Israeli Women Serving Prison Time for Refusal to Join IDF

"Many were incarcerated again and again as they refused to enlist after their release from prison" - Israeli Peace Activist Gila Svirsky

(SALEM, Ore.) - Americans are raised to believe that Israel is an ally of the United States, and for most of us growing up here, there was no question about it. In many ways it is true that Israel is a U.S. ally, and in many ways it is not.

The U.S. is a country with both freedom of religion, and a declared separation of church and state. There has been plenty of religious persecution here over the years, but by and large and for the most part, especially today, Americans are able to worship how and where they please.

One of the biggest conflicts for some, is the fact that Israel is a religious state. There is no separation of church and state in the Jewish State, so if you don't belong to the right culture and religion, you're more or less out of luck.

Your neighbor could be a Palestinian and a lifelong friend, but you as an Israeli can not sell your house to him, even if you want to, because he is Palestinian. Israel's government and military are utterly and completely prejudiced. 1

The list of injustices against the Palestinians is so long and bad that it is little wonder people just ignore it. In Gaza in particular, people are treated like caged animals.

Crossing points are blocked off,2 food shipments for Gazans are turned away more often than not, and the Israeli's were recently blocking the arrival of building materials, though Israel itself destroyed all of the buildings that needed to be rebuilt.

Palestinians are trapped on the Gaza Strip with Israeli soldiers in towers with rifles everywhere they go. Sometimes the soldiers take pot shots at people, occasionally killing pedestrians, including old people and small children. It isn't just Gaza. This is not a policy of the IDF, it couldn't be, but the reports from Gaza are horrifying. 3

In 1947 and 1948, the new citizens of Israel, including many survivors of the horrors of Nazi Germany, moved to Palestine. It didn't go well and it never stopped going badly.

There are and were good people on all sides, but the tragic plight of the Jew was not the fault of the Palestinian people. Because they are Muslim, they are dismissed in terms of importance. This is not acceptable, and it rings of Apartheid in South Africa and that didn't last.

This young woman from Gaza killed in January by
the Israeli military is about the same age as the girls
from Israeli refusing the military. Al Jazeera photo

Over the years, Israel has been heavily funded by U.S. taxpayer revenue,4 to the tune of many billions, some say trillions, and it has used that money gained from American labor, to stockpile an array of military equipment, almost all U.S., that it uses today to pound its neighbors to death.

I have always wanted to know more about the people in Israel who speak out against the mindless military violence.

I have many contacts who work with me on the Palestinian side of the cause, but not enough Israelis. Finally I am getting dialed in with some of the information I have been looking for.

The women listed below were sent to prison; "Many were incarcerated again and again as they refused to enlist after their release from prison. Some are part of the movement called 'Shministim' - meaning 'high school seniors' - a movement of young men and women who refuse to enlist. Others came to this hard decision on their own. All are heroes," Israeli Peace Activist Gila Svirsky, said.

Svirsky, who will be in Portland, Oregon and also Corvallis on September 29th, says “It is time for these settlements to stop”. She does not believe that Settlements are compatible with a two-state solution.

She describes herself as a writer and an Israeli Jew deeply involved in peace and human rights activism.

Gila Svirsky says the young women were all were 18 when they made the hard choice: Say no to war and occupation, or say yes to prison. Some of the girls were granted permission from the Israeli authorities to do alternative service; but others were just locked up in prison.

Below are brief statements from some of the brave young women who refuse to serve. Gila Svirsky compiled the data from the website of New Profile: The Movement for the Civilization of Israeli Society, an Israeli feminist peace organization which gives them much-needed support.

"My father was deputy head of the Mossad, but I refuse to enlist in the Israeli military. I shall not be part of an army that needlessly implements a violent policy and violates the most basic human rights on a daily basis."

"Like most of my peers, I too dared not question the ethics of the Israeli military. But when I visited the Occupied Territories, I realized there was a completely different reality, a violent, oppressive, extreme reality that must be ended."

"I believe in service to the society I am part of, and that is precisely why I refuse to take part in the war crimes committed by my country. Violence will not bring any kind of solution, and I shall not commit violence, come what may".

"I have no doubt that I should be serving my country, I have been doing so in many ways from a very young age, and intend of course to continue doing so, not out of compulsion, but fully and truly of my own will. I cannot become part of an organization whose purpose is to fend off violence by violence, because this unequivocally opposes everything I believe in and my whole life. There is always another, non-violent option, and this is the option I choose."

