Young Friends of Sabeel!

Hurray, at long last, Young Friends of Sabeel is off the ground and will hopefully gain momentum so as to become a key resource for young people interested in domestic or international advocacy work related to issues in Palestine and Isreal!

http://www.youngfriendsofsabeel.blogspot.com/

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Israeli Conscientious Objector

Dear Friends,

CO Udi Nir, 19, from the Tel-Aviv suburb of Hertzlia, has been sentenced yesterday (20 Aug. ) to 21 days in military prison.

Udi Nir is the first conscientious objector to be imprisoned among a new group of high school seniors, who signed a collective declaration of refusal to serve in the Israeli army of occupation. He has been called up to enlist this Monday, 18 Aug., but planned to delay his imprisonment (technically - by going AWOL) to join other signatories of the letter. This intention, however, was noted by the press (Udi appeared in a TV feature and a negative newspaper feature over the weekend). This resulted in what was arguably the quickest operation of its sort in Israel's history. On Tuesday, one day after he has not showed up at the Induction Base, Udi Nir was arrested by civilian police (itself an unprecedented move), and was subsequently given a conditional sentence of 6 days in prison. The following day he was again tried, this time for refusing an order to enlist, and was sentenced to 21 days in prison.

A small demonstration to protest Udi's imprisonment was organised by other members of the high school seniors group, and has received some media coverage.

In a brief statement made on the day of his arrest, Udi Nir said:

I cannot take part in the activities of an occupying army, which constantly violates human rights. As an Israeli citizen and as an adolescent liable for enlistment I feel a sense of extensive responsibility for the cycle of violence and for all the choices I am making. It is out of this sense of responsibility that I refuse to enter the cycle of bloodshed and to add fuel to the fire of hatred raging here. I refuse to enlist into an occupying army so that I will not lend my own hand to the occupation and to acts that contradict my most basic values: human rights, democracy and the personal responsibility each and every human being bears towards fellow human beings.

Udi's full declaration of refusal, sent in a letter to the Minister of Defence, can be read here.

Udi's intention is to refuse to wear a military uniform in prison, which means he would be, or has already been, transferred to the Isolation Ward of the prison. He is due to be released from prison on 7 Sept. and is very likely to be imprisoned again several times after his release. His prison address is:
Udi Nir
Military ID 6022372
Military Prison No. 6
Military Postal Code 01860, IDF
Israel
Fax: ++972-4-9540580 Since the prison authorities often block mail from reaching imprisoned objectors, we also recommend you to send your letters of support and encouragement to Udi via e-mail to shministim@gmail.com, and they will be printed out and delivered to him during visits. In addition, you may want to follow some of our recommendations for action below.

....... (CLICK ON THIS TO GET MORE DETAILS ON RECOMMENDED ACTION)...

Thank you for your attention and action,

Sergeiy Sandler – New Profile.

So far away

I wish Palestine didn't feel so far away (yet I'm too exhausted and overwhelmed yet to even imagine going back).

Haaretz just doesn't cut it.



And the tears continue to be shed. They catch me off guard at times, but Palestine is a place never to be forgotten. In joy and in tears, I remember.

And on another note, here's what happens when you wear a shirt which says "Palestine" on it, in Harrisonburg-- I was locking up my bike the other day, right outside Simmons Cut and Tan, where I go for my cheap hair cuts when home. I happened to be wearing my Palestine shirt and was suddenly reminded of it when I looked up from my bike locking to a woman coming right towards me, with the most skeptical and disgusted face. With raised eye brows, and an awful grimace, she marched right in my direction, turning off just steps from plowing right into me and that shirt I could tell she so badly wished was her own.

And sometimes they just have to go

A man very significant to the Palestinian people is and was Mahmoud Darwish, a poet who became a voice of sorts for his people. He died this past Saturday, August 9, and Palestine (and beyond) mourns.

http://www.mahmouddarwish.com/english/index.htm

One 10 day young adult conference to go..

The summer experience I've had thus far, living with my dad, working at Sabeel from 9-5 each day, travelling around on the weekends, and so on, is over as of tonight. Tomorrow is the beginning of the international young adult conference which we've been working towards all summer. It's a 10 day travelling conference,whick takes me right up until the day I head home. I'll have some email access, but you can keep up with the conference by checking out our blog: http://sabeelyoungadultconference.blogspot.com/ .

Daddy and I in Jordan, overlooking the Rift Valley. (for you fbook users, I just added some new pictures!)

A powerful message and some hip-hop on the side

Because my life has gotten quite hectic in recent days, my blogging has fallen a bit behind, so, for now, I'll leave you with this link to a group who performed at the Berzeit festival in Ramallah on Friday night. The song "Free Palestine" is powerful and worth listening to, even if hip-hop isn't your thing (it's not usually mine, although what I told my Dad is that the music is tolerable when there's a powerful message to help you swallow it.)

DAM: A Palestinian hip-hop group