[GushShalom] New-old government and different struggles

[Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)]

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     Gush Shalom
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Feb. 28, 2003

[] Assessment of the situation // Susan Barclay not deported but released 
[] Let Ali Go! -- campaign for the release of a 15-year old stone-thrower
[] Ha'ir: Lone artist against the Iraq war (where is the real madhouse)
[] The Great Wall of Denial -- by Gila Svirsky
[] Gush Shalom ad published in Ha'aretz, Friday, Feb. 28

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[] Assessment of the situation // Susan Barclay not deported but released 

Today, two girls in the Gaza Strip were severely wounded from tankfire.

Today is also the first day of Israel's new government. The only good thing to be said 
about this government: that the Labor Party doesn't take part in it. But it has to be 
seen whether Labor will be able under the lead of Mitznah to become strong in 
opposition, or rather the question is: will Labor's old guard grow into that role after 
having been Sharon's partners during the last two years.

Meanwhile, our way of opposition as "unambiguous peace movement" must be joining 
forces and supporting the struggle of those who happen to be at the forefront of the 
opposition to the occupation. 
In the past weeks we have informed supporters and media 
about the struggle of the young Israeli draft resisters. Several of our members happen 
to be natural members of the "Refusnik Parents Forum". We will continue to inform 
you, whenever there is significant news on that front.

Yesterday we forwarded an emergency call of the internationals group ISM. We 
suggested you to phone to the Prime Minister's Office about the attempted 
deportation of humanitarian worker Susan Barclay, active in Nablus. Her deportation 
would have been in contravention of the Hadera Magistrate's Court decision. 
Today we were informed by Adv. Shammai Leibovitz - with whom we were constantly 
in contact - that in the night Barclay had been carried, passively resisting, onto a 
plane before he could even take legal action. However, after she made clear to the 
crew that she was in the plane against her wish, that she would not obey instructions 
about getting seated, and even threatened 
to open the luggage bins, the KLM pilot decided that he couldn't take 
responsibility and she was returned to the Ben Gurion Airport police office.
 
Barclay's firm stance won her enough time to let others work on her behalf: 
The switschboard at the PM's Office was flooded, and at a certain point 
became inaccessible. And in the early morning Adv. Shammai Leibowitz 
got an order from Judge Michaela Shidlovsky-Or of the Jerusalem District 
Court for the immediate release of Susan Barclay. Now, Leibowitz is 
considering proceedings for financial damages due to the illegal deportation 
attempt..

Maybe, concerted efforts could also be effective in the case of the 15 year-
old prisoner Ali Tawfiq. See next message which we got from the IWPS, 
another group of internationals working from within  the occupied West 
Bank.

[] Let Ali Go! -- campaign for the release of a 15-year old stone-thrower

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From:           	"IWPS" <iwps at palnet.com>
Date sent:      	Fri, 28 Feb 2003 13:18:00 +0200

We write you on behalf of the case of Ali Tawfiq, a 15 year old boy 
imprisoned since the 28th of November.

On November 27, Ali was a normal teenager living in a small Palestinian village under 
Israeli occupation. He went to school, whenever it was open. He helped his parents 
harvest their olives and his sisters care for their chickens. He hung out with his 
friends and his older brother, Jihad, who was studying for his Taojihi, the final 
examination that high school students 
must pass to go on to university. In short, he never got into trouble. 
On November 28, the Israeli army knocked at his door and took Ali Tawfiq 
into custody. He was charged with throwing stones and being a lookout for 
someone who threw a Molotov cocktail. His brother, Jihad was also 
arrested on the same night. Ali has been held since then in two different 
detention camps and has ended up now in Telmond Prison, inside Israel. 
During all this time his parents have been able to see their child only once 
during the first weeks of his arrest.

The boy is not only deprived of the warmth and affection of his family but 
has repeatedly reported that he has been subject to violence and torture. He 
has admitted in one of the talks he has had with his lawyer, that the 
Shabak (security service) had forced him to sign a confession. Children are 
often forced to sign confessions in Hebrew when they can’t even understand 
the contents.

A recent report by the Palestinian organization LAW concludes that 
children held at Telmond are subjected to “brute physical violence from 
Israeli guards, denial of family visits and communication with the outside 
world, a shortage of clothing, appropriate medical attention, hazardous living 
conditions, and extremely long prison sentences.”

Ali’s trial will be held on Tuesday, 4/3/2003 in the Military Court of Salem.

We invite you to forward the following petition for Ali’s immediate 
release to the Ministry of Defense asking for the application of 
international Human Rights standards, supporting the family and 
expressing your opposition to the cruel symptoms of occupation.

The e-mail addresses of the Ministry of Defence are:
sar at mod.gov.il andinfo at mail.idf.il (the spokesmen of the Ministry of 
Defence).

