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31 aug 2018
Breaking the Silence CEO Avner Gvaryahu detained by Border Police
Border Police detain Left-Wing organization's activists who arrive at settlement in West Bank for an 'educational tour' following the attack on 4 Ta’ayush NGO members Saturday. video
The border Police Force detained Friday for questioning the CEO of Breaking the Silence, Avner Gvaryahu, and two additional activists of the left-wing NGO— Ahiya Schatz and Michael Sfard—after they arrived at the settlement of Mitzpe Yair in the Mount Hebron area of the West Bank.
Gvaryahu, Schatz and Sfard were released shortly afterwards and are expected to give their testimony on the incident next week.
A Breaking the Silence bus arrived to the area to protest against the attack of the four activists from the Left-wing Ta’ayush NGO who were wounded Saturday in Mitzpe Yair.
After the activists encountered an IDF force that had closed the area under a special order, a confrontation erupted between them and the Border Police and IDF soldiers, resulting in Gvaryahu and the two activists being taken for questioning.
According to the West Bank police, the three were detained after violating a legal order.
Breaking the Silence issued a statement saying, "The detention of the organization's CEO Avner Gvaryahu, Ahiya Schatz and attorney Michael Sfard during an educational tour in southern Mount Hebron should worry all of Israel's citizens who value democracy.
"The Hebron brigade commander has given an incentive to the settlers who behave as bullies during an acquaintance and solidarity tour following last week's violent attack executed by settlers against the Ta’ayush NGO's activists," the NGO added.
"This is yet another unfortunate proof that the military has become the servant of the settlers and that they are the true commanders in the field," the NGO's statement concluded.
After his release, Gvaryahu said, "We are not going to give up and plan to tour southern Mount Hebron again soon. As opposed to the commander of the Hebron brigade who surrenders to the violence inflicted by settlers, we refuse to accept it."
Schatz added that "The police detained us without any reason, and we will not be silent about that."
"We'll not stop our tours and continue telling what we've been doing in the territories because this is our duty as soldiers who served there," Schatz went on to say.
Knesset member Mossi Raz (Meretz) who also took part in the tour said, "We arrived today at the violent settlement of Mitzpe Yair to protest against the settlers' behavior and the weak conduct of the police and the IDF while facing them."
"We witnessed how the army and the police follow their instructions detaining Breaking the Silence CEO and its two prominent activists," Raz elucidated.
"What happened here today is a disgrace. We encourage the human rights activists who come here every Saturday and they have our respect," he asserted.
"Someday the occupation will end," the MK concluded.
Border Police detain Left-Wing organization's activists who arrive at settlement in West Bank for an 'educational tour' following the attack on 4 Ta’ayush NGO members Saturday. video
The border Police Force detained Friday for questioning the CEO of Breaking the Silence, Avner Gvaryahu, and two additional activists of the left-wing NGO— Ahiya Schatz and Michael Sfard—after they arrived at the settlement of Mitzpe Yair in the Mount Hebron area of the West Bank.
Gvaryahu, Schatz and Sfard were released shortly afterwards and are expected to give their testimony on the incident next week.
A Breaking the Silence bus arrived to the area to protest against the attack of the four activists from the Left-wing Ta’ayush NGO who were wounded Saturday in Mitzpe Yair.
After the activists encountered an IDF force that had closed the area under a special order, a confrontation erupted between them and the Border Police and IDF soldiers, resulting in Gvaryahu and the two activists being taken for questioning.
According to the West Bank police, the three were detained after violating a legal order.
Breaking the Silence issued a statement saying, "The detention of the organization's CEO Avner Gvaryahu, Ahiya Schatz and attorney Michael Sfard during an educational tour in southern Mount Hebron should worry all of Israel's citizens who value democracy.
"The Hebron brigade commander has given an incentive to the settlers who behave as bullies during an acquaintance and solidarity tour following last week's violent attack executed by settlers against the Ta’ayush NGO's activists," the NGO added.
"This is yet another unfortunate proof that the military has become the servant of the settlers and that they are the true commanders in the field," the NGO's statement concluded.
After his release, Gvaryahu said, "We are not going to give up and plan to tour southern Mount Hebron again soon. As opposed to the commander of the Hebron brigade who surrenders to the violence inflicted by settlers, we refuse to accept it."
Schatz added that "The police detained us without any reason, and we will not be silent about that."
"We'll not stop our tours and continue telling what we've been doing in the territories because this is our duty as soldiers who served there," Schatz went on to say.
Knesset member Mossi Raz (Meretz) who also took part in the tour said, "We arrived today at the violent settlement of Mitzpe Yair to protest against the settlers' behavior and the weak conduct of the police and the IDF while facing them."
"We witnessed how the army and the police follow their instructions detaining Breaking the Silence CEO and its two prominent activists," Raz elucidated.
"What happened here today is a disgrace. We encourage the human rights activists who come here every Saturday and they have our respect," he asserted.
"Someday the occupation will end," the MK concluded.
25 aug 2018
Left-wing activists wounded in Mitzpe Yair
Ta’ayush organization's member were evacuated to Soroka University Medical Center in Be’er Sheva after being attacked by several of the settlement's residents, according to the activists; IDF says activists arrived to Mitzpe Yair 'in order to create provocation'; No suspects were detained yet.
