Dear SUSTAIN Members & Friends:
This open letter from an Israeli is worth reading. If anyone is
interested in reading some really vile and disgusting points of view on
our work, please see the comments that were posted on Chicago Indymedia
after we placed an announcement today about our April 30 monthly
meeting.
-Kevin Clark
A Letter from an Israeli to the International Solidarity Movement
Wednesday, April 23 2003 @ 05:04 AM GMT
By Danny Dworsky
Hi,
My name is Danny Dworsky. I volunteered to the IDF August 1976
and served my full tour until my honorable discharge in July of 1979.
Since 1992 I have served as an army reservist agent for the Military
Justice Department (METZACH) since 1992. I am a first Sergeant and my
military ID is DN BDRK 2297771.
If the ISM is Guilty of anything, they are guilty of making things
not as bad as they could be. They teach nonviolent means for
Palestinians to further their cause and they more often than not slow
the progress of the gigantic hole we in Israeli establishment are
digging for ourselves.
In bringing Israelis and Palestinians together in a common goal of
achieving peace and justice, ISM often provides that little bit of
sanity and hope that so often deter us from acts of desperation, rage,
and revenge.
Although I am not a pacifist or worse a left winger, I have spent
enough time with these ISM people to determine that they are not only
harmless to the state of Israel, but may very well be all that we
have between who we claim to be and that of finding ourselves becoming
something far beyond our own worst nightmares of persecution and
extinction as a people. That being quite simply put, "The bad guys".
Last October I investigated armed paramilitary settler gangs that
had been "allegedly" assaulting, looting and terrorizing Palestinian
farmers during the olive harvest in the village of Yousouf. These
attacks were carried out often in broad daylight in full veiw of
Israeli Police and IDF armored and infantry patrols.
Palestinian families picking olives were cursed and shot at. Their
tools and donkeys were confiscated by settlers pointing and poking
unlockede and loaded automatic weapons. "White people" and War
tourists were beaten. Those with cameras had them ripped out of their
hands or struck away from thier faces with rifle butts or 1.0 m x
1/2" steel construstion bars.
I reported all of these offences to my superiors in Haifa. Much
of these scenes have been captured on film and Digital
video.
Because of the weird confidence of the settlers and the absolute
bizarre behavior of law enforcement people on the scene. I also kept
copies of these materials for myself. These in turn were copied and
handed off to an ABC News correspondent at the town of Yannoun a few
days later.
I managed to capture the faces of local police and soldiers as
well as the numbers on the vehicles that brought them to the scene.
All police deny having seen, heard or even having found the place. This
is a lie.
At the first sign of trouble I had called in the Ariel police
department and they were on the scene in less that 20 minutes. The
soldiers were less than three feet away from the police. The two
policemen, who claimed over the phone that they couldn't find the
place, were leaning against their patrol car between me and the
Settlers when I was told that if I pursued the matter further and
didn't mind my own business, I could expect to have a bullet fired
"accidently" into the back of my head.
ISMers, keep Sharon and Mofaz's IDF and lunatic Settlers from
carrying out ethnic cleansing. These ISM kids are my hero's. They save
lives. They are practicing the purest form of what the great Rabbi's
called "Tikun Olam" (*Tikun* - Repair) (*Olam* - World). "It is upon
all Jews to repair the world". As a jew I owe a terrible debt to the
humanity of these volunteer peace makers who are paying my tab with
their own blood.
My family is available and our home is open to everyone of these
kids. They know that they have a hot meal and a bed waiting for them
anytime they need it. I've been to funerals and hospitals for
realatives and dear friends student and young children lost to suicide
bombers. If I thought for a second that the ISM had anything to do
with enabling terrorism by dilution of security measures, I would not
be so accomodating.
Danny Dworsky
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