Pushing for peace
A small group of left-wing Israelis are voicing their concerns about the war on Iraq and the policies of their own government
Every Saturday night, after the Sabbath has ended, Israeli peace activists assemble in Jerusalem to protest against the Israeli government and its role in the unfolding tragedy in the occupied territories. Annika Hampson reports.
Shlomit Steinitz stands amongst the demonstrators carrying a sign in Hebrew that reads "Get out of the occupied territories and return to negotiations."
Beside her, a friend carries a similar sign reading "Get out of the occupied territories to stop the blood letting." Shlomit and her friend have participated in protests by the Israeli organisation Peace Now every week for as long as she can remember. "It's the only thing I can do," she says. "I am here to protest against my government and what is happening in the occupied territories." She added that she fears Prime Minister Sharon will take the war in the Gulf as an opportunity to further his own political agenda, and ultimately effect a mass expulsion of Palestinians from the territories and the virtual collapse of the Palestinian Authority. "This would have a devastating long- term impact on Israel," she acknowledges.
As the missiles rain down on Baghdad, a war continues to be waged against the Palestinian people. With the world's attention focussed on Iraq, Israel is tightening its grip on Palestinian towns and villages throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Peace Now issued the following statement explaining the reasons it holds protests. "Our demonstration ... is [to voice] our deep concern over the facts on the ground in the occupied territories. Precisely because the winds of war are blowing in the region, we must continue to demand two states for two peoples, persist in our protest against Sharon's brutal policies and increase our awareness of the terrible acts that may be performed in our name against the Palestinian population, while all eyes are directed at Iraq."
However, just as Palestinians with West Bank IDs are not allowed into Israel, Israeli citizens are not allowed into the Palestinian territories -- except as soldiers. Consequently, many have no idea about the way the Intifada is shaping the lives of their Palestinian neighbours.
Avi, who currently serves in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in the West Bank, was also among the demonstrators. After a year based in a village near Hebron, he has a better idea of the impact of the Intifada on the Palestinian population than most of his compatriots. He does claim, however that approximately 40 per cent of his unit opposes the occupation. He says, "I'm Israeli, and I want to be proud of being an Israeli citizen. I don't want Israel to be an occupier."
Nina Myoret, from Mahsoum Watch, an Israeli organisation that sends Israeli volunteers into the West Bank to monitor the conditions at checkpoints, in spite of all the restrictions, addressed the demonstrators, describing the checkpoints and the situations they create. "Checkpoints don't stop terror directed at Israelis, they create terror for Palestinians," she began. She went on to recount what members of the organisation have witnessed at the checkpoints: soldiers searching children's school bags, ambulances detained for hours, soldiers firing rubber bullets and teargas at teenagers, and soldiers laughing at old women clambering over walls and piles of rubble. She concluded, "We are living in a cruel and violent world," emphasising that checkpoints are a means through which cruelty and violence is inflicted on Palestinians.
Jeff Halper, coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, addressed protesters, saying that since the 1967 war, more than 20,000 Palestinian houses have been demolished by the IDF. Since the Intifada began more than two years ago, Halper added, as many as 60 Palestinian houses have been destroyed each day. Just recently, in addition to the wave of demolitions in the southern Gaza Strip, a group of houses in the village of Walajeh, a Palestinian village lying within the borders of Israel, were demolished despite a pending court ruling on their legality.
Yehudit Al-Kana, a member of the Israeli groups Mahsoum Watch and Women for Human Rights, has also participated in the weekly demonstrations for years. As Israeli public opinion has shifted away from negotiations since the failure of the Oslo accords, and as right-wing politicians have gained ascendancy in national politics and supported every harsher measures against the Palestinians, she has watched the numbers of protesters dwindle and has even begun to question whether such demonstrations really make any difference. Even so, she continues to participate. "I believe that not having such demonstrations would be very bad," she says. "It is important to show that there is another voice in Israel."