"I refuse to enlist in the Israeli military on grounds of conscience. I am not willing to become part of an occupying army, which has been an invader of foreign lands for decades, which perpetuates a racist regime of robbery in these lands, tyrannizes civilians, and makes life harsh for millions under a false pretext of security."

"I oppose the anti-Palestinian policy of attrition and oppression, not because I prefer Palestinian to Israeli society, but from the understanding that this policy has led us to a dead-end politically and morally, forced particularly on soldiers stationed in the Occupied Territories. I am not willing to become one of those who points a gun indiscriminately at Palestinian civilians, and I do not believe that such actions could bring change except even more antagonism and violence in our region."

"I have been to the occupied Palestinian territory many times, and even though I realize that the soldier at the checkpoint is not responsible for the wretched policy of the oppressor toward civilians, I am unable to exempt that soldier of responsibility for his conduct ... I mean the human responsibility of not causing suffering to another human being."

"The bloody times in which I live (assassinations, aggression, bombings, shootings) result in increasing numbers of victims on both sides. It is a vicious circle that emanates from the fact that both sides elect to engage in violence. This choice I refuse to take part in."

"If I were to be recruited into the army, this would absolutely and in all respects contradict my convictions and way in life, since violence, killing, nationalism, and vandalism are not part of them. I am not willing to wear the uniform of an organization responsible for killing and destruction, and acting in a way detrimental to the environment. Every country, Israel included, should act by peaceful means alone, and even if attacked, not respond with fire. In any situation, Israel included, it is wrong to maintain a military force trained for war and killing – this is altogether contrary to the pursuit of peace and coexistence with our neighbors in the Middle East."

"A strongly patriarchal institution, like the army, underscores female marginality … and the superiority of male-identified values. … It might be said that a mood of sexual harassment is endemic to … the army. And so the demand that a woman enlist is tantamount to demanding that she cope with sexual harassment … Since the army is such a central institution in society, a culture of sexual harassment also is exported to … civic society. … As a feminist, I feel I must avoid military service and act to limit and reduce the influence of the army on civic society. … When men spend a formative period of their lives in the military they are likely to receive positive reinforcements for the use of brute power and violence … in an organization whose main values include superiority and control. … I cannot join an organization which, either directly or indirectly, encourages violence – of any form and kind – against women. … I cannot live in such flagrant denial of my conscience."

"I cannot take part in the injustices that our country carries out through the IDF. I am not a pacifist; my objection is to the occupation. I went to Yeruham [national service] with a sense of pioneering, forming a new model of community work. Through the young people I worked with and my personal experience, I encountered the ugliness of our society, the injustice guiding the policies of our government. This work reinforced my sense of duty to create something different. It is the duty of my conscience to tell my truth fully. I will refuse to serve out of a deeply personal motive: so I can go on living in this country at peace with what my conscience tells me."

"At times it seems like it would have been easier to enlist. The price of resistance is high. I’ve lost most of my friends. My friends are in the army now. They can’t talk to me without getting angry or without dealing with a lot of emotions. I know I won’t stand for it, that I won’t accept the “no choice” outlook, that I can’t be part of the army, that I can’t occupy, that I can’t oppress. After all, the value system I’ve constructed clashes so clearly with serving in the IDF. Today more than ever, I have no problem saying that and really meaning it."

"And then Efrat calls. "Remember Adi? Who was in our class till the middle of 11th grade? She was killed in the suicide attack." Adi!? What!? What is she talking about?? I didn’t even say anything, just hung up and started crying. I called Netta and told her. She came over to my place and we sat down and tried to think what we're supposed to do now. Then Barel called. I was just trying to phone someone else. Netta answered the phone and suddenly she's sitting on the floor in my living room, screaming. Ofer was killed too. Ofer. He studied architecture. I can't remember one person who didn’t like him. We went to his best friend's house. His whole class was there, and most people from our year, too. I sat with some of them in the kitchen. Everything was full of cigarette smoke and photo albums from school trips. And then one of them said that all Arabs should be killed. And when everyone agreed, he went on and said that after we finish the Arabs off, we should kill all lefties too. Maybe even before, so that they don't interfere. Only one of them noticed me sitting there and told him to shut up."

