[GushhalomBillboard] *Three actions on Saturday, refusers update e.a.
Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)
info at gush-shalom.org
Fri Jun 28 01:02:28 IDT 2002
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// Gush Shalom Billboard //
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[Through billboard we forward about twice a week what is on the agenda, based upon our own
material and on announcements received from others. We include articles and reports. For
more information, approach the addresses appearing in each item.]
[1] New jailed refusenik, Saturday Yesh Gvul vigil Athlit, + more
[2] Saturday: Hadash demo outside American Embassy T-A 6.30 pm
[3] Peace Now weekend protests
[4] ACRI, B'Tselem, Hamoked and PHR-Israel:
Law Denying Compensation - Black Mark on the Laws of Israel
[5] Two million Palestinians under curfew
[6] Fighting for his day in court, Moshe Gorali - Ha’aretz, June 26
[7] The Cantonization of the West Bank by Amira Has
[8] Rebuilding Palestinian Homes Together
[1] New jailed refusenik, Saturday Yesh Gvul vigil Athlit, + more
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: "peretz kidron" <cherryk at zahav.net.il>
YESH GVUL
Dear friend,
Sgt. First Class Amit Bar-Tzedeq, an Armoured Corps reservist, was sentenced on June 16 to
a 21 day confinement (till July 11) at a tank base in eastern Galilee. Bar-Tzedeq (28) is single
and lives in Tel Aviv, where he works as a director of community theatre.
Amit is a Yesh Gvul activist, and was one of the original signatories of the
Courage to Refuse letter in January 2001. This is his second sentence for
refusal to serve in the Occupied Territories, after being jailed for 28 days in
Feb.-March 2001.
We don't yet have Amit's military address, so messages of support can be sent to: Amit Bar-
Tzedeq PO Box 16238 Tel Aviv
E-mail: amitbtz at zahav.net.il
Letters of protest on behalf of Amit and the other refuseniks to:
Mr. Binyamin Ben-Eliezer,
Minister of Defence,
Ministry of Defence,
37 Kaplan St.,
Tel-Aviv 61909,
Israel.
E-mail: mailto:sar at mod.gov.il or mailto:pniot at mod.gov.il
Fax: ++972-3-696-27-57 / ++972-3-691-69-40 / ++972-3-691-79-15.
***
Yesh Gvul will hold a solidarity vigil for Amit Bar-Tzedeq and the rest of the
jailed refuseniks on Saturday June 29th on the hill above Prison No.6 (Athlit).
Meeting: 12:30, Old Haifa-Hedera highway, Bet Oren junction
Transportation: Jerusalem (Binyanei Haumma) 10:00
Tel Aviv (Rakevet Tzafon, Arlozorov-Namir) 11:00
***
Our programme for adoption of jailed refuseniks is beginning to take off:
1. Sefi Sendik has been adopted by the Tikkun group in the San Francisco area contact person
Paola Taranta -
ptaranta at california.com
2. Itai Swirsky has been adopted by a group in West Lafayette, Indiana: contact person Sheila
Rosenthal rosefam6 at earthlink.net
3. Guy Rosin is adopted by a group at U. of Chicago, contact person Yali Amit
amit at marx.uchicago.edu
4. David Zonsheine (released from jail pending the outcome of his petition to
the Supreme Court for a formal courtmartial) has been adopted by Bubbes and Zaydes for
Peace in the Middle East (Susan Miller, point person
suski at navpoint.com)
***
Yesh Gvul's rally of solidarity with the refuseniks, with participation of
performing artists and public figures, will take place on Friday July 12, in Tel
Aviv. Preparations are in full swing, full details, location etc. to come.
[2] Saturday: demo Tel-Aviv outside American Embassy 6.30 pm
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: Communist Party of Israel <info at maki.org.il>
Bush Says No to Peace
We Say No to Bush
The Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (HADASH) calls for a
demonstration against Bush's cynical support for Sharon's attack on peace
and plans for the reoccupation of the Palestinian territories.
The demonstration will take place this Saturday, June 29, 2002 at 6:30 in
the evening outside the U.S. Embassy on Hayarkon St. Tel-Aviv!
for more information: 03/6293944
[3] Peace Now weekend protests
------- Forwarded message follows -------
To: ddremez at netvision.net.il
From: Didi Remez <ddremez at netvision.net.il>
Date sent: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 18:39:13 +0200
SATURDAY NIGHT:
PROTESTS IN J'LEM, TA, HAIFA, BEERSHEVA AND KEFAR SABA
This Saturday night, June 29, protests will be held in Tel-Aviv,
Jerusalem, Haifa Beersheva and Kefar Saba.
