Tel-Aviv, Jan. 31, 2003
[] HEBRON: Terrorists Among the Apples?
[] Comment on the elections.
[] Rave Against the Occupation - help needed
[] CO update Turning 19 in Prison + more from Rela - New Profile
A letter from Jonathan Ben Artzi
[] Saturday, Tour of Checkpoints in Jerusalem
[] Monday, Neta Golan to be interrogated for staying with Arafat
Call for solidarity presence from Gush Shalom
[] Together we walk, Umm–el–Fahem, Tuesday 4/2/03
[] Tuesday in Tel-Aviv: Jenin-Jenin in English
[] Tree Plantings - Stop the Great Land Grab of 5763
[] PHR report: Patient prevented from reaching a hospital
[] [JPN] Counting the dead in Iraq
[] HEBRON: Terrorists Among the Apples?
TERRORISTS AMONG THE APPLES
All of Hebron was under total curfew today. I could sense something was wrong. As I walked up the street I soon realized there was trouble at Al Manara. I was horrified at what I saw. There were two tanks and two bulldozers leveling the produce market which extended over two blocks. Produce lay scattered and smashed everywhere, here in this city where
many are hungry. Shop owners were scrambling to save boxes of tomatoes, oranges, bananas, and more.
My first response was to just stand there, weeping and sobbing. The scene was so horrifying, so disgusting, so depraved. I could not emotionally bear it. I felt completely helpless.
The produce market was at Al Manara because the Israeli military closed the former produce market in response to the massacre of Muslims in the Ibrihimi Mosque in 1994. In every peace accord since then, Israel has promised to reopen the market. It has never been reopened. Israeli settlers now
live in that building.
I continued to feel helpless, but I also felt I had to do something. I started carrying boxes of produce out of the way of the bulldozers. I saved maybe 12 crates of produce from being crushed.
I began confronting soldiers. In a loud voice, I asked them if they were proud of what they were doing, if this is peace, if this is what they want Israel to become. I shouted, "Baruch hashem Adonai" (Blessed be the name of the Lord).
The soldiers tried their best to ignore me, but I am sure they heard me. I ignored their commands for me to leave. One soldier spit at me, so I walked right up to him and invited him to spit on me. He declined the offer.
Three soldiers aimed their guns at and moved toward a group of Palestinian bystanders. It looked to me like they were going to shoot. I quickly jumped in front of the soldiers, raised my hands in the air and shouted, "Shoot me, shoot me, go ahead and shoot me." The soldiers immediately left.
A tank came roaring toward me, its big gun barrel aimed at me. I raised my hands in the air in prayer, and shouted, "Shoot, shoot, Baruch hashem adonai." The tank stopped within inches of me.
I then knelt in the street in prayer, with my hands raised. I felt alone, weak, helpless. I could only cry out to God.
Later this afternoon I went back to Al Manara and watched shop owners dig through the huge piles of rubble, trying to salvage what they could. What could I say?
The Israeli military had put all of Hebron under total curfew today, saying they were looking for terrorists. Now I wonder if there really were terrorists hidden among the apples and oranges. Or, are the Israeli soldiers committing acts of terrorism against the civilian population of Hebron?
I fear for what may come next.
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical initiative to support violence reduction efforts around the world. To learn more about CPT's peacemaking work, please visit our website at http://www.cpt.org. Photos of our projects may be viewed at
http://www.clubphoto.com. Login as 'cptheb@palnet.com'
[] Comment on the elections.
International release
It was hardly a surprise. Over the past month, opinion polls had persistently predicted that Sharon will get a renewed mandate despite the mess into which the country got under his leadership in the past two years. Still, counting the votes at a polling station in a Tel-Aviv suburb it was disheartening to
see the pile of Likud voting slips becoming so much bigger than anything else. Later, sitting deep into the night in front of the TV screens, and seeing the results unfold, this picture was confrimed.