"After the second open letter from high school seniors [resisters] was published, Haggai gave an interview on TV. I was watching it as my father walked in. When Haggai was done, my father said, “Traitors, that’s a disgrace. They should be executed.” I reminded him that I was a draft resister, that I was doing just the same thing..."

"People my age are preoccupied with the army now. They’re doing fitness training before they enlist, going to aptitude tests, medical examinations, screenings for special units. Naturally, they talk about it all the time. They try to explain it to me, I try to take an interest. But it feels funny all around. I was always different. Now I’m an outsider…"

Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor.
Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines. Tim holds numerous awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), the first place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several other awards including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website, affiliated with Google News and several other major search engines and news aggregators.
You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com

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Rivas June 10, 2013 2:47 pm (Pacific time)

At times there is no good choice only a bad and a worse one. I am willing to go on a limb here and say that if Palestine should ever win, the situation will be far worse that in is now. Israel seems to be the only stable Democracy with free and fair elections, Go twenty miles in either direction and you'd be hard pressed to find any semblence of peace or freedom for that matter.

Why is that about twenty miles? I can't imagine trying to legitimize an occupying apartheid army that jails, tortures and kills children.

bruces March 2, 2013 2:22 pm (Pacific time)

I can appreciate Omer Goldman and the other objectors and their commitment to what they think is right and their political conscience regarding the Palestinian people. However, and correct me if I am wrong, but I believe it is the obligation of every Israeli citizen to server her/his country in the defense of it's existence no matter what your political beliefs. Were the father of any of these girls or as a deputy of Mossad, I would defend their rights to conscientiously object with all my strength. But also, as a Jewish citizen of the world, I have to question these tactics. I understand it is difficult to be a woman of conscience. Sitting here securely in the United States, I may not be in the best position to criticize their actions. That said, however, and were I to consider my own daughter to be in such a situation, I have no recourse other than to lend them my unreserved support for these actions and wish to them the best. A father's love cannot exceed any political dilemma.

Alex October 2, 2012 4:32 pm (Pacific time)

"Sarah September 26, 2012 5:02 pm (Pacific time)" - I bet they're, since if they were in control Israel wouldn't exist. Most of the recruits are positioned in border protection, if it weren't for them, 100s of breaches with terrorists flowing in would be reality. Your dearest wish, I know...

Sarah September 26, 2012 5:02 pm (Pacific time)

God bless those peacefull women. People like them are the only reason I don't spit on israel right now.

not surprised August 28, 2011 1:26 am (Pacific time)

Why dont many of you posters (especially) the so called journalist of this page....get out your white hoods and gowns and hail Hitler....you sound so much like him. Why would any person serve in the US military if they didnt like other races, cultures or religions? Better yet, why dont you nasty red neck thinkers just go back to Europe where you came from? After all you invaded and enslaved for quite a few hundred years. You had better know and learn world history before you start pointing the finger at just this group or that one. For the record my dad was an Arabian Muslim he was an archaeologist who fell in love with his co-worker a JEWISH woman...and then came me. My father wanted me raised JEWISH because he knew full well the treatment of women in his religious culture. My father was murdered by his own kid while on a dig back in 2000. The writings and notes he left behind for me were ASTOUNDING to say the least. Muslims disgust me and since I actually lived in the middle you can say not one word to me that will ever make me think different about them. Their religion is NOT evolved enough to crawl out of the cave just yet. You are nothing more than sympathizers without a cause and remember I told you that.

Editor: So we are bad people because we believe in the reduction of violence? I'll have to write that one down. And we are Nazi because we want to see Israel stop ethnic cleansing? Can you explain that? Also, don't write sob stories about your dad and your Arab heritage and then be such a wanker that you can't use your name. Nobody is buying your bullishit. Your point is that Israel should be able to murder? You actually write, 'Muslims disgust me' and you don't specify anything, no particular element or group, just all Muslims. Well forget it man, anyone that listened to you would be an equal joke.

Israeli girl June 2, 2011 5:01 pm (Pacific time)

Hello, I'm an Israeli girl soon to be enlisted in the IDF, and I would like to shed some light on this. Women who refuse service in Israel are not sent to prison. Even those who end up enlisting despite themselves, mostly end up serving coffee or looking at a computer screen all day. Women who actually "participate in illegal aggression against Palestinians" (which is ridiculous, if you could actually see what Israeli soldiers did rather than listen to the garbage anti-Israelis spew constantly in the media to get exactly this reaction, you'd know that these allegations are absurd) do so out of their own free will.

