January 18, ‏2002

A Two-Demonstration Day

 

The cycle has begun again.

 

After a month of quiet between Israel and Palestine, Prime Minister Sharon began to worry that he would have to sit down and actually negotiate with the Palestinians, so he ordered yet another assassination and then awaited the reprisals that would get him off the hook.  It didn’t take long.  It began with the shooting of Israelis in the terrrritories, and then last night’s horrifying scene – a Palestinian who emptied an M16 into an Israeli crowd celebrating a bat-mitzva.  “In response”, Israeli warplanes fired missiles into Turkarm while tanks reoccupied large parts of Ramallah.  And so it goes.  Whose turn is it?

 

The senseless and tragic bloodletting still fresh in everyone’s mind, it was with some trepidation that the Coalition of Women for a Just Peace came together this morning to demonstrate against the occupation.  Why trepidation?  Because Palestinian acts of terrorism somehow give legitimacy to attacks on Israeli peace activists by rightwing war-mongers. It’s a tradition that did not even begin in the Mideast.

 

Thus, we were surprised and pleased to have some 40 women and men, despite the tradition, who came out to demonstrate today under the banner “Money for the disabled, not for settlers”.  This is a reference to the month-long strike of the severely disabled in Israel, whose government stipend is shamefully low, keeping them in poverty.  We were even nervous about whether the disabled themselves would accept our presence near their strike location, but several approached our group and voiced support.  I think it helped that Pnina Firestone, a veteran peace activist who is severely disabled herself, was holding up one end of our banner.

 

After an hour in the crisp winter air of Jerusalem, we put away our signs and went indoors to talk to the strikers and express our solidarity with them.  I had a good conversation with Alex, a lovely guy who agreed that the government should help the down-and-outers, but not at the expense of the settlers.  Finally he mentioned that his son, too, lives in a settlement.  Every government since the Occupation began 34 years ago, Labor and Likud alike, has given Israelis economic incentives to move into the territories.  By now, ideology follows vested economic interests.

 

From the striking disabled we drove to the regular Women in Black vigil, and were about 75 today in Jerusalem.  Last week we had been joined by contingents from Michigan, France, and India.  This week we were just us. There were the usual driveby shooting-off-at-the-mouth passersby, but nothing exploded.  That is a victory of sorts.

 

So it was an efficient, 2-demonstration day for us, besides the other Women in Black vigils all over Israel.  I hope there will be a big turnout tomorrow for Peace Now’s demonstration called , “Sharon is Assassinating the Peace”.  What are weekends for, anyway?  Let’s hope it’s a quiet one.

 

*   *   *

January 25, 2002

Unprecedented Call to Refuse Army Orders

 

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, 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.

 

The full ad: 

 

 

*   *   *

February 2, ‏2002

The Widening Circle of Protest

 

The week has been rife with violence on both sides, leading to increased fear and anger among Israelis, who see neither peace nor security emerging from our prime minister’s aggressive policies.

 

The letter by 53 reserve officers and soldiers saying that they refuse to serve in the occupied territories has swung open the door to criticism – of them and of the policies that drove them to this measure, as well.  More and more Israelis are beginning to question the occupation – its viability and morality.  The shameful face of Israel’s behavior was dramatically brought home to Israelis by a long news item on TV that captured some of the inhumane behavior of our soldiers at checkpoints through which Palestinians must pass.  It was therefore not surprising that a poll commissioned by Israel’s state-sponsored radio station reports that 50% of Israelis believe that government policy in the territories is morally problematic.

 

Cracks in the national consensus are becoming more and more visible. Additional evidence comes from the ever-widening circles of the Israeli peace movement and its supporters: 

 

Refusal To Serve – Heating Up

A full week later, the soldiers who refused to serve are still all over the media in Israel, as are their admirers and detractors.  An incredible one-third of Israelis, according to the previous poll, express support for them.  Conscious of the terrible damage this is having on the will to serve in the territories, the army launched an all-out offensive – they demoted the officers, stripped them of command posts, and launched a poster and petition campaign “It’s a privilege to serve in the Israeli army”. Mofaz, the most openly right-wing chief of staff in Israel’s history, publicly accused the soldiers of being a front for a political party. This effort to smear an authentic, grassroots effort with unfounded allegations only illustrates the severity of the blow to the army, and its sense of urgency about containing the damage.