This weekend activists will man 28 intersections countrywide, hanging
signs and distributing materials.
"A solid majority of Israelis support a withdrawal from the Occupied
Territories and the dismantling of the settlements. Yet Sharon and
Ben-Eliezer, acting on behalf of a small minority of the public,
continue to expand settlements, reoccupy Palestinian areas and reject
any notion of political negotiations. Israel requires another kind of
leadership," say the organizers.
PROTESTS
* Jerusalem: PM's residence, 20:00. Among the speakers: Yuli Tamir
* Tel-Aviv: Tayelet (Seaside promenade), near McDonalds, 20:00.
* Haifa: Merkaz Hacarmel, 19:00 (organized by the Haifa Peace Forum.)
* Beersheva: "Big" shopping center, 20:00.
* Kefar Saba: "Arim" shopping center, 20:00 (organized by the Sharon
Area Peace Coalition.)
Further Information:
Press: Didi Remez, Peace Now Spokesman, 054-302796 or
didi at peacenow.org.il
Activists - to get involved in planning and organization of activities
contact:
[In Tel-Aviv] Ori Ginat, 054-405157 or ori at peacenow.org.il
[In Jerusalem] Shiri Iram, 054-687539 or shiri at peacenow.org.il
[In the Sharon area] Mary Shweitzer, 054-638399 or mary at peacenow.org.il
[Everywhere else] Noa Millman, 054-556052 or noa at peacenow.org.il
Peace Now Website: www.peacenow.org.il
Snail mail address: PO Box 29828, Tel-Aviv Israel
Phone: 972-3-5663291, 972-2-5660648
Fax: 972-3-5663286
[4] ACRI, B'Tselem, Hamoked and PHR-Israel:
Law Denying Compensation - Black Mark on the Laws of Israel
------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Wed, 26 Jun 2002 14:07:33 +0200
From: "Lior Yavne - B'Tselem" <lyavne at btselem.org>
26 June 2002
Association for Civil Rights in Israel, B'Tselem, Hamoked: Center for the
Defence of the Individual, Physicians for Human Rights - Israel Joint Statement
The Knesset’s Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee today approved the
proposed law denying compensation to Palestinians injured by Israeli Forces
BLACK MARK ON THE LAWS OF ISRAEL
Today the Knesset’s Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee approved the
proposed law denying compensation to persons injured by Israeli security forces
in the Occupied Territories. The proposed law will soon be submitted to the
Knesset for second and third readings, and thus pass into law.
The proposed law severely infringes the basic right of persons injured by the
negligent or intentional acts of IDF soldiers, by attempting to expand the
definition of combat activities, for which the state is exempt from
compensation.
Human rights organizations repeat and emphasize that the purpose of the law is
not to protect IDF soldiers against claims relating to their acts of combat.
Rather, it is intended to save state treasury money regarding claims based on
injury resulting from the intentional or negligent acts of IDF soldiers, such as
firing in violation of army regulations. This purpose completely contravenes the
fundamental values of the State of Israel.
The human rights organizations add that the proposed law as a whole is an
expression of lack of faith in the courts' ability to determine the truth, and
denies the courts discretion in these matters. The proposed law severely
infringes the right to bodily integrity, property, and equality, and contravenes
the rule of law and the fundamental principles of Israeli and international law.
Leading jurists at Israeli universities agree with this assessment.
The attempt to enact a law whose objective is to deny existing rights, leaving
the injured with no relief, is unprecedented. Human dignity, the sanctity of
life, and the right to bodily integrity are among the basic values of Israeli
law. If passed, the law would place an black mark on the laws of Israel.
