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| Amit Mashiah gives a personal testimony of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict |
As Israeli forces surrounded Arafat's compound
in Ramallah, Peace Boat welcomed onboard Amit Mashiah, a member of
the Courage to Refuse・civil disobedience movement, consisting of civilians
and soldiers refusing to serve in the occupied territories. Nicknamed
the Refuseniks this group of conscientious objectors is demanding
an end to the corrupting and immoral occupation, which they feel threatens
the democratic ideals of Israel and perpetuates the cycle of violence
and retaliation. Amit recounted the historical events of the last
15 years, seen through his eyes as a civilian growing up with the
conflict as represented in the media, and as a soldier on military
service having experienced the first Intifada in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip. Criticising both sides for reneging on their promises
and working only to prove how the opposing side is deliberately causing
the peace process to fail, Mr. Mashiah also admitted how difficult
it is to grasp the notion of peace after living with fear for so long.
He called for Israelis to recognise the suffering of the Palestinian
people and spoke of the need for a group from the occupied territories
to join the swelling voice of the Refusenik movement to demonstrate
to their respective leaders and the international community that the
notion of a peaceful solution has popular support on both sides. Amit
expressed a hope that Peace Boat would continue its work bringing
together students from conflict areas and, specifically, provide a
forum for Israeli and Palestinian youth to come together and consider
realistic paths towards peace in the region.
Homepage address for the Courage to Refuse movement.
http://www.seruv.org.il/defaulteng.asp |
