[WCUSP] [Fwd: War, Nyet! Ceasefire, Da!]

[Tura Campanella Cook]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Libby or Mort Frank <lmfrank1 at verizon.net>
> Date: August 11, 2006 7:45:35 PM CDT
> To: Hshafter at comcast.net, turacc at earthlink.net
> Subject: [Fwd: War, Nyet! Ceasefire, Da!]
>
> =====================
> From: Gila Svirsky <gsvirsky at netvision.net.il>
> Date: 2006/08/11 Fri PM 12:48:27 CDT
> To: 'Gila Svirsky' <gsvirsky at netvision.net.il>
> Subject: War, Nyet! Ceasefire, Da!
>
>
> Friends,
>  
> I figured there would be extra anger at usat the Women in Black vigil 
> today, and there was.  “I hope all yourchildren will get killed and 
> your house explodes too!” screamed one womanas she walked by.
>  
> I think the fury rises in direct proportionto how Israelis think the 
> war is going, and it is going very poorly indeed inpublic opinion:  
> Only 20% of Israelis say that “Israel iswinning”.  These are the ones 
> who are convinced by Olmert’sglorious view of the battlefield.  
> Another 30% say, “Israel is notwinning”…presumably because somebody 
> else is.  And 43% saythat there’s no winner or loser.  Like a tie in 
> soccer, I suppose. [Data published in Ha’aretz11 August]
>  
> Driving home, I tuned the radio to the easylistening music program, 
> but there was no easy listening for me today. The celebrity host was 
> telling listeners about the proposed ceasefire, andwarning them, “If 
> we have a ceasefire now and return the territory indispute, that will 
> reward terrorism, and then Syria will invade, knowing thatit can also 
> regain lost territory by going to war against Israel.” How many errors 
> can you find in that sentence?  The media are now filledwith Israelis 
> protesting that the proposed various ceasefire plans will not letus 
> finish off the enemy.
>  
> A few items about war and peace:
>  
> Military Refusal in Israel
>  
> From a report by Sarah Anne Minkin and RelaMazali:  “…activist groups 
> New Profile and Yesh Gvul reportthat hundreds, if not thousands, of 
> reserve troops are refusing to go to thewar. More than a hundred have 
> turned to the groups for help in refusing toserve. While 5 refusers 
> are currently in jail, with more awaiting trial for theirrefusal, the 
> vast majority of refusers will not face immediate trial 
> orpunishment.”  Why not?  Report Sarah Anne and Rela:“…the majority of 
> refusers are being told by their commanders to goAWOL, with punitive 
> measures delayed for a later, less-urgent time. Refusersalso report 
> that many other men get out of service by going abroad, getting 
> amedical deferral or simply going AWOL.”  (Soon to appear on 
> www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org)
>  
> Pride and No-pride
> At recent gaypride events in Israel, Queeruption held several 
> successful happenings. On the left is a sign from one: No pride in 
> occupation & war”. And on the right is Shaul, a staunch peace 
> activist, trying out his piano aftera direct hit to his Haifa home by 
> a Hizbullah-fired rocket destroyed just abouteverything except the 
> piano.  Shaul continues to come to the anti-warrallies (and his wife 
> Ruthie is an active member of the Coalition of Women forPeace).
>  
>  
> “They place militaryinstallations in the midst of their towns and 
> villages”
> This claim against Hizbullah is used byIsrael to justify its bombing 
> of Lebanese towns and villages.  Now thatmakes me worry, as a huge 
> number of Israel’s military installations arealso in or near our 
> populated areas.  Marjam Hadar Meerschwam of NewProfile 
> (www.newprofile.org) writesthat she “has a military plant at the foot 
> of my road, and Gelilot armybase a short walk away.”    Rela Mazali, 
> also of NewProfile, writes, “My own house, in quiet suburbia just 
> north of Tel Aviv,is 15 minutes walk from a major intelligence base in 
> one direction and a majormunitions plant in the other.”  And did we 
> mention thatIsrael’s Ministry of Defense (our Pentagon) is in the 
> heart of crowded,downtown Tel Aviv?  Both sides have a lot to learn 
> about the rules of war.
>  
> Bulletin
> I just heard thata peace activist was hit by a rubber bullet today at 
> the weekly protest of theSeparation Barrier in Bil'in.  The websites 
> say he has “moderate toserious head wounds.”  I hope he’s okay.
>  
> Finally
> I reprint below the translation of anarticle that just appeared in 
> Ha’aretz(10 August).  We’re very proud of these two young activists in 
> theCoalition of Women for Peace.
