Israeli refuseniks movement  May 2004 UPDATE 
By David Raban, New Profile, May 2004

Released:
Yoel Perlman,  a pacifist, was released from the military after spending close to six months in prison, most of that time in the isolation ward, since he refused to wear a uniform. During his imprisonment he held a hunger strike for 23 days, protesting against the conditions in the prison, and in particular he struggled against the ban on reading material in prison cells. Before his discharge, Yoel appeared before the conscience committee, which turned him down, and afterwards he appeared four times before the Unsuitability committee until he was finally exempt.
We would like to thank all those who appealed for Yoel in his long struggle. 

In additon, the following reserve OT objectors were imprisoned and released :
Asaf Bartov, sentenced on March 11th to 21 days
Tal Avger, sentenced on March 27th to 7 days.

Yoni Ben Artzi's hardships continues
Yoni was discharged from the military for reasons of "unsuitability", after the Conscience committee determined that he is not a pacifist. However, the military prosecution asked the court to sentence him to imprisonment although he spent 18 month in prison and detention prior to his discharge.
 Yoni appealed to the Supreme Court to recognize him as a pacifist, and to order the military authorities to exempt him for reasons of conscience. We can all help Yoni by sending letters to the chief military attorney, protesting the treatment that Yoni receives (address in the end).

Laura Milo, appeal to the supreme court
Laura , who refuses to serve im the army as long as it is an army of occupation , appealed to the supreme court demanding that she will be exempt for reasons of conscience. The appeal is based on the fact the the law specifically recognized the rights to conscientious objection in the case of women. The army, however, argued that the term "conscience" can only be applied to pacifists. The supreme court favored the military's case, and a decision will be made soon. In the case the appeal is denied, Laura will return to prison to spend her second term.

Inbal Gelbert:
Inbal spent so far 57 days in four different priosn terms. Although she is a pacifist, the miltary refused to let her see the conscientious committee. After several members of Parlament appealed for her, a date was set for the meeting with the committee, yet it was suddenly canceled without giving a reason.

In prison at the moment:

Daniel Tzal
Daniel, 19 years old, arrived on  Tuesday, April 13th to the induction center and declared his refusal to serve in the army because of the occupation. He was sentenced to 14 days. This is the first case of a male objector publicly refusing to serve for these reasons since "the five" objectors. Daniel is fully aware of the severe price he might pay for his refusal. Daniel  wrote: "I have a moral obligation, not a choice, to refuse to participate in the occupation and to fight  the intitutions which the disregard human rights. A sane person, a person for whome fear and racsim have not completely taken hold of, is obligated in a most basic human way to refuse to take part of systems of occupation and oppression such as the IDF has become."

Yaniv Kalor
Yaniv, OT objector, was sentenced to 28 days in prison no. 6 on March 27th.
You can send him emails at  dash@seruv.org.il

Noam Bahat, Haggai Mattar and Matan Kaminer
The three are in a civilian prison, continuing their one-year sentence.
Letters of support can be sent to:
AGAF BET, Ma'asiyaho Prison, P.O.B 13, Ramla.

Adam Maor, Shimri Tzameret
The two are in a different civilian prison, despite their requests to be together. Letters of support can be sent to:
Hermon Prison, P.O.B 4011 KFAR M'RAR
 


What can we do? 

First of all, please circulate this message and the information contained in it as widely as possible, not only through e-mail, but also on websites, conventional media, by word of mouth, etc. 

1.Sending Letters of Support for Prisoners  
2. Letters to Authorities

It is recommended to send letters of protest on behalf of the objectors to: 

Mr. Shaul Mofaz,
Minister of Defence,
Ministry of Defence,
37 Kaplan St.,
Tel-Aviv 61909,
Israel.

E-mail: mailto:sar@mod.gov.il or mailto:pniot@mod.gov.il
Fax: ++972-3-696-27-57 / ++972-3-691-69-40 / ++972-3-691-79-15
 

Copies can be sent to the commanders of the prisons at: 

Commander of Military Prison No. 4,
Military Prison No. 4,
Military postal number 02507,

IDF
Israel
Fax: ++972-3-957-52-76

Another useful address for sending copies would be the Military Attorney General:

Brig. Gen. Menachem Finklestein
Chief Military Attorney
Military postal code 9605

IDF
Israel
Fax: ++972-3-569-43-70

In the cases of draft resisters and conscripts it would be especially useful to send your appeals to the Commander of the Induction Base in Tel-Hashomer. It is this officer that ultimately decides whether an objector is to be exempted from military service or sent to another round in prison:

Commander of Induction Base, Tel-Hashomer
Military Postal Code 02718, IDF
Israel
Fax: ++972-3-737-60-52

Copies of appeals in can also be sent to: 

Head of Incompatibles Unit
Induction Base (Baqum)
Tel-Hashomer
Fax: ++972-3-737-67-05.

  refusing to kill