Her er en rapport fra en israelsk fredsaktivist, plukket fra
distribusjonslista LABOR-L.
Se nederst: 53 israelske soldater og offiserer erklærer at de vil nekte
å gjøre fortsatt tjeneste i de okkuperte områdene.
Trond Andresen
******************************
January 2002
Friends,
Yes, there's definitely growing criticism inside Israel of Sharon's
policies. More and more Israelis are beginning to say that his iron fist
approach is only provoking violent responses by the Palestinians. The buzz
in Israel all week was whether or not some of Israel's actions -- the
demolition of homes or assassinations, for instance -- constituted war
crimes or not. This 'war crimes' talk, in which the Gush Shalom movement
took the lead, infiltrated much of the media last week. And this weekend's
Ha'aretz carries a report of the lost credibility of the official Israeli
army spokesman.
Let me not overstate the critique, but it is beginning. In my opinion, there
are two main reasons for this. The first was the brutal demolition of homes
in the Gaza Strip, leaving hundreds of Palestinians homeless. Israel's claim
that "no one lived in these homes" was drowned out by the photos,
journalistic reports, Red Cross aid, UN statements, and reports of all the
human rights agencies, including Israel's trustworthy B'Tselem. The second
disheartening event to Israelis was an assassination of a Palestinian by the
Israeli army, which shattered almost a month of ceasefire. Whether this was
a deliberate act to destroy the ceasefire (and thereby avoid negotiating for
peace) or not, no one could deny that the effect was renewed terrorism
inside Israel, including deadly spray-shootings on the streets of Hadera and
Jerusalem. Even our Deputy Defense Minister (Dalia Rabin Pilosoff)
characterized the assassination as "bad timing".
And so, Israeli citizens -- even those who believe that an iron fist is the
only way to deal with Palestinians -- are beginning to wonder if Sharon has
acted well or wisely to protect Israeli civilians. In a sense, having Ariel
Sharon as prime minister also has a positive aspect -- it gives clarity to
the issues. Either one supports Sharon (occupation and repression), or one
supports efforts to make peace. The two are not compatible.
Many Israeli peace organizations have never stopped explaining that
occupation and peace are not compatible, and have relentlessly kept up their
day-to-day protests, vigils, tree-plantings, home rebuildings, checkpoint
monitoring, blockade dismantling, etc., etc. The Coalition of Women for a
Just Peace has been able to create mass rallies for peace on several
occasions. But recently, we are seeing more in the media and even on the
streets. A broad spectrum of peace organizations is planning a huge rally in
Tel Aviv next week (Saturday, February 2nd), which I'll report about another
time
But I saved the most significant for last: In today's Ha'aretz newspaper, a
large ad signed by 53 combat soldiers and officers in the Israeli army,
announces, "We hereby declare that we shall continue to serve the Israel
Defense Forces in any mission that serves the defense of the State of
Israel. The mission of occupation and repression does not serve this goal -
and we refuse to participate in it." (Full text below.)
This is an unprecedented call by Israeli soldiers to other Israeli soldiers
not to serve in the army of occupation. It is an incredibly courageous act
for soldiers to announce that they will no longer continue fighting in the
territories "for the purposes of domination, expulsion, starvation, and
humiliation of an entire people." This is a very powerful statement for
soldiers still on active duty, and in the rich moral tradition of Yesh Gvul
and New Profile (two organizations that have consistently advocated this
position), but in unprecedented numbers. The media have flooded them with
interviews all day. May their numbers multiply. I will keep you informed.
With more hope,
Gila Svirsky
Jerusalem
______________________________
The full ad:
We, combat officers and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), raised
on the values of Zionism, sacrifice, and giving to the Jewish people and the
State of Israel, who have always served on the front line and were the first
to fulfill every mission, regardless of how difficult, in order to defend
and strengthen the State of Israel;
We, combat officers and soldiers, who serve the State of Israel for long
weeks every year, despite the high personal price we pay, who have performed
reserve duty throughout the territories and have been issued orders and
instructions that have nothing to do with the security of our country,
orders whose sole purpose was to perpetuate domination over the Palestinian
people;
We, who have personally witnessed the terrible bloodshed on both sides of
the conflict;
Who have seen that the orders we were issued undermine all the values we
were taught in this country;
Who understand today that the price of occupation is the loss of humanity of
the IDF, and corruption of Israeli society in general;
Who know that the territories are not Israel, and that ultimately the
settlements will be evacuated;
We hereby declare that we will not go on fighting a war for the peace of the
settlements.
We will not go on fighting beyond the "green line" for the purposes of
domination, expulsion, starvation, and humiliation of an entire people.
We hereby declare that we shall continue to serve the Israel Defense Forces
in any mission that serves the defense of the State of Israel. The mission
of occupation and repression does not serve this goal - and we refuse to
participate in it.
[A list of the name, rank, and unit of 53 IDF soldiers]
This ad was funded by the participants themselves.
For information and contributions, call (03) 765-1002
http://www.seruv.org/engMenu.htm
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