Four left-wing activist from the Ta’ayush organization were attacked and wounded Saturday in the settlement of Mitzpe Yair in the Mount Hebron area.
According to the activists, several masked Mitzpe Yair residents hurled stones at them.
The Ta’ayush organization's members were lightly wounded and taken to the Soroka University Medical Center in Be’er Sheva. suspects are yet to be detained.
The police said that according to a report they had received earlier from the IDF, four Israelis had arrived to Mitzpe Yair to take pictures.
"At some point, as reported by the activists, several masked young men arrived and began throwing stones at them and wounding them," the police said.
"A police force that was called to the scene launched an investigation into the matter," the police statement added.
The IDF said that "several Ta'ayush activists arrived this morning to the area near Mitzpeh Yair where illegal Palestinian construction is taking place."
"After the security forces had confiscated the tools used for the illegal construction, the activists went up to Mitzpeh Yair in order to create a provocation, which led to a violent clash between them and the area's residents," the IDF elaborated.
"IDF soldiers who were at the scene, announced it as a closed military zone in order to prevent further violence . However, some of the organization's activists refused to leave the premises in violation of the order applied to the area.
"After a while the activists agreed to leave the area, ending the skirmishes," the IDF concluded.
The Ta’ayush organization issued a statement on its Facebook page saying that "Jewish terrorists from the Mitzpe Yair settlement attacked four members of our organization by throwing stones and sticks at them.
"The soldiers present at the scene were scared to intervene. We are afraid to think what would have happened if the activists were Palestinians," the statement added.
Israeli settlers attack 4 Israeli left-wing activists
A group of Israeli settlers on Saturday attacked four Israeli left-wing activists from Ta'ayush NGO near the illegal Israeli settlement of Mitzpe Yair, in the southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron.
According to local sources, about 15 masked Israeli settlers from the illegal Mitzpe Yair settlement attacked four activists as they were taking photos of the area, resulting in throwing stones at them, pushing them, breaking their personal cameras, and stealing their cell phones.
No suspects were detained yet.
Israeli Ynet news outlet reported that the Ta'ayush NGO activists were lightly wounded and transferred to the Soroka University Medical Center in Beer Sheva for necessary treatments.
Israeli forces, who received a complaint from the attacked activists, arrived at the scene immediately and opened an investigation into the matter.
"At some point, as reported by the activists, several masked young men arrived and began throwing stones at them and wounding them," according to an Israeli policeman.
Sources added that Israeli forces said several Ta'ayush activists arrived to the area near Mitzpeh Yair, where allegedly illegal Palestinian construction was taking place, resulting in confiscation of construction equipment.
Following this, clashes broke out among the activists and Israeli settlers.
Israeli forces blamed the activists for their "provocation" of the Israeli settlers and for the attack.
Ynet also reported that Israeli forces, who were at the scene, said in a statement that they declared the area a "closed military zone" in order to prevent further violence, however, the activists refused to leave the premises.
One of the Ta'ayush activists, Pepe Goldman, responded to the Israeli army statement by calling it a "lie" including the alleged declaration of a closed military zone. "The IDF has turned into an army of the settlers. That is what is happening in the West Bank," he added.
The Ta'ayush NGO issued a statement, regarding the attack, on its Facebook page "Jewish terrorists from the Mitzpe Yair settlement attacked four members of our organization by throwing stones and sticks at them."
The statement added "The soldiers present at the scene were scared to intervene. We are afraid to think what would have happened if the activists were Palestinians."
Ta’ayush organization's member were evacuated to Soroka University Medical Center in Be’er Sheva after being attacked by several of the settlement's residents, according to the activists; IDF says activists arrived to Mitzpe Yair 'in order to create provocation'; No suspects were detained yet.
Four left-wing activist from the Ta’ayush organization were attacked and wounded Saturday in the settlement of Mitzpe Yair in the Mount Hebron area.
According to the activists, several masked Mitzpe Yair residents hurled stones at them.
The Ta’ayush organization's members were lightly wounded and taken to the Soroka University Medical Center in Be’er Sheva. suspects are yet to be detained.
The police said that according to a report they had received earlier from the IDF, four Israelis had arrived to Mitzpe Yair to take pictures.
"At some point, as reported by the activists, several masked young men arrived and began throwing stones at them and wounding them," the police said.
"A police force that was called to the scene launched an investigation into the matter," the police statement added.
The IDF said that "several Ta'ayush activists arrived this morning to the area near Mitzpeh Yair where illegal Palestinian construction is taking place."
"After the security forces had confiscated the tools used for the illegal construction, the activists went up to Mitzpeh Yair in order to create a provocation, which led to a violent clash between them and the area's residents," the IDF elaborated.
"IDF soldiers who were at the scene, announced it as a closed military zone in order to prevent further violence . However, some of the organization's activists refused to leave the premises in violation of the order applied to the area.
"After a while the activists agreed to leave the area, ending the skirmishes," the IDF concluded.
The Ta’ayush organization issued a statement on its Facebook page saying that "Jewish terrorists from the Mitzpe Yair settlement attacked four members of our organization by throwing stones and sticks at them.
