and upon her refusal sent to a term in the military prison. She appealed the comittee's decision, stating that Israeli law specifically grants women the right to exemption on grounds of "conscience or a religious way of life" and that therefore the comittee had no authority to deny her the exemption. However, the court this morning rejected the appeal. The verdict, written by Judge Ayala Procatcha and assented to by her two colleagues Matza and Levy, interpreted the law as meaning that exemption on grounds of conscience should be granted as of right to religious women only. Non-religious women refusers would be treated like their male counterparts: exemption might be granted total pacifists, who oppose all miltary service at times and circumstances - but even that would be given at the army's discretion, as a "good will gesture", rather then as a right; and "selective refusers", male or female, would be totally excluded from any possibility of exemption. The court did grant a two weeks' stay of execution before Milo has to go back to the military prison, so that her lawyers can ask for a further review by a larger panel of judges. The two advocates, Smadar Ben Nathan and Gabi Laski, assert that there are many ill-considered points in today's verdict, both in substance and judicial procedure, to justify such a review. "The judicial system has again exhibited toughness towards persons of conscience, who refuse to take part in violent and immoral acts - while soldiers who mistreat Palestinian passers-by at roadblocks get off with ridiculous punishments" said Adv. Laski. And Adv. Ben Nathan added: "In the name of so-called equality, the Supreme Court effectively wiped away women's Freedom of Conscience, which had been recognized for decades - rather then extend recognition of the same freedom to men as well. According to this verdict, a woman who strongly approves of war and conquest but is part of a conservative community wose spiritual leaders hold that "a woman's place is at home" would get automatic exemption from military service. Yet this kind of exemption is denied to an independent- minded young woman who already formulated a clear and coherent worldview, a woman who spent the last two years in doing valuable community and educational work at Yerusham and other poverty-stiken towns. Now the court tells her that she must give up that communitry work in order to enlist in an army of occupation, and that refusing to violate the dicates of her conscience could land her in prolonged,repeated prison terms. With all due respect,one finds it difficult to deny the impression that,with regard to conscientious objectors, the judicial system is extremely accomodating to the wishes of the govenment and the army command. Contact: Laura Milo 03-6416802 / 064-840678 Adv. Laski 03-6243215 / 054-418988 Adv. Ben Nathan 03-5619666 / 053-589775 Adam Keller 03-5565804 / 050-6709603 See also: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/462003.html And for gow to support the refuseniks' struggle: http://www.yeshgvul.org/english/article/?id=8811d70502372c03cb5023c51eb9f3 ee ~~~ # Ex-deputy Mossad director: IDF under Ya'alon lost its morality with several links to press reports As we could see on our TV screens (News of Channel-II): Former deputy Mossad director, Shmuel Toledano, launched a harsh verbal attack on Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon, saying that under his lead the IDF has lost its "purity of arms". for more: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/461995.html http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ ShowFull&cid=1092021256772 ~~~ # For photos of the Gush Shalom visit to the Muqata http://www.gush-shalom.org/index.html http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / ????? http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: refusMilo.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 26112 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040809/338d8014/refusMilo.obj From info at gush-shalom.org Sat Aug 14 17:56:49 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:17 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Call upon Minister: Talk to Prisoners on Hunger Strike + more Message-ID: <411E4451.26826.CBCE65@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org [] Partner behind the door / Gush ad Hebrew/English [] Palestinian prisoners to start hunger strike # Minister Hanegbi: Let them starve themselves to death # "Refusal to talk is arrogant and disastrous" (Gush Shalom press release) # Call to solidarity action by the families of the prisoners ***** [] Partner behind the door / Gush ad Hebrew/English English after Hebrew ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ??? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ????? ????????? ????? ??????. ?? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??"? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ??? ????? ????? ???? ???"?, ?? ?? ?'?????' ?????? ????'?. ????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ????????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ?? ???????? ?????? ?????? ????????? ???? ?????????, ?????? ????????. ?????? ????? ????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ?????????, ????? ????? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ???????? ???????, ???? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ???"? ????? ?? ?????? ????????? ??????. ?? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ???????. ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???????, ?? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ???? ???????. ????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ???? ?? ??????: ??? ??? ?????, ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ???? ????????? ?? ????? ?????? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ????? ??? ???? "????", 13 ??????? 2004 THE PARTNER BEHIND THE DOOR Already a year and half ago the Palestinian Authority intended to hold elections. But it's quite impossible to have free elections when army checkpoints prevent traffic between cities and villages and with candidates who can any moment be imprisoned by the army, if not targeted for "elimination" by Apache helicopters. This week the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat suggested again that the State of Israel removes the obstacles and facititates democratic elections among the Palestinians, under international supervision. Simultaneously there should be declared a general cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians, the Palestinian Authority would impose it on all the factions and militias, and right after the elections an Israeli delegation would start accelerated negotiations with the elected Palestinian leadership. This message Arafat transmitted through a delegation of some twenty Gush Shalom activists who visited him in his Ramalla Compound. It was published widely in foreign media, but our own political establsihment ignored it totally. Instead we continue to hear also this week, again and again, the same mantra: "we don't have a partner, it's all corruption and chaos over there... DO PALESTINIANS HAVE A PARTNER ON THE ISRAELI SIDE? Gush Shalom ad published in Ha'aretz, August 13 2004 ~~~ [] Palestinian prisoners to start hunger strike # Minister Hanegbi: Let them starve themselves to death # "Refusal to talk is arrogant and disastrous" (Gush Shalom press release) # Call to solidarity action by the families of the prisoners # Minister Hanegbi: Let them starve themselves to death Hebrew/?????: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/SearchArticle.jhtml English http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/464469.html http://www.maarivintl.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=10670 # "Refusal to talk is arrogant and disastrous" Gush Shalom Press Release, August 14, 2004 [Hebrew attached - ????? ??"? ] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Negotiate with the Palestinians - on prison conditions and on overall solutions; "Refusal to talk - arrogant and disastrous" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gush Shalom, the Israeli Peace Bloc, calls upon the Sharon Government to open immediate negotiations on prison conditions with the representatives of the Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails - ahead of the prisoners' hunger strike scheduled for tomorrow. Many of the prisoners' demands are reasonable, and their fulfilment would detract nothing from "security" - for example, providing regular family visits. At present, family visits to Palestinian prisoners are rare and irregular, with families often having to spend a whole day's traveling for a visit of half or three quarters of an hour. Moreover, many prisoners-for example, prisoners from Nablus - get no family visits at all. Internal Security Minister Hanegby expressed an intransigent and arrogant position, declaring his blanket and outright rejection of all the prisoners' demands. This is part and parcel of a government policy which insists upon imposing unilateral solutions and rejects any negotiations with the Palestinians - on prison conditions, and overall solution, or anything in between. Hanegby's demagoguery on "murderous terrorists" and "blood on the hands" relies on the ignorance of the general public. Few Israelis know, for example, that more than a thousand Palestinians are held in "administrative detention" without trial, against whom no charges were ever presented, much less proven. Also, in many of the cases where Palestinians are serving prison terms handed down by a court, these terms in fact result from unfair "show trials" whose result was in fact predetermined in advance - such as the Maerwan Bargouti trial. It is futile for the state of Israel to re-invent basic rules and ignore the historical experience gathered in dozens of countries around the world. A significant part of the present UN member states emerged out of a struggle by underground organizations - organizations invariably called "terrorist murderers" but the colonial authorities and considered by themselves to be freedom fighters, and with whom the authorities eventually had to negotiate. Indeed, Israel itself is a clear case in point. In the years previous to 1948, Jewish underground organizations challenged British rule in mandatory Palestine. The British authorities conducted a fierce campaign against these organizations, declared their members to be dangerous terrorists, imprisoned thousands of them and executed many. Indeed,these organizations were responsible for such acts as the 1946 blowing up of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, in which more than a hundred people were killed in a single minute - a horrific 'record' which none of the Palestinian organizations, in their numerous attacks on Israeli targets, ever came close to matching. Nevertheless, the British had to release all of the Jewish underground prisoners. From their ranks, and those of the 'wanted terrorists' on whose heads the British authorities had declared a price, there eventually emerged no less than three prime minsters of the state of Israel - Yithchak Rabin, Menachem Begin and Yitchak Shamir. (Rabin, arrested in 1946 and held in a large British prison camp at Rafah, was elected by his fellow prisoners to represent them, and was involved in negotiations with the administration on prison conditions.) All three ex-prisoner or ex-terrorist Prime Minsters of Israel were in turn invited to state visits in Britain and received with full honours at 10 Downing Street. There can be no doubt that a similar stage will be reached in Israel's relations with the Palestinians in general, and with the Palestinian prisoners in particular. The sooner the government comes to this realization, the lesser the number of casualties and the amount of suffering still in store for both peoples. Further info: Adam Keller, Gush Shalom Spokesperson +972-(0)3-5565804, +972-(056)709603 # Call to solidarity action by the families of the prisoners ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Thu, 12 Aug 2004 21:34:11 +0300 From: Campaign for the Rights of Political Prisoners [??? ????? ????? ] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israeli Prisons Begin Hunger Strike ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To all Friends and Supporters of Human Rights around the World: The Committee for the Families of Political Prisoners and Detainees in the West Bank, representing 7,500 political prisoners currently in Israeli prisons, is seeking the support of the international community in its campaign against the gross violations of their rights that the prisoners are enduring and against the appalling conditions under which they are being detained. Political prisoners in Israeli prisons will be commencing a hunger strike on Sunday, August 15, 2004 to protest their conditions. They complain that the conditions they experience are reminiscent of the former Abu Ghoraib facility in Iraq which gained worldwide notoriety recently for its treatment of detainees. When informed by the prisoners of their intended hunger strike prison authorities responded with harsher treatment, vowing not to give in to any of the prisoners? demands even if the hunger strikes result in the deaths of prisoners. Some of the conditions that the prisoners are protesting include: -- Arbitrary and indiscriminate beating of prisoners in their cells, in prison courtyards and during transportation to and from prisons. -- Arbitrary and indiscriminate firing of tear gas into prisoner?s cells and prison courtyards and intimidation of prisoners by guards entering their cells with