Israeli Soldier condems Sharon, refuses to help Occupation

"Why Every Jewish Soldier Should Refuse"

By Shamai Leibowitz, Attorney, Tank Gunner in Reserve Duty, Tel Aviv

Ruling Over a Hostile Population

Our rule over three million Palestinian Arabs in the territories has perforce put us in a position of committing a number of moral outrages. Continued rule will necessitate not only continued denial of many basic rights to Palestinians, but will require our taking additional steps which are reprehensible, if not morally questionable. While we certainly did not set out intentionally to kill hundreds of innocent civilians, these are willy-nilly consequences of such a position. To maintain our rule we will have to continue to mete out collective punishment that often cruelly affects those who are not guilty.

Among the steps we have taken is the enclosing of millions of humans in their cities, towns, and villages. We often deny basic rights such as the right to earn a living, , to study, to move freely, to purchase basic necessities, to vote, to travel for medical care, to move sick or injured to medical facilities, etc. But most severe is that innocent civilians die. What is happening now is more than unintentional collateral deaths of civilians. Israel has resorted to forays of terror which are severe violations of the Geneva Convention and the Hague Convention.

The IDF is certainly not bloodthirsty and has no daily quota of corpses. Nevertheless, it seems that a large number of the hundreds of Palestinian civilians who die are not killed because Israeli armed forces are acting in self-defense. In this respect, the IDF is not to blame because to put down a popular uprising, drastic measures (i.e., maiming and killing civilians) are often needed, in addition to the enforcing of curfews, establishment of blockades, abrogation of civil rights, and condoning of inhumane treatment. The governmental decision to remain in the occupied territories and to oppress a whole nation is the source of the problem. Unless this changes immediately, Israel will continue its shocking behavior as a dictatorship, which has so far departed from the morality of order that it ceases to be a legal system.

Take the ex-judicial killings of Palestinian political leaders, for example. Certainly, these ex-judicial killings are tantamount to premeditated murder. To me, there is nothing shocking in saying that a country which has "legalized" ex-judicial killings has implemented terror tactics. These killings have no justification in any sane polity. This leads to a conclusion that since Israel has implemented terror tactics, it has become itself a terror organization. This means that until the occupation ends completely and Israel stops resorting to abhorrent terror tactics, Israel should be added to the U.S list of terrorist organizations.

[...]

We dare not become soldier robots. We must continue to serve in the IDF, as a defence army, but not as an occupying force committing crimes against humanity.

We may have to suffer the consequences of refusal , which can run the gamut from ridicule and social ostracism to imprisonment. As soldiers we not only have to obey orders, but we also have to be aware that they may violate our most basic moral, legal, and religious norms.

MARCH AGAINST THE WAR
Wednesday, April 3, at 11.30 am

From A-Ram Checkpoint in north Jerusalem to Kalandia at the edge of occupied Ramallah.

Gush Shalom will join this march, to protest Sharon's War, to express our worry and dismay at what the army is perpetrating in our name.

The following groups take part in this action (alphabetical):
Bat-Shalom, Committee of Arab Students, Gush Shalom, Hakampus Lo Shotek, New Profile, Peace Now, The Fifth Mother, Ta'ayush, Women's Coalition for a Just Peace, Women Refuse.

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