"The soldiers present at the scene were scared to intervene. We are afraid to think what would have happened if the activists were Palestinians," the statement added.
Israeli settlers attack 4 Israeli left-wing activists
A group of Israeli settlers on Saturday attacked four Israeli left-wing activists from Ta'ayush NGO near the illegal Israeli settlement of Mitzpe Yair, in the southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron.
According to local sources, about 15 masked Israeli settlers from the illegal Mitzpe Yair settlement attacked four activists as they were taking photos of the area, resulting in throwing stones at them, pushing them, breaking their personal cameras, and stealing their cell phones.
No suspects were detained yet.
Israeli Ynet news outlet reported that the Ta'ayush NGO activists were lightly wounded and transferred to the Soroka University Medical Center in Beer Sheva for necessary treatments.
Israeli forces, who received a complaint from the attacked activists, arrived at the scene immediately and opened an investigation into the matter.
"At some point, as reported by the activists, several masked young men arrived and began throwing stones at them and wounding them," according to an Israeli policeman.
Sources added that Israeli forces said several Ta'ayush activists arrived to the area near Mitzpeh Yair, where allegedly illegal Palestinian construction was taking place, resulting in confiscation of construction equipment.
Following this, clashes broke out among the activists and Israeli settlers.
Israeli forces blamed the activists for their "provocation" of the Israeli settlers and for the attack.
Ynet also reported that Israeli forces, who were at the scene, said in a statement that they declared the area a "closed military zone" in order to prevent further violence, however, the activists refused to leave the premises.
One of the Ta'ayush activists, Pepe Goldman, responded to the Israeli army statement by calling it a "lie" including the alleged declaration of a closed military zone. "The IDF has turned into an army of the settlers. That is what is happening in the West Bank," he added.
The Ta'ayush NGO issued a statement, regarding the attack, on its Facebook page "Jewish terrorists from the Mitzpe Yair settlement attacked four members of our organization by throwing stones and sticks at them."
The statement added "The soldiers present at the scene were scared to intervene. We are afraid to think what would have happened if the activists were Palestinians."
18 july 2018
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Yonatan Shapira says Israel’s ‘democracy’ is, in fact, an apartheid state led by fascist Jewish supremacists.
TRNN video & transcript: DIMITRI LASCARIS: This is Dimitri Lascaris, reporting for The Real News Network from the port of Naples, Italy. We are seated in front of the ships of the Gaza flotilla, the Freedom Flotilla, which have been docked here for a couple of days, and I’m pleased to be joined today by Yonatan Shapira. Yonatan is a former rescue pilot in the Israeli Air Force. He’s also a founding member and prominent activist of the Israeli movement Boycott From Within. And I’d like to thank you very much for joining us today, Yonatan. YONATAN SHAPIRA: Thank you. Thank you for coming. |
DIMITRI LASCARIS: So I’d like to start by talking about your experiences within the Israeli Air Force, and your decision ultimately to become a dissenter from military service. Could you tell us about that?
YONATAN SHAPIRA: Well, there is a long story to tell here, but I’ll just try to say in a few words that in 2003, after more than 10 years of service in the Israeli Air Force, I was a Blackhawk helicopter pilot doing rescues and flying soldiers, and doing everything that I was asked. I realized together with other friends in the air force that we are fighting for the wrong side, and we are part of an organization that commits a crime against innocent Palestinians, and we do not want to be part of it anymore. So together with a group of about 27 pilots from all different squadrons of the Israeli air force, attack pilots, rescue pilots like me and others, veterans and active, we send this letter to our commander and the whole society in Israel telling them that we are no longer willing to obey the orders and be part of this illegal and criminal, immoral, occupation. That’s what started my life as an activist fifteen years ago, on the eve of the Jewish year, Rosh Hashanah.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: And subsequently you became a prominent member, as I mentioned, at the outset of this movement, Boycott From Within. Can you tell us, what is it like being an Israeli citizen advocating for the imposition of a boycott given the attitude of the Israeli government towards the whole boycott movement?
YONATAN SHAPIRA: As a human being, I’m very proud of it. I feel super confident about what we, we are many activists. We are still a minority of a minority. But there are activists in Israel who are calling for boycott, divestment, and sanctions because we believe it’s for the benefit of all people; Palestinian people, and Jewish people, and everyone living there and everyone in the world. Of course, the Zionist society in Israel doesn’t like it. So you pay the [little] price of being a dissenter in an apartheid. So you get some benefit, some of your privilege away. But overall I’m still able to be there when I’m there, and lead a relatively comfortable life.
And slowly, slowly, the apartheid system is trying to make it harder and harder and more difficult on us. But again, when I look and compare my life to the life of a Palestinian or a refugee in Israel, or even a non-white Ashkenazi Israeli man in Israel, I’m still able to live quite comfortable. As we speak there are many trying in Parliament to make the apartheid in Israel more official. So different laws that are trying to constitute, that will make it even harder for us to still be free to still act.
And it’s just important to remember that Israel claims to be a democracy. It is not. It’s, it’s an apartheid. It’s led by a group of fascist Jewish supremacy people, and prime minister, and ministers. But if you’re a Zionist Jew, you can feel great democracy. If you are not a Zionist, and if you’re not a Jew, you’re living in apartheid.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: Now, you’ve participated in prior missions of the Freedom Flotilla. Could you tell me why, and also how you were received by your former colleagues within the Israeli military when the vessels were intercepted on those occasions?