guns. --Humiliating strip searches of prisoners in full view of other prisoners and guards each time they enter or exit their cells --Subjecting prisoners to solitary confinement for excessive periods of time, for months and even years. --Arbitrary imposition of financial penalties on prisoners for minor infractions, arbitrary revocation of visitation rights and extended confinement to cells as punishment for minor infractions such as singing or speaking too loudly --Confining children with adult prisoners and political prisoners with criminals --Withholding or delaying medical treatment and the provision of medication to sick detainees --Severely restricting the category of family members entitled to visit prisoners thus denying visitation rights to other close family members --Arbitrary denial of travel permits to family members of prisoners living in the West Bank or Gaza so that they cannot travel to prisons to see their relatives --Imposing conditions on travel for family members and obstacles that result in travel of a few hours being prolonged to 16 or 17 hours for a 45-minute visit --Conducting humiliating strip searches of visiting family members even though they are usually separated from the prisoners by a full glass barrier as well as a wire mesh barrier. --Providing such poor visitation facilities that prisoners find it difficult to see or hear their loved ones --Maintaining prisoners on near starvation diets that are insufficient to sustain health. --Applying rules concerning items that prisoners may receive from their families arbitrarily and inconsistently, on the whim of the guards, with each visit. --Withdrawing studying privileges that in the past allowed prisoners to continue their high school or university studies through correspondence courses The treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israel violates both international and Israeli laws, as well as rules governing the administration of Israeli prisons. The Committee for the Families is planning a series of activities in the West Bank to coincide with the start of the hunger strike on August 15th. A press conference in Ramallah will kick off the campaign. Hunger strike solidarity tents will be set up in the centre of all the cities in the West Bank and in all the Red Cross Centres and will be occupied by the public around the clock for as long as the prisoners? strike lasts. The Palestinian Prime Minister?s office has declared August 18th a National Day for Prisoners for all Palestinians to show solidarity with the prisoners. All government ministers, members of the Palestinian National Council and heads of all political parties will join the public in the Solidarity Tents and fast in support of the prisoners. Other planned activities are: On Friday, August 20, after Jum?a prayers at mosques processions will march towards the Solidarity Tents. On Saturday, August 21st, Palestinians in various Israeli cities will march, together with other supporters, to the prisons where Palestinian political prisoners are being held and on Sunday, August 22, after church services processions will march to the Solidarity Tents. These processions will be held every weekend during the campaign. On August 23rd children of the prisoners will lead a procession. On August 25th all professionals involved in the Justice system in Palestine will congregate at the Solidarity Tents in their official legal gowns and will lead a procession to the centre of their cities. On August 26th the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Arun Gandhi, will lead a mass procession in Ramallah. On August 29th all members of the public are invited to join the open hunger strike and in the evening candlelight processions will be held. The families of the Palestinian political prisoners plead with you, the members of the international community, to join in solidarity with our sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters who are being held in Israeli prisons by organizing an International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners on September 4, 2004. We ask you to demonstrate, march, hold silent vigils or activities to publicize the plight of the political prisoners and bring pressure on the government of Israel to cease these violations of law and to treat Palestinian prisoners as human beings entitled to basic human rights. We ask you also register your protests by letter, fax, email, or telephone to the officials listed below. Ask them to stop the harsh treatment of Palestinian political prisoners and to accede the demands of the striking prisoners so that the conditions under which they are imprisoned are consistent with international norms of human rights and basic decency. Also, please register your protest with your own political representatives and governments ministers. Please send a copy of your protest message to alhureih@yahoo.com Messages of support from organizations would also be appreciated by the prisoners and their families. Please send them to the same address with some details of the organization. For more information visit our temporary website at www.palsolidarity.org/prisoners or telephone (972) 2 277 4602 or email: info@palsolidarity.org With much appreciation for your valued support, Mahmoud Ziadi, General Secretariat, Families of Palestinian Political Prisoners PO Box 2151, Ramallah, Palestine. List of Israeli government officials: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Office of the Prime Minister 3 Kaplan Street, P O Box 187 Jerusalem 91919, Israel Fax: +972 2 6705475 E-mail: pm_eng@pmo.gov.il Minister of Justice Yosef Lapid Ministry of Justice 29 Salah al-Din Street Jerusalem 91010, Israel Fax: +972 2 6285438 E-mail: sar@justice.gov.il Minister of Defence Shaul Mofaz Ministry of Defence, 37 Kaplan St., Tel-Aviv 61909, Israel. Fax: +972-3-69-62757/16940/17915 e-mail: sar@mod.gov.il or pniot@mod.gov Minister of Interior Security Tzahi Hanegbi Ministry of Interior Security Kiryat Hamemshala, P O Box 18182 Jerusalem 91181 Tel: 972-2-5309999 Fax: 2-5847872/11832 sar@mops.gov.il Addresses of Israeli embassies worldwide can be found at www.embassyworld.com/embassy/isreal1.htm or go to the Government of Israel website at www.info.gov.il/FirstGov/ ~~~ ~~~ # On August 19th California's Gambling Control Commission will vote on the casino license application of Irving Moskowitz, the leading funder of militant Israeli settlers. See what you can do about it at: http://www.stopmoskowitz.org/letter0804.shtml # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / ????? http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: pr0814hb.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 24064 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040814/509eb429/pr0814hb.obj From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Aug 15 18:23:42 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:17 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] JOINING THE WALK AGAINST THE WALL, Wedn. afternoon Message-ID: <411F9C1E.2449.1475C02@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ [FYI: the following invitation was sent (in Hebrew and English) to our "Israeli list".] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON - JOINING THE WALK AGAINST THE WALL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The international Anti-Wall-Walk - along (and against) the notorious route of the Wall, and organized by the ISM, is gaining momentum. Wednesday, August 18, in the afternoon there will be a Gush Shalom bus from Tel-Aviv & picking up Jerusalemers as well, enabling you to take part in the one but last day, when the march will pass the A-Ram part. Please leave your phone number and the number of seats you need on the answering machine of Gush Shalom 03-5221732; you will be phoned back with exact details. On the day after (Thursday, Aug. 19) at 11pm the Supreme Court judges will give their verdict re the appeal of the A-Ram community against the Wall. Awaiting the Supreme Court's decision (and in spite of the clear ruling of the International Court in The Hague), the main Jerusalem-Qalandia Highway connecting A-Ram with Qalandiya checkpoint has already been dug up, and the 8 meter concrete slates are lying on the side waiting to be erected. If this is not stopped the Jerusalem suburb A-Ram will have a monster wall right through its middle, preventing people from crossing the main road, cutting off merchants from their customers, workers from their work places, pulils from their schools, patients from their hospitals, etc. Tens of thousands of Palestinians will be cut off from the West Bank, other tens of thousands from all parts of annexed Jerusalem. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JOIN US WEDNESDAY - AND SEE FOR YOURSELF ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ # On August 19th California's Gambling Control Commission will vote on the casino license application of Irving Moskowitz, the leading funder of militant Israeli settlers. See what you can do about it at: http://www.stopmoskowitz.org/letter0804.shtml # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From adam at gush-shalom.org Sun Aug 15 21:07:55 2004 From: adam at gush-shalom.org (Adam Keller) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:17 2004 Subject: Will be at the NY UN NGO conf. SOME DAYS STILL OPEN Message-ID: <411FC29B.2956.1DDB97E@localhost> ++++++++++++++++++++ FOR US ORGANIZATIONS (with excuses to all others who get this) ESPECIALLY IN AND AROUND NEW YORK: Adam Keller to attend UN Conference (13 and 14 Sept.) Has after the event some days open for invitations ++++++++++++++++++++ Dear friend I got an invitation to participate in the UN International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People in New York, 13 and 14 September. So this may be an opportunity to meet. If you think you can arrange something in the period until September 26, please let me know in the coming days. I am interested to meet with big but also with small groups. Sorry that the period is fixed, and that I couldn't approach you earlier Still, I hope to hear from you soon, Adam A short biography ADAM KELLER: ACTIVIST / JOURNALIST / REFUSNIK - Spokesperson of Gush Shalom, the Israeli Peace Bloc, a grassroots movement which has from its start opposed the occupation in all its manifestations - advocating the creation of a truly independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with Jerusalem as capital of two states and the Green Line as border of peace - enabling the strengthening of economic, social and cultural exchange. - Editor of The Other Israel ("newsletter of the peace movement") since its foundation in 1983 - contributes regularly to the New Politics quarterly (New York) and in 1987 collected his observations and analyses in the book "Terrible Days - social divisions and political paradoxes in Israel" (Cypres, Amstelveen). Born in Tel-Aviv (1955), Keller started out at a very young age to be the one who could overnight cover the whole of Tel-Aviv with peace graffiti. While studying history at Tel-Aviv University he got deeply involved in the politics of the student movements. From 1980-1983 Keller acted as spokesperson of the Shelly Peace Party and later of the Jewish-Arab Progressive List for Peace (1984-1988). Following the enactment, in October 1986, of a law forbidding Israelis from meeting with PLO representatives, Keller participated in the Israeli- Palestinian Rumania Meeting, held in defiance of that law. In 1984 Keller was jailed for refusing to do military reserve service in Lebanon; in 1988 - for writing slogans on 117 army tanks, calling upon soldiers to refuse service in the Occupied Territories; and in 1990 - for altogether refusing further military service in protest against the shameless violation of Palestinian human rights. Recently he became involved in the Refusnik Parents Forum - being the father of Uri Ya'acobi who refused to serve in the army altogether, and was declared "unfit for military service" after seven prison terms. From adam at gush-shalom.org Tue Aug 17 14:55:32 2004 From: adam at gush-shalom.org (Adam Keller) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:17 2004 Subject: Please, resend your mail (if you sent one re Adam Keller in US) Message-ID: <41220E54.9014.8BEEB9@localhost> [SORRY FOR BOTHERING YOU AGAIN - MESSAGES LOST BY COMPUTER CRASH] If you sent me an a mail yesterday or today re my US trip, please send it again I got already a nice amount of reactions, which I did not yet succeed to answer all of them, and then we suffered here a computer blackout - I know for sure that several messages of yesterday and today aren't there any more. So far I got invitations from NY, Tucson, and East Hanvoer -for the dates 15 / 18, 19, 20 / 25 Sept, and several not yet final proposals As I am arriving short before the UN event and will return to Israel on the 26th the dates still left for further appointments are 16, 17 & 21, 22, 23, 24. I am willing to fly from one place to the other, IF I can get different invitations arranged orderly, and with the minimum condition fulfilled that I will everywhere get compensated for additonal travel and living expenses . But please, resend your mail. thank you Adam From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Aug 19 00:00:55 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:17 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Non-violent prisoners' protest & ministerial reaction Message-ID: <4123DFA7.5666.263F1DB@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ [] STARVE TO DEATH? - Special Friday ad [] History of US election years - Avnery ~~~ [] STARVE TO DEATH? - Special Friday ad Hebrew attached - ????? ??"