[GushShalomBillboard] upcoming actions - street- and otherwise

Thu, 4 Apr 2002

"Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)"


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[Apparently Bush has still not yet decided to join the peace movement, but the coming of Powell should give an extra focus point to the actions of the Israeli peace movement in the coming days.]

[1] Peace Now march + rally in Tel-Aviv this Saturday
[2] 21 refusers in jail - details
[3] Call Foreign Embassies
[4] Civilians under siege: food and aid consignment
[5] Tomorrow last minute vigil by New Profile


[1] Peace Now march + rally in Tel-Aviv this Saturday
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: "Ori Ginat"

[This is compiled from the message of Ori and the ad in the papers.]

STOP THE WAR // STOP THE BLOODSHED // GET OUT OF THE TERRITORIES

Saturday Night, April 6 (this Saturday) a large demonstration will set out from Rabin
Square, Tel Aviv at 7:30 pm in the direction of the Defense Ministry, Kirya, with a
rally beinning at 8 pm.

Volunteers Needed!! We need a large number of volunteers who can man the
phones (from the office or from your home) and on Saturday. Everyone who can give
a few hours, please call the office (also for details on transportation from different
towns): 03-5663291 or 054-405157.


[2] 21 refusers in jail - details
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: Sergeiy Sandler

3 Apr. 2002

Since our last report a week ago, two objectors were released from prison,
and an unprecedented 14 imprisoned. All in all, we now know of 21! declared
objectors who are in prison at the moment.

The great majority of the prisoners are reservists refusing specifically to
serve in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (this following an emergency
mobilisation of 20,000 reservists declared by the Israeli government last
week). Three of the objectors currently held in prison refuse to serve in
the Israeli army at all, two of them are draft resisters. One of the draft
resisters, Yair Khilou, has just been imprisoned for the third time in a
row.

Below is a concise report on imprisoned and released objectors for this
week, based mostly on information communicated by our friends from
Yesh-Gvul. The following section contains the prison addresses and contact
details of all the objectors who are incarcerated at the moment (with the
exception of a few who wished to remain anonymous). The update ends with a
Recommended Action section.

But first, an explanatory note that I think is necessary these days. Many
people wonder whether in these times of emergency, when people are being
killed by the hundreds, it is really that much of a priority to work on a
bunch of objectors sitting in the relatively comfortable conditions of
military prison. Indeed, although the imprisoned objectors could definitely
use all your support, their lives are not in danger and their human rights
are violated relatively mildly.

Still, I would like to argue, acting in support of imprisoned objectors,
especially now, when their number is on the rise, is one of the most
effective ways of opposing the atrocities going on as I write. The more it
becomes known to the Israeli military and political system that objection is
supported by the Israeli and international public, the more shaky will
become their confidence in the backing they think they receive from the
Israeli public to do what they do.

Objection to military service, as I could often observe myself, is something
deeply disconcerting for the average Israeli combatant soldier sent by his
leaders to perform war crimes in Palestine. It forces down these soldiers'
main moral defence, the thought that "we are doing this for the folks back
home". When they find out that the public, especially the Israeli public, is
not backing them in what they do, this eventually forces them to face the
moral consequences of what they have done. Thus the open and public support
of objectors is now more effective and more important than ever.


IMPRISONED AND RELEASED OBJECTORS
*********************************

18-year-old political objector YAIR KHILOU, one of the initiators,
formulators and signatories of the "Letter of the 12th-graders", published
last September (the text of the letter can be seen at
 http://www.newprofile.org/english/letters), was sent to prison for the 3rd
time in a row this Monday (1 Apr.) He was sentenced once more to 28 days of
imprisonment, and is held in Military Prison No. 4.

ITAI RIV (26) of Jerusalem has been sentenced to 28 days detention, after
refusing to join his unit. He refuses to serve in the Israeli army at all
on political grounds. Itai Riv has a dual Israeli and Italian citizenship.
This gives groups and activists in Italy an opportunity to take special
action on his behalf.