YONATAN SHAPIRA: The first time I tried to break the blockade with a group of activists was 2010. About three months after what happened on the Mavi Marmara, where Israeli, the Israeli army shot and killed about 10 activists from Turkey, most of them. The helicopter that landed, the soldiers that killed and massacred people on the Mavi Marmara, were helicopters from the squadron I used to fly in, this Blackhawk squadron in the Israeli air force. And therefore I decided that I must participate in the second boat that will try to break the blockade. It happened in September 2010. We were very small, and we were intercepted by many warships, small and big.
And if we were Palestinians or Turks I guess they would shoot us and kill us, maybe, but I got the better treatment of a Taser gun in my heart. So maybe they thought that they will resuscitate my Zionist behavior. My Zionist heart will start beating again.
But instead it just made me more clear about my decision, and confident about the need to struggle against apartheid and against this illegal crime of ghettoization and that concentration of two million people. The second attempt was 2011, a year, about a year later. I was on a crew of The Audacity of Hope. It was a big American boat, and we were part of the second flotilla trying to leave from the port of Piraeus in Greece. Unfortunately, the Greek government was coopted by Israel and the U.S., and with different pressure, I guess, they obeyed Bibi Netanyahu. And we had a big sign saying, who’s your commander, Netanyahu or Poseidon? Who is the god of the sea. Is it Israel, or the Greek Poseidon?
Unfortunately, it was Netanyahu and on a gun show on a gunpoint. We were stopped by the Greek coast guard just a few minutes after leaving the port of Priaeus, and we had to go back, and were detained by the, by the Greeks. And the third attempt was 2012, with the Ship to Gaza, the Swedish group that was with many international organizations, and the Finnish flagged boat. We had other Israelis on board. And we were also stopped about 40 miles from, from shore, from Gaza. This time it was a big operation. I guess they used it as a maneuver for training their forces, because they know that we are not posing any threat, like military threat, on them. So they were hundreds, maybe thousands of soldiers participating.
About 15 warships, big and small. And also one Blackhawk helicopter that came in circled above us. And when I looked at it on the tail I could see that the number on the tail is 852, which is the same helicopter, tthe same piece of metal that I used to fly some years before. They again arrested us, tasered us, and took us to the Navy base of Ashdod, and we spent a few days arrested.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: I’d like, I’d like to talk to you about the future, to conclude. And you know, those of us in the West watching with trepidation what’s happening seem, it seems to be that every day the predicament of the Palestinian people is worse, and that the Israeli government’s sense of impunity is on the increase, if anything. Do you, are you feeling hopeful, based upon what you see, for the cause of Palestinian justice, justice for the Palestinian people? Do you see signs that this is a battle that is being won, ultimately, and that this is something that may actually be won within your lifetime?
YONATAN SHAPIRA: Well gives me hope is nothing about the governments and the system that controls us in your country, in my country. I see a lot of hypocrisy all over Europe and elsewhere, and also Canada. What gives me hope is to see the popular struggle of Palestinians that are showing incredible bravery. That reminds me what I grew up on, you know, the struggle in the ghettos, in the Warsaw Ghetto, in other ghettos. With the, with all the courage to walk into the fence, towards the fence of this biggest prison in the world, without bearing any arms. Walking and trying to protest this siege. It gives me a lot of hope, because I think that’s where the mighty power of the Israeli military collapses, when we have thousands and thousands of Palestinians that are uniting, holding hands and standing in front of the Israeli snipers.
That gives me hope. That means that it’s not going to be able to last forever. And things like that gives me hope to be together with the Spanish, Italians, Americans, Canadians, Norwegians, Swedish, everyone. It means that somewhere on a deep nerve of many people around the world, it’s quite clear that this symbolic struggle of the Palestinians for freedom will be won at some point. And our job is to not be deterred, and not be, not lose our hope when we see the hypocritical governments in one hand saying something against Israel’s crimes, and on the other hand still doing arms trade with them and giving them all the impunity and all the actual support to continue with this massacre and this illegality.
But it’s important to to say to everyone who listens to us that we need you. We need the person that now maybe sits in Canada, or in the U.S., or in elsewhere in Europe, or somewhere else. We need you to join this struggle. And this struggle is not just about freedom for Palestinians. It’s about the struggle against what Europe and the U.S. and other countries are doing to refugees that are trying to escape the horrors in Africa. It’s the same struggle. It’s the struggle of the people who have less to be recognized and to get their basic human right. So if you want to be part of the struggle, wherever you are, you don’t have to come all the way and join us in this flotilla. You can be active on your, in your local community, for justice for, for everyone. And then you are part of the struggle for justice for Palestine.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: I’d like to thank you very much for speaking with The Real News today, Yonatan. It’s been a pleasure.
YONATAN SHAPIRA: Thank you for coming here. And good luck with your health.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: Thank you very much. And this is Dimitri Lascaris, reporting for The Real News from Naples, Italy.
