August 21, 2024
A group of
former fighters from Palestine and Israel plus active duty U.S. GIs announced
last week why they decided to stop participating in war and urged U.S. military
members to tell Congress to stop funding Israel's genocide in Gaza via the
" Appeal for Redress v2."
picture shows a tank in southern Israel along the border with the Gaza Strip on January 19, 2024. The online news
conference was organized by Veterans For Peace and featured a former Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) special forces member, a young Israeli who just finished
85 days in jail for refusing to join the military, a former Hamas youth
activist, and three active-duty U.S. military members who are awaiting
discharge as conscientious objectors.
Elik Elhanan is
a former special forces soldier in the IDF who, from 1995-98, served in south
Lebanon, the West Bank, and Gaza. In 1997, his 14-year old sister was killed by
a suicide bomber in Jerusalem. He joined Courage to Refuse in 2002, co-founded
the Israeli-Palestinian group Combatants for Peace in 2005, and now serves on
the board of American Friends of Combatants for Peace.
He said:
"My service made it clear that violence became an end rather than a means.
In nonviolence I found a language for community building that allows for
self-expression and exchange, while engaging in fierce resistance against the
hegemonic discourse." Elik received his PhD in Middle East studies from
Columbia University and is currently teaching at City College, New York.
Sofia Orr, 19,
spent 85 days in an Israeli military jail for refusing to join the Israeli
Defense Force. Granted conscientious objector status and released in June, she
wrote in her statement of refusal: "I refuse to enlist in order to show
that change is needed and that change is possible, for the security and safety
of all of us in Israel-Palestine, and in the name of empathy that is not
restricted by national identity... I want to create a reality in which all
children between the Jordan River and the [Mediterranean] Sea can dream without
cages."
Ahmed Helou, now
52, lives in the West Bank and is a member of Combatants for Peace. He said:
"I was born to a refugee family that was forced to flee from their home in
1948. Most went to Gaza while my parents fled to Jericho. They told me how
Palestinians were killed right in front of them and how they passed by many
bodies as they ran for safety."
"At 15, I
was invited to join a group called Hamas, to fight for the freedom of my
people. It was 1987, the First Intifada. I threw rocks and made Palestinian
flags. In 1992, I was sentenced to seven months in an Israeli military prison
as a political detainee. When my parents visited, they told me about the Oslo
process and I couldn't stop thinking about how we could have another
life."
"In 2004, a
friend invited me to participate in a workshop with Israelis. I was shocked and
angry. How could you ask me to meet my enemy who killed my people, took my
land, and made me a refugee? By the fourth day, I found myself asking them,
'Are you really Israelis?' I had never met any who were not in uniform or
carrying out violence–until then, I could not see their humanity. After the
seminar, I wanted to know more about the 'other side,' to hear their stories,
and understand them. Then I found Combatants for Peace."
"My wife
and I have lost over 80 members of our extended family, including parents,
siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins in this war. My one remaining sister,
Eman, and her five children are still alive. We are desperate to save them.
Every day we awake in fear of what news will come. I hope I will be able to
reunite with my sister and her family and be able to live together in peace,
safety, and security. All we want is to live together without fear. We are
scared for our children's lives and are doing all we can to protect them from
the violence."
USAF Senior
Airman Larry Hebert said: "As an active duty service member who joined
believing our military was a force for good in the world, I'm horrified by the
position of the United States government to fully support the genocide and
occupation of civilians in Palestine. I'm also horrified by the true nature of
war and its motives. The men and women who recognize their morals and beliefs
and act on them are sometimes mistakenly taken as emotional. The truth is that
having morals and standing firm on them is a sign of moral intelligence that
many people seem to lack. Our complacency toward human suffering while seeing
who profits from it is intolerable. I extend my heart to Palestine and those
suffering from the country I used to have pride in. These are my views, not
those of the Department of Defense."
USAF Senior
Airman Juan Bettancourt said: "After 311 days, the death toll is
appalling: nearly 41,000 innocent lives brutally taken, the majority women and
children. Excruciating reports estimate a devastating total of 186,000 deaths,
with almost 93,000 more suffering from severe injuries. Stories of widespread
sexual violence, merciless executions, torture, and an endless list of war
crimes flood the news, and yet our government remains apathetic to the
suffering of Palestinians and the cries of millions calling for a lasting
cease-fire and justice. As conscientious objectors, as advocates for peace and
human rights, as service members with a shred of moral decency left in us, we
adamantly refuse to be accomplices in this genocide. We demand an immediate,
unilateral cease-fire and the cessation of all weapons transfers to the
reprehensible state of Israel. These are my views, not those of the Dept. of
Defense."
USAF Second Lt.