 

Three support groups for the soldiers have sprung up:  Disabled army veterans are organizing one.  Yesh Gvul is preparing an ad that will say, “Mofaz is soft on those who commit [war] crimes, but bullies those who protest them”.  And, finally, several “wives of reserve soldiers” have begun a petition that says in part, “We are not willing to be pawns of a government of occupation and oppression, which corrupts the values of our loved ones and our nation, while our families pay the price.”

 

An unexpectedly warm defense of these soldiers came last night from Ami Ayalon, former head of Israel’s Security Services (and ex-Navy admiral), who responded in an interview on the main TV news of the week, “As far as I’m concerned, too few soldiers are refusing such orders.  For example, [an order] to shoot an unarmed youth is a blatantly illegal order.  I am very worried by the number of Palestinian children shot in the past year.”

 

What an enormous relief to read and hear this kind of talk, after so many months of denial!  Even if the soldiers are unable to garner many more signatures for ads, their efforts have already had enormous positive impact.

 

Women In Black And Others

Vigils of Women in Black and others are growing all over Israel.  We had 100 at the Jerusalem vigil today, up from 60-70 in previous weeks.  Though the absolute numbers are small, this may actually reflect an across-the-board 50% increase in Israelis who are fed up with the situation.  There are now 18 regular anti-occupation vigils throughout Israel, about half of them Women in Black.

 

The Women in Black vigil in Jerusalem was like a carnival yesterday, with a small, but very loud, group of extreme right wingers chanting in our faces, “No Arabs, no terrorism” (i.e., get rid of the Arabs).  Just two days ago, this slogan was ruled “incitement” and therefore illegal by Israel’s Attorney General.  When we asked the police to arrest the shouters for incitement, they switched to “No left-wingers, no terrorism”, claiming this was legal.  The police behaved in their usual manner:  Afraid to deal with the out-of-control right, they told the women not to “provoke” them, which made us laugh and take over an even larger area of the vigil square, so that everybody – police, fascists, and not-so-innocent bystanders – could see our signs more clearly.

 

Adding to the ruckus was a religious man blowing a ram’s horn, traditional Jewish instrument for momentous events – blowing “at” us, not “with” us. But only 50 feet away the honor of Orthodox Jewry was upheld by the “Oz VeShalom/Netivot Shalom” peace movement, making their own proposal for compromise:  “We’ll give up settlements, if you give up the law of return.”  And a block away from all this was a group of university students with a simpler message:  “Get out of the territories now!!!”

 

Although the police threw down obstacles to prevent our mass rally from happening tonight, they will not prevent us from holding it this coming Saturday night (Feb.  9), sponsored by a wall-to-wall coalition of peace organizations.  The only major group missing is Peace Now, apparently because our statements about “war crimes” and “refusal to serve” are beyond what they are willing to say at this stage.  On Tuesday, they plan to launch their own “Leave the territories” campaign.  And none of this mentions the ongoing human rights work carried out by B’Tselem, HaMoked Hotline, Physicians for Human Rights, and some of the abovementioned organizations. And just I finished writing that sentence, I had a call from a woman in the northern Galilee area of Israel, saying a large group there wants to organize for protest; how do they begin.  The circle is widening.

 

The Threat Of Peace

Our government, of course, digs in even deeper when faced with the ugly threat of peace initiatives.  Just one illustration:  Permission to enter Ramallah was denied to Knesset Speaker Avrum Burg, who was planning to bring a message of peace to the Palestinian parliament.  I myself have no objection to the trip, said Mr. Sharon, but the Security Services said no.

