(Fwd) REFUSENIKS TRIALS - PLEASE COME AND SUPPORT

[Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)]

GUSH SHALOM  pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org

Here are two forwarded messages which may interest you:

[] REFUSENIKS TRIALS - PLEASE COME AND SUPPORT 
   next Monday/Tuesday

  appendix added by GS: 
  Haaretz - IDF refuseniks tell Palestinians that suicide bombings must end   
  
[] An End to Occupation, A Just Peace in Israel-Palestine: 
   The Role of Academia - tomorrow June 18th, and 19th

                                \\// //\\ \\// //\\ \\//      

[] REFUSENIKS TRIALS - PLEASE COME AND SUPPORT 
   next Monday/Tuesday

  appendix added by GS: 
  Haaretz - IDF refuseniks tell Palestinians that suicide bombings must end   
  
From:           	"Anat Matar" <matar at post.tau.ac.il>
Date sent:      	Mon, 16 Jun 2003 22:41:01 +0300

 Renewal of conscientious objectors' trials - please come and show your
 support!!

The court martial trials of pacifist Yoni Ben-Artzi and occupation
resisters Haggai Matar, Matan Kaminer, Shimri Tzameret, Adam Maor and Noam
Bahat will continue next Monday and Tuesday. All six refuse to enlist
since they regard the service in the IDF as opposed to their conscience.
We believe that a massive public support of the refuseniks is extremely
important, and appeal to you to spare some time and attend the court
sessions. 

Ben-Artzi's trial will be held on Monday, 23.6, starting at 13:00,
The occupation resisters' trial will be held on Tuesday, 24.6, starting at
09:00, both at the military court in Jaffa, 91-3 Yefet St. ("The Green
House"), near the junction known as Haj Khil. Please bring your IDs.

In Yoni's trial, this session will be dedicated to two invited witnesses:
General Avi Zamir, Deputy Head of Human Resources, and Colonel Shlomi
Simchi, who was the head of Yoni's "conscience committee". The five's
session will consist solely of the testimonies of the defendants
themselves: each one of them will explain the grounds for his refusal to
enlist to the occupation forces. Testimonies will be given in the order of
the five's arrests, before being brought to court martial: Haggai Matar,
Matan Kaminer, Shimri Tzameret, Adam Maor and Noam Bahat. 

Yoni is represented by adv. Michael Sfard; "the five" are represented by
adv. Dov Khenin.

Your presence is very important - please come!!

Conscientious Objectors' Parents Forum. 

appendix: 
Haaretz - IDF refuseniks tell Palestinians that suicide bombings must end   

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=304001&contrassID=2
&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y


IDF refuseniks tell Palestinians that suicide bombings must end   
 
By Arnon Regular and Lily Galili 

Some 100 IDF draft resisters who refuse to serve in
the territories have published a call in the
Palestinian press for an end to suicide bombings. 

  The letter was carried by the
Palestinian news agency Wafa,
apparently after it was
approved by Palestinian
Authority Chairman Yasser
Arafat, and appeared in leading
Palestinian newspapers,
including Al-Quds, the most
widely distributed newspaper in
the West Bank, Al-Hayyat
Al-Jedida - the official PA 
newspaper - and El-Ayyam, 
which is published in
Ramallah. 

Initiated by five draft resistors now awaiting
hearings on their appeals to be allowed to do
civilian national service instead of service in
"the occupation army," the letter says: "The
suicide bombings by Palestinian organizations
kill innocent people - children, the elderly,
men and woman, Jews, Arabs and foreigners,
supporters of the occupation and opponents of
the occupation. 

"These actions are not moral ... this
cold-blooded, indiscriminate and random killing
horrifies most Israelis to the point that it
makes the the work of justifying the occupation
much easier for Sharon and his colleagues. 

"We, the refuseniks, take responsibility for
what is happening in Israeli society through
our declared acts of resistance, and we are
ready to pay the price; the price that you, our
comrades on the Palestinian side, might pay is
much higher, but we believe that ... a
Palestinian struggle without harm to civilians
will be much more precise. Rallies, general
strikes, and joint activities with the Israeli
peace movement are all much more effective acts
of resistance than any suicide." 

It was the first time the refusenik movement,
which now has 524 registered conscripts and
reservists, have undertaken an action other
than individually refusing to serve and going
to jail. 

There was much debate inside the group before
the publication whether Palestinians would
regard the letter as a form of patronization,
but the group decided that since they are
paying the price - in prison - for their
refusal, it would offset that possible negative
reception in the Palestinian public. 

