{"id":19591,"date":"2010-06-08T15:32:27","date_gmt":"2010-06-08T13:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishforum.com.tr\/en\/content\/?p=19591"},"modified":"2023-07-26T11:56:21","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T08:56:21","slug":"peace-for-israelis-and-palestinians-not-without-americas-tough-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2010\/06\/08\/peace-for-israelis-and-palestinians-not-without-americas-tough-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Peace for Israelis and Palestinians? Not without America’s tough love."},"content":{"rendered":"
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It is important to know that this piece was written by the nephew of Benjamin Netanyahu…<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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An Israeli student explains why the US should act on moral outrage over Israel\u2019s discriminatory policies before it\u2019s too late.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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By <\/span>Jonathan Ben-Artzi<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span>
\nposted April 1, 2010 at 11:48 am EDT<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Providence<\/span>, R.I.<\/span> \u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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More than 20 years ago, many Americans decided they could no longer watch as racial segregation divided South Africa. Compelled by an injustice thousands of miles away, they demanded that their communities, their colleges, their municipalities, and their government take a stand.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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As Martin Luther King Jr. said, \u201cInjustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
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Today, a similar discussion is taking place on campuses across the United States. Increasingly, students are questioning the morality of the ties US institutions have with the unjust practices being carried out in Israel and in the occupied Palestinian territories. Students are seeing that these practices are often more than merely \u201cunjust.\u201d They are racist. Humiliating. Inhumane. Savage.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Sometimes it takes a good friend to tell you when enough is enough. As they did with South Africa two decades ago, concerned citizens across the US can make a difference by encouraging Washington to get the message to Israel that this cannot continue.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A legitimate question is, Why should I care? Americans are heavily involved in the conflict: from funding (the US provides Israel with roughly $3 billion annually in military aid) to corporate investments (Microsoft has one of its major facilities in Israel) to diplomatic support (the US has vetoed 32 United Nations Security Council resolutions unsavory to Israel between 1982 and 2006).<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Why do I care? I am an Israeli. Both my parents were born in Israel. Both my grandmothers were born in Palestine (when there was no \u201cIsrael\u201d yet). In fact, I am a ninth-generation native of Palestine. My ancestors were among the founders of today\u2019s modern Jerusalem.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Both my grandfathers fled the Nazis and came to Palestine. Both were subsequently injured in the 1948 Arab-Israli War. My mother\u2019s only brother was a paratrooper killed in combat in 1968. All of my relatives served in the Israeli military for extensive periods of time, some of them in units most people don\u2019t even know exist.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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In Israel, military service for both men and women is compulsory.\u00a0When my time to serve came, I refused, because I realized I was obliged to do something about these acts of segregation. I was denied conscientious objector status, like the majority of 18-year-old males who seek this status. Because I refused to serve, I spent a year and a half in military prison.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Some of the acts of segregation that I saw while growing up in Israel include\u00a0towns for Jews only, immigration laws that allow Jews from around the world to immigrate but deny displaced indigenous Palestinians that same right, and national healthcare and school systems that receive significantly more funding in Jewish towns than in Arab towns.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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As former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in 2008: \u201cWe have not yet overcome the barrier of discrimination, which is a deliberate discrimination and the gap is insufferable…. Governments have denied [Arab Israelis] their rights to improve their quality of life.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The situation in the occupied territories is even worse.\u00a0Nearly 4 million Palestinians have been living under Israeli occupation for over 40 years without the most basic human and civil rights.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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One example is segregation on roads in the West Bank, where settlers travel on roads that are for Jews only, while Palestinians are stopped at checkpoints, and a 10-mile commute might take seven hours.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Another example is <\/span>discrimination in water supply<\/span>: Israel pumps drinking water from occupied territory (in violation of international law). Israelis use as much as four times more water than Palestinians, while Palestinians are not allowed to dig their own wells and must rely on Israeli supply.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Civil freedom is no better: In an effort to break the spirit of Palestinians, Israel conducts sporadic arrests and detentions with no judicial supervision. According to one prisoner support and human rights association, roughly 4 in 10 Palestinian males have spent some time in Israeli prisons. That\u2019s 40 percent of all Palestinian males!<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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And finally, perhaps one of the greatest injustices takes place in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is collectively punishing more than 1.5 million Palestinians by sealing them off in the largest open-air prison on earth.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Because of the US\u2019s relationship with Israel, it is important for all Americans to educate themselves about the realities of the conflict. When they do, they will realize that just as much as support for South Africa decades ago was mostly damaging for South Africa itself, contemporary blind support for Israel hurts us Israelis.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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We must lift the ruthless siege of Gaza, which only breeds more anger and frustration among Gazans,who respond by hurling primitive, homemade rockets at Israeli towns.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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We must remove travel restrictions from West Bank Palestinians.\u00a0How can we live in peace with a population where most children cannot visit their grandparents living in the neighboring village, without being stopped and harassed at military checkpoints for hours?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Finally, we must give equal rights to all. Regardless of what the final resolution will be \u2013 the so-called<\/span>\u201cone state solution,<\/span>\u201d the \u201ctwo state solution,\u201d or any other form of governance.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Israel<\/span> governs the lives of 5.5 million Israeli Jews, 1.5 million Israeli Palestinians, and 4 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. As long as Israel is responsible for all of these people, it must ensure that all have equal rights, the same access to resources, and the same opportunities in education and healthcare. Only through such a platform of basic human rights for all humans can a resolution come to the region.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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If Americans truly are our friends, they should shake us up and take away the keys, because right now we are driving drunk, and without this wake-up call, we will soon find ourselves in the ditch of an undemocratic, doomed state.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Jonathan Ben-Artzi was one of the spokespeople for the Hadash party in the Israeli general elections in 2006. His parents are professors in Israel, and his extended family includes uncle Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr. Ben-Artzi is a PhD student at Brown University in Providence, R.I. <\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
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Jonathan Ben Artzi, Israeli Prisoner of Conscience, Victorious Against IDF<\/h2>\n
Jonathan Ben Artzi free from army service<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
For eight years, Jonathan Ben Artzi, nephew of Bibi Netanyahu, has battled the IDF, refusing to serve in the army. He is a conscientious objector recognized by Amnesty International. However, the Israeli army refuses to recognize pacifism as a legitimate category for exemption from service. It saw his refusal as a deliberate flouting of its authority over all Israeli youth who are required to serve a 3-year term in the army. Those officers who sentenced Ben Artzi to eight months in military prison believed that his unpunished refusal might encourage others to follow him. Though why the brass believe anyone in their right mind would chose to emulate a boy who gave eight months of his life to prison and eight years to fighting this case\u2013is beyond me.<\/div>\n
Ben Artzi\u2019s case got as high as the Israeli Supreme Court, which actually ruled on elements of it four different times over the eight years. In the final hearing, it made its squeamishness known about sentencing Ben Artzi to further prison time. The IDF got the message and settled the case on terms highly favorable to Ben Artzi. His parents, who supported him during his entire legal campaign, circulated these messages to his supporters:<\/p>\n