Joy Metzler said: "As an active duty service member, I have been told
repeatedly that military strength is the only way to counteract the threats we
face in the world. But once again we see that violence, this time perpetrated
by the Israeli government, only leads to death and destruction in an ever
growing conflict. Hate begets hate, so I am calling for a cease-fire and an end
to the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. These are my views, not those of
the Dept. of Defense."
Mike Ferner,
special projects coordinator for Veterans For Peace, said: "It is highly
significant that former fighters from Israel and Palestine have joined American
GIs to say, 'War is not the answer.' A growing number of GIs tell us they are
disturbed about being in the military while our government funds the bombing of
innocent people in Gaza. Now we can see that soldiers from all sides of this
conflict are sickened by a war run by tyrants benefitting only weapons makers,
that is both morally repugnant and violates U.S. laws with every weapons
transfer to Israel."
Tiffany
Goodwin-Van Camp, executive director of American Friends of Combatants for
Peace, shared a message from the Combatants for Peace movement: "We refuse
to be pitted against each other as enemies. We support peace, freedom, and
dignity for all peoples between the river and the sea and an end to the
occupation harming both Palestinians and Israelis. Our ultimate goal is
collective liberation because we know that the fate of Israelis, Palestinians,
and all of us is intertwined. Every day, CfP activists live out the values of
nonviolence, empathy, and mutual recognition, holding each other's grief and
pain. The trauma is endless and ongoing, but our community provides hope. It
shows that another way is possible; that violence is not inevitable but a human
choice that we can change. The only real solution is a hostage/prisoner deal
now and a political agreement based on our shared humanity."
Civilian defense
attorney James M. Branum said: "Too many service members are wrongly told
by their commanders that they 'have no right' to speak out about what is
happening in Gaza. This is not true as communications to Congress, such as the
Appeal for Redress v2, are 'protected communications' under military
regulations."
Bill Galvin,
counseling coordinator at the Center on Conscience and War, said: "Our
office has received calls from six new conscientious objectors in the past
week. Some of them have said they feel complicit in the violence happening in
Gaza. All of them have clearly said that participating in that conflict is
morally wrong. That's why the Center on Conscience and War is supporting this
Appeal for Redress."
Ariel Gold,
executive director of Fellowship of Reconciliation, said: "Despite the
pro-war hysteria that countries use to justify their military endeavors,
conscientious objection remains a courageous option for those committed to
peace. The Fellowship of Reconciliation supports resistance to war as we know
that war is an abomination in the eyes of God and inherently unable to birth
peace."
Diana Oestreich,
a former Army combat medic in the Iraq War, was a conscientious objector and is
development coordinator for Red Letter Christians. She said: "As soldiers
we gave an oath to serve our country. Seeing the destruction in Iraq firsthand
showed many of us our duty to be a conscience to our country. To stand up,
instead of stand down, when lives and our country and faith's integrity is on
the line. We are serving our country by refusing war. These military members
today are following in the footsteps of courageous soldiers before them who are
countering the failed narrative that we can bomb our way to peace."
To increase the
awareness of this campaign among members of the military, civilian supporters
of the appeal are encouraged to share it on social media and to ask peace and
justice organizations to share it with their membership.
Initiated by
active-duty military members, veterans, and G.I. rights groups, "Appeal
for Redress v2" is modeled after the 2006 Appeal for Redress conducted
during the highly unpopular occupation of Iraq, to allow GIs to tell their
representatives they are opposed to U.S. policy.
Jamal Kanj
Israel escaped a certain military
retaliation last week when Joe Biden hastily called to start a new round of
ceasefire negotiations —a ploy likely succeeded in delaying a planned reprisals
against Israel for its aggression in Tehran, Yemen, and Beirut.
Previously, the Palestinians have
agreed to multiple revised American ceasefire proposals. Each time, however,
Benjamin Netanyahu added new conditions forcing the resumption of negotiations
back from the starting point.
On May 31st, the U.S. President
announced what he called a comprehensive Israeli proposal, promising a “roadmap
to a lasting cease-fire and the release of all hostages.” Yet, in less than 24
hours, Netanyahu dismissed Biden’s proposal as a “nonstarter,” insisting that
his terms for ending the war remain unchanged.
Throughout its history, Israel have
used the never-ending negotiation tactics as a Sisyphean amaranthine. In 1992,
Yitzhak Shamir told the Israeli newspaper Maariv that his strategy during the
Madrid talks was to negotiate “for 10 years and in the meantime, we would have
reached half a million people (illegal Jewish settlers) in the West Bank.”
Three decades later, Israel has
increased the population in the Jewish-only colonies in the West Bank far more
than the half a million-mark, and still haggling with no end in sight, over the
1993 Oslo Framework. Today, there could be another 40,000 murdered Palestinian
children while Israel negotiates Biden’s Framework on the ceasefire in Gaza.
This is not the perspective of a
critic of Israel but rather the opinion of Netanyahu’s own Defense Minister.