The following 12 objectors (all are reservists refusing to perform military
service specifically in the Occupied Territories) were given prison terms
between last Wednesday and yesterday (in reverse chronological order):

Eran Ackerman - 28 days
Guy Keshet - 28 days
O. T. (wished to remain anonymous) - 28 days
B. L. (wished to remain anonymous) - 28 days
Timor Israeli - 28 days
Oded L. (wished to remain anonymous) - 35 days
Amos Baer - 28 days
Ofer Shafrir - 28 days
Gil Bronstein - 28 days
A. C. (wished to remain anonymous) - 28 days
Danny Breutman - 14 days
Noam Shezaf - 14 days

Six of these objectors are signatories to the "Courage to Refuse"
declaration ( http://www.seruv.org.il). They are: Guy Keshet, Timor Israeli,
Ofer Shafrir, Gil Bronstein, Danny Breutman and Noam Shezaf

>From those imprisoned to those released. After spending several months in
prison, objector RENNAN AMIN SALAMEH was finally released from prison
yesterday (2 Apr.) He has also been exempted from military service, which
means no further threat of imprisonment is likely in his case. Thank you
very much all those who took action on his behalf.

ITAI HAVIV, one of the signatories of the Courage to Refuse letter, was also
released from prison this week, after completing his 14-day prison term.
Further imprisonment in his case is unlikely at least until he is called up
to perform reserves duty again next year.

Another released prisoner is AMNON SAGIV. He was released from prison
prematurely about two weeks ago, but I received this information already
after I sent out my previous update. Further imprisonment in his case is
unlikely at least until he is called up to perform reserves duty again next
year.


PRISON ADDRESSES AND OTHER CONTACT DETAILS
*****************************************

Below are the prison addresses for all the objectors imprisoned at the
moment (with the exception of the 4 who asked not to have their names
revealed). For reasons of convenience I repeat also the addresses of seven
prisoners we already reported on, but who are still in prison. The newly
reported cases come first.

YAIR KHILOU
Personal Military ID 7274070
Military prison No. 4
Military postal code 02507, IDF
Israel

GUY KESHET
Personal Military ID 5089936
Military prison No. 4
Military postal code 02507, IDF
Israel

ERAN ACKERMAN
Personal Military ID 5111605
Military prison No. 4
Military postal code 02507, IDF
Israel

AMOS BAER
Reservists Company,
Military prison No. 4
Military postal code 02507, IDF
Israel

OFER SHAFRIR
Reservists Company,
Military prison No. 4
Military postal code 02507, IDF
Israel

GIL BRONSTEIN
Reservists Company,
Military prison No. 4
Military postal code 02507, IDF
Israel

Lieut. ITAI RIV
Reservists Company,
Prison no. 6,
Military Postal code 03734, IDF
Israel
Itai Riv can be reached at mailto: itair@fh.huji.ac.il

Lieut. TIMOR ISRAELI
Reservists Company,
Prison no. 6,
Military Postal code 03734, IDF
Israel

Lieut. NOAM SHEZAF
Reservists Company,
Prison no. 6,
Military Postal code 03734, IDF
Israel

DANNY BREUTMAN
Reservists Company,
Prison no. 6,
Military Postal code 03734, IDF
Israel

The following prison addresses belong to objectors whose cases were already
announced over the last two weeks:

ILAN WINDHOLZ,
Military personal number 7265473
Military Prison 4
Military Postal code 02507, IDF
Israel

DAVID PERLMAN,
Military personal number 5188146
Military Prison 4
Military Postal code 02507, IDF
Israel

PIKI BEN-SHALOM
Military personal number 4609194
Military Prison 6
Military Postal Number 03734, IDF
Israel

SHACHAR TZUR,
Military personal number 5067698,
Prison no. 6,
Military Postal code 03734, IDF
Israel

ISHAI MOR,
Military personal number 4368517
Military Prison 6
Military Postal Number 03734, IDF
Israel

SERGIO YAHNI
Military personal number 4366865
Military Prison 6
Military Postal Number 03734, IDF
Israel
Messages can also be sent to mailto: rtic@alt-info.org or AIC, POB 31417,
Jerusalem.

