A lot of reports of the situation within Palestine and Israel are coming out currently, either from people working in Palestine, or in the mainstream press from outside. As a Jewish person myself I found this report from inside Israel extremely important and reassuring, as it gives information about the strength of feeling by many Israelis in the country against what is going on. This is not a race issue, and most people who are upset by the army's behaviour and the governments policy in the occupied territories are reacting in humanitarian and political dimensions, including all those Jewish people outside of Israel who are campaigning against this system and this regime. So for the inspiration of others like myself, for the consideration of those who have seen only reports of Israelis as army members, and for those who argue aggressively and often hotheadedly that all criticism of Israel is somehow anti-semitic (themselves the only ones aplying this race-label), here is a report I received a couple of days ago from the Israeli Peace Group Gush Shalom, who do fantastic work in the midst of an increasingly fraught and in many areas degenerating society.
received on the Gush Shalom email list on the 27th December
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GUSH SHALOM pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org
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The day after the shooting of peace activists
A lot of fury - a lot of attention
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International release
Tel-Aviv, December 27, 2003
We just come back from a fiery demonstration - in protest of yesterday's
shooting at peace activists. Especially, the story of the seriously-wounded
Gil Na'amati continues to make headlines. The 22 -year old kibbutznik had
to be raced to hospital after he lost consciousness because of his heavy
bleeding. Both his legs were operated to remove bullets; in one leg the
knee was involved. The non-violent though militant protest at the
Separation Fence was his first demonstration after he only two weeks ago
finished his three years of military service. (His father told on TV that Gil
had become so rebellious exactly because of what he had seen and had to
participate in at the roadblocks in the West Bank.)
This Saturday evening hundreds of furious, many of them young,
demonstrators blocked for hours the road in front of Tel-Aviv's Defence
Ministry. Among them were also our veterans such as Uri Avnery and
Teddy Katz, as well as Oren Medicks and Nimrod Kerrett who both
became very involved in the anti-Wall protest and the Masha camp.
The police came with a far too small force and succeeded to arrest eleven -
among them David Tartakover, graphic artist and laureate of the
prestigious Israel Prize. The others just continued their sit-in on the road.
While blocking the road slogans were chanted "We won't kill nor be killed
for the settlements" (some chanted "for Zionism" which in Hebrew also
produces an acceptable rhyme and rhythm) and fitting placards were held
up. Anarchists Against The Wall: "When they shot at Palestinians we
were silent!"; the anti-militaristic Profile Hadash "Purity of arms - a
contradiction in terms!"; from the Gush Shalom store: "The Evil Wall Must
Fall!" The gay peace group Kvisa Schora was represented, but what
especially attracted media attention was the presence of Knesset Member
and Meretz Leader Ran Cohen.
When out of nowhere suddenly the prominent anarchist activist Yonathan
Pollack appeared (straight from the Ariel Police Station where he had been
held since yesterday) it was decided to end the demonstration and march
collectively to the Tel-Aviv (Yarkon) Police Station and demand there the
release of the detained activists.
The police station was sort of besieged, and through the mediation of
lawyer Yoni Lerman and Leah Tzemel it was agreed to lift the siege in
return for the release of all activists.
Read further the reports in Ha'aretz, Jerusalem Post and for the Hebrew
readers, Y-net and Ma'ariv
(English)
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/376391.html (Hebrew)
http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/376445.html (English)
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFul l&cid=1072509699711&p=1008596981749
(Hebrew)
http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2850186,00.html (Hebrew)
http://images.maariv.co.il/channels/1/ART/616/290.html
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