Labor's going back from 25 to 19 was foreseen but Meretz' fall from 10 to 6 was worse than expected. Hadash and Balad each conquered an extra seat, going up from 3 to 4, and from 2 to 3 respectively - against two less for the United Arab List which now will have two seats. As a total, a heavy blow for the peace camp. And it is hardly a consolation that the votes did
not so much go to Likud as to Shinuy (which climbed from 6 to 15 seats).
Shinuy succeeded to draw votes away from Labor and Meretz with its attack on the ultra-Orthodox as parasites. In these circles there is quite some frustration about the exemption from army service which Yeshiva students enjoy. But Shinuy has no political program and brings a lot of unexperienced
people into the Knesset. Furthermore, it's leader, the populist Tommy Lapid, is not so far away from Sharon when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
As an extraparliamentary peace group we have already wheathered storms and will continue to say loud what we have to say - whether it makes us popular or not.
Right now there is one new task for people like us: use all possible channels to strengthen the Labor Party's determination NOT to go into the government. A decimated but determined Labor Party in opposition may at least put the
myth to an end that "the concensus is behind Sharon". This may invite - if not the United States - at least Europe to use its leverage in order to end the strangulation of the Palestinians.
From the Gush ad of this week:
[] Rave Against the Occupation - help needed
This is an urgent call to supporters of peace everywhere. We are a group of young Israelis, aspiring to promote peace and equality in Israel, and to put an end to the disastrous occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. To this end we have initiated Rave Against the Occupation, an organization
that has already produced two events which we can modestly describe as very successful.
The first was a non-violent party against the occupation, opposite the IDF’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, where thousands of demonstrators danced to the music of Jewish and Arab musicians; the second party, about a month before the elections, took place in front of Ariel Sharon’s house, where
hundreds of people expressed their ‘gratitude’ for the wonderful two years of peace and security we had under his leadership. This event enjoyed strong and emphatic support from our sister-movement, Gush Shalom.
Both activities attracted unprecedented media coverage: activities of the peace camp in Israel are usually ignored by the media, but we enjoyed extensive coverage in all three big daily newspapers, all major radio stations, and both national TV channels in Israel, as well as most of the news websites, and much foreign media.
We are now in a paradoxical situation - on one hand we are described as "the most authentic protest movement of Israeli youth today", but on the other hand our last activity has resulted in a debt of about $2000, a debt which endangers our future action, since we are all young people in our twenties, having difficulties making a living as it is. We are sending out a desperate call for help. Please help us in helping our country to emerge from this dark age. Please help a generation that wants to stop living by the sword.
We will gladly accept cash or cheques (in YOUR currency)
directed to KOL EZRAKHEYA movement.
Many thanks
[] CO update Turning 19 in Prison + more from Rela - New Profile A letter from Jonathan Ben Artzi
Below is an update received Thursday, Jan. 30, from Anat Matar, mother of Conscientious Objector Haggai Matar, who is currently in prison for refusing to enlist in the Israeli military and to take part in any way in the continuing occupation and violent oppression of Palestinians. The number of young men currently serving prison terms for refusing to enlist is unprecedented. The numbers of young Israeli men and women who refuse to participate in the military, or refuse to serve in the Occupied Territories, is steadily growing. This resistance movement was recently joined by a junior intelligence officer taking a stand of Resistance Inside the Army, when he
refused to provide information for a bombing mission that he
considered illegal and immoral.*
While part of Israeli society has again elected a hardline, right-wing, militarized government, other Israelis refuse in growing numbers to execute the military action this entails.
* For full article, go to:
http://www.haaretzdaily.com//hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jht
ml?itemNo=256747
Rela
Dear friends,
Haggai was sentenced today to 14 days in military prison, for refusing to enlist to the IDF. This is his 4th term of imprisonment, after 3 terms of 14, 28 and 56 days. Incidentally, today is his 100th day in prison, and tomorrow - his 19th birthday.