Please send a copy to iwps at palnet.com as well, so will be able to hand 
out a list of the signatories to the lawyers and the family.
                                      
PETITION FOR THE RELEASE OF 15 YEAR OLD ALI TAWFIQ HELD IN 
PRISON SINCE THE 28th OF NOVEMBER 2003
                                     
TO: The Israeli Minister of Defence, Mr. Shaul Mofaz,
                                     

WHEREAS the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to which 
Israel is a Party, outlines in Article 37 that "… detention or imprisonment of 
a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a 
measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time."; 

WHEREAS Article 37 of the CRC states that, "Every child deprived of liberty 
shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the 
human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of 
persons of his or her age."; 

WHEREAS the CRC, the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, 
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and other international 
treaties explicitly forbid the use of torture during interrogation and 
incarceration; 

WHEREAS the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners 
adopted by UN Economic and Social Council Resolution 663C (XXIV), on 
July, 31, 1957, outlaws the placement of political prisoners among people 
imprisoned for a criminal offence; 

And WHEREAS Ali Tawfiq, arrested on the 28th of November in Deir Istia 
(West Bank) is being held in prison together with Israeli criminals; 

And WHEREAS there is a reasonable suspicion that during his 
imprisonment Ali has suffered from torture or degrading punishment;

And WHEREAS Ali Tawfiq has been deprived of contact with his family for 
the time of his imprisonment, as the family is not allowed to enter Israel;
 
I ask you to uphold International standards of Justice, Human Rights 
and Humanitarian Law and to release Ali Tawfiq immediately.

Ali Tawfiq’s trial will be held at the Salem Military Court on Tuesday, 
4th of March. 
                                     
Yours sincerely

[] Ha'ir: Lone artist against the Iraq war (where is the real madhouse)

A Tel-Avivian artist, referred to as "Aminof" in Ha'ir of Feb. 27, went walking
along Tel-Aviv's Hashalom Road while wearing a gas mask and knocking on the doors 
of passing cars. "Wake up, wake up! The war is coming!" he shouted. When already 
in the process of ending his "protest performance" a police patrol car arrived 
and he was detained. After half an hour at the Yiftah Police Station, the officer in 
charge decided to transfer Aminof to the Abarbanel Mental Hospital - without 
bothering to ask for the authorization of the District Psychiatrist, required by law in all 
cases of forced mental hospitalization.
A police spokesperson told Ha'ir newspaper: "The investigators charged the man with 
disturbing public order, and he responded by urging them to open immediate peace 
negotiations with Saddam Hussein. This made them doubt his sanity".
At Abarbanel, where he was taken bound hand and foot, Aminof was placed in the 
Closed Ward and repeatedly given heavy doses of tranquillizer for the entire 
two weeks of his stay there - leaving him still groggy several days after being 
finally sent home. His release came about after his friends alerted the 
Association Against Psychiatric Assault. 
The same association presently provides Aminof with legal help in starting 
compensation proceedings at the Tel-Aviv District Court. What is in most cases a dry 
judicial document became in Aminof's hands a fiery manifesto: "The police and the 
psychiatrists tried to suppress my art. It is a multifaceted art, involving elements of 
painting, photographing, spraying graffiti and theatrical performance. It is a protest art, 
intended to get the audience involved, an art of liberty and independence which 
strains against all boundaries and seeks physical and spiritual ecstasy."     

[] The Great Wall of Denial -- by Gila Svirsky
------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent:      	Fri, 28 Feb 2003 07:59:42 +0200
From:           	Gila Svirsky <gsvirsky at netvision.net.il>

February 28, 2003

The Great Wall of Denial

A few nights ago, I was awakened at 11 pm by the sound of a loudspeaker
blaring from a police car in the street near my home in Jerusalem.  I
thought I heard a demand for someone to come out of the house and into the
street.  I wondered if a terrorist was loose in the neighborhood, as had
happened more than once in various parts of Israel.  I kept the light off, and
ran to confirm that the front door was locked.  Then I turned on the radio to
hear if anything newsworthy was happening in my neighborhood. When I heard
nothing, I crept back into bed, and lay there waiting for the next thing to
happen.  After a while, I thought of how many perfectly normal and law-abiding
Palestinians are awakened in the middle of the night by loudspeakers from army
vehicles, lie in bed waiting for events to unfold, and end up hearing the
sounds of a neighbor being arrested and taken away...or being taken away
themselves.  A few weeks ago, a loudspeaker in the village of Beit Lahiya
called residents out of their homes in the middle of the night, and 200
neighbors - including small children and two women who had given birth 2 days
earlier - were forced to huddle together for hours in the cold winter night
until the army let them return to their homes.  This is not uncommon in
Palestinian neighborhoods, though the information rarely reaches the newspapers
of Israel.  In my neighborhood, it turned out to be the police searching for a
missing child.  In the Palestinian neighborhood, it can be a search for someone
on the 'wanted list'... or just plain harassment.