Editor: The only thing I agree with is your use of the term 'anti-Israel' and while it doesn't describe us, it is far more accurate than the usual verbiage selected by Zionists at a moment like this. You are out of luck here if you want to act like Israel is not aggressive toward Palestinians. I am sure in your own way you may be a good person, though very very programmed. We publish hundreds of first-hand accounts, there is no question that Israel is waging a war against the Palestinian culture, stealing their land, robbing their humanity, denying their legally guaranteed right of return (the irony!) Again, not anti-Israel, however you could classify us as being against Israel's apartheid laws.

The fact of the matter is, Israel is the only truly democratic country in the Middle East.

Editor: No, that is not true. You can not maintain a nation based on fundamentalist religious doctrine that has separate laws for Jews and non-Jews, and call that democratic. Have you ever been to the US? What Israel does, the US used to do to African-Americans and Native Americans and Chinese immigrants and I am ashamed of that and for that reason I am an anti-racism writer by trade.

Women who do not want to see battle or even hear of it, certainly don't have to -- the government CANNOT force us to don battle-gear and hop on board a helicopter with an Uzi in hand. Any woman who joins a battle unit is doing it because she wants to defend her country, and because she feels like she CAN do it.

Editor: Good, but they are still contributing to the effort and that is why these women stand out and I am proud of them.

About what's happening in Gaza, I can't pretend to know everything about that, and neither can you. But I do know this: Israel is a country in perpetual war, one which I was born into, but has never truly affected me. I feel sorry for those who were unlucky enough to be born in Gaza. HOWEVER, it is foolish to only consider their side of it all. Yes, terrible things have been done in Gaza, but you lovely Americans have done such worse things, that I don't feel you have any sort of right to act shocked and ignorantly point the finger at Israel and call it inhumane.

Editor: Can you stand in judgment of the Nazi's? I sure the Hell do. Think about what you are saying, please. I sense humanity all over your words, you are programmed my friend, you must consider the basic human spirit that is being taken from these people. I was a US Marine at the age of 18, you could not have been able to tell me much, but today I am years down the line and my eyes have opened considerably, I think yours will too. Please read about Maslow's theory of Needs and know that is how humans work. The perpetual war is so much BS, it is a choice of Israel's leadership and when people believe they are entitled to what belongs to others, using religion as a basis no less, we are all in trouble. You guys live like Americans used to live and that is not acceptable in the modern age.

Furthermore, if you take a look at what Arab and Muslim extremists have done to Israelis, men, women and children just as innocent if not more so as those in Gaza, I'm sure you'd reconsider. Not everything is black and white, and this isn't a comic book where you can label one side as "the bad guys" and the other as "the good guys". Israel is a nation in war, and it is human nature to fight in wars. Palestinians are NO saints by any means, and believe me, in many respects they are far worse. Do your research properly next time, before you accuse. And just to be fair, consider the state of Arab citizens in any other country in the Middle East. The Israeli government supplies Arab citizens with far nicer realities than any other country that claims to be their home can offer. It is one of the most progressive and liberal countries in the Middle East. Trust me, I was born and raised here, and I've been to America; we are absolutely no different from you.
And just to cap you off, so you don't forget: women who do not want to enlist in a battle unit are NEVER forced to. Omer Goldman could've spent that mandatory year and a half playing tetris and solitaire in an office and going home to her parents every day, and she knew that full well. The truth is, if she's anything like any other girl who avoids service in the IDF, she just didn't want the hassle.

Editor: You must be a leader friend, think about the children, think about the checkpoints, put yourselves in their shoes, please. No, I have not been to Israel, but I have been to Iraq and Afghanistan and I am keenly aware of what war means and what it is. Americans fought to defeat the Nazi's, the Palestinians never did anything to the Zionists that overtook the land starting back before the turn of the 20th Century. I have many Jewish friends, would like to always have another. You make points that are accurate, but your perspective needs to be more open. Hey, thanks for writing. My email is tim@salem-news.com

Padraig O'Hara January 2, 2010 10:57 pm (Pacific time)

These women are brave[ period]

trucker October 9, 2009 11:25 pm (Pacific time)

no cave man...MUSLIMS were dancing in the streets of NY on 9/11. as far as muslims watching your "brothers" backs? there are more Jewish people serving and watching your "brothers" backs i guess you forget about the Jewish people serving in our military as well...watching ALL of our backs. call me a bigot if you like cave man but at least a bigot is a lot better than saying...

