Last week Dan Fleshler said that the Israeli soldier at the checkpoint is also a victim of the occupation, and earlier today I posted a video in which an Israeli soldier cries out in pain at the actions of settlers whom he knows by name and whom he is not stopping. It's true that Israelis also are victimized by the occupation, but some brave ones actually have walked away from the whole criminal activity.
David Bloom has directed me to the statement this week from Shministim, yes I know it sounds like a Marx Brothers movie, the organization of Israeli kids who refuse to go into the military. These kids have no trouble throwing around the a-word, apartheid. They talk about Israeli oppression and the radicalization of the Palestinians.
Their words inspire. I'll get to them in a second. But only one question must be asked here: Who in the United States is supporting these beautiful kids who don't want to wreck their lives or the lives of Arabs? Who is coming forward? I'm sure there are some, on the fringes. But these kids should be front and center in American Jewish life. Jewish organizations here ought to celebrate these kids–or forfeit their souls, how about.
Shministim:
We
further protest the humiliating and contemptuous attitude taken by the military
toward Palestinian residents of the West Bank.
