In March of 2005, a group of 250 Israeli high school students sent a joint letter to the Israeli Prime Minister, declaring they will refuse to take any part in the occupation of the Palestinian territories and people. After five years of continuous bloodshed , we've decided it is time to raise our voice and call for an immediate end of the occupation.
More about us "We the undersigned, Israeli girls and boys, believing in the values of democracy, humanism and pluralism, hereby declare that we shall refuse to take part in the occupation and repression policy adopted by the Government of Israel."
"We wish to live in a society which pursues justice, upholding equal rights to every single citizen. The occupation and repression policy is an obstacle to the realization of this vision, therefore we shall refuse to take part in it. We wish to contribute to society in an alternative way, which does not involve harming other human beings."
"We call on all young people facing mobilization and on all members of the Israeli army to weigh again whether to risk their lives in the service of this repressive and destructive policy."
source: http://www.shministim.org/indexenglish.html 21mar2005
About the group The new High-school Refuseniks movement was originated in October of 2004. At the same time that a group of Israel high-school students from the Tel-Aviv area decided that they can no longer stay silent, a massive bloodshed was going on in the Gaza Strip, with more than 140 Israelis and Palestinians killed. This is our how movement started. All of the rage, frustration and desperation which were accumulated in the last five years, led a group of a few dozens of us to start working on a new movement of high-school students who refuse to take part in the occupation.
For the last five years, the Israeli left-wing has been silent. Thousands of people were killed, more than 100,000 were injured, and still the occupation continues. Every now-and-then a new initative is born in the Israeli left-wing, but all of these initiatives fall apart quickly. The main reason for that, we believe, is the absurd which is found in the willingness of people who oppose the occupation and think it is not legitimate, to take an active part in it.
But that has changed. More than 300 Israeli high-school students have already signed our letter, declaring they will refuse to take part in the vicious occupation. On March 13th, 2005, we sent our letter to the Prime-Minister, the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Education and the Military Chief of Staff.
Between October, when the movement was originated, and March, when we got massive media coverage in Israel around the world, we worked very hard to build a strong base, to collect donations for our activities, to produce good connections with other left-wing organizations in Israel and in other countries as well.
We don't have any intention to fade away like many other left-wing initiatives in the last five years. Our message is firm and clear- We are here to end to the occupation and bring freedom, security and peace to all Israelis and Palestinians. We refuse to take part of the occupation, which is against our basic values. In order to keep working against the occupation and in favor of peace, we need your help, either by donating money or taking part in our activities.
We believe there is another way.
source: http://www.shministim.org/aboutenglish.html 21mar2005
THE LETTER
Arial Sharon, Prime Minister
Lt. General Shaul Mofaz, Minister of Defence
Lt. Genral Moshe Yaalon, Chief og General Staff
Limor Livnat, Minister of Education
We the undersigned, Israeli girls and boys, believing in the values of democracy, humanism and pluralism, hereby declare that we shall refuse to take part in the occupation and repression policy adopted by the Government of Israel. Our backgrounds are diverse, but we are all agreed that these values are the bases of a just society. Every human being has the right to life, equality, dignity and freedom. We are bound by our conscience and as citizens of Israel to act in defence of these rights, by refusing to participate in the occupation and repression policy.
The occupation leads to inhumanity and to a massive infringement of the right to life. It tramples on the basic rights of millions of people and inflicts daily carnage and suffering. It leads to the confiscation of lands, to mass destruction of homes and public buildings, to arrests and killings without trial, to victimization and murder of innocents, to hunger, to a denial of medical assistance, to collective punishment, and to the building and expansion of settlements and the negation of any chance of normal living both in the occupied territories and in Israel itself. This flagrant violation of human rights is opposed to our view of the world, as well as being in contravention of international conventions signed and ratified by Israel.
The occupation contributes nothing to the security of the state and its citizens but on the contrary, it only aggravates it. It deepens the despair and fans the hatered among the Palestinians, feeds terrorism and widens the river of blood between the two sides. True security will only be accomplished by ending the occupation, dismantling the wall of Apartheid around the Palestinians and striving for a just peace agreement between the state of Israel and the leadership of the Palestinian people as well as the Arab world. The present policy is not a result of a military necessity, but the outcome of a nationalistic=Messianic phantasy.
The occupation has corrupted Israel, turning it into a militaristic, racist, chauvinistic and violent society. Israel is wasting its resources on the perpetuation of the occupation and repression in the territories, while hundreds of thousands of Israelis live in shameful poverty. In recent years Israeli citizens have experienced a deterioration of all public services. Education, medicine, welfare, pensions, everything to do with the well being of the citizenry has been neglected and sacrificed for the continued existence of settlements which the majority of the population wishes to be evacuated. We cannot stand idly facing this situation, which amounts to a "targeted liquidation" of the principle of equality.
We wish to live in a society which pursues justice, upholding equal rights to every single citizen. The occupation and repression policy is an obstacle to the realization of this vision, therefore we shall refuse to take part in it. We wish to contribute to society in an alternative way, which does not involve harming other human beings.
We call on all young people facing mobilization and on all members of the Israeli army to weigh again whether to risk their lives in the service of this repressive and destructive policy.
We believe that there is another way.
source: http://www.shministim.org/letterenglish.html 21mar2005
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