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Recent
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April
15, 2003
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April 18,
2003
A Letter to
Aharon Barak, President of Israel's Supreme Court
You Are Not Protecting My Son's Rights
by
MATANIA BEN-ARTZI
Supreme Court President, Aharon Barak,
My son, Jonathan (Yoni) Ben-Artzi, is
a pacifist. He refused to enlist for military service and asked
for an alternative civil service. As a student of Physics and
Mathematics, he believed he could best serve the Israeli Society
by tutoring children in underprivileged schools, for example.
Yoni's request was rebuffed by the Army.
He was called up for service on August 8, 2002. He came to the
Induction Center, refused to wear uniform and was immediately
incarcerated in Military Prison 4, for a one-month term. Here
is the statement he made to the officer who sentenced him that
day:
"I, Jonathan Ben-Artzi, am refusing
to join the army on grounds of pacifism. My deep belief in non-violence
began when I was still a small child, and developed over the
years into a broad political and philosophical perception. Because
of my beliefs, my own country is going to throw me in jail, in
defiance of all international laws and basic moral values. I
will go to prison proudly, knowing that this is the least I can
do to improve the face of this country."
Yoni has been consecutively sentenced
seven times, for the same crime, and has spent over 200 (two
hundred) days in Military Prison 4. I am sure that in your capacity
as President of the Supreme Court the tough reputation of this
prison has reached your ear. However, I suspect that you have
never visited the place, neither in the blistering days of August
nor the freezing nights of January. I shall spare you details
of the life in prison, only to tell you that the Army did not
succeed in breaking Yoni's spirit or making him change his mind.
Quite contrary, he was heartened by knowing that the prison has
since added to its inmate list seventeen conscientious young
men, who, resenting the purposeless violence of the Israeli military,
have asked for alternative civil service.
Alarmed by the growing number of such
courageous boys, the Army decided to do what it knows how to
do best: To use more force. On February 19, 2003, Yoni was ordered
to stand trial by Court-Martial. The logic underlying the Army's
decision was simple: The military court is only authorized to
deal with soldiers and Yoni is already a soldier who refuses
to sign the papers that will render him a soldier... After
so many months of arbitrary detention, Yoni was ready to face
the challenge. He had only one condition: He wanted real justice.
He therefore petitioned to you, the President
of the Supreme Court, asking for his case to be transferred to
the consideration of a civil court. The appeal was drafted by
Adv. Avigdor Feldmann, a prominent human rights lawyer, and Adv.
Michael Sfard, a young lawyer specializing in International Law.
You surely agree that the document submitted
in Yoni's name was a scholarly work worthy of its authors, and
even more so, worthy of the presumed spirit of our society. It
reminded you that no military tribunal is empowered to decide
whether a person is a soldier or a civilian; that matters of
conscience should be debated within the framework of the civil
society, by their very nature; that all aspects of civil service
are under the jurisdiction of the civil system. It recalled foreign
court rulings (so well familiar to you) indicating that these
principles are universally accepted in all democratic countries,
since many decades.
The hearing of the case was set to April
8, 2003. It was an early morning session, and the two Justices
that accompanied you seemed quite sleepy and never uttered a
word. You, on the other hand, were very active. Indeed, so much
so, that you saw to it that the attorney representing the Army
had nothing much to do. First, you concurred with the Army that
Yoni was already a soldier. Then, you argued that the military
judges were perfectly qualified to deal with questions of pacifism,
fairly and knowledgeably. Perhaps you do not know, but two of
the three judges in Yoni's tribunal are officers who have no
college degree and have never attended a course in either Law
or Philosophy. Finally, when Yoni's lawyer pointed out that conscientious
objectors were always tried in civil courts, you retorted by
mentioning that Dreyfus (!) had been convicted in a military
court (and then finally acquitted in a civilian one...). Yoni
stood no chance. You handed him over to the Army that had already
sentenced him seven times.
Yoni was sitting right in front of you
during the hearing, but you did not seem to have noticed him.
Let me tell you a few things about him. His maternal grandfather
Moshe had managed to escape Nazi Europe and to arrive in Palestine
just in time to fight in Israel's War of Independence. He was
wounded and spent six months in hospital. While in hospital,
his son Zvi was born. Two years later Ofra, Yoni's mother, was
born. Twenty years later Zvi, a paratrooper, fell in battle.