>  
> Shalom / Salaam from Jerusalem,
> Gila Svirsky
> ____________________________
>  
> Translated from Ha’aretz,10 August 2006
>  
> Voine – Nyet!  Kharb– La!  [“War – No!” in Russianand Arabic]
> By Lily Galili
>  
> At the vanguard of the radical left protest against the war are two 
> women– an Arab and an immigrant from the former Soviet Union – 
> leadingthe demonstrations with “End the War” chants in Arabic and 
> Russian.
>  
> The evening beforewe met, Khulood Badawi [photo, right] escaped the 
> horrors of war to go to theal-Hakawati Theater in East Jerusalem.  But 
> even escapism is not what itused to be.  She was watching the Lebanese 
> movie “The Kite”,directed by a friend’s sister, in which a young 
> Lebanese woman falls inlove with a Druze soldier from Israel during 
> the first Lebanon War.  Atthe height of the story, her cell phones 
> began to ring.  The news thatKatyusha rockets had fallen on Haifa 
> quickly moved through the theater. Badawi, who had lived in Haifa for 
> several years, fled the theater to watch theTV news, where she 
> recognized the offices of al-Ittihad,the newspaper of Hadash, Badawi’s 
> political party.  Among the ruinsshe saw many offices she knew, and 
> began calling her friends. [photo from Ha’aretz by Guy Ravitz]
>  
> At that same moment, Yana Knopova [photo, left], who immigrated 
> toIsrael from the Ukraine 11 years ago as a young Zionist activist, 
> was fieldingphone calls to and from friends and colleagues.  The 
> rockets had fallennot far from the Haifa apartment she shares with 
> Abir Kopty, the spokeswomanfor the Mossawa Advocacy Center for Arab 
> Citizens of Israel, and in the heartof the neighborhood of many Arabs 
> and Jews who share her uncommon politicalpath.
>  
> The two met the next day in what they call “the Tel Avivbubble”, where 
> they have been orchestrating the key protests against thewar on behalf 
> of the Coalition of Women for Peace and Ta’ayush.  AnArab and a 
> Russian.  Another of the strange phenomena to emerge from thiswar.
>  
> The 30-year-old Badawi has a long history of political activism: The 
> former militant chair of the Association of Arab University Students 
> inIsrael, Badawi is today a field worker for the Association of Civil 
> Rights inIsrael.  The 25-year-old Knopova, a student of psychology at 
> HaifaUniversity [and coordinator of the Coalition of Women for Peace], 
> strayed farfrom the Zionist dream though she had worked five years for 
> the Jewish Agency,
>  
> In those years, she believed that “the left was only the MeretzParty”, 
> as she put it, and then she discovered what she calls the liesand 
> arrogance on which Israel is based, which not only create primitive 
> men inIsrael, but undermine the judgment of the entire country.  Thus 
> she foundher way to a political and social home in the radical left.
>  
> The Bomb and the Hope
>  
> Clearly the sense of marginalization in Israeli society – whichviews 
> Arabs as the enemy and ignores immigrants – strengthened the 
> solidaritybetween them.  “The police see Khulood as a natural 
> enemy,”says Knopova with a bitter smile; “while in the exact same 
> situation, thepolice refuse to see me as an enemy.  They also live 
> with the stereotypethat there are no Russians in the left.  Khulood is 
> always dangerous, I amnever dangerous; Khulood is a demographic 
> time-bomb, I am a demographichope.  This is an approach that regards 
> the wombs of us both as in theservice of the state, and we will not 
> give them this pleasure.” [photoleft of Knopova by Yair Gil]
>  
> Over the past month, they have orchestrated all the demonstrations 
> ofthe left, and held them in three languages – Hebrew, Arabic 
> andRussian.  Based on the number of calls coming in to Badawi’s 
> threecell phones, one would think that opposition to the war is the 
> new consensus;based on the calls to Knopova in Russian throughout our 
> conversation, one wouldthink that a million Russian speakers in Israel 
> changed their political views.
>  
> This is not true, of course, but there is no doubt that 
> somethingdifferent and new is happening.  Much has already been said 
> about theuniqueness of this war; the fact that at the vanguard of 
> protest are two women– an Arab and an immigrant from the former Soviet 
> Union – iswithout a doubt another unique element.  Everything is new 
> about this:Most of the protest in Israel, including that of the more 
> left-wing activists,used to spring from the pool of Ashkenazi Jewish 
> men.  Not anymore. Today the protest of this war is being led to a 
> large extent by women.