Yoav Gallant has reportedly told Israeli lawmakers in a private briefing that
Netanyahu’s assertions of “absolute victory” in Gaza are “gibberish.” Former
member of Netanyahu’s war cabinet, Benny Gantz, criticized the Prime Minister’s
indecision regarding the ceasefire and exchange of captives, urging him to “be
brave, for once.” The head of his Shin Bet (Israeli equivalent to American FBI)
questioned Netanyahu’s commitment to the ceasefire negotiation.
Netanyahu’s own negotiating team has
accused him of undermining the ceasefire talks. According to Israel’s Channel
12, a recent meeting between Netanyahu and his team escalated into a shouting
match, with Netanyahu accusing them of being “weaklings” serving the interests
of the Palestinian resistance.
The Biden Administration, therefore,
should focus on mediating between Israelis to establish a definitive Israeli
position, rather than allowing Netanyahu to continually waste time introducing
new conditions after the Palestinians have agreed to a proposal. According to a
report in AXIOS, an Israeli official complained that “Netanyahu wants a deal
that is impossible to get.”
Zionist leader Nahum Goldman once
remarked, “Diplomacy in the Middle East is the art of delaying the inevitable
as long as possible.” The outcome of last week’s meetings in Doha has
demonstrated, once again, how Israel has mastered this art. For Israel, negotiation
is an end in itself—each meeting becomes a new opportunity to dawdle and haggle
to delay an agreement.
Following the (failure) conclusion
of the Doha talks, the White House announced that another meeting will take
place in Cairo before the end of the week. Biden’s office claimed that “the
path is now set. . . (for) de-escalating regional tensions.” In a move likely
engineered by Washington, the Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign
Affairs called Iran’s Acting Foreign Minister to discuss “the need for calm and
de-escalation in the region.”
Since early this year, Qatar has
been involved in over eight rounds of ceasefire discussions in Doha, Rome,
Paris, and Cairo. However, this was the first time the Qatari official found it
necessary to brief Iran’s acting foreign minister on the talks, raising
questions about the timing.
So why now?
Possibly because Washington wants to
convey a message—albeit a misleading—to Iran about supposed progress in the
talks, dangling the proposed round of ceasefire negotiations to delay the
Iranian retaliation, one more week.
As for the retaliation, the mere
threat could serve as a cudgel to improve the Palestinian negotiating position.
In reality, however, attempting to apply logic in this situation only emboldens
an irrational person, like Netanyahu. He is probably boasting to his government
partners about how he outsmarted the U.S. and others, while flaunting his
ability to “Move America Very Easily” for the service of Israel.
Frankly, the Biden Administration’s
position on the ceasefire seems even more submissive to Netanyahu than that of
Israeli government officials. A case in point, the statement by Secretary of
State Anthony Blinken, following his meeting with Netanyahu on Monday, claiming
that Israel accepted a “bridging proposal,” is false, misleading and unbecoming
of an “honest” mediator. The truth, it was more like the U.S. acceded to
Netanyahu’s conditions on the ceasefire proposal.
Netanyahu has been able to drag the
ceasefire negotiations because Biden appears to suffer from a form of abused
victim syndrome, consistently prepared to adopt Netanyahu’s position even when
displeased with it. Despite reportedly being unhappy with Israeli actions in
Tehran and Beirut fearing that could lead to a larger conflict, yet, he
rewarded Netanyahu’s government with a $20 billion military package, and rushed
U.S. warships, fighter jets, air defense systems and submarines in position to
defend Israel against possible Iranian retaliation. This came on top of the $14
billion in aid earlier this year to bolster Israel’s defense in a “multi-front
war.”
Biden’s assertions after the Doha
talks, that the ceasefire is “closer than we’ve ever been,” is red herring
intended only to undercut potential reprisals against Israel. Biden’s primary
concern is avoiding a broader war to protect Israel, not a Gaza ceasefire.
The ceasefire negotiations have
stalled for eleven months because Biden’s approach is fundamentally biased for
emphasizing the well-being of the roughly 100 Israeli captives (including U.S.
citizens who became Israelis), over that of millions of Palestinians. It is
biased and racist when America wages a proxy war against Yemen for blockading
shipping to one Israeli port on the Red Sea, but allows Israel to starve 2.3
million Palestinians imposing a barricade cutting off all sea, land, and air
access to Gaza.
As long as the 100 (Jewish) Israeli
individuals are more equal than the over 10,000 Palestinian captives in Israeli
dungeons, and the 2.3 million (Muslim and Christian) Palestinians in Gaza,
Netanyahu will continue to use the ceasefire negotiations as a facade to
perpetuate his genocide agenda. Meanwhile, Biden’s diplomacy serves as
Netanyahu’s useful idiot constructing, alongside Arab vassal states, a mirage
of hope to deter the past due retaliation against Israel.
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