------------- For details and a copy of the position paper, contact:
Tally Gur, The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, 051-890714
Lior Yavneh, B’Tselem - 050-387230 or 03-6106666 (pager 31146)
[5] Two million Palestinians under curfew
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: "Palestine Monitor Alquds" <palmon at upmrc.org>
Date sent: Wed, 26 Jun 2002 19:44:00 +0200
The Palestine Monitor,
A PNGO Information Clearinghouse
Information Brief
2 million Palestinians under curfew
June 26 2002
Currently all Palestinian cities in the West Bank, except Jericho, are under
strict military imposed 24-hour curfew. In real terms this means that almost two
million Palestinians in the West Bank are confined to their houses with heavy
Israeli military presence on the streets enforcing the curfew. This situation
seriously impinges on the safety of the civilian population: patients cannot get
to hospital, people are prevented from going to work, families cannot buy
necessary food and medical supplies, children cannot go to kindergarten or even
out to play and students are prevented from sitting their final exams.
Today a seven years old boy, Bassam Ghassan As-Saadi, was killed by Israeli
soldiers in the Jenin refugee camp. He was out playing with other children when
Israeli troops opened fire on them. Bassam was hit by live ammunition all over
his body. Twelve year old Fida’ Nimr Abu Qandil was injured in the leg in the
same incident.
The curfew is enforced by tanks and military patrols in addition to snipers
positioned to shoot at anyone violating the curfew. Only when the Israeli army
lifts the curfew can people leave their houses, but even then without full
assurance of their safety. Last Friday three children and one adult were killed
and several others injured when Israeli troops opened fire at them after
conflicting information regarding the lifting of the curfew. The same confusion
and chaos occurred in Ramallah yesterday leaving people injured by tear gas and
rubber bullets.
Villages and rural areas are already isolated and disconnected from their
surroundings due to the closure and siege. However the current curfew regime
imposed on the main cities has severe effects on these villages as they rely on
the cities for essential services such as medical care, education and
employment. Currently even emergency services are inaccessible to villagers due
to the curfews inside the cities.
The lengthy duration and far-reaching scope of the curfews clearly
demonstrates that these are collective punitive measures imposed by the
Israeli army upon the Palestinian civilian population. Currently the whole
population suffers from the effects of the curfew. The use of collective
punishment by the occupying power, in this case the imposition of prolonged and
wide-spanning curfews is prohibited and illegal according to article 33 of the
Fourth Geneva Convention.
Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi said today: “During the last days many people have
called the Palestinian Medical Relief with desperate pleas for help. People need
medical treatment, medicines and some people are also running out of food and
milk supplies. I fear a humanitarian crisis. In Ramallah today the Israeli army
detained and seriously harassed a 57 year old American volunteer while she was
assisting the Medical Relief in distributing humanitarian assistance”.
Palestinian cities currently under curfew:
· Nablus: under curfew since 21st of June
· Jenin: under curfew since 19th of June
· Beitunia (near Ramallah): under curfew since 19th of June
· Qalqiliya: under curfew since 22nd of June
· Tulkarem: under curfew since 19th of June
· Bethlehem: under curfew since 19th of June
· Ramallah: under curfew since 24th of June
· Hebron: under curfew since 25th of June
· Tubas and Arrabe villages near Jenin: under curfew since 25th of June
For more information contact The Palestine Monitor +972 (0) 52 396 196 and
see www.palestinemonitor.org
[6] Fighting for his day in court, Moshe Gorali - Ha’aretz, June 26
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=180174&contras
sID=2&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
By Moshe Gorali
Ha’aretz, June 26 2002
In an unusual move, First Lieutenant (Res.) David Zonsheine was released
from custody on Monday - at least temporarily. Zonsheine, a 29-year-old
software engineer and reserve officer in an elite paratroopers unit,
refused to serve in the territories during Operation Defensive Shield.
His commanders decided to bring him before a superior officer in a
disciplinary hearing, but Zonsheine asked to present his case in formal
proceedings before a military court. The military prosecutor of the IDF
Central Command, Lt. Col. Ro'i Ginot, denied Zonsheine's request. He was
then tried before Brig. Gen. Tal Rousso, who sentenced him to 35 days in
prison.
Zonsheine did not give up. Attorney Michael Sfarad from Avigdor Feldman's
law firm petitioned the High Court of Justice on behalf of Zonsheine to
order the IDF to comply with his request to be tried in a military court.
Zonsheine won a temporary injunction last week, and the court ordered a
hearing date set as soon as possible. The hearing took place on Monday,
after Zonsheine had already sat in prison for 13 days. A three-justice
panel including Aharon Barak, Dorit Beinish and Ayala Procaccia decided
that more time would be required to consider the case and proposed that
the prisoner be released in the meantime. Attorney Yuval Roitman,
representing the IDF, agreed to release Zonsheine.