IMEMC Interview 06/26/18: Jewish American Explains Why She Supports Palestine and BDS
YONATAN SHAPIRA: Well, there is a long story to tell here, but I’ll just try to say in a few words that in 2003, after more than 10 years of service in the Israeli Air Force, I was a Blackhawk helicopter pilot doing rescues and flying soldiers, and doing everything that I was asked. I realized together with other friends in the air force that we are fighting for the wrong side, and we are part of an organization that commits a crime against innocent Palestinians, and we do not want to be part of it anymore. So together with a group of about 27 pilots from all different squadrons of the Israeli air force, attack pilots, rescue pilots like me and others, veterans and active, we send this letter to our commander and the whole society in Israel telling them that we are no longer willing to obey the orders and be part of this illegal and criminal, immoral, occupation. That’s what started my life as an activist fifteen years ago, on the eve of the Jewish year, Rosh Hashanah.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: And subsequently you became a prominent member, as I mentioned, at the outset of this movement, Boycott From Within. Can you tell us, what is it like being an Israeli citizen advocating for the imposition of a boycott given the attitude of the Israeli government towards the whole boycott movement?
YONATAN SHAPIRA: As a human being, I’m very proud of it. I feel super confident about what we, we are many activists. We are still a minority of a minority. But there are activists in Israel who are calling for boycott, divestment, and sanctions because we believe it’s for the benefit of all people; Palestinian people, and Jewish people, and everyone living there and everyone in the world. Of course, the Zionist society in Israel doesn’t like it. So you pay the [little] price of being a dissenter in an apartheid. So you get some benefit, some of your privilege away. But overall I’m still able to be there when I’m there, and lead a relatively comfortable life.
And slowly, slowly, the apartheid system is trying to make it harder and harder and more difficult on us. But again, when I look and compare my life to the life of a Palestinian or a refugee in Israel, or even a non-white Ashkenazi Israeli man in Israel, I’m still able to live quite comfortable. As we speak there are many trying in Parliament to make the apartheid in Israel more official. So different laws that are trying to constitute, that will make it even harder for us to still be free to still act.
And it’s just important to remember that Israel claims to be a democracy. It is not. It’s, it’s an apartheid. It’s led by a group of fascist Jewish supremacy people, and prime minister, and ministers. But if you’re a Zionist Jew, you can feel great democracy. If you are not a Zionist, and if you’re not a Jew, you’re living in apartheid.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: Now, you’ve participated in prior missions of the Freedom Flotilla. Could you tell me why, and also how you were received by your former colleagues within the Israeli military when the vessels were intercepted on those occasions?
YONATAN SHAPIRA: The first time I tried to break the blockade with a group of activists was 2010. About three months after what happened on the Mavi Marmara, where Israeli, the Israeli army shot and killed about 10 activists from Turkey, most of them. The helicopter that landed, the soldiers that killed and massacred people on the Mavi Marmara, were helicopters from the squadron I used to fly in, this Blackhawk squadron in the Israeli air force. And therefore I decided that I must participate in the second boat that will try to break the blockade. It happened in September 2010. We were very small, and we were intercepted by many warships, small and big.
And if we were Palestinians or Turks I guess they would shoot us and kill us, maybe, but I got the better treatment of a Taser gun in my heart. So maybe they thought that they will resuscitate my Zionist behavior. My Zionist heart will start beating again.
But instead it just made me more clear about my decision, and confident about the need to struggle against apartheid and against this illegal crime of ghettoization and that concentration of two million people. The second attempt was 2011, a year, about a year later. I was on a crew of The Audacity of Hope. It was a big American boat, and we were part of the second flotilla trying to leave from the port of Piraeus in Greece. Unfortunately, the Greek government was coopted by Israel and the U.S., and with different pressure, I guess, they obeyed Bibi Netanyahu. And we had a big sign saying, who’s your commander, Netanyahu or Poseidon? Who is the god of the sea. Is it Israel, or the Greek Poseidon?
Unfortunately, it was Netanyahu and on a gun show on a gunpoint. We were stopped by the Greek coast guard just a few minutes after leaving the port of Priaeus, and we had to go back, and were detained by the, by the Greeks. And the third attempt was 2012, with the Ship to Gaza, the Swedish group that was with many international organizations, and the Finnish flagged boat. We had other Israelis on board. And we were also stopped about 40 miles from, from shore, from Gaza. This time it was a big operation. I guess they used it as a maneuver for training their forces, because they know that we are not posing any threat, like military threat, on them. So they were hundreds, maybe thousands of soldiers participating.
About 15 warships, big and small. And also one Blackhawk helicopter that came in circled above us. And when I looked at it on the tail I could see that the number on the tail is 852, which is the same helicopter, tthe same piece of metal that I used to fly some years before. They again arrested us, tasered us, and took us to the Navy base of Ashdod, and we spent a few days arrested.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: I’d like, I’d like to talk to you about the future, to conclude. And you know, those of us in the West watching with trepidation what’s happening seem, it seems to be that every day the predicament of the Palestinian people is worse, and that the Israeli government’s sense of impunity is on the increase, if anything. Do you, are you feeling hopeful, based upon what you see, for the cause of Palestinian justice, justice for the Palestinian people? Do you see signs that this is a battle that is being won, ultimately, and that this is something that may actually be won within your lifetime?
