ISR11763-11885-11973-12103 to 12106-210502
21 May 2002


ISRAEL: More refuseniks jailed; COs N.N and Yair Khilou imprisoned again.


Yair Khilou (ISR11763), one of the organisers and initiators of the "Letter of the Twelfth-Graders", in which dozens of Israeli youths collectively declared their objection last fall, was sentenced on 13 May to 14 days in prison. This is his fourth prison term in a row.
N.N (ISRxxxx), another signatory of that letter, was also sentenced on 13 May to 14 days in prison. For him this is already the fifth (!) prison term in a row.
Both objectors refuse to serve in the Israeli army on political grounds.


Additional information on Yair and N, including the statements that they gave before their first prison terms, can be found on New Profile's website, at  http://www.newprofile.org/english/Summery_CO_01.html#COupdate (the information does not appear at the top of the page, but rather further down). You can also read the text of the Letter of the Twelfth-Graders at  http://www.newprofile.org/english/letters.


This repeated imprisonment of Yair and N might be a sign of a general change in the army's policy toward draft resisters. So far draft resisters were held in prison no more than three times in a row. Now the Israeli army has decided to raise the price of honesty and of outspoken resistance to its actions.
The tactic of repeated imprisonment to short terms is clearly aiming to break the spirit of the objectors - to create in them the illusion that they are in a hopeless situation. It is also an illegal action in terms of the international law (over and above the very fact that objectors are held in prison). The spirits of objectors are not that easily broken. However, it is
very important that we, those who support them, do our best in pressuring the military authorities, directly and indirectly, and in encouraging the objectors themselves.


Yair and N are due to be released from prison on 24 May. It is possible that they will be held in prison more times in the future. Their prison addresses are:


Yair Khilou
Military ID 7274070
Military Prison No. 4
Military postal code 02507, IDF
Israel.
(You can also send messages of support to Yair by e-mail through New Profile's mailbox: mailto: newprofile@speedy.co.il)


N.N
Military ID xxxxxx
Military Prison No. 4,
Military postal code 02507, IDF
Israel.
(You can also send messages of support to N by e-mail through his brother, [removed]: mailto:[removed])


Political objector Eran Ben-David (ISR12103) was sentenced to 14 days in prison on 9 May, after being called up to perform reserves duty by an emergency warrant the night before. Eran is a political activist (he has been, for instance, involved in relief convoys to besieged Palestinian towns by the Ta'ayush organisation). At work he is in charge of the archive of a court in Tel-Aviv. In a statement made before his imprisonment he wrote:


"On grounds of conscience, morals and ideology, I refuse to serve in reserves, and in the army in general. I am not willing to take any part, even the slightest one, in the acts of occupation, repression, killing, humiliation, starving, prevention of medical treatment and restricting basic freedoms, perpetrated against the civilian population of the Occupied Territories".


Interestingly, Eran was released prematurely from his regular military service because of severe health problems. This fact did not bother the army when it called him up to take part in the invasion of Gaza that was planned originally for last week. Eran's parents are worried because of the possible effect of imprisonment on Eran's poor health.


Eran Ben-David is expected to be released from prison on 21 May. His prison address is:


Tuviah Eran Ben-David
Military ID 5169544
Reserves company
Military Prison No. 4
Military postal code 02507, IDF
Israel.
(You can also send messages of support to Eran by e-mail through his parents, at: mailto: israel8@newmail.net.il)


Objector Yaron Parsol (ISR12104), a signatory of the "Courage to Refuse" declaration ( http://www.seruv.org.il) was imprisoned for 35 days starting 8 May for his refusal to perform reserves service in the Occupied Territories. He is due to be released on 7 Jun. His prison address is:


Yaron Parsol
Reserves company
Military Prison No. 6
Military Postal code 01860, IDF
Israel


Draft resister Daniel Weinbach (ISR12105), a 20-year-old immigrant from the former USSR, has handed himself in to the military police on 7 May ad was sentenced two days later to 28 days in prison. This is his third prison term (after two 21-day terms - 5-22 Mar. 2002 and 31 Mar. - 18 Apr. 2002). In a statement explaining the motives behind his objection he wrote:


"I, Daniel Weinbach, am unwilling to serve in the Israel Defence Forces. I am unwilling to take part in the genocidal war of occupation managed by our government.
"It has been going on for 35 years, more than 100 settlements with more than 200,000 settlers living in them. And after all this can we still say that we fight to attain peace, and that the Palestinian Authority will not rest until it will obtain all the lands of the State of Israel? It is we who do these things, and not them. It is we who take a little bit more from them day after day.
"Every day, we (the Arabs and the Jews) drift further apart from each other, hatred becomes stronger and there is almost no hope for peace. A new generation is born to hatred and war. Do we expect them to live in peace with each other, when the only thing they see is hatred, when they live in frustration and without hope? The policy of the Israeli army only strengthens our control over the Occupied Territories and destroys the last hope still left. And who will be harmed by all this in the end, I ask? The civilians on both sides.
"No! I shall not take part in all this. Only after more and more people like myself will come up on both sides, saying 'that's it! We've had enough!' only then will this all be over".