Haggai's health and mood are "very good." (Relatively speaking, of
course, in these dark, horrifying days.)
There are, at the moment, 8 draft resisters sitting in military prisons in
Israel. Two more are currently at home, but will probably be back in jail soon. Two of the prisoners, Noam Bahat and Hillel Goral, opened a hunger strike 14 days ago. This unprecedented move is totally ignored by the Israeli media. However, Amnesty International is trying to raise awareness to their case.
web.amnesty.org/web/web.nsf/pages/IOT_Conscientious_Objectors
From: Matania Ben-Artzi
Dear Friends,
***
Half a year has passed since I was first sent to prison because of my beliefs as a pacifist. Seven prison terms later, my commitment to the cause of
peace remains unwavering and my resolve to continue this vital endeavor grows in me.
With every day that passes, I gain new strength, which even those closest to me never thought I'd have.
During this trying time, I have been fortified by your words of encouragement. Each and every letter, postcard and email forged a unique and indelible contribution to my peaceful struggle. Your gestures of solidarity and concern helped nudge me forwards on this long, uphill journey.
My heartfelt thanks to all of you who have reached out to me; I will always remain profoundly grateful to you. Together with my fellow refusniks, we will one day prevail in offering a truly peaceful alternative
to Israeli Militarism.
Yours,
[] SaturdayTour of Checkpoints in Jerusalem
Shalom, Friends of Peace Now in Jerusalem
This Saturday, 1.2.03, the second lecture tour in the series' Occupation in Jerusalem' will take place. The purpose of the series is to help people to visualize the Israeli occupation in Jerusalem and its neighborhoods by connecting its various aspects into a single picture.
Join us on this important study tour!
Subject of the Tour: Checkpoints in Jerusalem
Like the other checkpoints in the Occupied Territories, the Jerusalem checkpoints restrict the freedom of movement of the Palestinian residents of the city and of those Palestinians who seek to come to the city from the West Bank for its cultural, religious, academic and health institutions.
The tour will prove that the chance of the checkpoints preventing attacks are minimal: the searches there are random and arbitrary and the purpose of the checkpoints is to oppress the Palestinian population of Jerusalem and to cut
them off from the West Bank.
The daily routine at the checkpoints incorporates the essence of the arbitrariness, the inflexibility and the cruelty of the occupation: a picture is worth a thousand words.
During the tour, we will see two perspectives of the occupation in East Jerusalem:
We will visit two permanent checkpoints:
The tour will be conducted in cooperation with 'Machsom Watch' and 'Israeli-Palestinian People's Peace Campaign'.
The tour will depart from the parking lot of the Bell Garden (Gan HaPaamon) on Saturday 1.2.03 at 9:45 am- rain or shine.
Duration of the tour: about 5 hours
IMPORTANT: if you wish to participate in the tour, it is important that you register (in order to ensure your place on the bus and to allow us to properly organize the tour). Call the Peace Now office in Jerusalem: 02-5660648 or Shiri: 054-687539. Leave your full name and telephone
number (cell phone preferred). Or send this information by e-mail to: shiri@peacenow.org.il
Shalom Aleinu,
[] Monday, Neta Golan to be interrogated for staying with Arafat
A solidarity presence, at 10.30 am, in front of the Tel-Aviv police station is planned by Gush Shalom; more information to be obtained from info@gush-shalom.org
[] Together we walk, Umm el Fahem, Tuesday 4/2/03
STEP BY STEP - TOGETHER WE WALK
UMM EL FAHEM- 4-2-03
We walk together. We, Arabs and Jews, Jews and Arabs, and others, representing all walks of life, join together in peace and walk SILENTLY in one powerful line. Our silence speaks.
As violence escalates in the Middle East our spirits decline. Terror and bloodshed breed fear and anger which further daily violence. We are looking for an antidote.