 

Finally, a word about Wafa Idris, the 28 year-old woman who exploded herself and more than a hundred Israelis on the main street of Jerusalem this week.  Just before she detonated the bomb, Wafa entered a shoe store, looked around, motioned away a saleslady, walked out of the store, and then…boom.  Why didn’t she do it in the store?  Did she decide that too few people were inside to make it worthwhile?  Or was she unable to pull the cord, having met the eye of another human being?  All killing is horrifying, terrorism even more appalling.  The question we should be asking is:  Why would anyone become a terrorist, especially a woman, a paramedic, trained to save lives?  What could drive such a person to extremes?  Appalling and unjustified as her behavior was, the question has an answer, and we must face it.

 

Addendum:  Since sending out “The Widening Circle of Protest”, many other peace actions have happened in Israel today.  Peace Now held two large protests this evening, one in Jerusalem and one in Tel Aviv.  Below you can read about the dramatic action by Ta’ayush today in Ramallah.  And some Israelis made home-made “End the Occupation” signs and went to stand along a highway near their home…and people actually stopped to join them.  Something good is happening in Israel, at last.

 

*   *   *

February 10, 2002

Imagine All the People

 

We knew there would be a big turnout for the peace demonstration last night just from the deluge of pro-peace ads in Ha’aretz the day before – page after page of statements and petitions, all critical of the occupation.  Some excerpts: 

 

·        There is a choice!”An expanded new list of 200 combat officers and soldiers who refuse to serve in the army of occupation.

·        “There’s a limit!”  Support for the new soldiers, and the names of others who have consistently refused to serve, placed by Yesh Gvul.

·        “We support the soldiers who refuse to serve the occupation” – a petition placed by civilian supporters.

·        “Peres, you are a collaborator in war-crimes!” placed by Gush Shalom.

·        “Do not say ‘we did not see, we did not know’ – the price of keeping the territories” – placed by the Israel Committee Against House Demolitions.

·        “A Recipe for National Suicide” – placed by a private citizen.

 

And a huge, blood-red ad, “The Occupation is Killing Us All”, signed by the 28 organizations that came together to hold last night’s impressive rally in Tel-Aviv (full list below).

 

This was the largest pro-peace rally since this Intifada began in September 2000, with an estimated 10,000 participants – Jews and Arabs from all over Israel filling the large Tel-Aviv Museum plaza.  The mood is clearly swinging in Israel, and the homemade signs of people who had not attended a demonstration for years reflected the new thinking – “Stop Sharon before he kills us all”, “More conscientious objectors!”, “Occupation itself is a war crime”, and all permutations of “Share Jerusalem”, “Dismantle Settlements”, and “Bring our soldiers home”.

 

By the time veteran peace activist Yehudit Harel opened the ceremony, the crowd was a mass of people amazed and buoyed by each other’s presence, with a great deal of hugging by people glad to be sharing the moment.  And then Yehudit’s opening words in fluent Hebrew and Arabic set the tone for the entire evening – we Israeli Jews and Arabs together will no longer abide the crimes that the Israeli government is carrying out.  “There is only one flag held aloft here today,” said Yehudit, “and it is the black flag of pain, mourning, death, bereavement, and the immorality of war crimes that are being committed in our name.”  At her words, hundreds of black flags were raised high by the crowd, symbolizing the statement made years ago by an Israeli court that if a military order has “a black flag of immorality” hanging over it, the order must be refused.

 

This was a rally in which the young men who refused to serve in the army of occupation were the heroes of the evening, receiving ovation after ovation at every mention.  “I once disagreed with refusal to serve in the army,” said Uri Avnery to the crowd, “but today I salute those who will not serve.  Refusal is the beginning of the end of the occupation.”  Some of these brave young men have been stripped of their command, demoted, and face court martial, but continue to answer to their conscience.  “How can we serve in an army that kills children?” asked Yishai Rosen-Zvi, an Orthodox tank corps sergeant in the reserves, “How can we serve an army that demolishes homes, does not allow the sick to get medical attention, seeks to humiliate an entire population, and reduces them to hunger and poverty?”

