Yesterday I received an e-mail from Howard Zinn about a group of young Israelis in jail for being willing to do what is right, refusing to enter the military. Their names are Yuval Oron-Ofir, Raz Bar David Varon, Omer Goldman, Sahar Vardi, and Mia Tamarin, and they are planning a large rally and press event on December 18 at Israel's Department of Defense. He describes these young people thus:
In my day we called them the "refuseniks" and here in the U.S. they're "conscientious objectors." In Israel, they're still in high school and they are the Shministim. Get used to that word because I'm going to ask you to know it, to say it, to use it. You see, Raz Bar-David Varon and another dozen or so Shministim have asked Jewish Voice for Peace for our help and this is one request we can't refuse.
I receive notices from Jewish Voice for Peace, sometimes more than I would like. But I was glad to receive this information and a chance to help. We are in a strange position regarding Israel, and I sometimes wonder if we ever will balance support for its existence and a demand for accountability for its actions. Thinking about this, I was reminded of something Katrina Vanden Heuvel quoted recently from an unidentified Nation board member:
- It will take large scale organized movements to win transformative change. There is no civil rights legislation without the movement, no New Deal without the unions and the unemployed councils, no end to slavery without the abolitionists. In our era, this will need to play out at two levels: district-by-district and state-by-state organizing to get us to the 218 and sixty votes necessary to pass any major legislation; and the movement energy that can create public will, a new narrative and move the elites in DC to shift from orthodoxy. The energy in the country needs to be converted into real organization.
Governments don't make change. People force governments to make change. This is an important distinction, and the thought of a real movement towards peace in Israel is - well, maybe not heartening, but at least hopeful. There is a peace movement, but a strong American voice supporting these young people and contrasting with the AIPAC voice could be helpful.
Back to Howard Zinn:
The Shministim - all about ages 17, 18, 19 and in the 12th grade - are taking a stand. They believe in a better, more peaceful future for themselves and for Israelis and Palestinians, and they are refusing to join the Israeli army. They're in jail, holding strong against immense pressure from family, friends and the Israeli government. They need our support and they need it today.
They have asked people like us to let the Israeli government know we are watching, and that we support their courage. They're hoping to receive hundreds of thousands of postcards to be delivered to the Israeli Minister of Defense on December 18th, when they will hold a huge rally and press conference. They're hoping to stand strong on the steps of this majestic building - and on the steps of history - representing not only the thousands of refusers who came before them, not only the many young people to whom they are an example of a better world, but also to represent us. They have asked you, me, and every person who strives for peace to be on those steps with them, on that day.
At the same time, we must make our own government-in-waiting aware of our voices. The peculiar relationship between Israel and the United States requires US criticism and action as part of any movement. For a serious Israeli movement to succeed, a movement to hold our own government accountable is needed. American Jews rejected the conservative attempt to court their votes away from Barack Obama in this election; we can use our power to help these kids and their movement.
This link will take you to the December 18th site. I also suggest going to change.gov and letting the Obama transition know of our support as well.
http://www.december18th.org/