We, as humans, can break the pattern by strengthening our humanity. THE WALK is a wake up call. For those of us who feel powerless to change the reality of violence, we now have a way! The longest journey begins with one small step. We take many steps TOGETHER as children of Adam and Abraham.
As we walk, our hearts beat at a common rhythm. Our smiles heal ancient wounds. Is there an antidote to violence? We think there is!
There is power in numbers. You count! The time is now.
PEACE BEGINS FROM WITHIN
Please note that THE WALK is a non-political body of private individuals representing all walks of life, organized by The Middleway, a non profit organization to promote nonviolence, peace, compassion and
brotherhood.
We carry no posters; we do not scream slogans. We each wear a simple white ribbon to unite us as a visible group.
For further information: Mustapha 068-504190, Jihad 058-21218454, Nicole 054-806670, Shpatz-05305910073 or www.middleway.org
For rides: caddad@netvision.net.il or call 0540806670
[] Tuesday in Tel-Aviv: Jenin-Jenin in English
Coming at Chalonot (Windows): Jenin-Jenin in English director: Muhamed Bakri
Israel. 2002. 70 minutes. Arabic, Hebrew translation. A discussion will be held after the screening Please contact us to reserve places in advance
The film was banned by the censor and was nor allowed to be shown by cable t.v. The board of film censors rejected the appeal. So we took up the cause of Muhamed Bakri, director of the film, and are holding a repeat showing. In "Jenin Jenin" the residents of the Jenin refugee camp bear witness to its capture by the IDF in the framework of campaign "Defense Wall".
Tuesday 04.02.03 at 20.00
[ In order to obtain a copy of the English version, contact:
info@arabfilm.com /www.arabfilm.com]
[] Tree Plantings - Stop the Great Land Grab of 5763
Dear Members and Supporters,
We are announcing to additional tree planting dates designed to put the breaks on the accelerating Great Land Grab of 5763:
1. On Friday 7/2 on the lands of the Nassar family near Neve Daniel. Settlers are attempting to pave a road through their land in order to create a new outpost. See report from Taayush below.
2. On Sunday 9/2 we will plant trees with farmers in the Tulkarem area whose lands are between the separation wall and the Green Line.
Please let us know as soon as possible if you can participate.
If all of this is not enough I am resending a posting from last week which many did not receive because of our email problems. The Great Land Grab rumbles on.
B'Vrakha,
Arik,
Here is what I plan to send to Taayush and below it the material I
received last night from Daoud Nassar.
Best,
The Nassar family owns 420 dunums of land south of Neve Daniel and north of Kefar Etzion, just between the two. Three years ago the settlers of Neve Daniel opened a road on this land and by the time the court ruled that the land is owned by the Nassars, the road already existed. Three days ago the settlers of Neve Daniel began opening another road. The Nassars managed to stop the Bulldozers of the settlers with the aid of the police (that agreed to come only after we had asked Akiva Eldar to call the police and inquire about the case). After the event, the settlers moved around the land of
the Nassars with arms, threatened them, uprooted fifty newly-planted trees and broke the water tank of their house (that stands alone at the top of the hill). The Nassars fear further harassment from the settlers and Arik Ascherman is organizing tree planting on their land on Friday, 7 February.
More details to come. If anyone wants to know more and get involved, please contact Amnon (064-461760).
[] PHR report: Patient prevented from reaching a hospital
Israeli Security Forces Prevent a Patient from Reaching a Hospital and Hit an On-Duty Member of the Red Crescent
PHR-Israel discovered a contradiction between the testimony of a Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulance driver and the official Israeli Defense Force Spokesperson's statement in regards to an urgent evacuation of an individual injured by the Israeli security forces in the Tul Karem Refugee Camp. The driver testified that at the entrance to the hospital in Tul Karem, while he was trying to move the patient, who was on a stretcher, to the hospital, Israeli soldiers ordered him to place the patient back inside the ambulance and to follow them to the Israeli DCO. He additionally testified
that one of the soldiers had hit him repeatedly.