 

Between speakers and sometimes during them, the crowd broke into chanting of familiar slogans:  “Fuad, Fuad, Minister of Defense, How many kids did you kill today?”  “Occupation, No!  Peace, Yes!”, “Money for the poor, not for settlers!”

 

It was a rally in which the stage was shared by Arabs and Jews, women and men, Mizrahim and Ashkenazim, young and old, religious and secular.  Distinguished elderly author Sammy Michael pointed out the futility of the ongoing occupation:  “Death is not a threat to people who willingly give their lives for a cause.”  And Shulamit Aloni, former government minister and perennial conscience of Israel, called out her message of hope, “All of you here today are the harbingers of a mass movement that already has begun.  You will be the teachers of democracy to this government.  You will set an example of morality.  We shall clean out the crimes of this country and fill it with peace!”

 

There were many moments that brought tears to my eyes last night.  I will tell you of two:  Famed singer Ahinoam Nini (known as “Noa”, I believe, to her American fans) took the risk of alienating her Israeli right-wing fans, and sang to the crowd a Hebrew, Arabic, and English version of “Imagine” by the Beatles:  “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one; I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.”

 

And the other was the transformation of a beloved Zionist song “Ein li eretz aheret”.  Reciting this song in two languages, Hebrew and Arabic, suddenly infused it with new meaning:  “I have no other country to go to.  And even if the land is burning under my feet, this is my home.”  For the Arabs in the crowd, the song suddenly became theirs, too, and for the Jews, it meant a land we both love deeply.

 

I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.

 

Sponsoring organizations:

Association of Arab University Students / Baladna / BANKI / Bat Shalom / Coalition of Women for a Just Peace / Druse Initiative Committee / Du Siach / Gush Shalom / HaCampus Lo Shotek, Tel-Aviv University / Hadash Youth / Israeli Committtee Against House Demolitions / Kol Aher BaGalil / Kvisa Sh’hora:  Lesbians and Gay Men Against the Occupation / Left Forum, Haifa University / MachsomWatch / Meretz Youth / Monitoring Committee of the Arab Population in Israel / NELED / Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salaam / New Profile / Noga / TANDI / Ta’ayush:  Arab-Jewish Partnership / Tajamu Youth / WILPF / Women and Mothers for Peace (formerly Four Mothers) / Women in Black / Yesh Gvul

 

*   *   *

March 3, ‏2002

About Moral Backbone

 

So who’s winning?  It’s been a blood-soaked weekend:  Since Thursday, Israeli army killed 26 Palestinians in refugee camps (and 230 wounded), and Palestinian extremists killed 20 Israelis (and dozens wounded).  Add that together and you have a staggering amount of heartache, on either side.  Everybody’s losing.

 

Children on both sides, needless to say, were also killed.  A light has gone out, permanently, for these families.

 

As I watched the ultra-Orthodox walk around the area of the bomb in Jerusalem scraping stray bits of flesh off the sidewalk for later burial, two Israeli commentators explained that this bomb was revenge for the attack on the refugee camps.  This morning’s radio news, however, carried only the government spin:  The Palestinian bombing in Jerusalem last night would have taken place whether or not the Israeli army had invaded the refugee camps.  What are they saying?  Answer:  That our killing has no relationship whatsoever with their killing.  A theory of cause and no effect.

 

Do Sharon and his government actually believe that brutality will convince the Palestinians to give up?  Do the Palestinian extremists actually believe that suicide bombings will convince Israelis to leave the region?  There is little evidence to support the unusual theory of human nature held by either side.

 

Meanwhile, on the Israeli side, more and more people have begun to despair of the deepening sea of blood:

 

* Sharon’s popularity rating, as measured by the polls, has dipped under 50% for the first time since his election.  Smelling opportunity, a group of powerful businessmen and semi-political academics are brewing a new political party, intended to present a liberal alternative to the current Likud-Labor regime (liberal in the original sense – capitalist, pro-peace – it’s good for business – and quasi-democratic, meaning that women, Mizrahim, and minorities are excluded so far – to be welcomed by tokens when the electoral blunder is brought to their attention).

