imprisoned objectors update

["David Raban" <draban at pob.huji.ac.il>]

Shalom everyone,

In this month's update we report on a surprising development in the case of
Rotem Ronen, a hearing on Jonathan Ben-Artzi's trial, and as usual on the
imprisoned and impending prison terms of the refusers.
In addition we have information about another objector, B.S., who has been
imprisoned for the  last six moth.

Rotem Ronen: In a surprising development on 27/5 Rotem reached an agreement
with the military authorities. According to the agreement Rotem has
enlisted into the army, wears a military uniform while on duty and is
distributing gas masks to civilians. In exchange the military has agreed
that Rotem will not have to go through basic training, will not carry a
weapon at any point in time and will not take the military oath. Contrary
to some reports, Rotem does not define himself as a pacifist and his
refusal to enlist was based on his objection to the atrocities of the
occupation.

Refusers in the Court Martial:

Conscientious objectors Adam Maor, Haggai Mattar, Matan Kaminer, Noam
Bahat, Shimri Tzameret and Yoni Ben-Artzi are held in open detention for
the duration of their court martials.

Jonathan Ben-Artzi: on May 28th another hearing was held, focusing on
Yoni's testimony regarding his conscientious objection. At the start of the
hearing the prosecuter tried to prevent Yoni from testifying, claiming that
yoni's pacifism is irrelevent to the case and only his disobedience is
relevant. The court rejected the plea and Yoni testified for two hours on
his convictions and his struggles with the military authorities.
Quote: "I'm not looking to make things easy for myself. Several high
ranking officers have met with me and offered me a conveniant form of
service, without basic training, without wearing a uniform or carrying a
gun - under the condition that I formally enlist. I turned down the offer
because I'm not willing to be a part of any organization which uses deadly
force and violence, not in any role or under any condition. I am willing to
serve for three years [the length of a standard military service for men]
in a hospital or any other role which benefits society - but only in a
purely civilian environment which has nothing to do with the army."

In his cross-examination the prosecuter claimed that Yoni is really only
refusing to serve in an occupying army and not to refusing to any military
service. Yoni responded by saying that his objection to the occupation is a
part of his total objection to military service, just like "an aurthodox
Jew doesn't drive on the Sabbath, but the holiness of the sabbath is only a
part of his conviction, not all of it".

This hearing also featured the testimony of Dvora Hassid, the commander of
the army's induction base, Bakum, who is mostly responsible for the
sentencing of those who refuse to enlist, such as Yoni. In a rather
embarrasing testimony Dvora tried to avoid any explanation of the army's
policy regarding the handeling of conscietious objectors. During her
testimony, one filled with answers such as "I don't remember" and "I
wouldn't know", Dvora insisted that her only duty in this matter is to make
sure by any means available that the youngsters enlist and it's not her
duty to comprehend their conscience.
The next hearing is sheduled for later this month at which time Adv.
Sfarad, Yoni's attorney, plans to call the head of the men's "conscience
committee" to the stand.


Currently in prison:

B.S.: a Jehovah witness,  has been in prison  for the last six month, he is
at the moment at the isolation ward of prison no. 4. this is his seventh
term in prison. B. Jehovah witnesses are usually exempt form army duty in
Israel, if they can provide proof of their belonging to the community. B.
claims that he had shown the army all the relevant papers about him being
.: a Jehovah witness, but still he was not exempt. He is asking to see the
so called "conscientious committee", but his requests have been rejected.



Konstantin Soskin: Konstantin, a pacifist, is in the isolation ward of
prison no.4 and is expected to be released on 20.6.  this is his fourth
term of imprisonment. his address: Konstantin Soskin, i.d. AGAF HABIDUD,
prison 4, military post 02507, IDF

Slaam Salame: Salaam, a Druze CO, has been going in and out of prison for
the past 2 years. All his attempts to get exempted were unsuccessful. He
has been a deserter for the past six months, and on 4/5 was was captured
and taken to Jalame detention center, where he awaits his trial. This can
take a few months.

Rabia Jihad Sa'ad:
Rabia is imprisoned in prison no. 4, where he still awaits his court
martial on charges off desertion. His address: Rabia Jihad Sa'ad, i.d.
7232805, prison 4, military post 02507, IDF.

Hillel Goral:
Hillel is in prison no. 4, where he awaits his trial on a charge of
desertion. Hillel has so far served three terms in prison, which amount to
about 80 days. His address: Hillel Goral, i.d. 7269230, prison 4, military
post 02507, IDF.