YONATAN SHAPIRA: Well gives me hope is nothing about the governments and the system that controls us in your country, in my country. I see a lot of hypocrisy all over Europe and elsewhere, and also Canada. What gives me hope is to see the popular struggle of Palestinians that are showing incredible bravery. That reminds me what I grew up on, you know, the struggle in the ghettos, in the Warsaw Ghetto, in other ghettos. With the, with all the courage to walk into the fence, towards the fence of this biggest prison in the world, without bearing any arms. Walking and trying to protest this siege. It gives me a lot of hope, because I think that’s where the mighty power of the Israeli military collapses, when we have thousands and thousands of Palestinians that are uniting, holding hands and standing in front of the Israeli snipers.
That gives me hope. That means that it’s not going to be able to last forever. And things like that gives me hope to be together with the Spanish, Italians, Americans, Canadians, Norwegians, Swedish, everyone. It means that somewhere on a deep nerve of many people around the world, it’s quite clear that this symbolic struggle of the Palestinians for freedom will be won at some point. And our job is to not be deterred, and not be, not lose our hope when we see the hypocritical governments in one hand saying something against Israel’s crimes, and on the other hand still doing arms trade with them and giving them all the impunity and all the actual support to continue with this massacre and this illegality.
But it’s important to to say to everyone who listens to us that we need you. We need the person that now maybe sits in Canada, or in the U.S., or in elsewhere in Europe, or somewhere else. We need you to join this struggle. And this struggle is not just about freedom for Palestinians. It’s about the struggle against what Europe and the U.S. and other countries are doing to refugees that are trying to escape the horrors in Africa. It’s the same struggle. It’s the struggle of the people who have less to be recognized and to get their basic human right. So if you want to be part of the struggle, wherever you are, you don’t have to come all the way and join us in this flotilla. You can be active on your, in your local community, for justice for, for everyone. And then you are part of the struggle for justice for Palestine.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: I’d like to thank you very much for speaking with The Real News today, Yonatan. It’s been a pleasure.
YONATAN SHAPIRA: Thank you for coming here. And good luck with your health.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: Thank you very much. And this is Dimitri Lascaris, reporting for The Real News from Naples, Italy.
IMEMC Interview 06/26/18: Jewish American Explains Why She Supports Palestine and BDS
17 july 2018
The Israeli Knesset approved, on Monday night, the “Breaking The Silence” bill, granting the Minister of Education the power to prevent peace activists from the organization “Breaking the Silence” from entering schools, or to talking to students about their organization.
The approved bill passed with 43 Knesset members voting in favor, while 24 opposed it; in the wording of the bill, it describes Breaking the Silence members, former Israeli soldiers who decided to speak out against the ongoing military violations against the Palestinian people, as “external elements that act against the Israeli military, and the educational system.”
The Maan News Agency quoted Breaking The Silence as stating that Israel is now taking action to silence the activists, after using other means to try to stop them from speaking out against the Israeli occupation and its illegal practices.
The new Israeli law, although naming Breaking The Silence, is also meant to prevent any organization or group that opposes the Israeli military occupation of Palestine from entering schools and talking to the students.
In their statement in response to the new law, Breaking the Silence stated that the passage of the bill shows that Education Minister Naftali Bennet, “is so terrified by Breaking the Silence, that he would go so far as to pass a law meant simply to silence us.”
The group said that Bennet wants to present only his agenda to students in Israel. Bennet’s curricula include justification for the killing of Palestinian children, while at the same time refusing any eviction of colonialist Israeli settlers from the occupied West Bank.
It is worth mentioning that Bennet commented in the vote stating that “the reality in which organizations could harm Israel’s legitimacy, and the reputation of its soldiers in front of school students, has come to an end.”
He added that, as long as, “Breaking the Silence remain active against the state of Israel and its army, in the country or abroad, but I will not allow them to be active in our educational system; if they want to be active in their homes, so be it, but not in our schools, where we shape the future generation, such voices will not be allowed.”
Breaking the Silence is a group made up of former Israeli soldiers who served in the Occupied Palestinian Territories of the West Bank and Gaza, but felt remorse for their actions and the atrocities they witnessed or participated in.
These former soldiers share their personal accounts of what they experienced, including stories of being ordered to brutalize children, terrorize families, and shoot unarmed civilians. The main purpose of the group is to share the accounts of these soldiers to show the reality of the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian land to an Israeli public that has hidden this reality behind a Wall.
The approved bill passed with 43 Knesset members voting in favor, while 24 opposed it; in the wording of the bill, it describes Breaking the Silence members, former Israeli soldiers who decided to speak out against the ongoing military violations against the Palestinian people, as “external elements that act against the Israeli military, and the educational system.”
The Maan News Agency quoted Breaking The Silence as stating that Israel is now taking action to silence the activists, after using other means to try to stop them from speaking out against the Israeli occupation and its illegal practices.
The new Israeli law, although naming Breaking The Silence, is also meant to prevent any organization or group that opposes the Israeli military occupation of Palestine from entering schools and talking to the students.
In their statement in response to the new law, Breaking the Silence stated that the passage of the bill shows that Education Minister Naftali Bennet, “is so terrified by Breaking the Silence, that he would go so far as to pass a law meant simply to silence us.”
