| The Six-day war's seventh day lives on for over 35 years has transformed us from a moral society, sure of the justice of Israel's creation, into a society that oppresses another people, preventing it from realizing its legitimate national aspirations. The Six-Day war's seventh day has transformed us from a jsut society inot an unjust one, prepared to expand its control atop another nations ruins. The discarding of our moral foundation has hurt us as a society, reinforcing the arguements of the worlds hostile elements and sowers of evil and intensifying their influence.
The intifada is the Palestinian peoples war of national liberation. historical processes teach us that no nation is prepared to live under anothers domination and that a suppressed peoples war of national liberation will inevitably succeed. We understand this point but choose to ignore it. We are prepared to engage in confrontation to prevent an historical process, although we are well aware that this process is anchored in the moral justification behind every peoples war of national liberation and behind its right to self-determination, and although we are well aware that this process will attain its inevitable goal.
This is the background of the difficult testimony we have recieved about actions of Israels Defense Force personnel in the occupied terrotories. No need to repeat the details of the painful phenomena entailed in the occupation regime and in our battle to prolong it. Suffice it to recall the killing of little children fleeing for saftey, the executions, without trial, of wanted persons who were not on their way to launch a terrorist attack, and the encirclements,closures and roadblocks that have turned the lives of millions into a nightmare. Even if all these actions stem from our need to defend ourselves under an occupations conditions, the occupations non-existence would render them unnecessary. Thus, a black flag hovers over these actions.
This is a harsh reality that is causing us to lose the moral base of our existence as a free, just society and to jeopardize Israel's long-range survival. Israels security cannot be based only on the sword, it must rather be based on our principles of moral justice and on peace with our neighbors- those living next door and those living a little further away. An occupation regime undermines those principles of moral justice and prevents the attainment of peace. Thus, that regime endangers Israels existence.
It is against this background that one must vieww the refusal of IDF reservist officers and soldiers to serve in the territories. In their eyes, the occupation regime is evil and military service in the occupied territories is evil. In their eyes, military service in the occupied territories, which places soldiers in situations forcing them to commit immoral acts, is evil, and according to their conscience, they cannot be party to such acts. Thus, their refusal to serve is an act of conscience that is justified and recognized in every democratic regime. Historys verdict will be that their refusal was the act that restored our moral backbone. Thats whats really going on, I speak from experiance. |