In his testimony to PHR-Israel Mahmud Alkarmi, a PRCS ambulance driver from Tul Karem, said that: "On 30 January at 2am we received a call to evacuate Rami Tabin, who was shot by Israeli soldiers in front of his home in Tul Karem Refugee Camp. My ambulance entered the camp with no army interference, even though I had noticed army vehicles in the vicinity. I proceeded to administer first aid and evacuate Tabin. On my way out of the camp there was again no delay. We arrived at the hospital at approximately 2:20 am and began
to remove the stretcher from the ambulance in the hospital courtyard. Suddenly an army jeep arrived in the compound and soldiers began to shoot indiscriminately. The driver of the jeep got out and began to hit and curse me, while shouting, 'Why didn't you stop? We called for you to stop'".
The soldiers then ordered Alkarmi to follow their jeep to the Israeli DCO in Tul Karem and would not allow him to move the patient into the hospital, although he protested that the patient is in urgent need of treatment. At one point the soldier told him: "Close the door [of the ambulance] and follow me or I'll kill you here". Reaching the Israeli DCO, again the driver of the jeep hit and cursed Alkarmi.
When they arrived, a uniformed doctor helped Alkarmi treat the patient. While they were treating the injuries the Israeli jeep driver demanded that Alkarmi step out of the ambulance so that he could search the vehicle. After ransacking the ambulance and finding nothing, the driver ordered another
soldier to perform a second search but that soldier refused. Eventually, says Alkarmi, a soldier he thinks to be the commander arrived and began to interrogate both him and Tabin, disregarding Tabins testimony contradicts the official statement given by the IDF Spokesperson's Unit on its website, where it claims that the man was treated in the field and then transferred to an Israeli hospital to receive treatment.
This incident reveals, yet again, the lack of respect on the side of Israeli army to medical personnel and services by not allowing Tabin to be treated in the hospital even though he was already at the entrance, and by hitting the ambulance driver. Medical treatment should in no way be compromised
by investigation needs.
PHR-Israel demands that the matter be investigated and that the soldiers involved be made to stand trial. Additionally, PHR-Israel insists upon an explanation for the shooting of Tabin, who was, as far as PHR-Israel is informed, sitting in front of his house at the time of the shooting.
PHR-Israel sent an appeal to the Military Advocate General
and a copy to the Israeli Medical Association. PHR-Israel will keep you updated as to the response of the Israeli Authorities to this case.
For more information please contact Hadas Ziv
(hadas@phr.org.il), Director Occupied Territories Project, or
Shabtai Gold (shabtai@phr.org.il), Public Outreach
[] [JPN] Counting the dead in Iraq
[We decided to include in this billboard a not Is-Pal item (though there is of course a relation): the comment of the US-based Jewish Peace News on the impending War Against Iraq.]
How many Iraqis will die in a US attack? The UN leaked a report with alarming figures which are given in the article below. The bombing will be disproportionately harmful to Iraqi civilians for several reasons. For one, the urban population is overwhelmingly reliant on government food distributions, which will be disrupted in the event of war. But also, a decade of crippling economic sanctions has taken a heavy toll on the
civilian infrastructure; half the sewage treatment plants already do not work, and bombing the water supply and electricity network would cause a massive health crisis. The Pentagon has already announced its intention to target the power and water supplies in Baghdad.
The least that can be said about US war plans is that they are being formulated with indifference to civilian casualties. But more, they appear to rise to the level of war crimes; attacking civilian infrastructure is prohibited by international law and is considered a war crime. The Geneva Convention states: "It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove, or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population,
such as foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies, and irrigation works, for the specific purpose of denying them for their sustenance value to the civilian population or to the adverse Party, whatever the motive, whether in order to starve out civilians, to cause them to move away, or for any other motive" (Protocol 1, Article 54, paragraph 2)
As the US and UN continue to debate the war, it is with the clear understanding that the US will be committing crimes on a massive scale.