The group said that Bennet wants to present only his agenda to students in Israel. Bennet’s curricula include justification for the killing of Palestinian children, while at the same time refusing any eviction of colonialist Israeli settlers from the occupied West Bank.
It is worth mentioning that Bennet commented in the vote stating that “the reality in which organizations could harm Israel’s legitimacy, and the reputation of its soldiers in front of school students, has come to an end.”
He added that, as long as, “Breaking the Silence remain active against the state of Israel and its army, in the country or abroad, but I will not allow them to be active in our educational system; if they want to be active in their homes, so be it, but not in our schools, where we shape the future generation, such voices will not be allowed.”
Breaking the Silence is a group made up of former Israeli soldiers who served in the Occupied Palestinian Territories of the West Bank and Gaza, but felt remorse for their actions and the atrocities they witnessed or participated in.
These former soldiers share their personal accounts of what they experienced, including stories of being ordered to brutalize children, terrorize families, and shoot unarmed civilians. The main purpose of the group is to share the accounts of these soldiers to show the reality of the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian land to an Israeli public that has hidden this reality behind a Wall.
29 june 2018
Five young Jewish-American women stage walkout on free Birthright trip of Israel, saying Birthright 'erased the effects of the occupation or spun things in a way that we felt were extremely biased'; instead, they joined Breaking the Silence for a tour of Hebron. video
Five young Jewish American women staged a walkout Thursday on a trip organized by Taglit-Birthright Israel, claiming they did not receive real education about the "occupation," and instead joined a Breaking the Silence tour in Hebron.
The five broadcast their departure live on Facebook. This is the first time Birthright participants walk out on the program.
The five young women, who are affiliated with the extreme-left Jewish American organization IfNotNow, said they each separately joined the tour with Taglit-Birthright, an organization that brings thousands of Jewish youth from all over the world to Israel on free trips, trying to "engage deeply and honestly" with the tour guide and other participants.
"We came with questions about what's happening in the occupied territories and wanted to engage with new perspectives," the five wrote in a joint statement. "But what became clear over the course of ten days was that Birthright did not want to truthfully engage with our questions. It's clear that young Jews who have critical questions about Israel are not welcome on Birthright."
On Thursday, the trip's last day, the young women announced they decided to leave the group to go on a trip with Breaking the Silence "to learn about the occupation from the perspective of Palestinians and IDF soldiers."
The group's Israeli tour guide, Golan, was upset by the walkout, and told the young women they had to sign a waiver as Birthright requires participants to remain with the group for the entire duration of the trip.
"You came here with a clear agenda from the beginning. You did not come to learn about Israel, you came to learn about Palestine," the tour guide told them. "You don't have an open mind. You have a clear agenda against Israel."
Other members of the group were enraged by the five's decision, accusing them of intentionally causing provocation.
When the group arrived for a tour of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Breaking the Silence activists, including spokesman Dean Issacharoff, were waiting for the five young women.
"I think you did something incredibly brave. You refused to cooperate with the silence that is protecting the violent and immoral military regime that we're enforcing on millions of Palestinians," Issacharoff told them. "It's amazing. I'm sure you guys are the first. It's just indicative of the growing gap between your values and the occupation's values. And the fact that you're not willing to compromise on your Jewish values is amazing."
On their Facebook page, IfNotNow praised the five women: "Wow. These Birthright participants just walked off their trip and onto a Breaking the Silence tour to Hebron. They are refusing to continue to engage in a biased Israel education that omits and obscures the Occupation, and are going to see and wrestle with the truth themselves. This is an inspiring, courageous, and brave act of resistance to the Occupation. This is why IfNotNow launched its #NotJustAFreeTrip campaign this week, because we can no longer allow a free trip that hides the truth about the Occupation be synonymous with being a young Jewish person in America."
Sophie Lasoff, 24, one of the young women who walked out on the trip, said she and the other four "have been really disappointed on a number of occasions about the way that Birthright has completely erased the effects of the occupation or avoided our questions, or spun things in a way that we felt were extremely biased."
"We came all the way across the world in order to see what they keep telling us is our homeland. And to me, grappling with what a homeland means to me, means grappling with it in all of its complexity, and they haven't allowed us to do that," she added.
Taglit: We reject manipulation attempts or provocations
Amit Deri, founder and CEO of Reservists on Duty, said in response: “In recent months, we have been following with concern the attempt made by radical organizations in Israel and in the US to turn young Jews against Israel. Today, for the first time, we saw that infiltration and intentional disruption of a consensus organization (Taglit), aimed at bringing Jews around the world closer together, has become a legitimate tool.
“Reservists on Duty will keep monitoring and exposing these phenomena and working to brings US Jews closer to Israel, focusing on the young generation,” Deri added. “Breaking the Silence are continuing their attempt to harm the delicate fabric between the Diaspora Jewry and the State of Israel. I find it amazing that Issacharoff, who was deemed a liar by the State Attorney’s Office, is leading this move and keeps spreading false propaganda to these young people.”