Zonsheine is taking a considerable risk: a military court is authorized to
hand down a two-year sentence for the offense Zonsheine is charged with -
"failure to carry out an order." On the other hand, an officer who tries a
soldier in a disciplinary hearing can deliver a sentence of 35 days at
most. Zonsheine received the maximum sentence in his disciplinary hearing,
but he was not provided an opportunity to present his ideological defense.
In addition, his attorney argued, he is entitled to a serious legal
procedure and ruling that befit such a weighty matter.
Not just guard duty
The army has good reasons not to upgrade the refuseniks from disciplinary
hearings to court proceedings. In particular, the IDF is not interested in
providing them a platform for ideological debate. In addition, as attorney
Roitman expressed the IDF policy: "The petitioner is asking to hide the
disciplinary hue of the offense. The refusal to carry out a command is a
simple and clear disciplinary matter."
Attorney Sfarad heatedly objects: "This is not a matter of refusing to
wear a beret or failing to do guard duty. Disciplinary hearings are meant
to deal with minor violations or to respond quickly with serious breaches
of discipline, and this does not apply to the case before us."
Sfarad built his case on an article of military law that grants a soldier
the right to ask to be tried in a military court. Roitman replied that
"the law gave the IDF Judge Advocate General control over this process
[that is, to decide whether to send a case to a disciplinary hearing or a
military court - M. G.] and his decision was certainly reasonable."
Since the start of Operation Defensive Shield, there have been about 80
cases of refusal and all of them have been handled in disciplinary
hearings. Only Zonsheine is insisting on reaching a military court.
"The arguments that I wish to present," he wrote in his request, "can be
heard only in the framework of a trial in military court. Since the
officer in a disciplinary hearing is not a jurist, and the army does not
allow representation by attorneys before these officers, the legal
questions that should determine whether I am indeed guilty of an offense
or, as I claim, am innocent of any crime, cannot be heard in a
disciplinary hearing."
Zonsheine says the army should also have an interest in hearing the issues
that he is raising in a military court. Otherwise, reserve soldiers will
continue to be tried in disciplinary hearings for similar offenses without
any real decisions being made.
Ostensibly, the High Court is supposed to rule only on the question of
whether the judge advocate general made a reasonable decision when
determining that the case involves a disciplinary infraction and does not
belong in military court. But Sfarad has already managed to put before the
High Court justices some of the main arguments of his defense: "This
involves a refusal to carry out a command that the petitioner regarded as
blatantly illegal. He is entitled to a defense of necessity, both from the
normal criminal perspective and the constitutional perspective, according
to which necessity of conscience is part of human dignity. The danger to
which the petitioner was exposed must also be taken into consideration, a
danger that the honorable President Barak recently noted - the possibility
of being brought to trial before an international criminal court that is
soon to be established."
The message is clear: can an officer presiding over a disciplinary
hearing, who is not a jurist, cope with such heavy legal artillery? Does
he fully understand the meaning of the necessity defense? Is he aware of
the new system of balances that the constitutional revolution has imposed?
Attorney Roitman slipped into this trap in his response, which aroused a
stir among the crowd (sympathetic to Zonsheine) in the packed courtroom.
`The petitioner was not sent to carry out an assassination," Roitman said,
"but rather to reserve duty in Judea and Samaria. Perhaps this argument
can be raised against a certain command, and then it might be handled
differently."
Sfarad definitely noted this argument. He'll be sure to use it when his
petition against the legality of targeted killings is heard. The fact that
the state's representative chose to use this example of assassinations to
illustrate the possibility of legitimate refusal is liable to help in this
petition.
When the hearing ended on Monday and the justices left the room,
Zonsheine's supporters shouted out in celebration, something that rarely
occurs in the halls of the Supreme Court. They saw the justices'
indecision as an encouraging sign, but the victory in getting the petition
heard also means an escalation of the confrontation. This escalation will
put the refuseniks to the test and demand a higher price than media and
legal campaigns. The state has so far managed to generally defuse the
pockets of refusal, which have yet to pull the Israeli public into a real
debate. This is because, among other reasons, there are no prisoners of
conscience withering away in prison for dozens of years, turning into
symbols of identification, around whom the struggle is waged. The
successful struggle in South Africa, for example, was symbolized by Nelson
Mandela, who sat in prison for 35 years, not the maximum 35 days that
Israel "agrees" to allot to its refuseniks.