? STARVE TO DEATH? Tsachi Hanegbi, a politician with a rich past as a radical right-wing law- breaker, does not care, as he put it, if the Palestinian prisoners "starve to death". An inhuman statement by the Minister for Internal Security, on behalf of an inhuman government. This is not the kind of state we want Israel to be. The IDF generals declare again and again that "we are at war". In a war, there is an enemy. Captured enemy fighters are prisoners-of-war. Prisoners-of-war are not held for punishment or revenge, but for the sole purpose of preventing them from going on fighting. A civilized state accords prisoners-of-war all possible humane conditions, within the limitations inherent in their being prisoners. This we demanded, at the time, from the British authorities, when they held our underground fighters. This we demand from ourselves now, when we are holding members of the Palestinian organizations. We demand immediate negotiations with the prisoners' representatives about decent prison conditions, suitable for a civilized state. GUSH SHALOM Tomorrow, Saturday, at 5 p.m., we shall demonstrate in front of Hasharon prison, in order to emphasize this demand. For details call the Gush office, 03-5221732. Special ad published in Haaretz, August 20, 2004 [] History of US election years - Avnery Drought in Texas Uri Avnery 14.8.04 {HYPERLINK "../archives/article317.html"} http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/article317.html Hebrew http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/article317_heb.html # On August 19th California's Gambling Control Commission will vote on the casino license application of Irving Moskowitz, the leading funder of militant Israeli settlers. See what you can do about it at: http://www.stopmoskowitz.org/letter0804.shtml # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / ????? http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: gu_ad_he Type: application/octet-stream Size: 39424 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040818/a877c0b9/gu_ad_he.obj From info at gush-shalom.org Fri Aug 20 04:55:14 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:17 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Bad day at court+Visiting prisoner families (report of a long day) Message-ID: <41257622.9096.5E71BFA@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ August 19, 2004 Two reports: --Bad day for anti-Wall struggle at Supreme Court --Visiting prisoner families in East Jerusalem --Gush Shalom on Likud vote ~~~ ????? ???????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? --Bad day for anti-Wall struggle at Supreme Court The mainstream media presented it as a brilliant success for the liberal lawyers: the Supreme Court ordered the state to give within thorty days its detailed response to the ruling of the International Court in The Hague, according to which any building of the Separation Wall/Fence in the occupied territories rather than on Israel's own soil is inherently illegal. But a hall full of activists (Jerusalemites were joined by some twenty Gush Shalomers bused in from Tel-Aviv) started soom to feel uneasy. Though the proceeding began with rather an embarassment for the government, the army general present had good reasons for coming out of the courtroom with a smile on his face. Catching the headlines with the Hague reference, the judges handed down a series of less conspicuous "interim technical rulings" allowing the army to go ahead with building the wall in several disputed locations. The state did undertake to "restore the original situation" should the final decision go against them. In vain did lawyers Dahle, Sfard and el-Ajou point out that for many inhabitants it would be too late. "When the fence deprives a family of the land on which their herds are grazing and they have to sell the animals and live on the money until it is finished - what will they do even if they get back the land in a year or two? When the wall cuts off merchants in a bustling city street from their customers and they go bankrupt - what will it help even if the wall is torn down in a year or two?" The state took full advantage of last week's bombing, in which a militant from Jenin blew up two Palestinian bypassers at A-Ram while intending to hit soldiers: "A-Ram has become a major throughfare for terrorists and suicide bombers; any further delay in building the wall will cost lives." The general didn't actually say "and you, your honours will be blamed". And who cares that, as lawyer Fatma el-Ajou of ACRI pointed out, a determinded terrorist would still find a lot of holes to slip through and that the Wall ways most heavily on pupils who daily have to get to their schools and anyone needing urgent medical treatment. ~~~ --Visiting prisoner families in East Jerusalem [Hebrew attached - ????? ??"? ] The Gush Shalom bus brought a depressed group from the antisceptic Supreme Court halls to the Red Cross Compound in East Jerusalem. Alighting we picked up the signs, in Hebrew, Arabic and English: "Fair Treatment to the Prisoners of War!" Under the shady trees were sitting some forty or fifty people, men and women and quite a few children, clutching the framed photographs of their imprisoned dear ones (many of them painfully young). We were invited to sit by a dignified old man in traditional clothes. Soon afterwards a young woman got up and burst out: "Our sons and brothers are in danger. Minister Hanegbi wants them to starve to death." "I remember Hanegbi from more than twenty years ago" remarked somebody. "Already as a student in the university he was a thug, with a vile mouth and violent behaviour." "In 1967, I was crippled by a bomb from an Israeli plane", told 65-year old Yaser Jit. "It was very difficult and painful to wait hours in the heat at the prison gate, and then they just close the do or in my face and tell me that I can't see my son, no reason given." He is clutching the membership card in the Israeli Handicapped Association, with the Hebrew inscription "We call upon all authorities to give assistance to the bearer of this card." "The Palestinian prisoners are prisoners of war, and as such they deserve minimal standards of treatment. Certainly, they have the right to family visits and to embrace their children. Certainly , they have the right to a minimal cell space per person, and to read and study while imprioned" said Uri Avnery. Then he referred to the TV-footage purportedly showing Marwan Barghouti breaking the strike. "They watch him with cameras every day. These pictures of him eating, it could have been so easily taken from the archive." Latif Dori concluded (speaking his native Iraqi Arabic). "The Israeli public gets completely one- sided information, all from the Prison Authority and the Security Service. People don't realize tha t it is in israel's own interest to treat well the prisoners, that sooner or later we will find many of them at the negotiation table." Strange as it may sound, the mood on the way home from there was much better. ~~~ --Gush Shalom on Likud vote Text of weekly ad in Ha'aretz, August 20 [Hebrew attached - ????? ??"? ] THE GREAT SHOW The extreme rightists who voted against Sharon in the Likud Central Committee played their part in the show: they enabled Sharon to present himself as a man of the moderate center. The Labor Party plays the part of the Left. This show has nothing to do with reality. Sharon has remained a man of the extreme right, as he has been all his life. Even if the so-called "disengagement" would take place, the occupation would still remain in place. Gush Shalom, Help us with donations to P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033, # On August 19th California's Gambling Control Commission will vote on the casino license application of Irving Moskowitz, the leading funder of militant Israeli settlers. See what you can do about it at: http://www.stopmoskowitz.org/letter0804.shtml # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / ????? http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: press_rel_heb.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 25600 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040820/eb39d4cb/press_rel_heb.obj -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Likud'ad_heb.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 24064 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040820/eb39d4cb/Likudad_heb.obj From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Aug 22 14:17:54 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:17 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] A Very One-Sided War - Uri Avnery Message-ID: <41289D02.29952.24C076C@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ A Very One-Sided War -- Uri Avnery 21.8.04 "For all I care, they can starve to death!" announced Tzahi Hanegbi, after Palestinian prisoners declared an open-ended hunger strike against prison conditions. Thus the Minister for Internal Security added another memorable phrase to the lexicon of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hanegbi became famous (or infamous) for the first time when, as a student activist, he was caught on camera with his friends hunting Arab students with bicycle chains. At the time I published a photo of him that would not have shamed German or Polish students in the 1930s. With a small difference: in the 30s the Jews were the pursued, now they were the pursuers. In the meantime, Hanegbi has changed like many young radicals - he has turned into an unrestrained careerist. He has become a minister, wearing elegant suits even on hot summer days and walking with the typical, self-important gait of a cabinet minister. Now he even supports Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan, much to the distress of his mother, Geula Cohen, an extreme-right militant who has not changed her spots. But beneath the minister's suit and the statesman's robe, Tzahi has remained Tzahi, as evidenced by the total inhumanity of his statement about the prisoners for whose well-being he is officially responsible. His influence is not limited to words: the current prison crisis was caused by his appointment of a new Director of Prisons, who immediately proceeded to create intolerable conditions for the Palestinian prisoners. Let's not dwell too much on the personality of the honorable minister. It is much more important to turn our thoughts to the strike itself. Its basic cause is a particularly Israeli invention: the one-sided war. The IDF generals declare again and again that we are at war. The state of war permits them to commit acts like "targeted eliminations", which, in any other situation, would be called murder. But in a war, one kills the enemy without court proceedings. And in general, the killing and wounding of people, demolition of homes, uprooting of plantations and all the other acts of the occupiers that have become daily occurrences are being justified by the state of war. But this is a very special war, because it confers rights only on the fighters of one side. On the other side, there is no war, no fighters, and no rights of fighters, but only criminals, terrorists, murderers. Why? Once there was a clear distinction: one was a soldier if one wore a uniform; if one did not wear a uniform, one was a criminal. Soldiers of an invading army were allowed to execute local inhabitants who fired at them on the spot. But in the middle of the 20th century, things changed. A worldwide consensus accepted that the members of the French resistance and the Russian and Yugoslav partisans and their like were fighters and therefore entitled to the international protection accorded to legitimate fighters. International conventions and the rules of war were amended accordingly. So what is the difference between soldiers and terrorists? Well, the occupiers say, there is a tremendous difference: Soldiers fight soldiers, terrorists hurt innocent civilians. Really? The pilot who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and killed tens of thousands of innocent civilians - was he a soldier or just a criminal, a terrorist? And what were the pilots who destroyed whole cities, like Hamburg and Dresden, when there was no valid military necessity anymore? The declared aim was to break the will of the German civilian population and compel them to capitulate. Were the commanders of the British and American air forces terrorists (as the Nazis indeed called them, inventing the term "Terrorflieger")? What is the difference between an American pilot who drops a bomb on a Baghdad market and the Iraqi terrorist, who lays a bomb in the same market? The fact that the pilot has a uniform? Or that he drops his bomb from a distance and does not see the children he is killing? I am not saying this, of course, to justify the killing of civilians. Indeed, I strongly condemn it, whoever the perpetrators may be - soldiers, guerrillas, pilots above or terrorists below. One law for all. Soldiers who are captured become prisoners-of-war, entitled to many rights guaranteed by international conventions. A particular international organization - the Red Cross - oversees this. P0Ws are not held for punishment or revenge, but solely in order to prevent them from returning to the battlefield. They are released when peace comes. Underground fighters captured by their enemies are often tried as criminals. Not only are they not entitled to the rights of POWs, but in Israel their prison conditions are even worse than the inhuman conditions inflicted on Israeli criminals. The American have learned from us, and President George W. Bush has been sending Afghan fighters to an