Yoni's older brother was named after him. He too served in the
Army. When Yoni's turn came, he drew the line beyond which he
would not go. No more futile wars, no more bloodshed.
It may sound ironic that Yoni and you
studied in the same prestigious Hebrew University High School.
When you came to the school to deliver a speech on human rights,
he was deeply impressed. Unfortunately, this experience helped
set him on a path that carried him to your Court last week.
You seem to like your image as a judge
who epitomizes the most revered values of human rights. It serves
you well here and abroad, among your peers. You never miss a
conference dedicated to this issue. At the latest one, last week,
at the Hebrew University, you preached to our Parliament (and
I translate from the Hebrew text):
"The Knesset should establish, loudly and in clear voice,
the principles of equality, freedom of expression, rights of
defendants and all other human rights-civil, political and social.
I deeply regret the fact that the Knesset is not doing that".
The annals of our Supreme Court tell a different story. During
your tenure as Justice (and President since 1995) human rights
in this country have been severely eroded. Your Court has shamefully
succumbed to every whim of the military. Innocent youths were
kidnapped in Lebanon to be used as bargaining chips-and your
Court approved it. Administrative detentions were imposed by
the thousands-but all the appeals to you were dismissed. Targeted
killings that took the lives of hundreds of innocent bystanders,
cruel closures that wreaked havoc among millions of Palestinians
(so that Jewish fanatics could be unabated in their festivities),
inhumane destruction of the livelihood of tens of thousands of
families--all these have been repeatedly legitimized by your
Court.
You gave the Army Generals a free hand,
wrapped in a deceptive shield of enlightenment. And when a few
boys dared to express their conscientious objection to those
evils-you denied them a fair hearing, their basic right of legal
defense.
Yoni and his friends, in their young
age, have demonstrated their humanity. You did not see it fit
to protect their rights.
With due respect,
Matania Ben-Artzi
PS. During the Week of Human Rights last
December (yes, here we celebrate a full week, not just a single
day) you were scheduled to appear at the Van-Leer Institute,
alongside the Chief Military Prosecutor, General Finkelstein.
On this occasion Ofra and I handed out a flyer to the participants.
I am attaching it herein, for your convenience.
***********************************************************
Aharon Barak and Menachem Finkelstein,
You are celebrating here today the "International Week of
Human Rights"- a hypocritical and sanctimonious festival.
This same week: Millions of people are subjected to a cruel and
brutal occupation.
**YOU PUT ON IT A FACADE OF JUSTICE AND
ENLIGHTENMENT**
This same week: More than seven thousand
people are locked up in detention camps, deprived of minimal
humane conditions. They have never been brought to court.
** YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT **
This same week: And since many years,
the ewe-lamb of the poor is robbed by an evil, war seeking hand.
Across the fields of Samaria, the dogs lick up the blood of Naboth.
** YOU NEVER STOPPED THEM **
This same week: YOU threw in jail clear-eyed
and pure-hearted boys. Their only sin was that they followed
their conscience.
YOU know that you will not silence their voice. YOU know they
will win.
The Chronicles of Mankind will tell you that.
When the prophet Isaiah said:
"He eagerly looked for justice, but see, bloodshed! For
righteousness, and lo, a cry of distress", HE WAS REFERRING
TO YOU.
YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE THE DAY OF REQUITAL.
"ALL THAT IS REQUIRED FOR EVIL TO
TRIUMPH IS FOR GOOD MEN TO DO NOTHING" (Edmund Burke).
"The world stands on three pillars: The truth, the justice
and the peace. And these three are indeed one. When justice is
served, truth is served, peace is served" (Rabbi Shimon
Ben-Gamliel, Talmudic sage).
***********************************************************
Today's
Features
Uzma
Aslam Khan
The Unbearably Grim Aftermath of War:
What America Says Does Not Go
Robert
Jensen
Self-Determination in Iraq? Then the
US Must Leave
Dr.
Susan Block
The Rape of Iraq
Ron Jacobs
Aiming at Syria: Stop Them Before They Kill Again
Robert
Fisk
The Final Sacking of Baghdad
Col. Dan
Smith
Post-War Iraq: Asking the Right Questions
Ali
Abunimah and Hussein Ibish
A Cycle of Chaos and Confrontation: Misadventures of the NeoCons
Steve
Perry
War Web Log 4/15
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