A mission too far
Haim Weiss, who was once glad to serve in the Israeli army, tells his
defence secretary why he will not go to the West Bank
Haim Weiss
Sunday May 05 2002
The Observer
Dear Ben Eliezer
I must put in writing the reasons that have led me to one of the most
difficult decisions of my life - to refuse the call for reserve duty
in the areas of Judea and Samaria [the West Bank], and the Gaza Strip.
This decision was difficult for two reasons. First and foremost is a
matter of principle: I believe that living in a democracy offers equal
parts privilege and obligation, and that it is my duty to adhere to
the decisions made by majority rule, barring exceptional
circumstances. The second reason is that over many years of reserve
duty, I have not only served a very important cause, but also formed
close bonds with the soldiers in my company and battalion. It is
extremely difficult to imagine them serving on dangerous missions
while I sit at home.
Despite this, the current situation leaves me no choice but to
refuse. The citizen's conscience provides a critical foundation for
the checks and balances inherent in a democracy. Israel has done more
than grant citizens full rights to protest against injustices. By
including the concept of "a clearly illegal command" in the code of
military law, it has obliged its soldiers to refuse to carry out
orders that are immoral or opposed to the values on which a democracy
is based.
As I see it, this concept means that when a soldier is issued with a
command opposed to his moral values, he must refuse to obey it, report
the event, and ensure that such orders will not be repeated. A soldier
who does not do so cannot escape being held morally responsible by
claiming that he only carried out orders, but can expect to be tried
for his actions. This law indicates that the military and the state
see the soldier as an autonomous moral being, who must carry out
commands only if they pass his moral scrutiny.
The most critical question that arises is "what exactly is an illegal
command?" What is immoral as opposed to just inconvenient or
unpleasant, and into which category does the current situation in the
territories fall?
An order to fire on a child standing before a roadblock is clearly
illegal. But if the order is to shoot above his head to chase him
from the roadblock, does the emotional damage the shooting causes
the child make the order illegal? Is it illegal to continually
enter Palestinian citizens' homes in the middle of the night? Is
it illegal to prevent the free movement of Palestinian citizens?
Aren't the searches, the humiliation, our many mistakes, an
indication that our treatment of the Palestinian population under
our rule is clearly illegal?
Military law does not define what a clearly illegal order is, but
leaves it to the soldier. My interpretation of the law does not limit
it to orders involving attacking, killing or injuring people. Rather,
it includes any command that, when obeyed, leads to humiliating human
beings, robbing them of self-respect, and depriving them of the basic
human rights protected under the UN declaration of human rights, a
document signed by Israel.
I used to believe there was a purpose to my presence in the
territories. I believed the solutions I offered would prevent
problems. Today, I believe my presence cannot solve those problems and
that the orders issued are illegal because they deprive the
Palestinian population of its basic rights and freedoms.
Prohibiting Palestinians from travelling along roads without providing
alternative routes, the never-ending delays at roadblocks, the many
hours required to travel short distances, the humiliation, the
destruction of homes, the incessant searches, the need to aim weapons
at innocent women and children - all these actions turn the Israeli
Defence Force into an immoral occupying force, and in these I refuse
to participate.
These actions on the part of the IDF provide no protection to
Israel. They protect only the settlements built on conquered
territory, where Israel has no right to establish settlements. The
friction with the Palestinian population is caused by the need to
provide settlers with freedom of movement, not by the need to prevent
suicide bombers entering Israeli territory. As long as Israel
continues to hold the settlements, it will be forced to act immorally
toward the Palestinian population.
In addition to the great harm we are causing daily to Palestinians, we
damage ourselves as a society. Our society is based on moral precepts
in Judaism, which states that "loved is a person created in God's
image". Instead, we are raising a generation of violent young people
immune to pain and human suffering, a generation who don't see in the
Palestinian a human being, only part of a mass to be avoided and
feared. We are raising a generation that stops pregnant women, old
people and children from getting to hospital.
I am very sorry that things have reached this point. I would be very
glad to serve the IDF on any mission entrusted to us, as long as its
objective is not connected with subduing the Palestinian population
under our rule.
Sincerely,
Captain Haim Weiss
Haim Weiss, 32, is a captain in the tank corps and served in the IDF
for four years during his military service. He is completing a PhD in
Hebrew literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
-- The most important aspect of [Israel's] policy must be our ever-present, manifest desire to institute complete equality for the Arab citizens living in our midst ... The attitude we adopt toward the Arab minority will provide the real test of our moral standards as a people. -- Albert Einstein
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