Tim King: I'm talking about the Afghan National Army and the Iraqi Army. Anyway, you're done around here, have a good life.

trucker October 9, 2009 3:32 pm (Pacific time)

like i said..cave man like intellect. you know why muslims want americans dead? bc we dont believe the way they do. so they kill us for it. your mouth is no different. call me a rascist if you like cave man but dont tell me to feel sorry for people who were dancing in our citys streets the day 9/11 happened.

Tim King: There were Israeli's dancing in the streets? Like I said, when you say Muslims, you are referring to the people watching the backs of my brother American Marines and soldiers. You are saying the people we have spent the better part of a trillion dollars bringing "liberty and freedom" to are less than you, and your prejudice does make you a bigot. Cavemen like me believe in peace and equality for human beings, we dislike oppressive governments that torture and kidnap and and murder their neighbors while robbing the finances of the American taxpayer in order to do so. I am on the side of all Jewish, Muslim and Christian people who want to see the world be a better place. Israel is a nation founded by people who survived genocide and the most dreadful treatment imaginable, but they did not move to their present country peacefully or with regard to the people who already lived there. If they had built new buildings instead of stealing the homes of Palestinian families, then things would be better. If they didn't pillage the Palestinian people today by allowing settlements in the small amount of land the Palestinians still have, then things would be better. As long as the oppression continues, the hatefulness multiplies. As long as people refuse to acknowledge that Israel is overreactive, then the problems continue. What about nukes? Why is it OK for Israel, a country that attacked a U.S. Navy ship during the Six Day War, to have hundreds of illicit nuclear warheads while lying about it for two decades? Your days of having Israel portrayed as an innocent country only "defending itself" are in the past, the Jewish State can not overpower the Internet, Zionism is going to see a major setback. Then maybe people will be able to live together in peace. It was the Berlin Wall, the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union, the end of Apartheid in South Africa, and the next step will be the end of Israeli oppression in Palestine.

trucker October 9, 2009 12:21 pm (Pacific time)

i dont believe any of this crap. no TRUE ISRAELI would bash on Israel.

Editor: You are full of it trucker, packed full. Let's just be glad that there is no sense to your statement. Someone told me once that Israeli people cared about humanity, but like other cultures, if you aren't of the right bloodline, you are just screwed. On that note, I appreciate Gila and her desire to make things better for all and I'm glad fewer people are hanging onto your racist values.

NSALP October 8, 2009 10:59 am (Pacific time)

Omer Goldman is really cute and sexy.
Kurt

Ami October 3, 2009 12:41 pm (Pacific time)

To the Editor: Your site is so obvious anti Israeli, Anti-Jews, that your so-called "journalism truth" is loughing loud pathetic. Ypur sole sources are arab/palestinian sources. We know their "truth". In your response to Sol Nueberger September 22, 2009 6:04 pm (Pacific time), you say:"...So a rocket is fired, and Israel launches a mad biltzkreig against Gaza and slaughters children with illegal weapons...". "A Rocket?" 8 years rockets were fired from WITHIN Gaza Strip CIVILIAN POPULATION by terorists and aimed solely to CIVILIAN CITIES -... "One Rocket?" The Hamas terorists who slaughtered their own "arab brothers" during the Gaza Strip coup after the election are hiding behind womed and children, shooting from inside schools and mosques...and when they are fired back at, and civilian killed, then the other side are murderers. I really puke on your site and "thruthness".

Editor: Geez Ami, what a lashing. If you can know what Israel did in Gaza and feel good about it, then I can not change it. 14 Israeli citizens died in the attack, and 4 of those were killed by the IDF in "friendly fire" incidents. Over 1400 Gazans were killed, and almost 350 were kids. You're OK with that? Hell, you would probably be fine with it if they were all lined up and shot. Your politics are no better than the monsters who have come before you. I am so sickened by the prejudice that your nation delivers. Hell, you stole all of that land from those people anyway, and shoved them onto a little piece of land surrounded by Israel, Egypt and the ocean. Then Israel built guard towers in Gaza to watch the population through rifle scopes. Yet if you notice, when I brought this up with Gila during the interview, she did not condemn the attacks on Gaza, and I let her make that point without arguing. It is funny that you pick this story to launch your attack, I get far more critical than this.