-----
TOI-Billboard replaces the Gush Shalom Billboard - forwarding alerts & articles of a variety of sources. In order to receive full coverage of Gush Shalom's actions and statements subscribe to the Gush Shalom list by sending a request to info@gush-shalom.org
Subscribe to TOI-Billboard by sending one blank mail to
TOI_Billboard-subscribe@topica.com
[next three lines explain how Hebrew readers can obtain items in Hebrew from original senders] àðçðå ùåìçéí ä"áéìáåøã" ø÷ áàðâìéú ìøùéîä áéðìàåîéú. àáì éù ìê äàåôöéä ìá÷ù - îäùåìç äàåøéâéðìé - àú äè÷ñè áòáøéú
Recently an archive of TOI-billboard messages was started at:
www.angelfire.com/co3/alaqsaintifada/TOIarchive/index.html
-- You can protest against repeated and unlimited imprisonment of draft resisters by signing at
http://www.petitiononline.com/091202/
-- President Bush has agreed that war should be the very last resort. Let's hold him and his administration to those words, by signing: http://www.moveon.org/winwithoutwar/
-- Via http://www.HelpPalestine.Org you can donate from remote locations used but valuable goods. "Help Palestine" offers to take care of selling & transporting - profits to be sent to Palestine Red Crescent Society.
The Other Israel peace movement magazine pob 2542, Holon 58125, Israel; ph/fx: +972-3-5565804; for free sample hardcopy mailto: otherisr@actcom.co.il
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: "CPT Hebron"
Date sent: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 20:04:08 +0200
Art Gish, Hebron, West Bank
January 30, 2003
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: "Gush Shalom"
Jan. 29, 2003
IT BEGINS AGAIN
FOR WITHOUT IT, WE HAVE NO FUTURE
From: roy arad
Please send them to PO Box 23479, Tel Aviv, Zip 61233.
For further details contact us:
Email: chicky99@netvision.net.il
Shahaf, Na’ama, Roy, Shay, Dan, Lilach, Liat, Dafna & Asaf
Rave Against The Occupation
WWW.THERAVE.CO.IL
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: Rela Mazali
Please find below a letter sent by Yoni to all of you. We join him in thanking you all.
Ofra and Matania Ben-Artzi.
Jonathan Ben-Artzi
-----Original Message-----
From: Shiri Iram
a) the restriction of freedom of movement of the Palestinian
population in Jerusalem, numbering today more than 200,000
human beings;
b) the destruction of civil-municipal law in the city and its
replacement by martial law.
Qalandia, in the north of the city, at the edge of the municipal
jurisdiction of Jerusalem and the checkpoint/wall at Abu Dis, on the eastern edge of the municipal jurisdiction.
Required: Identity Card, water and food
Shiri,
Volunteer Coordinator
Peace Now, Jerusalem Branch
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: Nicole Cohen-Addad
Tuesday, March 4 2003 we meet at 15:00 and plan to finish at 20:00 We walk through Umm-El-Fahem, close to the Kav Ha Tefer. Small group conversations will follow. All are invited to join our Umm-El- Fahem hosts after the
walk for dinner. Please reserve a space for the meal with
Mustafa at 068-504190 Directions: Take highway 65 east (towards Afula) and
turn right at Miami, which is just before Umm-El-Fahem. Drive 6-7 KM.There will be signs on the road and people will be posted at each intersection to direct us to the parking lot where we will park and assemble before the
walk.
------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 16:08:33 +0200
35 Trumpeldor St, Tel Aviv
Entrance fee 20 nis
www.win-peace.org
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: "Rabbis for Human Rights"
R. Arik Ascherman
Rabbis For Human Rights
02-5637731
050-607034
Efrat
-------forwarded message follows-------
From: "Shabtai Gold"
Physicians for Human Rights-Israel
UPDATE 30 January 2003
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: Jewish Peace News
http://members.tripod.com/~other_Israel/
