[GushShalom] Harsh punishment for "undermining legitimacy"

[Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)]

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" <snehab at netvision.net.il>
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 at 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 !





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