The regular media Ha-aretz, Ha-ir and Yidiot Aharonot (not sure about Maariv) have had several articles about the phenomenon, there was a full page 'ad' from Yesh Gvul in Ha-arets, and their have been complaints from the reservists about serving and Israeli army has spoken out about making the conditions 'better' for the reservists, so they are feeling something going on....if it will become a mass movement...unlikely...but that it has effects, definitely.
So the actual numbers of objectors is hard to define but I will try to find out from Yesh Gvul (there is a line/border/limit) who are the main organization engaged in the persuasion of Israeli soldiers to become conscientious objectors.
here is a couple of pamphlets of Yesh Gvul though (from our website), both english translations....the first is the 'ad' put into Ha-aretz: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesh Gvul is publishing the following text as a paid advertisement in Ha’aretz, Friday June 1 2001:
SOLDIER – REFUSE TO TAKE PART IN WAR CRIMES !
Assassinations; Shooting and bombarding unarmed civilians; Denying food supplies and medical treatment; Demolition of homes; Destroying means of livelihood
All these actions are specified as war crimes !
“[When it relates] to the International Court at the Hague, Sharon will get there without me,” vowed Transport Minister Ephraim Sneh (Yediot Aharonot, 20.4.2001).
SOLDIER – WHAT ABOUT YOU ?
YESH GVUL
11:00 a.m., Saturday June 9, we will hold a vigil at the Central Gate of the IDF base at Tzrifin in support of Gabby Wolf (18), who is serving a third jail term there for refusing to enlist in an army of occupation.
We are in urgent need of contributions: Yesh Gvul, PO Box 6953, Jerusalem 91068, Israel 02-6250271, 03-5224118 www.yesh-gvul.org
With this public appeal, Yesh Gvul is stepping up its campaign to encourage IDF soldiers to refuse orders to commit actions constituting war crimes. The list in the advertisement specifies the principal operations routine ly carried out by army units in the Palestinian territories; and as such is a direct challenge to the army and official policy.
We continue to leaflet soldiers at bus stations and transport centres, to highlight the criminal futility of the current repression against the Palestinians. We aim also bring to their attention the existence of our group, so that soldiers considering the refusal option can contact our hotline.
Peretz Kidron - YESH GVUL
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Translation to English of Yesh Gvul (There is a Border)Pamphlet: "Hey soldier, where are you headed ? On your way to serve in the occupied territories ? Maybe to guard the settlers of Psagot ? Or to reoccupy Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus ? Maybe to prevent the Palestinian people’s declaration of independence, maybe to put down the new intifada (or could it be - for all-out war) ?"
THE BATTLE FOR THE SETTLEMENTS OF BET-EL, BET HADASSAH, AND KIRYAT ARBA, FOR THE POGROMISTS OF ITAMAR AND FOR RACHEL’S TOMB - ISN’T OUR WAR !!!
"In my opinion, a condition essential (but not sufficient) for making involvement active, is the readiness to pay the price for the position adopted. It is this readiness to pay the price that draws the line between a position that a person keeps to himself, and the position he adopts, and for which he is ready to act." Emil Grunzweig [Yesh Gvul sympathiser, murdered during a peace march in Jerusalem in 1982].
Hey soldier, where are you headed ?
On your way to serve in the occupied territories ? Maybe to guard the settlers of Psagot ? Or to reoccupy Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus ? Maybe to prevent the Palestinian people’s declaration of independence, maybe to put down the new intifada (or could it be - for all-out war) ?
You’ll do your duty, of course, but certainly not willingly. If you’re a regular service soldier, you will have realised by now that this will be your main job till your demobilisation, in place of the "useful" or "significant" service you were promised. If you’re a reservist, you must be one of the last of the "righteous" still willing to suffer for the reckless adventurism surrounding the policies of occupation and colonisation pursued by our various governments.
Army service is tough in any case - but it can get you down when you’re saddled with a task that only brings harm to the country and its security. The settlements are as "vital" as it used to be "vital" to control Gaza and Nablus; control of the territories and their Palestinian population is as "essential" as it was essential, prior to the Oslo accords, to occupy Ramallah and Daheisheh; putting down disorder in the territories is as "necessary" as it used to be necessary to break bones to put an end to the previous intifada. Remember the failure of the previous wave of repression, the 18 "necessary" years in the Lebanese morass and the collapse of the previous strategic concept ? Bear in mind too that taking a hand in repression drags us all into armed conflict with the Palestinian people, and from there, into general war with the entire Arab world.
Does Ehud Barak have a mandate to deny the population of the occupied territories the creation of a Palestinian state ? Does he have a mandate to drag us into a war of choice for Rachel’s Tomb, Bet Hadassah, the houses of Ofra and the housing projects of Kiryat Arba ? (Need we mention that he doesn’t have a mandate to force you to act against the dictates of your conscience, and against the Geneva Convention, as well as exposing you to the risk of trial by an international war crimes tribunal).
There are orders, commands and instructions that are "legal" while not being moral. Often enough the legislator - acting on various ideological or pragmatic grounds - provides cover for acts which are grossly immoral. These acts become "legal" but their immorality is glaring, even when they are covered by a cloak of legality. Such acts may be defined: "legal but repugnant".