(there was also a very short report in the Hebrew Ha'aretz but we don't find it on 
the internet site) 

[] An End to Occupation, A Just Peace in Israel-Palestine: 
   The Role of Academia - tomorrow June 18th, and 19th

From:           	Neve Gordon <ngordon at bgumail.bgu.ac.il>
Date sent:      	Sun, 15 Jun 2003 22:14:16 +0200

An Urgent Conference
Tel Aviv University
Ramat Aviv

June 18th and 19th, 2003

An End to Occupation, A Just Peace in Israel-Palestine:
The Role of Academia


I.      Background
Wars sometimes offer an opportunity for change, but often do so at the
expense of the weak. This banal truth holds for Israeli-Palestinian
affairs no less than for anything else. In the aftermath of the Iraq war,
and faced with new and staggering forms of Israeli violence towards
Palestinians in the occupied territories, we call on academics worldwide
to join in an effort to make a difference. A number of times after WW-II,
campuses have been pivotal in campaigning against violence, oppression and
ethnic injustice. Can this be taken up again regarding Palestinians and
Israelis?

II.     Objectives
1. To learn about the current situation in Israel-Palestine and think
together about the role of universities in opposing the violation of human
rights in the occupied territories and in bringing an end to occupation.
2. To establish a working network worldwide to promote the mobilization of
faculty and students, acting towards an immediate end of Israeli
occupation and in support of a just Palestinian -Israeli peace.

III.    Provisional Program
Wednesday, June 18th

         Registration and coffee- 10.00-10.30

         Organizers welcome and updates- 10.30

A.      Opening Keynote Lectures: The current situation in the occupied
territories- 10.30-12.00 a.      The Gaza Strip: Eyad el Sarraj,  Gaza b. 
    The West Bank: Salim Tamari, Ramallah Chair: Itzhak Laor, Tel Aviv

B.      Reports from Israeli Groups Active in the Occupied Territories:
12.00-14:00 Physicians for Human Rights- Hadas Ziv Ta'ayush  Esti
Micenmacher Betselem  Jessica Montell Machsom Watch- Maya Rosenfeld
Committee Against House Demolitions  Jeff Halper Mas'ha Camp - Liad
Kantorowicz, Rezeq Abu Nasser Chair: Ruchama Marton, Tel Aviv

          Lunch break- 14:00-15:00
C.      Mini symposium I: The problems involved in joint activities by
Israeli and Palestinian academics. 15:00-16.30 Tamar Zelniker, Tel Aviv
Issam Nassar, Ramallah Oren Yftach'el- Beer Sheva Dudy Zfati, Jerusalem
Moshe Behar, West Jerusalem Chair: Ghassan Abdullah, Ramallah D.  Keynote
lecture: How we got here: From Barak's "generous offers" to the Road Map
fraud. 16.30-17.30 Tanya Reinhart, Tel Aviv
         Chair- Rachel Giora, Tel Aviv

Coffee- 17.30-18:00- Meet the Activists
E.      Conference dinner- 19:30


Thursday, June 19th
Morning coffee- 9.00-9.30

F.              Mini symposium II: Academic boycott, divestment and other
economic sanctions- 9.30-11.30 Rema Hamami, East Jerusalem Ilan Pappe,
Haifa Eva Jablonka, Tel Aviv Lawrence Davidson, West-Chester
(Pennsylvania) Neve Gordon, Beer Sheva Chair- Moshe Zuckermann, Tel Aviv

Coffee break 11.30-12.00

G. Action session: FFIPP and its scope: ideas, plans and the agenda for an
Israeli branch- 12.00-13.30 Arnon Hadar, San Rafael Anat Biletzki, Tel
Aviv Orly Lubin, Tel Aviv Oded Goldreich, Rehovot Chair: Daphna Golan,
Jerusalem H.      Closing keynote address: - The Middle East after the
Iraq war. 13.30-14.30 Eric Rouleau, Paris Chair: Musa Budeiri, East
Jerusalem



End of Conference



Technical Information
Setup:  The conference will host and be hosted by the 2nd FFIPP delegation
to Israel and the Occupied Territories. People outside of the Middle East
who are interested in participating may join the FFIPP delegation (for
details, see http://www.ffipp.org or write to Arnon Hadar)

Language:       English

Fee:    There is no participation fee. Coffee breaks are also free of
charge, but the conference dinner and the lunches will be individually
charged at the restaurants.

Location:       The conference will be held at the Malka Brender Hall of
Justice ('Kess Hamishpat'), The Trubowicz Building, The Buchman Faculty of
Law, on the Tel Aviv University campus. The site is within easy reach from
anywhere in the greater TA area.

Invitations: We recommend that international participants arrange a 
personal invitation from Israeli colleagues in their field. Those who can
not arrange this via their own contacts are welcome to write to one of the
TAU Organizers.

Permits Palestinians wishing to participate and requiring a permit, please
write to Yasmeen Daher.

The Organizing Committee

International Coordinator-      Arnon Hadar, FFIPP (hadar at dominican.edu)
TAU organizers:         Anat Biletzki- Philosophy- <anatbi at post.tau.ac.il>
                                 Rachel Giora- 
Linguistics-  <giorar at post.tau.ac.il>
                                 Uri Hadar- Psychology-
                                 <uri-h at freud.tau.ac.il>
Administrative Coordinator- Yasmeen Daher < jess_daher at hotmail.com


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