Daniel is expected to be released from prison on 31 May. There is a possibility that he be imprisoned again afterwards. His prison address is:


Daniel Weinbach
Military ID 7052543
Military Prison No. 6
Military Postal code 01860, IDF
Israel


Objector Ilan Windholtz (ISR11973), aged 18, was sentenced on 6 May to 21 days in prison due to his objection to service in the Israeli army. This is his second prison term after spending 28 days in prison between 24 Mar. and 18 Apr. In a brief statement he prepared for the occasion of his imprisonment he wrote:


"I, Ilan Windholtz, hereby declare that I am unwilling to serve in any military unit, combatant or non-combatant, which fortifies our control over the Territories and/or the Palestinian people, and protects and strengthens the settlements and the occupation. I therefore request to be exempted from service in the Israeli army on grounds of conscience and ideology - an ideology opposed to the conceptions held by the Israel Defence Forces and the governments of the State of Israel since 1967. I am willing to bear the consequences of my stand, imprisonment included".


Ilan is due to be released from prison on 24 May. It is likely that he will be imprisoned again afterwards. His prison address is:


Ilan Windholtz,
Military ID 7265473
Military Prison 4
Military Postal code 02507, IDF
Israel



Denis Ruttenburgh (ISR12106), a 23-year-old immigrant from the former USSR living in Haifa, gas been sentenced to 28 days in prison on 6 May. Denis is a Russian-Orthodox Christian studying to become a priest. He refuses to serve in the army on religious grounds. In a statement he wrote in prison he explains his position thus:


"I, Denis Ruttenburgh, hereby declare that I refuse to serve in the Israeli army. The reason for this is that I am a religious person and my convictions are based on the laws of religion. The army, on the other hand, is an apparatus of violence, which contradicts my convictions".


Denis is due to be released from prison on 31 May. It is highly likely that he will be imprisoned again afterwards. Formally, Denis belongs to the so-called 'academic reserves' (a programme for students who wish to study in university before going to the army). He is therefore held in the reservists' company in prison. His prison address is:


Denis Ruttenburgh
Military ID 5707940
Reserves company
Military Prison 4
Military Postal code 02507, IDF
Israel



War Resisters' International calls for letters of support to all imprisoned conscientious objectors.


War Resisters' International calls for letters of protest to the Israeli authorities, and Israeli embassies abroad.


War Resisters' International calls for the immediate release of all imprisoned conscientious objectors.


Andreas Speck
War Resisters' International



ADDRESSES
=========


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
Fax: ++972-3-696-27-57 / ++972-3-691-69-40 / ++972-3-691-79-15


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


Commander of Military Prison No 6
Military Prison No 6
Military postal number 01860,
IDF
Israel.
FAX: ++972-4-869-28-84



Addresses of Israeli media:
Ma'ariv:
2 Karlibach st.
Tel-Aviv 67132
Israel
Fax: ++972-3-561-06-14
e-mail:  editor@maariv.co.il


Yedioth Aharonoth:
2 Moses st.
Tel-Aviv
Israel
Fax: ++972-3-608-25-46


Ha'aretz (Hebrew):
21 Schocken st.
Tel-Aviv, 61001
Israel
Fax: ++972-3-681-00-12


Ha'aretz (English edition):
21 Schocken st.
Tel-Aviv, 61001
Israel
Fax: ++972-3-512-11-56
e-mail:  letters@haaretz.co.il


Jerusalem Post:
POB 81
Jerusalem 91000
Israel
Fax: ++972-2-538-95-27
e-mail:  news@jpost.co.il or  letters@jpost.co.il


Jerusalem Report:
Fax: ++972-2-537-94-89


Radio (fax numbers):
Kol-Israel ++972-2-531-33-15 and ++972-3-694-47-09
Galei Tzahal ++972-3-512-67-20


Television (fax numbers):
Channel 1 ++972-2-530-15-36
Channel 2 ++972-2-533-98-09



War Resisters' International
Conscientious Objection and Conscription Documentation Centre
5 Caledonian Road * London N1 9DY * Britain
Tel.: +44 20 7278 4040 * Fax: +44 20 7278 0444
Email:  concodoc@wri-irg.org *  http://wri-irg.org





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