infamous prison set up for them in Guantanamo, where they are deprived of all human rights, both the rights of POWs and the rights of ordinary criminal prisoners. Years ago, when the Hebrew underground organizations were fighting the British regime in Palestine, we demanded that our prisoners be accorded the rights of POWs. The British did not accept this, but in practice prisoners were generally treated as if they were POWs. The captured underground fighters could enrol for correspondence courses, and in fact, many of them completed their studies in law and other professions in British prison camps. One of the prisoners at that time was Geula Cohen, Tzahi Hanegbi's mother. It would be interesting to know how she and her Stern Group comrades would have reacted if a British police commander had declared that he didn't give a damn if she died in prison. Probably they would have tried to assassinate him. Fortunately, the British behaved otherwise. They even brought her to a hospital for treatment (where she promptly escaped with the help of Arab villagers.) Towards the Irish underground fighters, the British took a different line. When they declared a hunger strike, Margaret Thatcher let them starve to death. This episode, on top of her attitude towards workers and the needy, contributed to her image as an inhuman person. A humane treatment of political prisoners is preferable even for purely pragmatic reasons. Ex-prisoners are now filling the upper ranks of the Palestinian Authority. Men who have spent 10, 15 and even 20 years in Israeli jails have become political leaders, ministers and mayors. They speak fluent Hebrew and know Israel well. Almost all of them now belong to the moderate Palestinian camp, advocating co-existence between Israel and a Palestinian state. They also head the forces seeking democracy and reforms in the Palestinian Authority. The fair treatment they got at the time by the prison personnel must have contributed to this. But for me, the main thing is that the State of Israel should not look like Tzahi Hanegbi and his ilk. It is important for me that human beings - Palestinians as much as Israelis - should not starve to death in Israeli prisons. It is important for me that prisoners - whether Israelis or Palestinians - should be accorded humane conditions. If Tzahi Hanegbi were in prison, I would be demanding the same even for him. # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / ????? http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Mon Aug 23 17:44:07 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:17 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] *Nonviolence Rally with Gandhi grandson - Abu-Dis, Friday 27th Message-ID: <412A1ED7.16012.3025A49@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ M E E T G A N D H I ===================== Israeli-Palestinian Nonviolence Rally Abu-Dis Friday 27th ===================== Hebrew after English ????? ???? ?????? Friday, Aug. 27: Special event in Abu-Dis in the honour of DR ARON GANDHI The grandson of the great Mahatma Gandhi and himself the director of the Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, Aron Gandhi is right now visiting our region & will participate in a big rally for peace, non-violence and cooperation between the Israeli and Palestinian peace forces. Meeting point: Al-Quds University, from where we will march towards the offices of Abu Ala, the Palestinian Prime Minister. There Abu Ala and Dr Gandhi will join us and together we will walk towards the Wall next to Ras Qubsa Speakers in the rally: -- Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala) -- Dr Aron Gandhi -- Uri Avnery (Gush Shalom) -- A Ta'ayush representative -- Shawki Al-Hatib Gush Shalom actvists & supporters are invited to take part in the festive event together with peace seekers of other groups - to demonstrate our persistence in the non-violent struggle as the way to peace and the end of the occupation - of Israelis and Palestinians together. Transportation >From Tel-Aviv: 10.30am Arlosorof Railway Station (El-Al terminal) >From Jerusalem: 11.30am Gan HaPa'amon (Liberty Bell Park) 12.00 noon from French Hill (Bar Kochba St.) >From Haifa: still to be announced NB: Those who need transportation from Tel-Aviv: Please phone ALREADY NOW to 03-5221732, to the Gush office's answering machine and leave your name + ph number + number of people you will bring with you... Estimated return to Tel-Aviv: between 4pm and 5pm For more information: Adam Keller: 03-5565804 / 050-6709603 ! ????? ?? ???? ! ???? ?????, 27 ???????, ?????? ????-??? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ?"? ???? ???? ???? ?? ????? ???? ?????, ???? "???? ???? ???-??????", ??? ?????? ????. ???? ????? ???? ?????, ??-??????? ??????-?????? ??? ????? ????? ?????????? ??????????, ????? ????????? . ????? ??????????? ??-????, ???? ?????? ?? ???-???, ??? ?????? ?????????, ?? ?????? ????? ???-??? ??"? ????, ???? ???? ???? ?? ?????, ??? ???-????? . ????? ????? - ???-?????? ???? ???? (???-???) ?"? ???? ???? ???? ????? (??? ????) ???? ?????? ????? ??-???? ????? "??? ????" ??????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ??????- ????? ??????, ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ????? ?????-???? ???? ???? ????? ??????, ??? ?????? ???????-???????? . ????? ???-????, ???? ????????? (???? "?? ??") ???? 10.30 . ????????, ??-??????, 11.30 . ????? ???????, ???? ??- ?????, ???? 12 . ????? (????? ??? ?????) . ????????? ????? ???-????, ?????? ?? ??????? ?????? 03-5221732 - ?????? ??????? ?? ????, ???? ?????? ????? ????? ???? . ???? ?????? ???-????: 4-5 ????-?????? . ?????: ??? ???, 03-5565804, 056-709603. # Daily updates prisoners' hunger strike at: http://www.mandela-palestine.org/en_strike2004/daily.htm # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / ????? http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Thu Aug 26 17:23:40 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:17 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] GANDHI ad & last reminder Abu Dis // Sat. support prisoners Message-ID: <412E0E8C.32461.876243@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ # WELCOMING ARUN GANDHI Gush Friday ad & last reminder # Why should they have to die for such basic rights?(No English available) Sat. 12.00 demo at Prison Hadarim (Sharon) &/&/& # WELCOMING ARUN GANDHI Gush Friday ad & last reminder Hebrew at request & soon at the site עברית על פי בקשה או בקרוב באתר Greetings to Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of the great Mahatma, who has come to this country to encourage the non-violent struggle. The source of violence is the occupation. To end the violence, the occupation must be terminated. The mutual violence can be stopped at once: a cease-fire must be declared and peace negotiations must be resumed immediately. ______________________________________________________________ MEETING GANDHI TODAY, Friday, a big Israeli-Palestinian rally with Dr. Arun Gandhi and participation of the Palestinian Prime Minister Abu-Ala will take place opposite the wall at Abu-Dis. Transportation: Tel-Aviv, 1030, Arlosoroff station. Haifa, 9.15, Sollel Boneh. Jerusalem, 11.30, Gan Hapaamon (Bell Garden); 12.00, French Hill, Bar-Kochba Street. Details: 052-3727602. ______________________________________________________________ ad in Ha'aretz, August 27 & in: www.gush-shalom.org Support our actions & ads such as this one Send a donation to: Gush Shalom P.O.Box 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 # Why should they have to die for such basic rights? (No English/ עברית) Sat. 12.00 demo at Prison Hadarim (Sharon) ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "tirtza tauber" To: "Gush Shalom" Subject: הפגנת לסולידריות עם האסירים הפוליטיים הפלס טיניים (No English available) הודעה לעיתונות  האם צריך האסיר לרעוב למוות כדי לקבל זכויות בסיסיות כגון ביקורי משפחה והפסקת החיפוש בערום??  הפגנה ביום ה- 14 לשביתת האסירים הפוליטיים  ההפגנה תתקיים: ביום ה- 28.8.04, מול כלא הדרים (בשרון) בשעה 12:00 בצהריים   המארגנים: האגודה למען האסיר. טלפון: סנאא 054-4805040 אוהל המחאה – באקה אלגרבייה. טלפון: בסאם 054-7709396 From info at gush-shalom.org Sat Aug 28 18:43:39 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:17 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Gandhi grandson at Abu-Dis demo + anti-Wall alpinism Message-ID: <4130C44B.13779.11057F0@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ International release, Aug. 28 2004 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ "An injustice somewhere is an injustice everywhere" ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ [Hebrew version (shorter) at request ????? ????? (??????) ?? ?? ???? ] "This wall which I see here reminds me of the Bantustans which the Apartheid regime in South Africa tried to create. It is my dream that one day Israelis and Palestinians in their thousands will pull down this wall which separates them". The speaker was Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, himself head of the Gandhi Institute for Non-Violence. He was speaking in the shadow of the eight-metre wall bisecting the Palestinian town of Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem. As soon as it was announced that the Mahatma's grandson would be addressing a rally at Abu Dis, interested phone calls and emails started flooding also our offices. There were quite a few mainstream adherents - people who, without the historical and ideological associations of the name Gandhi, may have hesitated to take an action so radical in today's Israeli context as going to a Palestinian city and participating in a joint demonstration with its inhabitants. For the Palestinian Coalition for Peace and Liberty, which had invited Gandhi, his tour of the country is intended to launch a widespread campaign aimed at showing the Palestinian public the advantages of waging the struggle against the occupation by non-violent methods. Originally, among Palestinians non- violence was often confused with passivity and non-resistance. But the success of this year's strug gle by village communities mobilizing against construction of the Wall on their land has made the idea mor e concrete, and the virtual cessation of suicide bombings in the past half-year may among other thing s indicate willingness of Palestinian society to consider a fundamental change of tactics. The idea of a joint demonstration by Israelis and Palestinians was not new; and knows its own routi ne: the bus cavalcade crossing the unmarked but very manifest border, the Israeli activists pouring down an d picking up their signs, the quick and smooth joining and mingling with the massed local demonstrato rs into a single crowd - as if we were not members of two societies which are locked in a daily, blood y conflict. Still, there was something different about today's event - a feeling of hope, maybe a new beginning , despite the grim reality against which we were protesting. It was noticeable in the smiles, in the way that Abu Dis women, dressed in their best, carried small children along the line of march, in the noticeable det ermination of Palestinian demonstrators to chant slogans in Hebrew: "Peace Yes - Occupation No!" and "The Wall will fall, the Wall will fall!". At the front, a giant Palestinian flag carried horizontally by four youths gave some welcome shade to those who walked behind, followed by the marching band with drummers and trumpeters which is almost inevitable at Palestinian demonstrations. The two-flag round signs of Gush Shalom were highly visib le, and Ta'ayush had produced special posters with the picture of Mahatma Gandhi and his words: "An eye for eye leaves the whole world blind", while an ubiquitous Palestinian poster showed photos from the fall o f the Berlin wall. And there were quite a few Peace Now flags fluttering in the wind - not a usual sight on such occasions - and the European rainbow peace flags, and a forest of placards and banners in Arabic, H ebrew, English (and a few in French): Together we will pull down the wall / Yes to the International Cour t, No to the Wall! / Freedom to the Prisoners of Freedom!/ Geneva Convention to the Palestinian Prisoners! / Walls = Ghettos = Apartheid / Liberty is the key to peace / One, Two, Three, Four - Occupation No, No Mor e!