ELAD LAHAV,
Military personal number 5174876
Prison 4
Military Postal code 02507, IDF
Israel
Calls can be made to his wife Shelly at ++972-58-349690


RECOMMENDED ACTION
******************

Fisrt of all, please circulate this message and the information contained in
it as widely as possible, not only through e-mail, but also on websites,
conventional media, by word of mouth, etc.

Please send the prisoners your messages of support to the addresses above.
Also, please send letters of protest on behalf of the objectors to:

Mr. Binyamin Ben-Eliezer,
Minister of Defence,
Ministry of Defence,
37 Kaplan st.,
Tel-Aviv 61909,
Israel.
e-mail: mailto: sar@mod.gov.il or mailto: pniot@mod.gov.il
Fax: ++972-3-696-27-57 / ++972-3-691-69-40 / ++972-3-691-79-15

Copies can be sent to the commanders of the prisons at:

Commander of Military Prison No. 6,
Military Prison No. 6,
Military postal number 03734,
IDF
Israel.
Fax: ++972-4-869-28-84

Commander of Military Prison No. 4,
Military Prison No. 4,
Military postal number 02507,
IDF
Israel.
Fax: ++972-3-957-52-76

Another useful address for sending copies would be the Military Attorney
General:

Brig. Gen. Menachem Finklestein
Chief Military Attorney
Miltary postal code 9605
IDF
Israel
Fax: ++972-3-569-43-70

In the cases of Yair Khilou and Ilan Windholz (especially in Yair's case,
since this is his third prison term), it would be especially useful to send
copies of your appeals to:

Deborah Chassid
Commander of Induction Base, Tel-Hashomer
Military Postal Code 02718, IDF
Israel.
Fax: ++972-3-737-60-52

Addresses of additional military and government officials, as well as those
of some Israeli media, to which you can send copies of your appeals, can be
found at this web address:
 http://www.newprofile.org/english/Summery_CO_01.html (see the bottom of the
page)

Note that writing to media is now more important than ever.

A standard sample letter is available at the bottom of the same web page
( http://www.newprofile.org/english/Summery_CO_01.html#sample). However note
that it would be advisable to adjust your letter to the particular
circumstances of the case.

But of course, many other things can be done apart from letter-writing. Any
form of public support for objectors and public denouncing of war crimes is
welcome, be it in the form of holding vigils, painting graffiti on walls or
whatever.

All the best and thanks,
Sergeiy Sandler - New Profile.


[3] Call Foreign Embassies
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: Susi Mordechay

During these days of crisis, many people have expressed the desire to follow
up on Bat Shalom's outreach to the foreign embassies and consulates with
messages of protest against Israel's massive attack on the Palestinian
population. Let's swamp them with telephone calls and faxes (see the numbers
below, ask to talk with the political attache)! Formulate your own message.
A sample message follows.

Harriet Lewis
Susi Mordecahy
............................................................................
.....
Sample:
As an Israeli citizen, I am appalled at the Israeli government's violent
assault against the Palestinian people and their leadership. It is clear
that this policy will only lead to more bloodshed and horrendous destruction
- and less security for Israelis and Palestinians alike. We urgently call
upon your government to exert the utmost pressure on the Israeli government
in order to stop the killing, and prevent a humantiarian disaster. Israel
should withdraw immediately from the Palestinian territories.