The lives of Palestinians in the occupied territories have been thoroughly
disrupted since Sharon came to power, far more than under any preceding Israeli
prime minister.  The mystery, however, is not the reign of terror - this is no
mystery under Sharon - but the indifference of Israeli citizens to that
behavior.  How is it possible that through two and a half years of increasingly
cruel conduct of our army, the Israeli public has had almost nothing to say
about soldiers...

*** urinating on school computers and defecating on the rugs of homes they have
garrisoned for use; *** accidentally demolishing the homes of innocent people
that happen to be near the homes deliberately destroyed *** preventing the
residents of entire cities from leaving their houses for weeks on end (no
exceptions - not for chemo, dialysis, childbirth, buying food, attending
school, or visiting your sick mother); *** damaging 27 Palestinian ambulances
beyond repair and wounding 187 medical personnel [www.palestinercs.org] ; ***
and assassinating people without the niceties of trial and due process, not to
mention reckless shootings in which 126 innocent children aged 13 or younger
(including 19 toddlers and infants aged 5 or younger!) have lost their lives
[www.btselem.org].

Why, I am trying to understand, are we Israelis so blind to this
brutality?  Where are the expressions of revulsion by decent Israelis?
Why don't the major newspapers report these heart-wrenching stories (not
just the liberal and much smaller-circulation Ha'aretz)?  Why didn't a
single Jewish political party in the recent election criticize the
government for its policy of collective punishment?  Why are the brave
young men and women who refuse to carry out these crimes disparaged in 
the
media, while even Peace Now and the Meretz party don't come to their 
support? 
Why are only a handful of people willing to apply the label 'war crime' to the
deeds of the army - deeds that merit this designation under any objective
reading of the international instruments of law?

The lack of outrage and compassion in Israel is difficult to understand.
Is it a reflection of the fact that Israelis are uninformed?  Or are they
aware and indifferent?

I believe that Israelis do know the truth.  They know because some stories -
the most poignant - do reach the media.  A month ago, they saw a scene on
Israeli TV of a young boy on crutches forced everyday to scale a muddy
checkpoint wall to get to school.  They know because they do reserve duty 
in
the territories - or their family and friends do - and some even brag about the
dirty tricks they saw or did.  They know because some watch CNN, the 
BBC, or
other foreign media, even when they dismiss these reports as anti-Israeli or
anti-Semitic.  But enough stories do get through for Israelis to know what is
happening, to understand the brutal reality.

So the question is, why is there indifference?  Here are three reasons,
though I'm sure there are more:

First, the media gets some of the blame.  Although facts and figures are
reported, the media fail to convey the human suffering behind the iron
fist policies.  Journalist Gideon Levy points out [Ha'aretz, 2 Feb 03]
that when 15 Palestinians were killed in Gaza in one blood-drenched day
last week (February 19th), the Israeli newspapers were wrapped up in the
story of the Qassam shells that landed in Sderot, wounding one.
Journalist Amira Hass speaks of the 'routine of calamity' [Ha'aretz, 26
Feb 03] in Palestine as disasters spiral, which I believe has also
routinized the reporting of them and our response.  When 25 homes were
destroyed in Gaza last month, making 200 Palestinians homeless, not a
single TV or radio clip conveyed the story of these people with anything
approaching compassion.

Second, Palestinian violence against Israeli civilians provides the cover
for Israelis to focus on our own pain and fear, and to frame the pain of
the Palestinians as 'just desserts' or an inevitable byproduct of our 'war on
terrorism'.  Furthermore, innocent bystanders have been killed on our side,
too, making it harder for Israelis to feel compassion for those they regard as
supportive of the attacks.  Nevertheless, the completely lopsided balance of
power and suffering has not penetrated the consciousness of the Israeli 
public
as a whole.  The violence on both sides is reprehensible, but most Israelis
behave as if only our people are its victims, while the other side, all of
them, are the perpetrators of the crimes.

Third, much blame goes to our political and rabbinical leaders who engage
in fear mongering and dehumanization of the other.  Racism is rampant in
Israel, from popular Rabbi Ovadia Yosef who called all Arabs 'snakes', to
President Katsav who told a group of bar-mitzvah boys, "The Palestinians
don't behave as if they come from the same planet as we do."  The National
Union Party, a member of Sharon's new government, openly advocates 
ethnic
cleansing - the 'transfer', as they call it, of all Arabs from Israel and the
territories.  Is it any wonder that so few pay attention to the suffering of
those who have been devalued and dehumanized?  Meanwhile, our military 
leaders
repeat the mantra that "The IDF is the most moral army in the world."