>  
> And that is not the only difference.  In the past, Arab citizensof 
> Israel refrained from going to demonstrations in Tel Aviv during 
> awar.  At most, they would make do with token representation in the 
> laterstages of protest.  They would also generally hold their 
> demonstrations inArab towns.  Not any more.  From the very first week, 
> the Arabsbecame equal partners to the demonstrations in Tel Aviv.  
> Thousands ofKatyusha rockets falling on them erased the reluctance of 
> the past.  Intheir eyes, this is no longer a Jewish war, but a 
> civilian war in which theyhave an equal right to make themselves 
> heard.  Badawi says that theydeliberately bring their voices to Tel 
> Aviv, which is seen as the capital ofIsrael.  [photo left of Badawi by 
> GS]
>
> Another kind of change is transpiring among Russian 
> speakers,considered the hard core of the Israeli right.  Once, 
> bringing a fewRussian speakers to demonstrations of the Zionist left 
> was considered a bigachievement.  Today there is a small, but visible 
> and consistentparticipation of Russian speakers in the protest 
> movement of the radicalleft.  Thus, the Arabs are learning to chant 
> “Voine –Nyet!” (no war), while Russian and Hebrew speakers are 
> chanting“Salaam – Na’am!, Kharb – La!” (peace yes! warno!).  It looks 
> like this connection will last long after the voices of warsubside.
>  
> The Old Left Failed
>  
> To Badawi and Knopova, all this seems quite natural.  Above all,they 
> feel that the role of women in this protest is obvious.  “Allthe 
> elements of this war bring the issues together – feminism, 
> socialjustice, class distinctions, environment, and the occupation,” 
> they say;“Women make this connection in a natural way.  The Old Left, 
> evenGush Shalom, has not managed to connect these struggles.  We 
> do. Even the social justice and political networks of women are 
> stronger. This war is taking place on our social turf, in our homes.  
> As women andcitizens, we create an alternative voice of women facing 
> the militant voice ofmen.”
>  
> “This is a male war about honor, both that of the Israel DefenseForces 
> and the Hizbullah,” says Knopova.   “Women areless into matters of 
> honor.  Russian women instinctively understand thatthis war is a man’s 
> game.  We grew up in that kind of society, andit’s obvious to us.”  
> Perhaps this is why the group ofRussian-speaking women in the radical 
> left in Israel grew over a short periodfrom 3 to 200 activists who are 
> now involved in protest.
>  
> Knopova explains that even her father now visiting in Israel, 
> aprofoundly non-political person, “understood the lie” from 
> watchingthe Israeli TV channel in Russian.  Even he, reports Knopova, 
> noted inamazement that one Israeli soldier seems to be worth the lives 
> of ten Israelicivilians and a hundred Lebanese.  “He feels 
> instinctively thatsomething is wrong,” she says, “but the Russians in 
> Israel getbrainwashed.”
>  
> “Human life is valued in Israel only when it is inuniform,” contends 
> Badawi.  “From our perspective, thestruggle now is for the dignity of 
> everyone in Israel.  Every humanbeing.  Arab women have a common 
> socio-economic interest with Russian andMizrahi women.  Our parents 
> will have nothing left to eat after thewar.  When we speak from the 
> stage – Yana in Russian, I in Arabic– that in itself is a political 
> message.  It also conveys to theArab world that the claims by Israel 
> and the U.S. that Jews and Arabs cannotlive together is a false 
> message.”
>  
> It is easy to elicit endless criticism from them about Israel, 
> butharder to pry from them statements against the Hizbullah.  
> “Clearlywe as feminists cannot support a fundamentalist religious 
> organization,”they agree, “but we do not want our statements to be 
> used manipulativelyagainst our views.  Israel gave the Hizbullah 
> reasons to attack, but ourstruggle is waged on behalf of our own 
> society, to prevent a regional war thatwould hurt us all.”
>  
> Badawi says that this is also the beginning of a way to repair 
> thefractured relations from the events of 2000 [when 13 Arab citizens 
> were killedby the Israeli police], after which it was practically 
> impossible to find Arabpartners for political protest.  “The age is 
> over when we wouldaccept Jewish partnership at any price,” she says.  
> “Today theconnection is genuine, with Jewish activists paying the 
> price of theirparticipation by demonstrations against the wall in 
> Bil’in, refusal toserve in the military, activism at the checkpoints.  
> We have a commonfate, but it is different than in the past.  These 
> demonstrations can helpus out of the severed relations of October 
> 2000.  Now the Arab-Jewishpartnership is egalitarian.”