..............................................................
Country Ambassador phone fax
Australia Mr. Rigby 03-695-0451 03-696-8404
Austria Mr. Wolfgang Paul 03-612-0924 03-751-0716
Belgium Mr. Wilfred Geens 03-613-8130 03-613-8160
Canada Mr. Micael Bell 03-636-3300 03-636-3380
China Mr. Pan Zhanlin 03-546-7277 03-546-7251
03-546-7312
Denmark Mr. Kofoed-Hansen 03-544-2144/5 03-546-5502
Egypt Mr. Bassiouny 03-546-4151/2 03-544-1615
Finland Mr. Patokallio 03-744-0303 03-744-0314
France Mr. Huntzinger 03-524-5371/2 03-524-9294
03-520-8311
Germany Mr. Dressler 03-693-1313 03-696-9217
03-693-1355
G Britain Mr. Cowper-Coles 03-725-1244
Mr. Cornish (Consul) 02-532-5629 02-671-7724
Greece Mr. Mitsialis 03-605-5461
India Mr. Matai 03-510-1431/2 03-510-1434
Ireland Mr. Scannel 03-696-4166 03-696-4160
Italy Mr. Cavarai 03-696-4223/4 03-609-5068
Japan Mr. Shegeta 03-695-7292/3 03-691-0516
Jordan Mr. Al-Kurdi 03-751-7722 03-751-7712
Netherlands Mr. Froger 03-695-7377/8 03-695-7370
03-691-0071
Norway Mr. Saether 03-744-1490 03-744-1498
Prtugal Mr. Corree 03-695-6361 03-695-6366
03-695-6373
Romania Mr. Stoica 03-523-0066 03-524-7379
Russia Mr. Bogdanov 03-522-6736/44 03-522-6713
03-529-0691
South Africa Mr. Marx 03-525-2566 03-525-7763
Spain Mr. Portoles 03-696-5210/9 03-696-5217
03-695-2505
Sweden Mr. Liden 03-695-8111 03-695-8116
Switzerland Mr. Iten 03-546-4455 03-546-4408
Turkey Mr. Uzumcu 03-524-1101 03-524-1390
03-524-1201 03-524-0499
USA Mr. Kurtzer 03-519-7575 03-517-3227
03-519-7484
European Mr. Chevallard 03-613-7799 03-613-7770
Commission The Vatican 02-628-2298 02-628-1880
Delegation 628-8630

[4] Civilians under siege: food and aid consignment
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: "HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual"


Civilians under siege:
Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations initiate food and aid
consignment - request for contributions.

The curfew and the siege on the Palestinian cities in the West Bank have
left thousands of women, men and children confined to their homes without
food, drinking water, medicines and medical aid.
This situation will aggravate due to the continuing of the siege, and will
arise also in other cities which the Israeli Army will find fit to enter.
During the past few days we are getting more calls then ever before – people
are asking us to help them move dead family members out the living room, to
insure medical care which the Israeli Army prevents them from getting, or to
fight the ongoing hunger and thirst.
In addition to our ongoing work, we’ve decided to organize a shipment of
food and aid to the inhabitants of these cities. In order to do that, we
need your donation.

Financial contributions and basic food products (durable milk, baby food,
flour, rice etc.) can be brought to the B’Tselem offices, 8 HaTasiya street,
4th floor, Talpiyot, West-Jerusalem.
On Thursday, the office will be open 9:00 to 18:00. On Friday –10:00 to
14:00.

To contribute or for further details, please contact:
Moran (HaMoked: Center for The Defence of The Individual): 055-590151
Omar Jubran (El-Haq): 247404-059 , 418234-050
B’Tselem: 6735599-02 (office), 054-677121 (Korin)

[5] Tomorrow last minute vigil by New Profile
-----------------------the following came by phone-------------------

New Profile got reliable information that Gaza City is to be invaded tomorrow at 2 pm.
They intend to hold a "count-down vigil" at the Defence Ministry, Tel-Aviv. For details
call Rela: 054-766073


----
NB: Full transcript of the war crimes panel available on the Gush site
For Hebrew  http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/forum.html
For English  http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/forum_eng.html
French available at request.


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photo's - of action or otherwise informative
the weekly Gush Shalom ad - in Hebrew and English
the columns of Uri Avnery - in Hebrew, Arab and English
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 http://www.gush-shalom.org

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