 

* The Saudi Arabian peace initiative is a wonderful opportunity.  Although Sharon will easily sidestep it politically, my hope is that his determination to brush it off will expose him to more Israelis as “not a partner for peace” – unwilling to negotiate territorial compromise of significance, even in exchange for Israel’s lifelong dream:  peace with all its neighbors.

 

* Israeli peace organizations and human rights movements have intensified their activity – marches, vigils, ads in papers, public campaigns.  A peace march last night organized by Peace Now, but attended by members of many other peace organizations, continued its rally, despite the bodies exploding a few streets away, the speakers stating boldly and courageously, in the Israeli reality, that the root of the violence is the brutal Israeli occupation.  In a few hours, another rally with the same message will take place in Tel Aviv.

 

* The number of Israeli combat officers and soldiers who refuse to serve the occupation has risen above 300, and continues to shake the foundations of belief that Israel has been engaged in an “enlightened occupation”.  The army has launched a campaign to delegitimize them, so far jailing two, but voices in support have also been sounded.

 

I’ll close with one such voice – an excerpt from an op-ed in today’s Ha’aretz written by Michael Ben-Yair, Israel’s Attorney General from 1993 to 1996, on the subject of occupation and whether or not the soldiers who refuse to serve in the army are indeed lawbreakers:

 

“…This is a harsh reality that is causing us to lose the moral base of our existence as a free, just society and to jeopardize Israel’s long-range survival.  Israel’s security cannot be based only on the sword; it must rather be based on our principles of moral justice and on peace with our neighbors – those living next door and those living a little further away.  An occupation regime undermines those principles of moral justice and prevents the attainment of peace.  Thus, that regime endangers Israel’s existence.

 

…It is against this background that one must view the refusal of IDF reservist officers and soldiers to serve in the territories.  In their eyes, the occupation regime is evil and military service in the occupied territories is evil.  In their eyes, military service in the occupied territories, which places soldiers in situations forcing them to commit immoral acts, is evil, and, according to their conscience, they cannot be party to such acts.  Thus, their refusal to serve is an act of conscience that is justified and recognized in every democratic regime.  History’s verdict will be that their refusal was the act that restored our moral backbone.”

 

May it restore our moral backbone, amen.

 

*   *   *

March 14, ‏2002

Time to Help

 

Israel is my country, but I do not recognize it these days.  Here is an email that just arrived from Zahira Kamal, a Palestinian woman who is truly committed to a peaceful future between our peoples: 

 

Dear friends, I am calling all of you for an urgent action to stop the Israeli attack against our people and to allow us to evacuate Palestinian injured people who are bleeding in the streets of Ramallah to the hospitals.  The Israeli army is not allowing doctors and the ambulances to move and give the needed medical aid to them.  Please do something, you might give them the chance to live.  Looking for your immediate support, Zahira

 

This is just one of many desperate appeals that have come across the channels all day, together with reports of other inhumane acts carried out by the Israeli army.  These acts only feed hatred, extremism, and subsequent retaliation.

 

Israeli peace and human rights activists have been working at a frenzied pace at every level – trying to extend specific aid where needed, while trying to get the Israeli public to understand that violence is only the symptom, but the underlying disease is ‘occupation’.  It’s very hard to think about the disease when the symptoms – bloodshed, death of loved ones, constant fear – are so palpable.

 

On the positive side are today’s UN Security Council Resolution calling for a 2-state solution and Kofi Annan’s calling the occupation “illegal”.  Most important, Israeli public opinion is slowly changing.  For details, see http://www.tau.ac.il/peace/Peace_Index/2002/English/p_feb_02_e.html.

 

Here are a few ideas about how to help: 

 

1.      Tell your government leaders to intervene to end the bloodbath at once, and then to work on bringing the occupation to an end.  If you’re a Jewish American, say so.  The US Consul General in Jerusalem told a group of us last Friday that US Jews are key to the shaping of US policy in the Middle East.  If you are silent, then AIPAC is speaking in your name.

