Shministim: Israeli Conscientious Objectors
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNjggLhQo6w&hl
For most families in Israel, serving in the military is not only a required duty it’s also of great honor and prestige. “Shministim” is the equivalent of high school seniors in Israel. So at the age of 18, after graduating from high school, young Israelis serve in the military for 3 years before continuing their education. After the WhoProfits.org meeting with Dalit at the Zochrot office we met with two young female Israeli conscientious objectors: Netta Mishly and Raz Veron, both of whom rejected to serve in the Israeli military at the age of 18. Both of these young women discussed what led to their conviction of refusing to serve in the Israeli military and the reactions they received from their family and society.
The sea is not deep enough
Jun 29, 2009 Trip
This evening we went to the sea in Yaffa. Every time I am here I have the same feeling as when I am in Jerusalem and I get a call from a West Bank friend. When a friend asks me where I am, sometimes I lie and say I am in Ramallah. Because Jerusalem does not mean to me what it means to them, and yet I am allowed to be there and they are not. It is the same with the sea. Some of my most meaningful times in Palestine have been traveling with children who have never been to the sea, watching them dive in fully clothed, even in the winter. This evening was nice. A beautiful evening, a good group of people. I was glad to be able to be there, and especially with the two members of our group who hold West Bank IDs and are therefore not usually allowed to visit the sea. But it is not so simple as to just enjoy it. As one pointed out yesterday, he is only allowed to be here in ’48, in his own land, because he is with a foreign group. I’m not sure the sea is deep enough to hold the pain or contradictions of Zionism.
An Israeli for BDS… and more where he came from
Jun 28, 2009 Trip
We met today with Kobi Snitz, an Israeli academic who is involved in Anarchists Against the Wall and is also (more pertinently to our delegation) involved in BDS work, particularly around the academic boycott. What was maybe the most unique and useful about our meeting with Kobi was to see the humility that he has as an Israeli in the movement. He and his group (soon to launch a website and official campaign!) are very aware of the ways in which Israelis can take over movements that are and should be Palestinian led. For this reason, their principles are basically centered around supporting the Palestinian civil society BDS call in full. They would not, for example, support the demand about an end to occupation without supporting the demand for right of return, or for equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel. Kobi responded to most questions by giving the official BNC line, and when he wasn’t sure about a particular question, he suggested we talk to Omar Barghouti (from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel) about it. We plan to do so on Thursday.
Kobi’s group mostly wants to be a support for the Palestinian movement and for those in the global BDS movement (like us perhaps) who could use their information and endorsements in our campaigns. They will write letters to artists and academics who plan to visit Israel, asking them not to do so. And they will work with Israelis to figure out what role these people from within can have in the movement. It has been inspiring to see him and several other Israelis we have been speaking to actually reflect upon their role and come to positions that should be expected of progressive Israelis, but that we unfortunately rarely find.
Hebron: a totally different experience !
Jun 25, 2009 Trip
In Hebron, the experience was completely different than anything I have ever seen before. Despite the fact that I have lived in the West Bank for over a decade and have experienced the Israeli invasion in 2002 and the Israeli occupation policies, Hebron was still a whole different story. Touring the old city, we did not get only to see the effects of the Israeli occupation on locals, we got to experience the results of their policies ourselves. In less than 20 minutes of the tour, we had to pass through three or four checkpoints in order to get from a neighborhood to another. Even though it was annoying to pass through the checkpoints, I had to remind myself every time that people who live here had to go through this every single day, sometimes more than once a day in order to get out or get in to their houses.
We got to speak with many Palestinians who have experienced the aggression of settlers throughout the past nine years. We heard stories and watched videos of the actions the settlers have taken against Palestinians in that area and people who live there assured us that those actions are still taking place till now. Palestinian children were beaten up, shot at, and settlers’ children stood in their way to school trying to block their way by throwing stones at them and confronting them. Not surprisingly, the Israeli army stood there and watched protecting the settlers instead of stopping them from attacking school children.
Today, we took a tour in Dheisheh refugees camp and other parts of Bethlehem, we spoke to refugees in the camp who told us their stories. We are spending overnight in Dheisheh and leaving in the morning to Jerusalem where we are going to see the effect of the occupation on Palestinians who live in the East side of the city.
It hasn’t been a long time since this delegation started, it is our second day, but everyday I feel how important this movement is and I could see how it would affect the daily lives of the Palestinians. Every time we talked to locals here they tell us the same thing, they are people and they have a basic right to be free and live their lives just like anyone else in this world. I believe they are right, and they have the right to be free. However, I don’t think that the Israeli government shares this idea with me.
Delegation arrives, Apartheid continues
Jun 24, 2009 Trip
Everyone has arrived safely and we began our travel together today.
What has most struck me so far is the degree of apartheid we are experiencing not only in relation to our hosts and what we witness, but also as it affects our group. Even before we met up, the person on our delegation with the darkest skin was stopped for 10 hours at the border, whereas the person with the lightest skin got in with a breeze. Today at the first checkpoint we went through as a group, again the darkest-skinned person was stopped and had his ID checked, in addition to the two women wearing hijab, and almost nobody else.
I never cease to be amazed and disgusted by how blatant the racism is here. Nothing is too far below the surface. And I am sure that by the end of our time together, we will all be even more committed to ending Israeli apartheid.