/ All Children have the right to live in peace / Non au mur! / To be silent is to be an accomplice to War Crime! / Freedom is a birthright! Among the marchers, we suddenly noticed the figure of the Nuclear Whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu - after so many years in close imprisonment and isolation, free to walk a street among a mass of demonstra tors. He was not among the scheduled speakers - still, a Channel-1 TV crew singled him out for an interview ("I sympathize with the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike, I know what they have to endure"). Finally, our destination : the Wall - an eight-metre high monster visible from afar, blocking off t he main street of Abu-Dis, blocking off view of the sky ahead. Like the Berlin Wall (which had not been nea rly as tall) it was covered with many layers of graffity, as well as posters with the faces of locals kill ed by the army. Many of the scrawled slogans, bearing the signature of the Popular Front for Liberation of Palestin e and the distinctive Red Star, were in Hebrew: "Soldier, get out of your tank!" "Soldier, are you from Tel-A viv? Do you want a wall like this in Dizengoff Street?" "People of Israel, don't let Sharon destroy peace! Don't let the fascists win!" There were also numerous copies of a poster in Hebrew, highly visible on walls all along the demons tration route as well as on the Wall itself, entitled: "Soldier, why did you kill Fadi?". Israeli participa nts paused to read: "It was on May 9, soldier. Do you remember? It was Sunday evening and the youths were going out of the club. Do you remember, soldier? Do you remember that they did not throw stones, they did not threat en you, they just wanted to go home. You got off the jeep, soldier, you took aim, you shot Fadi directly in the head. Do you remember? Do you remember Fadi? Fadi, yes, Fadi Baher, he was just 19 years old. And for a w hole hour you did not let the ambulance come near, you did not give the doctors a chance to save him. Do you remember, soldier? Do you still think of it sometimes? How long, soldier? How long until you unders tand that it is more clever to live without violence?" (Many of these posters were half torn down, as if soldiers found them unsettling... ) In the shadow of the wall, a podium had been erected, draped with the flags of Palestine and India. As we were approaching, Abu Dis Mayor Na'im Ahmar was warmly welcoming the visitors to his city. Then, a blare of very loud music, followed by the passionate voice of Sheikh Al Tamimi talking in rapid suc cession about the cruelty of Sharon and Police Minster Tzahi Hanegbi, about brave prisoners hungering in th eir cells, about farmers quietly cultivating their fields, about destructive bulldozers relentlessly bu ilding walls and settlements, about President Arafat imprisoned in his headquarters, about freedom and independe nce and a glorious tomorrow... Hulud Badawi spoke for Ta'ayush, switching between Arabic and Hebrew: "We thank the Palestinian public for giving us this privilege, this chance to participate in a non-violent struggle against t he occupation. There are those who ask all the time 'Where is the partner? Where is the partner?' The partner is here, we are all each other's partners for peace and common struggle!". Then Uri Avnery for Gush Shalom: "We are all opposed to violence. But what is violence? Is only th e act of a suicide bomber in West Jerusalem violence? Is it violence only when it is in opposition to the o ccupation - what about the occupation ITSELF? Occupation is VIOLENCE. Occupation IS violence. Building settlements is violence. Destroying homes, uprooting plantations, taking away land is violence. Thi s wall, this terrible wall which is cutting a town in two,is violence. It does not shoot, it does not kill, but it is violence! To put an end to violence means putting an end to the occupation, fighting by non-violent means until we achieve peace". Then came the speech of Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia (Abu-Ala), himself an inhabitant of Abu Dis, whose own daily life is directly affected by erection of the Wall: "The Holy Land, this narrow land in which we all live,does not need walls of hatred which breed despair and pain - it needs bridges of peace and hope, of loving and hope. I welcome you, the Israeli seekers after peace, in my city of Abu Dis and my country of Palestine. We are together in this, the struggle to end the occupation and build a bette r future for both our peoples." And then the moment for which everybody was waiting - Dr. Arun Gandhi, silver-bearded and serene wi th a Palestinian scarf around his neck, took the stand: "Greetings to you all, salaam, shalom, peace, na maste! I have come to this country and this rally to protest two kinds of injustice, the injustice of a wall which separates between people, and the injustice of prisoners being treated worse then animals. When I a rrived here, somebody asked me why did I come, why do I interfere with the problems of this country and th is region. I will answer in the words of Martin Luther King - an injustice somewhere in an injustice everywhere. The problem here is not a problem of Palestinians alone or of Israelis alone, it is a problem of the whole world, and it is up to the whole world to intervene and end it. The Twentieth Century was the most violent in the history of humanity - it is up to us to make sure the Twenty-First will be diff erent." Already during PM Qureia's speech, an incredibly agile activist climbed the wall like a real-life S piderman, putting hands and feet into cracks between the huge concrete slabs. Reaching the top, he walked bac k and forth, waving a small Palestinian flag, then secured and let down a rope by which those a bit less nimble may follow. During Dr. Gandhi's speech, some fifteen youths climbed to the top, drawing enormous cheers from th e audience (though many were afraid that something terrible would happen...). "This may indeed be w hat Mahatma Gandhi would have advised in a situation like this" remarked Avnery "An open non-violence a ct of defiance, without trying to hide or avoid the consequences, and showing the oppressor the futili ty of his measures - as these climbers have surely demonstrated the utter futility of the Wall.." [Report written by Adam Keller]. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Attached photo of the climbers appeared immediately on the website of the not-often-friendly Jerusa lem Post (article hereafter). Photos of the demo soon at the Gush site http://www.gush- shalom.org/english/index.html ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Sari Cohen, Jerusalem Post, Aug. 27, 2004 Gandhi's son leads rally in Abu Dis http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1093587048864 Over 2,000 Palestinians and Israelis marched Friday afternoon through the village of Abu Dis, on th e outskirts of Jerusalem, in a peace rally headed by Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Dr. Arun Gandhi and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei. The demonstrators called for non-violent action against the construction of the security fence, whi ch runs through Abu Dis, and against the Israeli military presence in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. As they marched through the streets of Abu Dis, the Palestinian and Israeli demonstrators voiced sl ogans promoting peace and demanding liberty for both nations. The rally is part of an extended campaign that activists are currently attempting to develop in ord er to promote non-violent action in the territories, said Anat, an Israeli activist with Tayush Arab-Isra eli Partnership group, who marched in the demonstration. "One of the intentions of the demonstration is to prove that both sides are available partners for peace and diplomatic discussion," Anat told The Jerusalem Post. Friday's rally was concluded with speeches by Qurei, Gandhi, Shawky al-Hatib, who heads the Israeli Arab Coordination Committee, and Uri Avnery of Gush Shalom. Qurei addressed the audience saying that the Palestinians will fight the construction of the securi ty fence "until death," and they would fight occupation until they gained independence, Army Radio reported. Dr. Arun Gandhi addressed the demonstrators saying that the fence causes a great deal of grief and suffering to the Palestinian people. "It is disturbing to see people being treated as animals," he said, referring to the Palestinian in mates who are on the 13th day of a hunger strike in prisons throughout Israel. Gandhi arrived in the area from his home in Memphis, Tennessee, on Monday following an invitation f rom Mohammed Alatar of the US-based grassroots group Palestinians for Peace and Democracy. Alatar is hoping that Gandhi's presence will inspire Palestinians to choose the path of non-violent resistance. However media comments that Gandhi made over the past week have already incited some anger from cri tics who accused him of speaking against Israeli military operations and the construction of the securit y fence, but not against the brutality of Palestinian suicide bombings. Ghandi, however, defends that he supports stopping all forms of violence, including suicide bombing s, and that this should be implicit in word "non-violent". Before the conclusion of his visit, Gandhi also plans to meet with the initiators of the Geneva Acc ord peace plan. In addition, he will be speaking at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. The visit was partly fu nded by Norway and Sweden. Gandhi was born in Durban, South Africa, in 1934. His father was jailed for 14 years in South Afric a for his work against its apartheid regime. Gandhi moved to India at age 23, where he worked as a journalist for The Times of India. He and his wife started India's Center for Social Unity that worked against poverty and caste discrimination. He came to the US in 1987 and opened the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Non-violence in 1991 in Memphis. He has also authored eight books. # Daily updates prisoners' hunger strike at: http://www.mandela-palestine.org/en_strike2004/daily.htm # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / ????? http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: climbers_JP.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 106930 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040828/c4972457/climbers_JP.jpg From info at gush-shalom.org Tue Aug 31 22:17:10 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:17 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] The way out: Only by starting to talk Message-ID: <4134EAD6.13846.263A474@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ Press Release, August 31, 2004 THE WAY OUT: ONLY BY STARTING TO TALK [The following is the translated press release sent to the Hebrew media] Hebrew attached - ????? ??"? Gush Shalom (the Israeli Peace Bloc) calls upon the Government of Israel to cease its efforts to impose by force unilateral solutions, and start immediate negotiations for a comprehensive cease-fire with the Palestinians and cessation of all belligerent acts between Israel and the Palestinians. The murderous suicide bombing at Be'er Sheba, which deserves all condemnation, proves once again that there are no military solutions. It highlights the futility of those who claim to "burn the fact of defeat into Palestinian consciousness", "reach the bottom of the barrel of terrorism" and other arrogant statement by the heads of the army and security services. Nor can unilaterally imposed solutions bring us peace or quiet. Withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and the dismantling of the settlements there, could have been constituted an enormous measure for building up confidence between Israelis and Palestinians - had it been decided upon in negotiations, as a first step towards a comprehensive solution and the end of the oppressive Israeli rule in all the territories occupied in 1967. When the same withdrawal from Gaza is undertaken as a unilateral Israeli act, aimed explicitly at intensifying and deepening the occupation on the West Bank, it serves only to increase distrust and fan higher the flames of conflict. Should the Government of Israel ever liberate itself from the false mantra that "there is no partner" and from the constant demonization of Yasser Arafat, it will find that a Palestinian partner does exist - a partner willing to go back to the political process; that among the Palestinian public there is considerable longing for new, non-violent means of action, as was manifested last week at the mass Israeli- Palestinian rally at Abu-Dis addressed by Dr. Arun Gandhi. For further information: Adam Keller, Gush Shalom Spokesperson +972-3-5565804, +972-56-709603 For more about us: http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / ????? http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / ????? http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (?????/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?=E4=E5=E3=F2=E4_=EC=F2=E9=FA=E5=F0=E5=FA_31.doc?