Beyond the obligation of the state of Israel, which falls upon each of us, to refrain from violating the Fourth Geneva Convention, there are "legal" acts that cannot be tolerated, for all their "legality". The repression of another people, and offences against a rebellious civilian population, belong to that category of "legal" acts.
Increasing numbers of soldiers are beginning to wonder what is the cause for which they are willing to kill or risk death. We have all sworn to defend the security and independence of the state of Israel. But who’s ready to die for Joseph’s Tomb, the lands of Bet El and the houses of Efrat ? Who is willing to offer up his life to deny (or postpone by a few months) the independence of another people ?
Soldier ! Even if you’re "covered" legally, demolition of houses, attacks on civilians, killings of children, adults and old people, will haunt you for many years to come. There are acts that are "legal" that decent people don’t commit. There are actions in which decent people don’t take part.
What can you do ?
Don’t expect others to provide a "surefire recipe". Take your own decision, using your own good sense, your intelligence and your conscience.
We won’t take the decision in your place. All we can do is tell you that there have been many soldiers - very many, regulars and reservists alike - who had the guts to say: "No !"
Whoever decided to refuse - decided on his own. But when he’d made up his mind, he found us at his side, ready to extend a hand, to offer advice and backing.
SIGN AND MAIL:
YESH GVUL ("so far and no further !")
Despite an appearance of Palestinian autonomy (on a mere fifth of the occupied territories !) the occupation has dragged on and on for over thirty years, without halting the Palestinian campaign for national liberation.
The war the Israeli government is conducting over the land of Ariel and Bet El, in defence of the pogromists of Itamar and Bet Hadassah, the continued occupation of Netzarim and Kiryat Arba, and the continued control of Joseph’s Tomb and Rachel’s Tomb - isn’t our war.
As IDF soldiers, we proclaim that we will not take part in the continued repression of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories, and we will not take part in policing duties or in defence of the settlements that serve the same purpose
Name: Military rank: Address: Tel. Cellular E-mail: Signature:
Fill in your particulars and send the form to "Yesh Gvul", POB 6953, Jerusalem 91068.
Soldier - for your information
The occupation is still in force, even if there is an autonomous Palestinian administration in part of the occupied territories.
The state of Israel is among the signatories of the Fourth Geneva Convention dealing with defence of the population of occupied territories. Admittedly, it is the government’s view (disputed by the views of Israeli and foreign experts on international law) that the Convention does not apply to the territories, but the state of Israel has undertaken in practice to comply with the humanitarian provisions of the Convention. Among other matters, the Convention requires the occupying power:
To respect the persons of the residents of occupied territories, to treat them humanely, to protect them from violence, threat or insult - Article 27; To refrain from subjecting them to physical or moral coercion, principally to extract information - Article 31; The Convention forbids murder, torture, inflicting physical suffering or disfiguration - Article 32; It also forbids imposition of collective punishment, acts of intimidation or terror, or reprisals against civilians or their property - Article 33 Order 33.103, issued by the IDF General Staff on 20.7.1982: ("Discipline: conduct in compliance with international conventions to which the state of Israel is a party: the Geneva Convention) affirms: 1 . As of 12.8.1949, the state of Israel is a party to the four Geneva Conventions for defence of war victims ... 2 . It is the duty of IDF soldiers to act in accordance with the provisions included in the aforementioned Conventions.
"The Geneva Convention is a part of army orders, and its provisions have been adopted word for word in Appendix 61 to General Staff orders."Collected legal opinions no. 8, Military Attorney in Chief, 1979, p.127.
My young brother Eliyahu Before you go off to the next war think About the previous war, or let me tell you How our Grandfather on Mom’s side pulled out All his teeth just so he wouldn’t have to go To their war. My young brother Eliyahu Don’t go off to their war. Yitzchak Laor, Only the Body Remembers, 1978 [Laor was among the first IDF soldiers jailed for refusing to serve in the occupied territories.]
YESH GVUL, POB 6953, J-M 91068, Tel 02.6250271 yesh_gvul at hotmail.co.il ___________________________________________________
Extract from the well-informed Jerusalem weekly Kol Ha’Ir, 24.11.2000:
THE IDF PLANS TO WITHDRAW RESERVISTS FROM SERVICE IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES Due to concern over the spread of refusals, the army is considering plans to switch conscripts from the northern border with reservists in the territories.
The Israel Defence Force is considering a switch between conscript soldiers serving on the northern border, and reservists presently posted to the occupied territories. The IDF hopes that the switch will make it possible to reduce to a minimum the numbers of reservists in the territories. Discussions on the matter have been held in recent weeks in the General Staff and Northern Command.
It is reported from the IDF that the switch depends primarily on the situation on the border with Lebanon and Syria. The army is concerned that, if prevalent assessments come true, and the present confrontation with the Palestinians continues, perhaps even escalating, it is to be expected that there will be an onset of refusals to serve among the reservists. Hitherto there has been virtually no record of instances of refusal among reservists, but if the confrontation is prolonged, the phenomenon is liable to gain momentum. The army is even apprehensive of refusals on the scale recalled from the period of the first intifada ....
An IDF spokesman said in response: "The IDF does not specify its operational deployment, and acts on its own judgement."
Bryan Atinsky IMC-Israel Engish Editorial Coordinator http://www.indymedia.org.il