[7] The Cantonization of the West Bank by Amira Has
------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 14:05:43 +0200
From: Yehudit Keshet <y_k1 at netvision.net.il>
[The following article by Amira Has is one of several which appeared in the Hebrew edition of
Ha'aretz newspaper but not in the English edition. For more such articles, turn to Yehudit
Keshet <y_k1 at netvision.net.il>]
Diary of Closure: Besieging Ramallah or The Cantonization of the West Bank by Amira Has
(Hebrew edition of Ha’aretz newspaper, 23 June 2002.).
The group of women surrounded by clouds of dust, bombarded by the noise of car motors and
exhaust fumes, and did not know what to do. “Looks like it’s final”, said one of them, “the
soldiers won’t let us through”.
The women are residents of Ramallah, teachers in Palestinian schools in the villages south-
east of Ramallah. In the last week in April 2002, after three weeks of enforced vacation
because of the Israeli army’s invasion of the West Bank (Operation Defensive Wall) and the
curfew placed on Ramallah, they were returning to work. That is, they were trying to return to
work.
As they have been doing for the past five months, the soldiers at the Kalandia checkpoint, the
southern exit from Ramallah, separated Palestinian bearers of blue ID passes (Jerusalem
residents) and bearers of orange or green passes (West Bank residents). Jerusalemites can
pass, others cannot. In summer the checkpoint opens at 6:00 a.m. and closes at 7:00 in the
evening.
Sometimes the soldiers don’t pay strict attention to women, and some of the teachers were
able to assume the confident appearance of Jerusalemites, sure of their identity cards, and flow
with the crowd of adults and students hurrying along the margins of the road - to work, to
school, to the clinic, to visit family – to the other side of the checkpoint. Mostly they took the
risk of crossing via the quarry and the field to the east of the checkpoint, together with
hundreds of other West Bankers. There, especially during ‘rush hour’ soldiers would stand on
a small hilltop and throw tear gas and stun grenades into the crowd to prevent them from
reaching the main road.
At all events, since the beginning of May 2002 even this exit has been closed: Israeli army
(IDF) troops have erected a high barbed wire fence along the fields, the quarry and the hillock
that stretch eastwards of the checkpoint. The fence reaches the village of Jaba in the east and
blocks the exit to the road and the Palestinian neighbourhood of A-Ram to the south. An APC,
and a military or Border police jeep are permanently stationed at the entrance to the road
leading to the quarry and the soldiers or policemen check the ID’s of everyone who presumes
to outsmart the rules of the checkpoint. If someone is caught and, for his sins, he is a West
Bank resident, the ID is taken away and he is held in detention for hours at the checkpoint
army post. If he is not arrested, he is sent home at dusk.
At the checkpoint itself, people huddle behind strands of barbed wire and concrete blocks and
wait until the soldier, behind his concrete barricade some several meters distant, calls them
and checks their ID’s. Sometimes people are required to lift their shirts. In the background, an
APC or two comes and goes, a military jeep honks and wails, a soldier aims his gun
downwards from the look-out post above. Sometimes, traffic is stopped, as happened on the
afternoon of May 5 2002. The soldiers told the many pedestrians, who had been detained for
two hours and were standing nervously behind the concrete blocks and barbed wire, that a
suspicious vehicle had been located. Later they said that a terrorist had been found with a belt
of explosives. Suddenly they threw tear gas grenades into the crowd. Women clutching their
children ran in panic from the fumes. Old people coughing and weeping wandered off leaning for
support on someone. Youngsters giggled, they are used to tear gas.
The army spokesman knew nothing of a suspicious car nor of a suicide bomber, but knew for
sure that stones had been thrown at the soldiers. However, the writer, who was at Kalandia at
the time, did not see a single stone thrown at the soldiers during the hour prior to the tear gas
being thrown. Later, a soldier threw a stun grenade among the cars parked beyond the
checkpoint area. Another soldier demanded that the drivers reverse, all the while aiming his gun
at them, shouting and cursing. The taxi drivers waiting there for passengers started up in panic
and fled. Because of the chaos a traffic jam ensued, which only increased the sense of panic
because no one knew whether the soldiers would continue to throw their stun and gas
grenades. Suddenly an APC appeared among the crowds and vehicles, who did not know
where to put themselves.