John September 25, 2009 6:24 pm (Pacific time)

Omer Goldman is a hottie, is she single?

David September 25, 2009 6:16 pm (Pacific time)

Brave women, I wish more people around the world were as brave. Remember they need us to commit their crimes and aggressions. Without us even the worst Tyrant is simply a raving mad-man.

White Boy American September 25, 2009 5:45 pm (Pacific time)

You are hot and principled, thereby worth saving among the Babylonian Talmudics known as modern Israel today. Keep fighting the good fight! God is on your side!

Chris Beral September 25, 2009 9:31 am (Pacific time)

Editor: "Our articles are well researched" Sorry, but that is a lie or a statement born of ignorance. No intelligent person would accept "Window Into Palestine" as a crediblr source. Now, you may well put forth articles that contain material from other sources, but that does not stop them from being the rightful subject of ridicule. as long as you continue to use poor sources, you efforts will continue to be treated as propagandistic jokes.

Editor: Oh please, give it a break will you? Just because you are on one side of an issue does not mean you are right. You can say what you want as tens of thousands of people read our articles every day, intelligent people I may add. Your insults are like bb's bouncing off the side of a battleship. Try harder next time.

Jan September 25, 2009 8:57 am (Pacific time)

What brave and truthful women. They have taken off the blinders and are unafraid to confront the horrible injustices that Israel has heaped on the Palestinians. They are not afraid to confront the hideous racism so endemic in Israel. These young women stand out as shining stars among those who treat the Palestinians as untermenschen, just as the Jews in Germany were treated as untermenschen. If John thinks that Israel is a Democracy then why can a Jew not marry a non-Jew in this "Democracy?" Why must a mixed couple leave the country to marry? And yes, Israel is and has committed war crimes. The problem is that the U.S., itself a country that has committed and commits war crimes, makes sure that Israel is shielded from having its leaders tried for these crimes. Were there any justice in the world Israel's leaders would have been in the dock long ago and sitting behind bars. John, do a little research and discover for yourself how the Zionists wanted as much land as possible with as few Arabs as possible and, to that end, how they ethnically cleansed the Palestinians driving them from their homes and land forbidding their return. There is something wrong with a so-callled "democracy" where I, as a Jew, can "return" to a land where none of my family ever lived while a Palestinian, born on the land, cannot. This is no democracy. This is a theocracy.

Phillip Andrew Jones September 25, 2009 1:31 am (Pacific time)

Praise be to the Most High God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blest these young people with an extra measure of grace to alow the judge of the conscious mind to know the difference between wrong and right and to stand against the atrocities of the American/Israeli Governments and Military Death Squads who are the most responsible for the genocide of millions of children, women and men throughout the Middle-East region. May the LORD God help us all to stand against the criminal Politicians and Military and put a stop to them forthwith. WAKE-UP (Stupid) Zionist Christians and supporting the corrupt Pentecostalist Charismaniacs and the abominable Zionist Israel and their crimes against humanity. With all my love to these brave young people. Phillip A. Jones England/UK.

LAURENCE CHERNIAK September 23, 2009 9:41 am (Pacific time)

Dear Tim: Bravo, you've handled this “exercise in human rights with displaying the freedom of a truthful press (backed up with sources) including human beings and their experiences in a veritable way)”. Very nicely done. My hat goes off to you again for, exposing to the world, these kind of poor and misleading activities. I am sure you're used to if after being in Afghanistan etc. I (like you) really know what both of those locals and situations are like, (and so many other locations too) (from our travels to these countries (and not just for a weekend), I admire the most dignified way, in which you are, managing all this. Helping to provide these types of open forums definitely accomplishes their purpose. Helping people do research, with/about these very, unique special Israelis is awesome, to show them speaking their conscience. Some dedication you have. I am positive a lot of people would love to know you are pioneering the future direction of how media, used to be and should always be. You are someone to really be proud of and I am glad we are getting to know each other. This is a very good story and the comments, submitted to it as well. Congratulations on displaying the highest level of honesty in your work with Salem-News.com best wishes and warmest regards. laurence.