 

Call:  George W.  Bush (202) 456-1414. Colin Powell (202) 647-6575. To call your congressperson through the Capitol switchboard, call (202) 224-3121.

 

2.      Write a letter to the editor of the newspaper you read and express your views.

 

3.      Spread information about the situation to sympathetic friends, and ask them to speak up.

 

4.      Support organizations that are working to turn the situation around:  For humanitarian aid, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society http://www.palestinercs.org/donations.htm or Physicians for Human Rights – Israel www.phr.org.il.  To support work inside Israel to change people’s minds:  http://www.coalitionofomen.org.  Many organizations are doing important work now; find a longer list at www.ariga.com.

 

The situation is shocking.  We need help to bring this horror to an end.

 

*   *   *

Background:  I returned to Israel in the wake of a bloodbath of Palestinian terrorism inside Israel followed by a bloodbath of Israeli military terrorism inside the West Bank.  Jenin became the most famous, but killing was horrific throughout the territories.

 

April 9, ‏2002

After the Outrage and Tears

 

I just returned to Israel from 2 weeks abroad, and took 2 more days to get a perspective on what I see and hear, which I would now like to share with you: 

 

First, the overwhelming picture before us is of death and destruction wrought by the Israeli army in the Palestinian cities, Jenin above all.  In addition to the hundreds killed and thousands wounded, we have irrefutable evidence that the Israeli army has barred ambulances from evacuating the dead and wounded, has bulldozed homes in large numbers (sometimes with the families still inside), and has withheld access to water, electricity, and phone communication for periods of a week and more.  Can you imagine life with no water, while men, women, and children are bleeding to death around you?  And finally having to bury the corpses in an empty lot nearby, after days of keeping them at home?

 

These go well beyond the ongoing acts of brutality, mass arrests, vandalism, theft, and humiliations, which are also rampant.  A senior officer was quoted in Ha’aretz today as saying, “When the world sees pictures of what we have done there, it will cause enormous damage to us.”It’s no wonder that the media are not given access.  Listening to the report from the field at the emergency board meeting of B’Tselem last night, I was not the only one with tears in my eyes.

 

This is no time for analysis, although I have much to say:  About the complicity of Peres, about the appalling anti-Semitism unleashed internationally by legitimate anger at Israeli, and about how horrifying terrorism in Israel and the so-called “war against terrorism” in the US have given license to what is happening.  Introduce Bush-Cheney-Rice-Sharon-Mofaz, and the recipe for Violence-Begets-More-Violence is complete.  Today’s killing of 13 Israeli soldiers in Jenin only drives home the tragic futility of Israel’s military might.

 

Rather than analyze, this is a time to act.  Here in Israel, the peace and human rights movement is working tirelessly on every imaginable front.  Soldiers who refuse to serve the occupation are going to jail; convoys of food and medical supplies hastily collected have been distributed and more are being collected; human rights workers are risking their lives to monitor action; peace activists have braved hailstorms of teargas and stun grenades in facing army checkpoints; foreign activists have served as human shields throughout the territories.  In my history of activism, I recall no parallel sense of urgency, in which lives and daily bread are being set aside to pursue a cause.  But I also recall no parallel feeling that a calamity of our own making is unfolding before our eyes.

 

I implore you to take action of your own.  Contact relevant officials.  If you’re Jewish, make a point of saying that.  Tell them: 

 

1) International monitors must be dispatched to the region at once to end the terrible violence.

2) The root cause of the conflict is the Israeli occupation of the territories.  This must come to an end.

 

Other things you can do, even if you have limited time: 

 

§         If you have just 1 minute to give, forward this letter to others on your list.

§         If you have 10 minutes to spare, write a check to the organization of your choice (see the links at www.coalitionofwomen.org for a few suggestions).