= Type: application/octet-stream Size: 21504 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040831/ae80ce73/ISO-8859-1QE4E5E3F2E4_ECF2E9FAE5F0E5FA_31.obj From info at gush-shalom.org Fri Sep 3 17:38:42 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:17 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] URGENT ALERT: Eviction Threat to Cave Dwellers Message-ID: <41389E12.22169.E0D8FB@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ URGENT ALERT: Eviction Threat to Cave Dwellers - ACT NOW Campaign start: >> Online Petition // Presence in the Court // and more to come << עברית אחרי אנגלית Joint Campaign by (alphabetically): // Bat Shalom // Coalition of Women for Peace // Fifth Mother // Gush Shalom // HaCampus Lo Shotek [Campus Speaks Out] // Israel Committee Against House Demolitions // MachsomWatch // New Profile // Noga Feminist Journal // Public Committee Against Torture in Israel // Rabbis for Human Rights // Ta'ayush: Arab-Jewish Partnership // The Other Israel peace magazine // Women in Black (Israel) // Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (Israel Section) // [with thanks to Gila Svirsky and Rav Arik Asherman for compiling following information] ENGLISH FOLLOWS HEBREW אנו מאוד זקוקים לחתימתכם על העצומה המצ ורפת ולמכתבים מכל אחד/ת מכם המוכן/ה לכתוב למקבלי החלטות הרשומים מטה לפני דיון הבג"ץ בעניין תושבי המערות באזור סוסיה ביום ד' 8.9.04. (כזכור לכם יש שני בג"צים מקבילים הקשורים לשני נ יסיונות גירוש ביישובי מערות שונים). בזמן שהממשלה דורשת להסיר את צו הביניים שהחזיר גברים, נשים וטף לבתיהם, אנו אומרים שהמדינה מנצלת לרעה את הצו, המורה על שמירת הסטטוס קוו, על מנת להשאיר את תושבי המערות בתנאים בלתי אפשריים . אסור לתושבי המערות אפילו לשקם את המבנים והמערות שצה"ל הרס, בזמן שמאחזים בלתי חוקיים צומחים כפטריות לאחר הגשם, שאיתמר כהן וחבריו השתלטו על כפר ג'אוואוויס ויושבים במערה שלהם ובזמן ש תושבי ההתנחלות סוסייה מגדלים גידולים ע ל אדמה שגם מערכת הביטחון הכירה בה כאדמה פרטית פלשתינית. נא לדרוש מהאנשים הרשומים מטה שהמדינה תודיעה שהיא מושכת את בקשתה להסיר את צו הביניים ותאפשר את פיתוח התשתיות הדרושות לחיים בכבוד. נוסח העצומה יוכל לעזור בניסוח המכת ב. נא לכתוב באופן חד וישיר אבל בנימוס. שיחה טלפונית היא הדבר הכי אפקטיבית. פקסים מקוריים מספר 2 בסדר העדיפות ולאחר מהם דואר אלקטרוני מקורי. בבקשה, לשלוח את חתימותיכם על העצומה ל http://www.PetitionOnline.com/SafeCave /petition.html רה"מ אריאל שרון: טל' 6705511-02, פקס 566-4838-02, asharon@knesset.gov.il, pm_eng@pmo.gov.il, webmaster@pmo.gov.il שר הביטחון שאול מופז: טל' 6977138-03, פקס 6976218-03, sar@mod.gov.il מתאם פעולות בשטחים האלוף יוסף משלב טל'' 677138-03, פקס' 6975177-03, mlene+41@netvision.net.il ראש מנהל האזרחי תת אלוף אילן פז: טל' 9977001-02, 9977341-02 Friends and supporters We need the help of decent people to prevent the threatened expulsion of a powerless community of herders and farmers who live in caves in the Occupied Territories, with little connection to the outside world. During the month of Elul we are particularly congnizant that Teshuvah, Tefillah and Tzedaka Ma'avirin et Roa HaGzeira. We must practice justice and right wrongs here on earth before we can ask the Holy One of Blessing to look favorably on our petitions on the High Holy Days. We very much need each and every one of you to sign the petition appearing below and send letters to the list of decision makers also appearing below before the High Court hearing on Wednesday, September 8th, regarding the cave dwellers of Susya and surroundings. (To remind you, there are two parallel High Court cases dealing with two separate attempts to expell cave dwellers from different cave communities. The government will be asking that the court rescind their order which returned the expelled cave dwellers to their homes, while we argue that the government is exploiting the Court decision (which spok e of preserving a "status quo" ) to make life impossible for the residents of the caves. They are not even allowed to rebuild/repair the caves and other structures damaged by Israeli security forces during the expulsion, while new outposts dot the landscape, Itamar Cohen and his friends have taken over the village of Gawaweis and are living in one of the homes and the settlement of Sussya is growing crops on land which the defense establishment itself ruled to be private Palestinian land. Please demand that the government withdraw all objections to the Court's restraining order and allow the development of the infrastructure necessary for the cave dwellers to live in dignity. The petition and background information below can help you in terms of what to write. However, please keep in mind that phone calls are most effective, followed by original faxes, followed by original emails. Please make your communications firm and clear, but polite. Please sign on the petition by clicking: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/SafeCave/petition.html Also please let us know if you can come to the court on Wednesday or are interested in expressing solidarity in any other way. * Bat Shalom * Coalition of Women for Peace * Fifth Mother * Gush Shalom * HaCampus Lo Shotek [Campus Speaks Out] * Israel Committee Against House Demolitions * MachsomWatch * New Profile * Noga Feminist Journal * Public Committee Against Torture in Israel * Rabbis for Human Rights * Ta'ayush: Arab-Jewish Partnership * The Other Israel peace movement newsletter * Women in Black (Israel) * Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (Israel Section) _____________________________ The Petition: To: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Ministry of Justice Yosef Lapid STOP THE EVICTION OF PALESTINIANS FROM THE SOUTH HEBRON HILLS We, the undersigned, call upon the Israeli government to abandon all attempts to evict the Palestinian inhabitants of the south Hebron hills from their ancestral homes in the region. Forcible expulsion of a population is reprehensible and a violation of international law. Israel, as a member of the community of nations and a signatory to the Rome Convention of 1994, is committed to safeguarding the population of the occupied territories and is strictly forbidden from any attempt to change its residency status. We further demand that the Israeli authorities protect this population from ongoing harassment and aggression by Israeli settlers in the area. If you'd like to sign, click on: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/SafeCave/petition.html Background Information This area is inhabited by a small Palestinian population of approximately 2,000 pastoralist herders and farmers living in caves carved out of the mountainside. Their way of life is Today, their homes, fields, and way of life are under existential threat. Israeli settlers have established a string of settlements and illegal outposts in this area and seek to annex the land in the immediately fo reseeable future. The Jewish settlers of Susya, Maon, Yatir, and other places in the Hebron hills are among the most militant and violent in the occupied territories, and they have turned the lives of the Palestinian cav e-dwellers into a nightmare. With support from the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and Civil Administration, the settlers have made life imposible for the cave dwellers, even going so far as to destroy cave-homes and poison water cisterns. In most cases, even simple agricultural work, such as sowing the fields or harvesting the crops, has become impossible. In most cases, the Israeli security forces have turned a blind eye to these crimes. A legal battle in the Israeli courts, led by human rights lawyer Shlomo Lecker and the staff of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, has temporarily granted these people the right to remain on their land foll owng the attempts to expell them in 1999 and 2001. However, there is now the very real danger that the Israeli High Court of Justice will soon issue a decision that allows the IDF to evict the Palestinians and seize thei r land. We have joined together to help these people preserve their homes, their culture, and their human dignity. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon: Office of the Prime Minister, Kiryat Ben-Gurion, Rehov Kaplan 3 Jerusalem 91919; Fax: 972-2-566-4838; Tel: 972- 2-670-5511; asharon@knesset.gov.il; webmaster@pmo.gov.il Israeli Officials Responsible for the West Bank Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz : Ministry of Defense, Ha-Kirya, Tel Aviv, Israel; sar@mod.gov.il Fax 972-3-697-6218 Tel: 03-697-5436 Coordinator of Activities in the Territories Yosef Mishlav Ministry of Defense, Ha-Kirya Tel Aviv, Israel; Spokespeople Phone: 972-3-697- 7138; Fax: 972-3-697-5177; mlene+41@netvision.net.il Brigadier General Ilan Paz Commander of Civil Administration; Beit El, West Bank, Israel; Tel: 972 2 997-7001; Fax: 972-2-997-7341 Brigadier General (retired) Baruch Spiegel Advisor to the Minister of Defense on Humanitarian Issues Tel. 972 3 6976918, Fax 972 3 6975648; baruch_spiegel@mod.gov.il Mr. Yair Lotstein. Legal Advisor to the Civil Administration: P.O. Box 10482, Beit El, West Bank, Israel; Tel: 972-2-997-7071 ;Mobile: 972 2 50-511782; Fax: 972-2-997-7326 Mr. Captain Ofir Hacham Spokesperson Civil Administration: Ha-Kirya Tel Aviv, Israel, Israel, Tel: 972-3-697-7138 Please forward! # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sat Sep 11 03:36:33 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:18 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] A-Ram demo: school year starts with no access to school Message-ID: <414264B1.10508.1BEC177@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Let the people live! Let the children learn! Stop the wall in A-Ram! Monday, Sept. 13 (bus info from Tel-Aviv and J'lem follows) ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ A concrete wall is rapidly being built to surround the Ar-Ram neighborhood from all sides. Tens of thousands of people, the entire community of this East Jerusalem neighborhood (the vast majority of whom are official residents of Jerusalem, paying municipal taxes and holding ?blue? Jerusalem IDs) will be closed inside a ghetto, isolated from the rest of the world. The wall seriously disrupts the recently begun school year. Educational institutions in A-Ram and in its vicinity are on the verge of being closed down, as the wall prevents the students and the teachers from reaching them. Thus, for instance, "Al Yatim al Arabi", an institute which for the past sixty years made sure that Palestinian orphans go through high-school and learn a profession, is about to close down. About 95% of its students and teachers ? several hundreds strong ? will be left on the other side of the wall from the school. Once the wall is complete, the students will find themselves in the streets, with no education and no professional training. Is this the means of achieving security? Come and protest against the suffocating wall! On Monday, the 13 of September, we will go to Ar-Ram to take part in a joint, Palestinian-Israeli rally against the wall. School children will attend the rally describe their new "educational" reality. Transportation: Tel Aviv, Arlozorov Terminal, 10:15 Jerusalem, Liberty Bell Park, 10:50 Jerusalem, French Hill, Final No. 4 bus station on Bar Kochva St., 11:15 Gush Shalom joins the action together with Bat Shalom, Rabbis for Human Rights, Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Ta'ayush, Yesh Gvul -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Aramwall Type: application/octet-stream Size: 35069 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom-intl/attachments/20040911/bf8c8665/Aramwall.obj From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Sep 12 01:27:22 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:18 2004 Subject: [GushShalom]] Avnery on shamelessness // Adam Keller's two weeks US tour Message-ID: <414397EA.23211.23A85E1@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ [] Uri Avnery: Declaration of Arrangement Yeshivot rabbis negates not only the prohibition of murder, but also the shame for such acts. [] Adam Keller to attend UN Conference in NY + two weeks speaking tour ~~~ [] Uri Avnery: Declaration of Arrangement Yeshivot rabbis negates not only the prohibition of murder, but also the shame for such acts. עברית באתר / Hebrew on the website http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/article321_heb.html "God Wills It!" Uri Avnery 11.9.04 Two shocking manifestos were published this week. Both call for comment. One of them declares that dismantling the settlements in the Gaza Strip is a "crime against humanity". It does not mention that they were set up on the land reserves of a million Palestinians crowded in the tiny strip, and rob them of their scarce water. Their removal, it says, is an "expression of tyranny, evil and arbitrariness". Officers and soldiers are called upon not to take part in this "ethnic cleansing". This manifesto is signed by the father and brother of Binyamin Netanyahu, as well as Meir Har-Zion, the favorite pupil of Ariel Sharon, who became famous in the 1950s for slitting the throats of several innocent Beduins with his own hands in revenge for the killing of his sister. Two former Directors General of the Prime Minister's office also signed. Most of the signatories are not religious. The second manifesto declares that the Halakha (Jewish religious law) commands the killing of innocent Palestinian civilians if this helps to save Jews. It is signed by the heads of the "Arrangement Yeshivot", the West Bank settlement rabbis and other religious leaders. They were later joined by one of the two Chief Rabbis (the Sephardic one). I was not unduly upset by the first manifesto. People of this kind can be found all over the world. In other countries they are called fascists (but, because of the Holocaust, we do not like to use this term in our country). What unites them is a primitive, atavistic morality that says that "we" are a superior race, God's chosen people, a master race etc., while "they" are inferior races, untermenschen. We may do to them whatever we please, with a clear conscience; they are not allowed to do to us anything at all. (In the manifesto, the settlers are requested not to bodily harm "their own people" - leaving them free to harm all others.) In the course of the 20th century, such people have wrought destruction on many nations, including their own. But healthy nations overcame them in the end. I hope that we shall manage to do the same. The second manifesto is far more dangerous. A religious doctrine that calls for the killing of civilians in the name of God is very serious. Such a decree signed by the rabbis of the "Arrangement Yeshivot" is tenfold worse. In order to understand this, one has to know that these Yeshivot are in fact military units. They constitute a unique phenomenon in the Israeli army: whole units formed on an ideological-political basis, obeying their own leaders. When David Ben-Gurion created the Israeli army (officially called the Israel Defense Forces) in the middle of the 1948 war, he was determined to eliminate all its political groupings. So he disbanded the Palmakh, the legendary elite force which was based on the kibbutzim and tended to the left. The present set-up was created, officially, in order to enable students of Yeshivot (Jewish religious seminaries) to serve in the army without interrupting their studies. In practice, they constitute a militia of the extreme-right wing, especially the settlers. While serving in the army, the Yeshiva students are nominally under the army chain of command, but in practice they are also subject to their rabbis, whose position is reminiscent of the political commissars