Sol Nueberger September 22, 2009 6:04 pm (Pacific time)

I see this site has a very low opinion of Israel and their desire to survive, well Israel will do all that it needs, and a little bit more, to survive the criminal acts by those intent on destroying this peaceful country.
Analysis: Why everyone is saying no to Obama
The Jerusalem Post ^ | Sep 22, 2009 9:47 | AMIR MIZROCH
Everybody is saying no to the American president these days. And it's not just that they're saying no, it's also the way they're saying no.

The Saudis twice said no to his request for normalization gestures towards Israel (at Barack Obama's meeting with King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia, and in Washington at meetings with Hillary Clinton). Who says no to the American president twice? What must they think of Obama in the desert kingdom?

The North Koreans said no to repeated attempts at talks, by test-launching long-range missiles in April; Russia and China keep on saying no to tougher sanctions on Iran; the Iranians keep saying no to offers of talks by saying they're willing to talk about everything except a halt to uranium enrichment; Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is saying no by refusing to meet with Binyamin Netanyahu until Israel freezes all settlement construction; the Israelis said no by refusing to agree to a settlement freeze, or even a settlement moratorium until and unless the Arabs ante up their normalization gestures. Which brings us back to the original Saudi no.

The only thing Obama did manage to get Bibi and Abbas to say yes to is a photo-op at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in NY. Mazel tov.

It's the economy, stupid.
(Excerpt) Read more at jpost.com ...

Editor: I know everyone here wants to be happy with Israel, and nobody ever says anything negative about any group's desire "to survive" ok? Why does Israel have a right to have nukes and not Iran? Even then, you know there is zero proof of this, and yet the Israeli's and the warhawks here in the U.S. keep beating that war drum. At some point people need to examine the history of this region, the region of more than just the Israeli's. I published a link above that leads to a story about the incredible number of villages where Palestinians were Murdered and run out of their homes in 1947 and 1948. And all the while the Israeli's question why these people, who have essentially been mown down by the IDF when they resist, don't have a better attitude. So a rocket is fired, and Israel launches a mad biltzkreig against Gaza and slaughters children with illegal weapons. That bothers me, it bothers most thinking people. It isn't about choice; if Israel wasn't so damned aggressive and over reactive and vengeful, there would be less ongoing retaliation. Again, nobody wants anything but the best for Israel, and these women in this article are proof of the heart and positivity that does exist there. I am very proud to read their stories and share them with the world.

Anonymous September 22, 2009 3:24 pm (Pacific time)

ok, ok, I know every guy out there (and mabe even a few girls?) wants to say it, so I will just do it first. I think I am in love. ok there. :-) Hope she is ok, a very brave young lady.

Mike Gregus September 22, 2009 2:11 pm (Pacific time)

I wonder why Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel served in the IDF and not the U.S. Military? I think Americans would be shocked that since 1948 more and more so-called American Jews opt to avoid serving in the American military and serve in the Israeli military. Some may call me anti-semetic for just pointing this out, but there would be a response. Even during Vietnam when Jews had deferrments they went to Israel and served there. So when it comes to loyalty, can one serve two masters? Those of you who understand the historical ebb and flow of Western Civilization may have some better insight.

John September 22, 2009 1:07 pm (Pacific time)

Wow, a lie from the very start. Israel is a Democracy. Any citizen regardless of religion or creed can vote. I know both Muslim and secular Israelis and they all can vote, have representation in the Israeli government and have full rights as citizens. I wonder if this reporter has taken any time to research this article. There are plenty of bad decisions and bad policy in Israel; however, this does not mean that Israel is committing war crimes. Furthermore, you and other idiot reporters like you who do not do the research and allow personal biases to color your writing prove that journalism is dead in this country and that all that remains are a bunch of slavish propagandists. Report the news. Don’t make things up to forward an agenda.

Editor: To our readers, that is long-form for, "Quit reporting facts about the abusive behavior of Israel." Our articles are well researched, and to stave off this type of criticism, I took the time to offer links throughout the article as well. Moreover, the main source, who is clearly referenced several times, is clearly attributed. For years the information Americans have heard from mainstream press about Israel is deceitful at minimum. Peace is a goal that must be reached and it can not be found under the current conditions. It is a new era in terms of understanding Israel.

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Israeli Women Serving Prison Time for Refusal to Join IDF

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