Dear Friends,<\/p>\n

Yoni\u2019s legal battle is over! Those of you who wish to get more details\u2013we\u2019ll be happy to provide (the final agreement is being translated to English). However, at this point we choose to forward Yoni\u2019s own words.<\/p>\n

We are very very grateful for your help, support and moral encouragement,<\/p>\n

Ofra and Matania Ben-Artzi.<\/p>\n

Victory in court<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear Friends,<\/p>\n

After Supreme Court judges Beinish, Levi and Meltzer expressed their discomfort with having to send me to prison now, 8 years after the whole saga began, the military was forced into an agreement with us, in which they admit defeat: the agreement states that I will not have to serve any time in prison, only having two months of probation, and that I remain loyal to my pacifist views. This is a major blow to a prosecution that started this whole thing with a goal of sending me (like the five[other refusers]) to at least one year in prison.<\/p>\n

Thanks to all those who have supported me throughout these years \u2013 it was an invaluable help!<\/p>\n

Yoni<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ben Artzi\u2019s case is important not only because of his refusal to serve, which is a deeply stigmatized view within Israeli society. It is also important because 50% of Israeli youth find other means of refusing to serve. As Colin Urquart\u2019s Guardian article notes<\/span>, this is called \u201cgrey resistance,\u201d because these individuals disguise their refusal in more socially acceptable grounds including psychiatric deferments or leaving the country. The rate of refusal is ever increasing which indicates a growing recognition among the young that military service is no longer the vaunted national ideal it once was. Israel\u2019s 40 Occupation of the Palestinian people and its disastrous war in Lebanon have caused the young to lose their appetite for the \u2018glory\u2019 of fulfilling their duty to their country.<\/p>\n

All those who find themselves unsympathetic to Ben Artzi should consider that he is no shirker. Besides the fact that his father\u2019s sister is married to Bibi Netanyahu, a number of his close relatives have died or been severely wounded serving the country going all the way back the War of Independence. Netanyahu freely accepts an obligation to do alternative service under civilian auspices. But he will not accept the IDF\u2019s authority over him.<\/p>\n

Currently, he is a grad student in mathematics at Brown University.<\/p>\n

For more background on Ben Artzi\u2019s case read:<\/p>\n

Netanyahu nephew faces jail as army refusenik<\/span>
\nI Realized the Stupidity of It<\/span> (interview)<\/p>\n

Thanks to Cecilie Surasky of Muzzlewatch<\/span> for forwarding the family e mail to me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is important to know that this piece was written by the nephew of Benjamin Netanyahu… An Israeli student explains why the US should act on moral outrage over Israel\u2019s discriminatory policies before it\u2019s too late. By Jonathan Ben-Artzi posted April 1, 2010 at 11:48 am EDT Providence, R.I. \u2014 More than 20 years ago, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":783548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[975,1059,3044],"class_list":["post-19591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-turkey","tag-gaza","tag-hamas","tag-mavi-marmara"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/783548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}