§         If you have 20 minutes, call, fax or write (make it brief!) any of the officials below.

§         If you have an hour, write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper (brief and from the heart).

§         If you have more time, get involved.  See “Get Involved – Find an Organization Near You” at www.junity.org for some suggestions. If you’re an American Jew, join the Tikkun Community (www.tikkun.org) or the newly formed Brit Tzedek v’Shalom – Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace (www.jppi.org).

 

Whatever you can do is valuable.

 

Finally, I can’t help but note that Israel marked Holocaust Memorial Day today.  When will we finally extricate ourselves from this trauma and apply ourselves to instilling its true lesson, that of tolerance?

 

*   *   *

April 15, ‏2002

Adding Cruelty to Injury

 

I have wanted to write this story to you since Saturday, but it’s not yet over.

 

On Saturday, a large group of us (at least 5,000 though the Israeli media reported 3,000) joined a convoy organized by “Ta’ayush: Arab-Jewish Partnership” to bring humanitarian aid to the devastated town of Jenin.  People poured out their hearts and pockets, and an amazing 31 truckloads of water, food, medicines, blankets, and clothes were collected.  Thanks to the generosity of the Urgent Action Fund, we in the Coalition of Women for a Just Peace were also able to purchase and add a very large quantity of sanitary napkins, diapers, and wet wipes.

 

We were a mixed group of Arabs and Jews, women and men, from a dozen or so Israeli peace organizations, and we gathered at a highway junction in the Jezreel Valley of Israel.  It was a hot Saturday, but we loaded the trucks and walked the final 2 miles to the border where the Jenin checkpoint is located.  This was quite an impressive array of peace activists, carrying signs and chanting slogans as we walked along the pastoral country road.  The loudest chants came when we passed a military camp.  As soldiers came to the fence to watch the “parade”, marchers began to chant at them “The occupation is terrorism; refuseniks are heroes”.  It rhymes in Hebrew, but could not have been amusing for them to hear.

 

When we reached the checkpoint, Ta’ayush representatives negotiated with the Israeli army to allow the goods to enter.  The presence of thousands of us right there was a good source of pressure on the army, and finally the last of the trucks passed through and were met by our Palestinian colleagues.  Our job done, we all went home.

 

Then the news began to arrive:  The Israeli army did allow the trucks to pass through, but were keeping them at the checkpoint.  Thus, despite the critical situation inside Jenin, the Palestinians were not allowed to bring in these desperately needed supplies of food and water.  Ta’ayush lawyers and activists did everything in their power, and finally the army announced that it would allow UN trucks to move the goods.  The UN was contacted, and they allocated 2 trucks to the task.  The problem is, 2 trucks can remove only 30 tons a day, and 300 tons await transport.  (This includes an additional 10 truckloads from a previous convoy, also held up.)  At this rate, it would take 10 days…and untold further suffering.

 

We’re still working on increasing the transport capacity.  Meanwhile, on this evening’s state-sponsored TV program, an Israeli army spokesman, when asked about the distress of the Jenin residents, said that the army is “making every effort” to allow in humanitarian aid.  To illustrate, he showed a film clip of our march on Saturday and a soldier “directing” the transfer of goods through the checkpoint.

 

This is the face of cruelty, and its cover-up.

 

*   *   *

Background:  A gay journal asked me to write something about this subject, though I have no idea where (if at all) it was published.

 

April 24, ‏2002

Lesbians and the Israeli Peace Movement

 

I feel proud as a woman and a lesbian to be part of peace and human rights activism in Israel.  In fact, women in general, and lesbians in particular, have been at the forefront of this work.  Israeli women not only comprise the largest part of the peace movement here, but the message of Israeli women’s peace organizations has always been more progressive.  The earliest joint political agreements between Israelis and Palestinians were hammered out between women on both sides.  The mixed gender movements caught up much later.  The actions of Israeli women’s peace organizations have always been varied, creative, and often daring – involving high-risk actions and sometimes civil disobedience, in defiance of laws we consider unjust and oppressive.