“The Humanitarian Officer”
According to transitees at Kalandia, sights like these are regular occurrences, a claim
supported by journalists, staff of international organizations who also pass there. They describe
the lengthy and unexplained delays, edgy soldiers armed with stun grenades only 10 meters
from the long and anxious line-up of people hurrying to work for which they are constantly late.
They talk about the APC’s cruising along the margins of the road, scattering the peddlars and
stall-holders. They see the old men on crutches, little pig-tailed girls, blind people led by a
companion, smartly dressed clerks, everyone and everything covered with the dust churned up
beneath the feet of hundreds of pedestrians.
Perhaps this is why in mid-May an older, bespectacled soldier was to be seen at Kalandia. He
introduced himself to the writer as the “Humanitarian Officer” and could be heard reproving
soldiers who spoke roughly to transitees. However, he also required the transitees to line up
nicely in two rows while waiting for their turn to walk up and present their ID’s to the soldier:
one line for men, the other for women.
During those same May days, with the road through the quarry blocked off, the teachers tried
pleading and persuasion with the soldiers to allow them to pass. To their amazement they were
now told: “Go to the Civil Administration offices and get a transit permit; right now, go back the
way you came.” A permit to pass from one Palestinian village to the next ? To a village two
kilometers from Ramallah ? The teachers sought advice from the Palestinian Ministry of
Education in Ramallah and discovered that the Civil Administration clerks in each area had
already taken the trouble to call up the Palestinian supervisors and coordinators, offering them
assistance. After all, the critical situation in Palestinian schools is well known. The Civil
Administration advised regional supervisors and school principals to present a list of teachers
for each school and to issue them with transit permits. Meanwhile the Palestinian Authority
has forbidden the issue of such permits which would mean Palestinian legitimization of the
Israeli policy of dividing the West Bank into separate, detached cantons.
The tightening of the closure is strongly felt in the Palestinian schools beyond the Kalandia
checkpoint. Seventeen of the 31 teachers at Beth Lakiyeh, west of Ramallah, have not been
able to reach the school there. In mid-May 2002, 14 out of 29 teachers were absent from Beth
Ur as were 10 out of 24 teachers from Bir Naballah. At Jib, only 35 of the 90 teachers working
at four local schools managed to get to work. Some of them are residents of the village, others
live close by, some have blue, Jerusalem, ID’s while a very few managed to slip through the
checkpoint. Some of them left their homes, a distance of 9 kilometers away, at 6:30 in the
morning and arrived late at 9:30 a.m. after having changed taxis three times, climbed over
mountain paths and scrambled through ditches.
The ‘Pirate” Bypasses will be closed
H’, an 11-year old girl, crosses the checkpoint alone each morning on her way to Ramallah. On
the north side she is met by her father, A’ a West Bank resident. Her mother is a Jerusalemite
and they live in the neighborhood of A-Ram, south of Kalandia. A’ has rented a room in
Ramallah and each morning comes to the north side of the checkpoint. His wife brings H’ to the
south side and the child passes along the pedestrian lane, behind the barbed wire fencing and
the concrete blocks, underneath the gunsights of the duty guard. At the other side she meets
her father who takes her to school. At weekends A’ returns home. He climbs hills, descends
ditches, takes one taxi, then another, making a detour of 40 km instead of the seven that
separate Ramallah from his home. Some West Bankers make this detour twice a day: to get
to work in A-Ram and the neighboring villages and back again. They mount the taxis that wait
for them beyond the crowded and chaotic Kalandia checkpoint. These are taxis with Israeli
license plates and their drivers are Palestinian Jerusalemites who risk being fined for
transporting “illegal” West Bank residents if they are caught on the roads designated for Israelis
only. From time to time the IDF comes and digs a trench across some obscure pathway
connecting two villages. The taxis seek out another obscure pathway, or else their passengers
get out and scramble across the trench, not before making sure there are no IDF troops
around. After a day or two someone makes sure to dismantle the earthworks or fill in the
trench, and then the IDF comes and digs another one.