of the Red Army. If the orders of the officers and the directives of the rabbis ever conflict, the great majority of the soldier-students will undoubtedly obey the rabbis. And in any case, a great number of the officers themselves now wear kippas, attesting to their belonging to the religious camp. The chiefs of the religious-nationalistic wing, and especially the settlers, have for years now been engaged in a systematic effort to capture the army from the inside. In the first decades of the IDF, kibbutz members had a decisive influence on the army command, but nowadays the settlers and other religious-nationalist people are taking over. They fill the lower and middle ranks of the officer corps. This development, together with the deepening occupation, has completely changed the face of the IDF. It's a different army now. The manifesto of the Yeshivot chiefs, calling for the killing of Palestinian civilians, exposes this situation. Since not one single head of an Arrangement Yeshiva has spoken out against it, we have to assume that they are unanimous on this. On the face of it, it is just an expert opinion. With the hypocrisy typical for the chiefs of this camp, they say that this is not, God forbid, an operational directive, but only an innocent effort of the rabbis to explain to the leaders of the nation what the Halakha says about this subject. That is, of course, a tongue-in-cheek explanation. The Arrangement Yeshivot soldiers are daily engaged in situations where they have to decide whether to shoot civilians or not. It is quite clear that the "opinion" of their rabbis will determine their behavior. It is a sentence of death for many people. Even today, Palestinian civilians are killed every day. Only a small fraction of the incidents are reported in the media. An old handicapped man was recently buried under the ruins of his home by an army bulldozer that demolished it so quickly that his family had no chance of getting him to safety. Only yesterday a 9 year old boy was killed while sleeping at his home by shrapnel from a missile fired by a helicopter at an adjacent building. Almost every day, boys of all ages are killed while throwing stones at tanks and soldiers (whose bullet-proof vests and helmets mean they are in no danger). It is impossible to know how many, if any, of these civilians - men, women, old people and children - are killed by Arrangement Yeshivot soldiers, or soldiers commanded by kippa-wearing officers. Nobody can be accused without incriminating evidence. But it is clear that the interpretation of the halakha by the rabbis has now put a kosher-stamp on such acts. It puts an end to any pretence of the "pure arms" myth. It negates not only the prohibition of murder, but also the shame for such acts. The only religious voice raised against this appalling document was that of a small and courageous group called "Rabbis for Human Rights", which opposes the dirty messianic current that has submerged almost the whole religious camp in Israel. Their statement discloses that the Yeshiva heads have intentionally falsified the Talmud passages "quoted" by them. The actual text forbids a Jew to kill innocents even to save his own life. After all, God created all human beings "in his own image" (Genesis 1, 27) Unfortunately, this statement will have no impact whatsoever on the IDF's religious militias, and even less on the settlers, who now set the tone in the army. Many of the most heinous crimes in human history were committed in the name of religion. The Book of Joshua says that God commanded the Children of Israel to commit a general ethnic cleansing in the land of Canaan. The crusaders carried out horrible massacres in this country (and against the Jews on the way here) while shouting "Deus le volt!" (God wills it). Three years ago today, Osama Bin-Laden sent his people to kill thousands in the New York Twin Towers in the name of Allah. May God protect us from those who would speak in His name. [] Adam Keller to attend UN Conference in NY + two weeks speaking tour Adam Keller was invited to represent Gush Shalom at the UN Conference on Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People, and will remain two more weeks in the US criss-crossing North America on a speaking tour. Here follows a timetable with contact addresses. Since at several places the plans could still change you should be in touch with the local organizers to hear about when and where. Sept. 13-15 NYC - Three day UN Conference on Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People, for details: Elizabeth Cabal During NYC days, c/o Gail Miller Evening of Sept. 14, Adam will speak in an event at Columbia University Campus, for details: Ethan Heitner Sept. 16 - Middletown CT, several events, for details: Arusha Gordon Sept. 17 - Toronto, Canada, several events, for details: Naomi Binder Wall Sept. 18,19,20 - Tucson AZ, several events, for details: Racheli Gai Sept. 21,22 - Los Angeles CA, several events, for details: Stephen Simon Sept. 23,24 - Boston MA, several events, for details: Raymond Helmick Sept. 25 - NYC, evening event, for details: Steve Quester Sept. 26 - Philadelphia PA, several events, for details: Cy Swartz Sept. 27 - Princeton NJ, several events, for details: Tom Charles Sept. 28 - Nyack NY, several events, for details: Jennifer Hyman Sept. 29 - Baltimore MD, several events, for details: Rebecca Cohen # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Tue Sep 14 01:16:57 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:18 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] 'Democratic Occupation' , A-Ram demo report Message-ID: <41463879.6377.3725B71@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ [] "Let them go to school" - joining the A-Ram protest (a report) [] Promotion of Palestinian democracy the Israeli way ~~~ [] "Let them go to school" - Israelis joined A-Ram protest (a report) [Hebrew versions soon at the site //עברית בקרוב באתר ] More then a thousand schoolchildren, boys and girls from 6 to 14, wearing their school uniforms and carrying bags, demonstrated today (Monday, 13.9) at the wall that is being built in a-Ram. The pupils carried posters demanding: “Let Us Study!” 150 Israeli activists of Gush Shalom, Ta’ayush, Bat-Shalom, Rabbis for Human Rights and others joined the protest. Throughout the demonstration, giant cranes continued to lift concrete slabs into place, and a strong force of the Border Police was deployed along the path of the wall. “They are waiting for one boy to throw a stone, in order to attack us with tear gas and rubber-coated bullets, like last time,” Uri Avnery remarked. However, the teachers succeeded all through the demonstration, with the help of mayor Sirkhan Saleimeh, in preventing even one stone being thrown, though the distance between the pupils and the Border Policemen was only a few yards. After most of the demonstrators had already dispersed, some children threw stones and the policemen promptly stormed forward and used tear gas. Since the Israeli Supreme Court permitted the government to build the wall in this particular sector, the wall has been going up at great speed. Only a few “holes” remain. When the wall will be finished, it will cut the children of a-Ram off from their schools which are located on the “Israeli” side of the wall, at a distance of a few dozen meters. Some of the schools will have to be closed and their pupils will roam the streets, because the remaining schools, already overcrowded, will not be able to absorb them. Haaretz reports today that a similar situation exists in near-by al-Issawiyeh. This is only one of the problems caused by the wall, which is cutting off a-Ram residents from their businesses and working-places, hospitals, universities and even their cemetery. Photo's soon on the site: www.gush-shalom.org [] Promotion of Palestinian democracy the Israeli way [Gush Shalom ad to be published in Ha'aretz, Sept. 15 ] Democratic Occupation The day before yesterday, the Sharon government closed several offices in East Jerusalem, accusing them of working for the elections of the Palestinian Presidency and Parliament. According to the Oslo agreements, the Palestinian population of East Jerusalem has the right to vote for the institutions of the Palestinian Authority, and it did in fact take part in the last elections, under the personal supervision of President Jimmy Carter. This act proves that the Sharon government is determined to prevent democratic elections for the Palestinian Authority – elections that are anyhow almost impossible under occupation. Sharon will simply remove by “targeted eliminations” candidates he does not like and prevent free movement of all others. But Sharon and Bush will continue to prattle on about “promoting democracy in the Arab world” and complain about the “undemocratic character” of the Palestinian Authority and its elected President, Yasser Arafat. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~- WELCOME To the five who protested against the occupation and refused to serve in the occupied territories, who where sentenced to one year’s imprisonment and who are to be released today, on New Year’s Eve. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~- Gush Shalom: ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~- # Selected articles from THE OTHER ISRAEL September issue at: http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/ # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Fri Sep 17 01:12:35 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:18 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] The 5 released but... & Leibowitz remembered Message-ID: <414A2BF3.28290.2CD9101@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~ The 5 released but... & Leibowitz remembered ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~ The release from prison of Chaggai, Matan, Adam, Noam and Shimri may be only very temporary - as is explained below by Reuven Kaminer, grandfather of Matan. Coincidence or not: Haaretz came on the same day with a special supplement about Yesaya Leibowitz - who consistently has been calling for refusal to serve in the territories. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/478399.html עברית / Hebrew http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=477360 The supplement opens with what Uri Avnery has to say on the prophet of our time: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/478395.html עברית / Hebrew http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtWin.jhtml?itemNo=477378 ---------forwarded message follows-------- Date sent: Thu, 16 Sep 2004 20:13:05 +0200 From: Reuven Kaminer Subject: Army Refuses to Reveal Intentions Regarding Five Draft Resisters Released Yesterday September 16, 2004 Dear friends, Haggai Matar, Matan Kaminer, Noam Bahat, Adam Maor and Shimri Zameret were released yesterday morning after almost two years in prison. They are all in good spirits and spending the (Jewish) New Years holiday with the their families. There is, however, still a dark cloud hovering over their release. The Israeli army mobilization office has issued each of them a summons to show up for an interview this Sunday morning. Whether out of intentional cruelty, or as a result of characteristic army inefficiency, the heads of the army are keeping the five, their families and the public in the dark as to its intentions. The release was high profile news here in the country, even though there are no newspapers over the holiday. News coverage included speculation about the intentions of the army regarding the five. The present bureaucratic infliction of unnecessary pain and anxiety on the five and their families seems to be just another by-product of the campaign by certain high ranking army officers. These gentlemen hope to launch an inquisitional styled campaign designed to justify keeping the five in prison indefinitely or to break their spirit. The five have already spoken to the public and informed it that under no circumstances would any of them consider joining the Israeli Defense Forces army of occupation. There are still many good reasons to believe that the IDF will decide to release the five. An attempt to remobilize the five would meet with wide public disapproval and disgust in many circles. It would be seen as an affront to the elementary principles of justice, by many who do not support refusal. It would certainly arouse intensive local and international sympathy and identification with the five and their path. Meanwhile, supporters of the five are preparing a mass reception for them in Tel Aviv, on Thursday, September 23, 2004. We hope to celebrate their release from the army and their return to normal life. However, we might be holding a rally demanding their immediate release. ~~~ # "Make Israeli-Palestinian peace talks a number one priority" The American Jews' "open letter to the next president" can be signed online http://openletter.btvshalom.org # Selected articles from THE OTHER ISRAEL September issue at: http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/ # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Fri Sep 17 01:12:35 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:18 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] The 5 released but... & Leibowitz remembered Message-ID: <414A2BF3.17306.2CD9151@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~ The 5 released but... & Leibowitz remembered ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~ The release from prison of Chaggai, Matan, Adam, Noam and Shimri may be only very temporary - as is explained below by Reuven Kaminer, grandfather of Matan. Coincidence or not: Haaretz came on the same day with a special supplement about Yesaya Leibowitz - who consistently has been calling for refusal to serve in the territories. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/478399.html עברית / Hebrew http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=477360 The supplement opens with what Uri Avnery has to say on the prophet of our time: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/478395.html עברית / Hebrew http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtWin.jhtml?itemNo=477378 ---------forwarded message follows-------- Date sent: Thu, 16 Sep 2004 20:13:05 +0200 From: Reuven Kaminer Subject: Army Refuses to Reveal Intentions Regarding Five Draft Resisters Released Yesterday September 16, 2004 Dear friends, Haggai Matar, Matan Kaminer, Noam Bahat, Adam Maor and Shimri Zameret were released yesterday morning after almost two years in prison. They are all in good spirits and spending the (Jewish) New Years holiday with the their families. There is, however, still a dark cloud hovering over their release. The Israeli army mobilization office has issued each of them a summons to show up for an interview this Sunday morning. Whether out of intentional cruelty, or as a result of characteristic army inefficiency, the heads of the army are keeping the five, their families and the public in the dark as to its intentions. The release was high profile news here in the country, even though there are no newspapers over the holiday. News coverage included speculation about the intentions of the army regarding the five. The present bureaucratic infliction of unnecessary pain and anxiety on the five and their families seems to be just another by-product of the campaign by certain high ranking army officers. These gentlemen hope to launch an inquisitional styled campaign designed to justify keeping the five in prison indefinitely or to break their spirit. The five have already spoken to the public and informed it that under no circumstances would any of them consider joining the Israeli Defense Forces army of occupation. There are still many good reasons to believe that the IDF will decide to release the five. An attempt to remobilize the five would meet with wide public disapproval and disgust in many circles. It would be seen as an affront to the elementary principles of justice, by many who do not support refusal. It would certainly arouse intensive local and international sympathy and identification with the five and their path. Meanwhile, supporters of the five are preparing a mass reception for them in Tel Aviv, on Thursday, September 23, 2004. We hope to celebrate their release from the army and their return to normal life. However, we might be holding a rally demanding their immediate release. ~~~ # "Make Israeli-Palestinian peace talks a number one priority" The American Jews' "open letter to the next president" can be signed online http://openletter.btvshalom.org # Selected articles from THE OTHER ISRAEL September issue at: http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/ # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Sun Sep 19 06:40:30 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:18 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] A Yom Kippur reflection by Uri Avnery Message-ID: <414D1BCE.17561.3F3274@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~- The Temple Mount Bombers - by Uri Avnery ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~- If this tendency becomes dominant in the State of Israel, it will not, I believe, lead to the building of the Third Temple but to the destruction of the “Third House”. Full text: http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/article322.html עברית / Hebrew http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/article322_heb.html # "Make Israeli-Palestinian peace talks a number one priority" the American Jews' "open letter to the next president" can be signed online http://openletter.btvshalom.org # Selected articles from THE OTHER ISRAEL September issue at: http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/ # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush-shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. From info at gush-shalom.org Mon Sep 20 00:36:32 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:18 2004 Subject: (GushShalom] FREE CONSCIENCE - RALLY IN SUPPORT OF THE FIVE ON THURSD Message-ID: <414E1800.14588.4187B99@localhost> עברית אחרי אנגלית The five conscientious objectors were released from jail. With theirrelease we will be holding -  Free Conscience  An evening dedicated to the freedom of conscience Tel Aviv Museum Square, Thursday 23rd September, 19:30 - 23:00  Greetings - videotaped or written - from J. L. Godard, Bernardo Bertolucci, Paul Auster, Mike Leigh, Noam Chomsky, Tony Kushner, Judith Butler and others, including conscientious objectors from all over the world.  Performers:  Sharon Ben Ezer (DJ) Orna Banay Yair Dalal The Raging Granmas (songs of freedom and conscience) Yitzhak Laor (from his recently published book of poems) Amal Murcus Purple 59 Black Velvet Keren Mor and Menashe Noy Tamer Nafer and DAM  Come one and all! Your support matters!  Hosted by: Refuseniks' Parents Forum / Ta'ayush / Yesh Gvul / Gush Shalom / Women Coalition for Peace and Justice / The Campus is Not Silent / New Profile / Hadash / The Druze Initiative Committee / Shministim  עם שחרורם מהכלא של חמשת סרבני המצפון מצפון חופשי ערב חד-פעמי למען חופש המצפון רחבת מוזיאון תל אביב, יום ה' 23/9 מן השעה 19.30  ברכות בוידיאו ובכתב: ז'אן לוק גודאר, נעם חומסקי, מייק לי, פול אוסטר, ברנרדו ברטולוצ'י, טוני קושנר, ג'ודית באטלר,אמנים ואנשי רוח נוספים.   משתתפים:  שרון בן עזר (DJ) ארנה בנאי יאיר דלאל הסבתותהזועמות (בשירי מצפון וחופש) יצחק לאור (מתוך ספר שיריו החדש "עיר הלוויתן") אמל מורקוס סגול 59  קטיפהשחורה קרן מור ומנשה נוי תאמר נאפר ולהקת DAM בואו בהמוניכם!תמיכתכם חשובה!    הורי הסרבנים / תעאיוש / יש גבול / גוש פורום שלום / קואליציית נשים נגד כיבוש / הקמפוס לא שותק / פרופיל חדש / חד"ש / ועד היזמה הדרוזי / השמיניסטים  From info at gush-shalom.org Wed Sep 22 02:23:49 2004 From: info at gush-shalom.org (Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)) Date: Mon Nov 22 03:53:18 2004 Subject: [GushShalom] Dialogue in Russian // freedom x 5 Message-ID: <4150E235.4094.6CAA3EA@localhost> GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org/ [1] Truth Against Truth as insert in Russian papers Gush Shalom seeks dialogue with "Russian" Community [2] Welcoming the Five COs upon their release ~~~ [1] Truth Against Truth as insert in Russian papers Gush Shalom seeks dialogue with "Russian" Community עברית באתר / Hebrew on the site http://www.gush-shalom.org In these days before Yom Kippur, time of soul-searching and good intentions, Gush Shalom has gone out of its way to open a dialogue with the "Russian" Community in Israel: spreading a Russian translation of "Truth Against Truth" to some 60 000 households. The campaign was started with a press conference, on Sunday (19.9) in Tel- Aviv's Press Center. The representatives of all Russian media in Israel were invited, and most of them took part. "We dreamed about this for a long time, and at last we were able to start this unique campaign" (the opening words were immediately translated into Russian, the language of the conference - though in the course of the developing discussion some of the Russian journalists started to speak Hebrew). "There lies an abysmal chasm between the Peace Camp and the Russian-speaking community" said Uri Avnery - Gush Shalom founding member and writer of the brochure. "This is something which we cannot tolerate. We do not accept the opinion prevalent in the Peace Camp that a million Russian-speakers think alike and all of them are extreme rightists, Arab- haters and Peace-Camp haters." On the eve of Yom Kippur, 60 thousand copies of "Truth Against Truth" in Russian are to be distributed as an insert in the Russian-language papers "Vesti" and "Globus". Truth against Truth is not a usual declaration of principles. In what could be called a post-post-modern effort, Uri Avnery tries to intertwine the Israeli and Palestinian narratives about more than hundred years of conflict - since peace is impossible without narratives being opened up and developed to include also the other side's way of seeing it. The consequent confrontation of the contrasting views works as an eye-opener throwing a completely new light on the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, its origins and phases. Until now, this new brochure had appeared only in Hebrew and English - and has been translated abroad in German, Spanish and Dutch, with the Arab edition to appear in the coming weeks. The Russian version is an exact copy of the Hebrew original. As the original, it bears on its cover the warning: "Caution! This is a subversive text. It undermines the very foundations on which the National Consensus is based!" Gush Shalom, which is not blessed with abundant funds, decided to exhaust its reserves* and invest the necessary resources for this campaign out of conviction that it is impossible to attain peace if important parts of the Russian-speaking community does not join the Peace Camp. "I believe that the whole Peace Camp is guilty of ignoring this important community, as we ignored the Oriental one," Avnery commented, pointing out that all Russian-language media in Israel follow an extreme right-wing line, isolating Russian-speakers from the Israeli mainstream. "Israeli society is divided into five big sectors - the veteran Ashkenazi, the Oriental, the religious, the immigrants from the former Soviet Union and the Arab citizens. We cannot succeed in the struggle for peace while being based only on two of them (the veteran Ashkenazi and the Arab), without winning support within the three others." Together with the distribution of tens of thousands brochures, the Gush Shalom campaign will include publishing banners on Russian-language web- sites, extensive public relations and ads in the Russian-language media. A Russian-language sector on the Gush web-site is soon to follow. See also: Gush Shalom targets Russian speakers By Lily Galili Ha'aretz Mon., September 20, 2004 If you agree that we took an important initiative and want to support Gush Shalom you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only. [2] Welcoming the Five COs upon their release עברית אחרי אנגלית The five conscientious objectors were released from jail. With theirrelease we will be holding -  Free Conscience  An evening dedicated to the freedom of conscience Tel Aviv Museum Square, Thursday 23rd September, 19:30 - 23:00  Greetings - videotaped or written - from J. L. Godard, Bernardo Bertolucci, Paul Auster, Mike Leigh, Noam Chomsky, Tony Kushner, Judith Butler and others, including conscientious objectors from all over the world.  Performers:  Sharon Ben Ezer (DJ) Orna Banay Yair Dalal The Raging Granmas (songs of freedom and conscience) Yitzhak Laor (from his recently published book of poems) Amal Murcus Purple 59 Black Velvet Keren Mor and Menashe Noy Tamer Nafer and DAM  Come one and all! Your support matters!  Hosted by: Refuseniks' Parents Forum / Ta'ayush / Yesh Gvul / Gush Shalom / Women Coalition for Peace and Justice / The Campus is Not Silent / New Profile / Hadash / The Druze Initiative Committee / Shministim  עם שחרורם מהכלא של חמשת סרבני המצפון מצפון חופשי ערב חד-פעמי למען חופש המצפון רחבת מוזיאון תל אביב, יום ה' 23/9 מן השעה 19.30  ברכות בוידיאו ובכתב: ז'אן לוק גודאר, נעם חומסקי, מייק לי, פול אוסטר, ברנרדו ברטולוצ'י, טוני קושנר, ג'ודית באטלר,אמנים ואנשי רוח נוספים.   משתתפים:  שרון בן עזר (DJ) ארנה בנאי יאיר דלאל הסבתותהזועמות (בשירי מצפון וחופש) יצחק לאור (מתוך ספר שיריו החדש "עיר הלוויתן") אמל מורקוס סגול 59  קטיפהשחורה קרן מור ומנשה נוי תאמר נאפר ולהקת DAM בואו בהמוניכם!תמיכתכם חשובה!    הורי הסרבנים / תעאיוש / יש גבול / גוש פורום שלום / קואליציית נשים נגד כיבוש / הקמפוס לא שותק / פרופיל חדש / חד"ש / ועד היזמה הדרוזי / השמיניסטים  # "Make Israeli-Palestinian peace talks a number one priority" the American Jews' "open letter to the next president" can be signed online http://openletter.btvshalom.org # Selected articles from THE OTHER ISRAEL September issue at: http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/ # Truth against Truth - opposite views on the history of the conflict in 101 steps Hebrew / עברית http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Heb.pdf English http://www.gush-shalom.org/Docs/Truth_Eng.pdf # Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated) Now also with list of settlements Hebrew / עברית http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm English http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm -- http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (עברית/Hebrew) http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English) http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in Arabic) with \\photos of recent actions \\the weekly Gush Shalom ad \\the columns of Uri Avnery \\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle \\position papers & analysis (in "documents") \\and a lot more N.B.: On the Gush Shalom website links for Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language press releases mail to: gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org + NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Archive of email reports: https://mailman.gush-shalom.org/pipermail/gush- shalom/2004/thread.html#start If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper to: Gush Shalom pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033 Israel or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at request only.