There may be many more reasons for Israeli indifference.  Eitan Felner,
former Director of the B'Tselem human rights organization, referred to
Israel's behavior as typical of an adult who has been abused as a child
and consequently becomes an abusive adult, just as Jews were abused in
Europe and now take it out on others [NY Times, date?].  Many Israelis
believe they hold exclusive rights to the category 'Suffering Victims',
and are unable to view themselves as having inflicted suffering and
victimhood on others.

But the important question is, how do we penetrate the numbness of
Israelis, soldiers and civilians alike, about the wrongness of our actions -
wrong morally and stupid strategically.  As virtually everyone has recognized
by now, the brutal policies only create more bitterness and desire for 
revenge.
 How do we get the message across to Israelis that the government is
undermining our security in the territories with each act of humiliation and
cruelty?  How do we convey to Israelis that we are behaving in some ways 
like
the persecutors of Jews have behaved from time immemorial?

Israeli peace and human rights activists have been wracking our brains
over how to accomplish this.  The young men and women who refuse to 
serve
in the army have done more than their share to raise awareness about the
army's cruel deeds, though they face court martial and prison as a result. 
Led
by the New Profile organization, many peace activists will be holding a rally
in April to express our pride in these young people.  Ta'ayush and Rabbis for
Human Rights lead groups of Israelis into the territories to see the appalling
conditions.  Machsom Watch takes visitors to the checkpoints to observe 
the
military vise-grip on Palestinians who try to use the roads.  Gush Shalom 
has
led the drive to place the "war crime" label on unlawful army behavior, to the
wrath of the generals and the Attorney General.  The Coalition of Women for
Peace placed an ad in the Arabic-language newspapers, letting 
Palestinians know
that some Israelis are aware of their suffering, do care, and are trying to
stop it.  And a new campaign is shaping up among a coalition of groups 
under
the slogan, "Don't say you didn't know..." in reference to the claims of
ignorance by Germans during the Nazi regime.  And yet with all this effort,
will we be able to break through the Great Wall of Denial? 

Something different works for each person.  What caught at my own heart
was a scene captured on video by B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights
organization in the territories.  It showed a simple conversation between
the B'Tselem fieldworker and a well-dressed Palestinian man, standing
forlornly beside his car parked at a checkpoint:

"Why aren't you driving through?" asks the B'Tselem worker.
"I don't really know," answers the man.
"What do you mean, you don't know?  Aren't you waiting to get through the
checkpoint?"
"Yes, I'm trying to get to Hebron.  But the soldiers told me to wait
here."
"How long have you been waiting?" 
"Since 7 o'clock this morning."
"Since 7 o'clock?  But it's 5 pm!  Why are they keeping you?"
"I really don't know.  I was just driving through and they told me to stop and
get out of my car and wait on the side.  I really don't know.  I'm just waiting
for them to let me through." After a pause.  "Did you eat anything yet 
today?"
"No, I left home early and planned to eat in Hebron..."  His voice starts to
break and he turns away as he struggles to keep himself from crying. After a
pause.  "Did you call your family?  Do they know where you are?" "Yes, I called
several times, the last time around 3 o'clock, but now my battery is dead."
"Would you like to use my cell phone?" "No, no thank you, I told them at 3 I'd
be home in a couple hours.  It's 5 now.  I don't want to worry them."  He turns
his head and tries to fight the tears.

There is random violence, there are arrests in the middle of the night,
and there are the countless ways to make a person feel powerless, fearful, not
knowing if he'll get home today or still be standing by his car tomorrow,
waiting for the young soldier to let him through.

Indifference is not felt by everyone.  For those who do care, the only
answer is to stand witness to this reality.  To share the information with
others.  To speak truth to power.  And, thereby, to break the cycle of
helplessness and despair, and create a better place for us all.

Gila Svirsky
Jerusalem
*******************************
Coalition of Women for Peace:
<http://www.coalitionofwomen4peace.org>

[] Gush Shalom ad published in Ha'aretz, Friday, Feb. 28

òáøéú áàúø 
www.gush-shalom.org

{PRIVATE}A WAR GOVERNMENT

Sharon, Liberman, Eytam, Mofaz, Netanyahu and Lapid -
this is the most dangerous government Israel ever had.

This government expresses Sharon's real intentions.
If the Labor Party had joined the Sharon Government,
it would have served as fig-leaf.

This is a war government.
A government of the settlers and their helpers.
A government that does not even pretend to seek peace -
And, therefore, 
A government that will aggravate the security situation, 
Deepen the economic crisis and widen the social rift.
Gush Shalom ad in "Haaretz" 28/02/03 

Please, help us finance the regular publication of statements.
Checks to: P.O.Box 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033, Israel.
--
Protest against repeated and unlimited imprisonment of draft resisters at: 
http://www.petitiononline.com/091202/

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Our site:
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http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English)

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