Letter from young Israeli Resister

View this email in your browser My name is Eran, I’m 19 years old and I live in Tel Aviv. I refuse to be conscripted to the Israeli military becuase I am not willing to take part in the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. I already served 14 days in military jail and last Sunday I was sentenced to another 20 days in jail. Write Eran a letter of support From a very early age, I strove to understand the political situation in Israel and the power relations between Israelis and Palestinians. After researching the topic I came to understand the daily reality of Palestinians living under the Israeli occupation. The more I learned about the blockade of Gaza and the lack of basic human rights for Palestinians in the West Bank the more clear it was to me that I cannot agree to become a soldier and take part in the oppression of the Palestinian people.  In my statement to the army’s Committee for Granting Exemptions for Reasons of Conscience, I declared my reasons for my refusal of military service:  I refuse because I believe it is immoral and unreasonable to hold the Palestinian people under military control and blockade without granting them civil and political rights, and while violating their human rights on an ongoing basis. I refuse because I believe that all human beings should be governed by institutions that represent them.  I refuse because I believe that enlisting in the army legitimizes the occupation and serves it. I refuse because I believe that Israel could and should end the occupation immediately whether by agreement, withdrawal, or by granting citizenship to the Palestinian people and the establishment of a bi-national state for both Palestinians and Israelis. I refuse because I respect the rules and norms of international law and the international community, which reject the Israeli occupation. Write Eran a letter of support On the day of my conscription I refused to be drafted and was sent to be tried in a military court. One of the officers there told me he wanted to stop me from going to jail and that he had a solution that would allow me to serve by joining the Israeli police force, for my service. I agreed, believing that in that way I could serve the country without taking a part in the occupation.  I was invited to an interview for the police forces in the national headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah, in Occupied East Jerusalem. I refused because I am not willing to invade Palestinian territories. As a result, I was rejected by the police for being a conscientious objector and was sent back to the military court. The officer who suggested I join the police was angered by my “stubbornness” but  said he would try to change the police decision. I was called to another interview in West Jerusalem. There, I was rejected for stating that I would not report or use information regarding the Occupied Territories that I would receive during my police service. I was tried once again in military court, and was sentenced to jail for 14 days.  After the military’s failed attempts to find a service position for me that would not be against my conscience, my conclusion is that it is not possible to serve in the military or the police without taking part in the occupation. After 54 years the occupation has seeped into all security positions in Israel. It is unavoidable and will only stop once the occupation itself comes to an end. In solidarity, Eran  Write Eran a letter of support Donate to help the Refusers If someone forwarded you this email, sign up here to receive these updates regularly Mesarvot is an Israeli network supporting those who refuse to be soldiers of the Israeli Occupation. Refuser Solidarity Network is an international network supporting the refusers. Together, the two networks send these regular refusers updates - You can directly contact us at info@refuser.org / Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Copyright © 2020 Refuser Solidarity Network,Inc. 244 Fifth Avenue, Suite F39, New York City, NY, 10001.   Photo Credit: Ido Ramon

 

Letter to President Joe Biden handed in at US Embassy Belfast

Over 230 organizations from 17 countries signed up for a call to action against the war in Yemen this week.  Among them were the Peace People who handed in a letter to President Joe Biden at the US Embassy in Belfast on 26 January last. The letter from Mairead Maguire asked for freedom for Julian Assange and to save the children of Yemen by ending the US/UK support for the Saudi led war there, to stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia and make peace.

In a separate development, the Wall Street Journal on 27 January reported that President Biden has suspended arms sales to Saudi Arabia temporarily. 

Below is the letter handed in to the Embassy by Mairead, Ann Patterson and other Peace People:

"Dear Mr President

Please accept my congratulations and best wishes in your work as President.

I have two urgent requests to ask of you.

l)  Free Julian Assange.

Please do all you can to free Julian Assange and release him to let him go home to his family.

He has served long enough and his family long for his presence and his punishment to be ended.

2) Save the Children of Yemen.

Your Foreign Policy is causing death and starvation of thousands of Yemeni children as the ports are blocked and people cannot get food.  Do not let history record again that powerful Governments played politics with little children’s lives. I implore you Mr. President to stop immediately  with the UK Government the war on Yemen.  Please end the arms sales to Saudi Arabia and make peace.

Sadly more and more Yemeni children are being starved by warring parties whose blockades and bomb attacks have decimated and continue to decimate their country.

Please learn from Northern Ireland, and solve this horror of war on Yemen, through dialogue.

Peace and Love

Mairead Maguire

Nobel Peace Laureate"

 

http://www.peacepeople.com/a-letter-from-nobel-laureate-mairead-maguire-to-president-biden-free-julian-assange-end-the-war-on-yemen/

 

Great News about Julian Assange

Julian will NOT BE EXTRADITED to the USA, a judge has ruled. 

 

https://www.thejournal.ie/assange-2-5315374-Jan2021/ 

Judge Vanessa Baraitser decided today that Julian Assange will not be extradited to the USA to face charges there.

The judge made her decision on health grounds.  Because of Julian's mental state it would be oppressive to extradite him, she said.

Supporters outside the court as seen on Sky News appeared to be wild with excitement.

His legal team are to apply for bail this afternoon while the prosecution are expected to appeal the decision.