update on imprisoned objectors

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

Dear friends,

There are nine refusers in military prisons at the moment,
Some have been released, and some draft resisters were jailed again, even
for the fifth time, in what seems to be a severe harshening of the
military's attitude towards draft resisters.

Released:

Since the last update five refusers were released:
Ofer Sela, Avi Ende' Iga'al Onik & Iga'al Broner.
They are all reservists and therefore there is little danger of them being
imprisoned again in the next few months.
Also released:
Yonathan Ben-Artzi and Haggai Mattar, both draft resistors. Yonathan has
already spent 126 days in prison, and Haggai has spent 42v days.
Next Sunday they will have to report again and hopefully Yonathan will be
exempt. As for Haggai - it's most probable that he will be sentenced to
additional prison terms.

Currently in prison:

-Alon Hen, OT objector, 33 years old, married and a father to a girl, was
sentenced to 21 days in prison 6. Alon is an acteur and a director. He is
due to be released on 12.12
-M.G., OT objector, 30 years old, married with4 children, was sentenced to
21 days in prison 6. He is due to be released on 13.12. M. is a PhD student
of history.
Uri Ya'akobi, draft resister, and a signatory of the "senior's letter" is
now on his forth prison term, in a row. Until now he has spent 106 days in
prison, he is due to be released tomorrow, and is supposed to report again
next week.
-N.V, 26 years old, OT objector. was sentenced to 10 days in prison 6. he
is due to be released on 6.12.
-Yoni Yehezkel, draft resister, and a signatory of the "senior's letter",
was transferred to prison no. 6, after his own request.he is due to be
released on 14.12.
-K.G., OT objector, 26 years old, Was sentenced to 10 days in prison no. 6,
due to be released on 11.12
-Eshel Hertzog, 23 years old, Total objector, Was sentenced to 28 days in
prison no. 6, due to be released on 28.12. he works in education.
Dror Boymel, draft resister, and a signatory of the "senior's letter,
Was sentenced to an additional prison term of 28 days. Until thjis term he
has spent 91 days in prison.
-Dror Lusti.


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. 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@seruv.org.il>mailto:dash@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@mod.gov.il>mailto:sar@mod.gov.il or
<>mailto:pniot@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.

Thank you,
David Raban,
New Profile.