Dani Filc: Dr. Dani Filc, a member of "Physicians for Human Rights", who is
married and has 4 children, has been sentenced on 28/5 to 14 days in prison
for his refusal to serve reserve military duty in the Occupied Territories.
Dr. Filc writes:
"One cannot argue in favor of the right to Jewish self-determination while
denying the same right to the Palestinian people. The occupation negates
this right and therefore it is wrong, and it is wrong to attempt to
forcefully preserve it.
The same principles which brought me to the decision to move to Israel
bring me to the decision to refuse to serve in the territories."


In Between Prison Terms:

Shahar Ben-Har: After 3 prison terms Shahar has returned to his base and is
now awaiting an insuitability committee.

Shmuel Baron: Shmuel is currently at home after 148 days in prison.

Arseiny Hotorinsky: Arseiny's first prison term of 35 days has ended, he is
currently at home waiting to be summoned to the "conscience committee".

Yoel Perlman: Yoel is out of prison and is waiting to be summoned to the
"conscience committee"

Ylia Gintzburg: Ylia has just finished  these days a second prison term of
14 days after already serving 28 days in prison. He is currently at home ,
until he will report again.

Amit Ris: Amit has just been released form prison, he is due to report
back, at the induction center at june 8th.



David Raban and Amir Givol
New Profile

What can we do?

First of all, please circulate this message and the information contained in
it as widely as possible, not only through e-mail, but also on websites,
conventional media, by word of mouth, etc.
Other recommendations for action:
1.sign the online -
<http://www.petitiononline.com/091202/petition.html>petition:

2. Sending Letters of Support for Prisoners

Please send the prisoners your messages of support to the addresses above or
to:

[Prisoner's name]
POB 16238
Tel-Aviv
Israel.

Messages of support could also be sent to all imprisoned objectors by
e-mail, at <mailto:dash at seruv.org.il>mailto:dash at seruv.org.il.

In addition to the letters of support, you can also send packages to
prisoners (to counter the Israeli custom of sending gift packages to
soldiers). You can use the POB above for that purpose. Note that there is no
way to insert foodstuffs into the prison. Books, on the other hand, are the
prisoner's best friends.
2. Letters to Authorities

It is recommended to send letters of protest on behalf of the objectors to:

Mr. Shaul Mofaz,
Minister of Defence,
Ministry of Defence,
37 Kaplan St.,
Tel-Aviv 61909,
Israel.
E-mail: <mailto:sar at mod.gov.il>mailto:sar at mod.gov.il or
<mailto:pniot at mod.gov.il>mailto:pniot at mod.gov.il
Fax: ++972-3-696-27-57 / ++972-3-691-69-40 / ++972-3-691-79-15

Copies can be sent to the commanders of the prisons at:

Commander of Military Prison No. 4,
Military Prison No. 4,
Military postal number 02507,
IDF
Israel.
Fax: ++972-3-957-52-76

Another useful address for sending copies would be the Military Attorney
General:

Brig. Gen. Menachem Finklestein
Chief Military Attorney
Military postal code 9605
IDF
Israel
Fax: ++972-3-569-43-70

In the cases of draft resisters and conscripts it would be especially
useful to send your appeals to the Commander of the Induction Base in
Tel-Hashomer. It is this officer that ultimately decides whether an
objector is to be exempted from military service or sent to another round
in prison:
Deborah Chassid
Commander of Induction Base, Tel-Hashomer
Military Postal Code 02718, IDF
Israel.
Fax: ++972-3-737-60-52


You can also protest to the local Israeli embassy, you can find the
addresses on the
web<http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfh/Eng/Ntz/Ntz_Israel.asp?seek=1&let=85>:
http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfh/Eng/Ntz/Ntz_Israel.asp?seek=1&let=85

Copies of appeals in can also be sent to:

Head of Incompatibles Unit
Induction Base (Baqum)
Tel-Hashomer
Fax: ++972-3-737-67-05.

Addresses of additional military and government officials, as well as those
of some Israeli media, to which you can send copies of your appeals, can be

found at this web address:
<http://www.newprofile.org/english/Summery_CO_01.html>http://www.newprofile.org/english/Summery_CO_01.html
(see the bottom of the
page).

Please be aware that writing to the media at this time is more important
than ever.

A standard sample letter is available at the bottom of the same web page
(<http://www.newprofile.org/english/Summery_CO_01.html#sample>http://www.newprofile.org/english/Summery_CO_01.html#sample).
However it
would be advisable to adjust your letter to the particular circumstances of
the case.