>  
> Only one area remains outside the joint space: the emotionalmemories.  
> When Badawi talks about the evils of the Separation Fence, herpersonal 
> baggage takes her back to 1948.  Knopova agrees to every word,but has 
> other associations from the collective Jewish memory.  “I donot want 
> Germans guarding us within the ghetto that we created for 
> ourselveswith the Separation Walls and security zones,” she says.  
> “Inthe tragic evolution of Zionism, Israel has become the final 
> solution ofitself.”  Perhaps this is not the text that will accompany 
> theofficial lighting of torches on Independence Day in Israel, but it 
> is the onlymoment when the thoughts of the two good friends part ways.
> ____________________________
>  
> HOW TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION
>  
> Contributions to the Coalition of Women for Peace help make it 
> possible for us to carry outour work for peace.  You can make a 
> donation in any of the following ways:
>  
> 1) Make out a check to the “Coalition of Women for Peace”, and mail it 
> to Coalition of Women for Peace, P.O. Box 10252, 91102Jerusalem, 
> Israel.
>  
> 2) To ourAmerican friends: For a US-tax deduction, make out a check to 
> "NewIsrael Fund”, write on the memo line (or separately) that it 
> is“For the Coalition of Women for Peace",and mail it to New Israel 
> Fund, 1101 14th Street NW, Sixth Floor,Washington, DC 20005-5639. 
> (Minimum they will accept – $100.)
>  
> 3) To our British friends:  Fora UK-tax deduction, make out a check to 
> the "New Israel Fund", writeon the memo line (or separately) that it 
> is "For the Coalition of Women forPeace", and mail it to New Israel 
> Fund, 25-26 Enford Street, London W1H1DW.  (Minimum they will accept – 
> 70 GBP.)
>  
> 4) To our Dutch friends:  For aNetherlands-tax deduction, make a 
> deposit into the bank account of StichtingOntwikkeling Mondiaal 
> Leiderschap, Javakade 162, 1019 RW Amsterdam, account697683222, 
> writing on the memo line: Education program of the Coalition ofWomen 
> for Peace.
>  
> 5)  To our Swiss friends: For a Swiss tax benefit, make out a check to 
> "Neuer Israel FondsSchweiz", write on the memo line (or separately) 
> that it is "For theCoalition of Women for Peace", and mail it to 
> NIF-Schweiz, Postfach 425,CH-4010 Basel.  Or deposit to 
> Postscheckkonto 40-37333-1.
>  
> 6) Alternatively, you can wiretransfer a contribution directly into 
> our bank account.  Our address:
> Israel Discount Bank, Hamoshava Branch#062, 21 Emek Refaim Street, 
> Jerusalem.
> Beneficiary: Coalition of Women for Peace
> Account Number: 967017-512400
> Swift Code:  IDBLILIT 062
> For transfers from Europe:  IBAN No.IL 011062 967017 512400
>  
> ___________________
> Gila Svirsky
> Coalition ofWomen for Peace
> www.coalitionofwomen.org
>  
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: text/enriched
Size: 16190 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : /pipermail/wcusp_wilpf.org/attachments/20060811/f940889d/attachment-0001.bin 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 13663 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : /pipermail/wcusp_wilpf.org/attachments/20060811/f940889d/attachment-0011.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 64995 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : /pipermail/wcusp_wilpf.org/attachments/20060811/f940889d/attachment-0012.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 7095 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : /pipermail/wcusp_wilpf.org/attachments/20060811/f940889d/attachment-0013.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image004.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 8539 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : /pipermail/wcusp_wilpf.org/attachments/20060811/f940889d/attachment-0014.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image005.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 51212 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : /pipermail/wcusp_wilpf.org/attachments/20060811/f940889d/attachment-0015.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image006.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 6175 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : /pipermail/wcusp_wilpf.org/attachments/20060811/f940889d/attachment-0016.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image007.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 66863 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : /pipermail/wcusp_wilpf.org/attachments/20060811/f940889d/attachment-0017.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image008.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 6636 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : /pipermail/wcusp_wilpf.org/attachments/20060811/f940889d/attachment-0018.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image009.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 7095 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : /pipermail/wcusp_wilpf.org/attachments/20060811/f940889d/attachment-0019.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image010.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 6180 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : /pipermail/wcusp_wilpf.org/attachments/20060811/f940889d/attachment-0020.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image011.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 6636 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : /pipermail/wcusp_wilpf.org/attachments/20060811/f940889d/attachment-0021.jpg