On a Saturday in May, when A’ was travelling in one of those taxis over dirt tracks in order to
get to work in Ramallah, he looked with mounting anguish at the barbed wire fence that blocks
off the fields south of the Kalandia refugee camp. Someone said that a similar fence was being
erected to the west of the Kalandia checkpoint as far as the Bethunia checkpoint. A’ guesses
that the day is not far off when a fence of this sort will be stretched around Ramallah and El-
Bireh. “All the “pirate” by-ways will be permanently closed. And then we will have no choice but
to go to the Civil Administration and ask for permits to enable us to move around inside the
West Bank.”
A Swedish journalist who passed the Kalandia checkpoint in early May, 2002 could not
disguise her fury at the humiliation and human suffering that she witnessed there. When she
complained to one of the soldiers he replied: “Don’t worry, in another year this checkpoint will
be just fine.”
[8] Rebuilding Palestinian Homes Together
------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 12:05:44 +0200
From: JeffandZiad at Rebuildinghomes.org
Dear Friend,
Given the tragic destruction and violence of the past few months, it is extremely important that
we - Israelis, Palestinians, and global citizens who stand for justice - make loud and clear our
determination to build rather than destroy, to defy policies that inspire hatred, and to support
grassroots efforts that pave a path towards a just peace.
What action can overcome the rule of tanks, house demolitions, and the suicide bomb? Is there
any language besides the language of demonization and blame? Is there any vision besides the
empty formulas of elected officials? We know there is! It is the vision of ordinary people leading
ordinary lives. It is the language of compassion and mutual respect. It is the voice of justice
challenging ideology and power. It begins by rebuilding homes.
The Right to a Home and a Homeland, www.rebuildinghomes.org, is a coordinated global
campaign to rebuild demolished Palestinian homes as a means of building trust among two
groups of people typically sworn off as "enemies." It is a project of two groups, one Israeli and
one Palestinian - The Israeli Committee Against Home Demolition (ICAHD) and The Jerusalem
Center for Social and Economic Rights (JCSER) - who have joined forces in a constructive act
of resistance to the injustices of the Israeli Occupation. Together, we are rebuilding homes,
building trust, and forging a just peace.
House demolitions have become the hallmark of the Occupation, as the wanton destruction of
the Jenin refugee camp shows. Since 1967 Israel has demolished almost 9000 Palestinian
homes, leaving some 50,000 traumatized and homeless. We need to protect human rights and
confront the injustice of the Occupation so that Palestinians, Israelis, and the world community
will eventually enjoy the fruits of a just peace.
We start by rebuilding 20-30 homes throughout the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem,
each new house representing another form of hope, solidarity, and peaceful protest. We cannot
build enough houses to truly relieve the suffering of thousands of victims. But we can make our
voices heard. In the words of Salim Shawamreh, whose home was demolished three times by
the Israeli authorities: "Palestinians need to live like anyone else -- in a home!"
We need your help. Only you, members of the international civil society, standing with like-
minded Palestinians and Israelis, can provide the crucial support we need to make our voices
heard.
Please support our global campaign by hosting a House Party to Rebuild a Home. Our website
has tips on how to invite 20 of your friends to a fundraising gathering at your home and we will
help you every step of the way, giving advice by phone and email; providing a video and
educational materials for your event. Your fundraiser will pay for building materials and enable
Palestinians, Israelis, and international volunteers to work together to rebuild Palestinian
homes.
Visit our website www.rebuildinghomes.org to register to hold a House Party to Rebuild a
Home. Join us in this constructive way to re-build homes, build trust, and forge peace. Please
forward this email to your friends and colleagues - together we will make a difference.
Thank you,
Jeff Halper, Coordinator, Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions
Ziad Hamouri, Director, Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights
Right to a Home and a Homeland
P.O. Box 610061, Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
USA: 01 415 820-3204, Israel: 972-(0)56-875-893, Palestine: 972-2-627-5335 / 6
email: info at rebuildinghomes.org
www.rebuildinghomes.org
----
Full transcript of the war crimes panel available on the Gush site
For Hebrew http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/forum.html
For English http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/forum_eng.html
French available at request
Also on the site:
photo's - of action or otherwise informative
the weekly Gush Shalom ad - in Hebrew and English
the columns of Uri Avnery - in Hebrew, Arab and English
(and a lot more)
http://www.gush-shalom.org
In order to receive our Hebrew statements [WORD documents - not always same as English]
mailto: gush-shalom-heb-request at 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
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.)
For more about Gush Shalom you are invited to visit our renewed website:
http://www.gush-shalom.org/
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