The Taglit organization offered the following comment: “Taglit, an apolitical project and the leading educational initiative in the world, has connected some 650,000 young Jews to Israel and to the Jewish people so far. As we respect the participants’ ability to form their own opinions, we reject the advancement of any agenda, manipulation attempts or provocations—from any political side.”
Issacharoff offered the following comment: “While the right-wing government is crushing Israel’s connection to the Diaspora Jewry, we are building new bridges based on values of equality and democracy. Anyone who thinks of demanding that millions of liberal Jews blindly support the occupation policy will wake up in panic when an entire generation of young Jews, who are unprepared to give up their values to cooperation with the concealment of the occupation in programs like Taglit, slam the door.
“We gladly accepted the participants’ initiative and we invite anyone coming to Israel to join us on a tour of the places in which we served in the territories to discover the reality of the occupation.”
Five young Jewish American women staged a walkout Thursday on a trip organized by Taglit-Birthright Israel, claiming they did not receive real education about the "occupation," and instead joined a Breaking the Silence tour in Hebron.
The five broadcast their departure live on Facebook. This is the first time Birthright participants walk out on the program.
The five young women, who are affiliated with the extreme-left Jewish American organization IfNotNow, said they each separately joined the tour with Taglit-Birthright, an organization that brings thousands of Jewish youth from all over the world to Israel on free trips, trying to "engage deeply and honestly" with the tour guide and other participants.
"We came with questions about what's happening in the occupied territories and wanted to engage with new perspectives," the five wrote in a joint statement. "But what became clear over the course of ten days was that Birthright did not want to truthfully engage with our questions. It's clear that young Jews who have critical questions about Israel are not welcome on Birthright."
On Thursday, the trip's last day, the young women announced they decided to leave the group to go on a trip with Breaking the Silence "to learn about the occupation from the perspective of Palestinians and IDF soldiers."
The group's Israeli tour guide, Golan, was upset by the walkout, and told the young women they had to sign a waiver as Birthright requires participants to remain with the group for the entire duration of the trip.
"You came here with a clear agenda from the beginning. You did not come to learn about Israel, you came to learn about Palestine," the tour guide told them. "You don't have an open mind. You have a clear agenda against Israel."
Other members of the group were enraged by the five's decision, accusing them of intentionally causing provocation.
When the group arrived for a tour of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Breaking the Silence activists, including spokesman Dean Issacharoff, were waiting for the five young women.
"I think you did something incredibly brave. You refused to cooperate with the silence that is protecting the violent and immoral military regime that we're enforcing on millions of Palestinians," Issacharoff told them. "It's amazing. I'm sure you guys are the first. It's just indicative of the growing gap between your values and the occupation's values. And the fact that you're not willing to compromise on your Jewish values is amazing."
On their Facebook page, IfNotNow praised the five women: "Wow. These Birthright participants just walked off their trip and onto a Breaking the Silence tour to Hebron. They are refusing to continue to engage in a biased Israel education that omits and obscures the Occupation, and are going to see and wrestle with the truth themselves. This is an inspiring, courageous, and brave act of resistance to the Occupation. This is why IfNotNow launched its #NotJustAFreeTrip campaign this week, because we can no longer allow a free trip that hides the truth about the Occupation be synonymous with being a young Jewish person in America."
Sophie Lasoff, 24, one of the young women who walked out on the trip, said she and the other four "have been really disappointed on a number of occasions about the way that Birthright has completely erased the effects of the occupation or avoided our questions, or spun things in a way that we felt were extremely biased."
"We came all the way across the world in order to see what they keep telling us is our homeland. And to me, grappling with what a homeland means to me, means grappling with it in all of its complexity, and they haven't allowed us to do that," she added.
Taglit: We reject manipulation attempts or provocations
Amit Deri, founder and CEO of Reservists on Duty, said in response: “In recent months, we have been following with concern the attempt made by radical organizations in Israel and in the US to turn young Jews against Israel. Today, for the first time, we saw that infiltration and intentional disruption of a consensus organization (Taglit), aimed at bringing Jews around the world closer together, has become a legitimate tool.
“Reservists on Duty will keep monitoring and exposing these phenomena and working to brings US Jews closer to Israel, focusing on the young generation,” Deri added. “Breaking the Silence are continuing their attempt to harm the delicate fabric between the Diaspora Jewry and the State of Israel. I find it amazing that Issacharoff, who was deemed a liar by the State Attorney’s Office, is leading this move and keeps spreading false propaganda to these young people.”
The Taglit organization offered the following comment: “Taglit, an apolitical project and the leading educational initiative in the world, has connected some 650,000 young Jews to Israel and to the Jewish people so far. As we respect the participants’ ability to form their own opinions, we reject the advancement of any agenda, manipulation attempts or provocations—from any political side.”
Issacharoff offered the following comment: “While the right-wing government is crushing Israel’s connection to the Diaspora Jewry, we are building new bridges based on values of equality and democracy. Anyone who thinks of demanding that millions of liberal Jews blindly support the occupation policy will wake up in panic when an entire generation of young Jews, who are unprepared to give up their values to cooperation with the concealment of the occupation in programs like Taglit, slam the door.
“We gladly accepted the participants’ initiative and we invite anyone coming to Israel to join us on a tour of the places in which we served in the territories to discover the reality of the occupation.”
