News from the Region
Israeli Refusers Resist the Wall
By Paul Pierce, Quaker International Affairs Representative
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| Palestinians, Israelis and Internationals protest the construction of the Separation Wall in the town of Bil'in. Photo: Paul Pierce |
On April 28, Israeli conscientious objectors Eyal Brami and Alex Cohn recently joined 1,200 other Palestinian, Israeli and international activists in the West Bank village of Bil’in to protest the occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem and confiscation of Palestinian land for the construction of the Separation Wall. Both Eyal and Alex had just been released from serving a 28 day prison sentence for refusing induction into the Israeli military.
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| Eyal Brami at the Bil'in demonstration. Photo: Paul Pierce |
The nonviolent demonstration proceeded from the village of Bil’in to the site of construction of the Separation Wall. Bil’in is slated to lose about half of its land to the wall, as 2,300 dunams (nearly 600 acres) is being confiscated to make way for the structure. Before the marchers could reach the construction site, the Israeli army surrounded them on both sides and fired dozens of rounds of tear gas and sound bombs into the middle of the protesters. In addition, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported (MK Barakeh hurt by stun grenade at anti-separation fence rally, 4/28/05) that agent provocateurs employed by the Israeli government threw stones during the otherwise nonviolent protest. The Israeli agents proceeded to pull guns from beneath their clothes and arrest youths who also took up stone throwing.
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| Alex Cohn at the Bil'in demonstration. Photo: Paul Pierce |
Nearly a dozen protesters were injured by tear gas and rubber bullets during the four-hour ordeal. Mohammed Barakeh, an Arab member of the Israeli Knesset, was choked by an Israeli soldier and was injured when a tear gas canister went off at his feet. Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery was thrown to the ground by an Israeli soldier.
A spokesperson for the Israeli peace group Gush Shalom called the attack on the peaceful demonstration “savage.” Other participants in the protest included Anarchists Against the Wall, Ta’ayush, the Women’s Coalition for Peace and other Israeli and Palestinian groups. Bil’in villagers organized the protest and continue daily resistance to the construction of the Wall on their land.
This is not the first time undercover agents of the Israeli military were used to incite violence in an otherwise nonviolent demonstration. In July 2004, during a demonstration against the Separation Wall in A-Ram, undercover agents threw stones at soldiers and border police and then turned on other youths who did like-wise and proceeded to arrest them. This is an ongoing tactic utilized to discredit and destroy nonviolent protest activities and provoke violence against the demonstrators by the armed forces.
In March, 2005 Eyal Brami participated in a speaking tour of the US sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and returned to Israel to refuse induction and enter prison. Brami’s spirits were boosted by the number of letters of support he received as a result of his speaking tour. Cohn and Brami are among 300 Israeli high school students, the shministim, who have signed a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pledging they “shall refuse to take part in the occupation and repression policy adopted by the government of Israel.”
Now that the latest protest against the Separation Wall is over, 18-year-old conscientious objectors Brami and Cohn expect to return to prison this week as they continue to refuse to serve in the Israeli army.
What you can do
1. Support Eyal and all Israeli conscientious objectors by sending letters to Shaul Mofaz and Amir Rogovski, the Head of Military Recruitment. These letters will also be shared with the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC and the American Consulate General in Jerusalem.
2. Send an e-mail of support to Eyal Brami at ns_beyal1@bezeqint.net . Please type LETTER FOR EYAL in the subject line. Send an e-mail of support to Alex
Cohn: vegalex@gmail.com
3. Send letters of support to the Israeli young people who oppose military service at: shministim@gmail.com
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